Lenny edits is the first exercise of the semester, followed by music and sound research for this video. There is no doubt that this is a meaningful and useful start. The Lenny video consists of three scenes in total, and I used the J cut for each version.
For my first version, is my favourite version for me, and it is also very common. When Lenny walked over, I chose to pair it with piano music full of mystery, creating a state of not knowing what would happen next, which made people unconsciously a little frightened. The stress accent in the music appeared just after Lenny yelled, and the less obvious crescendo also pushed the storyline to a climax.
In terms of the second version, I found that there are still some deficiencies in the selection of scene 1 music. It may be that my understanding of the storyline is not enough, I am not sure. I want to give Lenny a different mood and attempt, so I chose a more peaceful, calm, and somewhat relaxing music, which concealed Lenny’s frustration. This is a clear contrast to the intense, rhythmic music at the end. However, in fact, I realized that using two completely different music as a contrast can bring out different plots. Different styles of soundtracks may give a different feeling to the plot of the story.
In the third version, I think the combination of music is relatively reasonable. I chose the music of the electric guitar solo to make the plot emotional. Lenny walked over and looked at his watch. Looking around, it might be a mixed feeling. In particular, I want to see the effect of sound effects on the storyline. When Sharon stood behind the gate and looked at Lenny from a distance, I added a suspense and thriller-style sound effect, in order to raise tension. The result shows that the effect is not bad. At the end, when Sharon took the book and turned around, I used sci-fi music, which also showed that Lenny was both worried and anxious.
To conclude, I found the role of music is to render the relative storyline in an abstract way. The existence of the soundtrack is helpful for the audience to understand the image expression and storytelling. Through this exercise, it enhanced my understanding of film creation and the influence of background music on the film, it can be multifaceted. It definitely provides me a helpful experience, and make me considering more carefully when choosing music.
#2 Making the bed:
Speaking of the homework, I was experiencing a lot through the Make the bed exercise. The instruction of making a bed seems quite simple, but before the official shooting, I have to write a shot list, because if there is no shot list I will be very chaotic, although it is a simple topic. According to the requirements of the operation, there is no camera movement, the tripod came in handy. This is my first time shooting with a Sony camera, which means that I am shooting solo in the non-self-portrait mode for the first time. The process is more complicated than expected. Due to my room is relatively small and the tripod is large, I can not even complete shooting a specific lens. Therefore, I use the partitions in the closet to hold the camera and shoot as much as possible. Through this process, I learned how to quickly and correctly find the shooting angle when a person is shooting, and how to solve problems flexibly. And yet, when Paul showed the work of four classmates in class, I thought my video was extremely boring. In the process of waking up, the ending of the camera suddenly black screen after folding the quilt adds fun to the video and increases the viewing ability. Indeed, an attractive storyline or excellent script design is an indispensable part.
I was a little frustrated when I was not creative and at the same time exceeded the length of time. Indeed, another problem is that my control over the overall time is too bad. The homework requirement is 20-the 40s, and I forgot to calculate the time when planning. As a result, I found that the process of folding the quilt was already long during editing. In the 90s, this shocked me. In fact, some actions are even redundant. I need to build a concept of the content of the shot before shooting, instead of blindly doing a lot of trivial actions during the shooting. Even if the final video still has 68s, it means that I need to enhance the ability to make choices when editing, and I also understand the importance of time control for the video.
In this paragraph, I am willing to speak about a movie that I have seen, is called “Darkest Hour,” which is directed by Britain director Joe Wright. This is a biographical historical film, mainly about during the Second World War, British Prime Minister Churchill was ordered to make a decision that affected the course of world history in the dark hour before dawn. Here is a trailer of the film:
Throughout the film, the three locations of the Chamber of Commons, the Underground Combat Command Room, and the Buckingham Palace Hall carry the “action space” of the film. These three spaces create plot conflicts in the movie and play a vital role in portraying the characters. Obviously, this must not be the type of movie I am interested in, but my father addicts to this type of film, and I was accompanying him. Nevertheless, this film beyond the expectation gave me inspiration and made me admire—-exclaim over how this film narrates a historical story quite artistically, which aroused my deep thoughts.
The first shot at the beginning of the film was amazing. It is high angle shot, spiral down, and even the face of the person could not be seen clearly, which rendered the tension to the fullest and captured my emotions.
Then, in the scene of Churchill’s appearance, a match was suddenly polished in a dark room, a cigar was lit, and then the face was illuminated by the fire. Then the curtains were opened, and Churchill himself appeared on the screen, everything was smooth. A flash of light in the dark, as his appearance, is quite consistent with his character setting. It illuminates Churchill’s frowning and thoughtful expression, and also illuminates one of the bleakest moments in human history.
Speaking of the composition first is line-guided composition. I had never heard of this composition before I watched this movie. My sight will move with the lines of the stairs, which enhances the visual impact and mystery feeling. The second is a framed composition. The shot in the picture below illustrates Churchill’s tough, non-negotiating attitude also bogged down his claims, like the screen set, with only him in a small space surrounded by darkness. The composition and the plot of the story are closely connected.
In terms of hue, this is the part I admire most. In this movie, the warm and cold tones coexist in the same room, which makes the picture more harmonious. For example, when George VI was reluctant to appoint Churchill as prime minister, the atmosphere has been very embarrassing. Both sides know what the other side is thinking, but they still have to keep smiling and maintain the courtesy of monarchs and ministers. The two stood under two strong and distinct white lights respectively, reflecting the strong opposition. This practice of using light to shape the curtain and the sense of isolation. Under the panoramic lens shooting, the light from outside the window and the dots of light in the room are fully utilized, which is full of realism and aesthetics.
As well as Churchill saw the king in this scene, using the strong contrast of light to illuminate, to set off a slightly cramped atmosphere. Plus, this is in contrast to gray and other dark tones in the film, that contributes the film a different texture, various layers, and enhance the artistic power of this film.
To summarise, the director’s composition techniques, lighting, and colour use are worthy of my study. At the same time, it aroused my curiosity about considering shadow art and lighting aesthetics when I am shooting. The experience of watching this film and the motivations given to me are unprecedented for me.
References：
AllAboutMovies, 2018. Darkest Hour Telegram Scene. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8MtRFmzATI> [Accessed 18 March 2021].
Universal Pictures UK, 2017. Darkest Hour – Official International Trailer (Universal Pictures) HD. [image] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtJ60u7SUSw> [Accessed 17 March 2021].
Prior to this, I never thought that my way of learning would change, but after the first three weeks of learning, it did change. I have a keen perspective and insights into shooting technology. Finding a way to try shooting on different devices, even through zoom. Due to COVID-19, our courses are conducted online. Initially, I think it is not feasible to shooting each other through the Internet or not achieve good results, but our studio did it. For instance, in the action exercise, we use the position of the device to shoot a coherent action from different angles, and use to move the laptop forward or backward for zooming. No matter which way to shoot, even the remote operation is slightly complicated. This is a significant way to expand my shooting skills. In fact, online learning is also beneficial to some extent——make me careful in every process and meticulously refine every detail; facing and solving unexpected situations and accidents caused by network connection problems calmly.
Another essential point is, I am getting used to using Adobe Premier. I used to be quite comfortable and like to use iMovie or Final cut pro for post-editing. I have the habit of shooting daily life vlogs, thus the frequency of use of editing software is high. About one year ago, I heard from my friends that the operation of Adobe Premiere is relatively complicated, so I have never dared to try this advanced software. Whereas, the new semester aroused my desire to challenge myself. What surprised me was that after the first three weeks of use, I gradually developed a great impression of Adobe’s products. I discovered it is advantages-making my editing process organized, clear and smooth. All the footages after shooting can be put into the project in different sequences, I could find useful footages quickly and there is no confusion or mess, which I appreciate a lot. Meanwhile, it improves the quality of my editing.
Additionally, I am gradually changing my personality. I have bravely begun to try to communicate as actively as possible with group members during group work. This is my first step. I know that communication skills in this studio are important, to cultivate a tacit understanding of cooperation with classmates, and to discuss various shooting details. Through the share screen of Lenny edits, I feel that every classmate is undiscovered, which makes me more impulsive and desire to communicate with them more, as to make up for my shortcomings. Thus, this is also one of the changes that brought me.
Consequently, there will be many opportunities to make films or videos in the future, and I hope to improve my skills in more assignments and class exercises in the rest of the semester, and becoming extroverted. Then, trying hard to dabble in aspects and reflect deeply on them. Thus, as to develop the comprehensive ability of film production to make films reach a higher standard.
From the last studio, I have learned some content about the filming process with Cass, it was interesting. I aware of the precision, concentration, and cumbersomeness of each planning process required for filming a movie, even a short video. Apparently, my shooting skills and knowledge reserves are far from enough. Therefore, this is also the reason why I chose deliberate film studio as the first preference and hoping to continue to learn and explore the “secrets” of the film.
In my view, this studio is a platform that allowing film students to both learning and sharing filming skills and knowledge. It may publish many exercises through ZOOM, which requires us to operate by ourselves, to what extent which requires creative thinking. Moreover, it will provide practice for deconstructing and reconstructing movie scenes in an elaborative way. As the studio description said we need to steady up, to build deep-rooted skills. At the same time, we also have the opportunity to make short films in groups and experience all the roles in the film production process.
What I am most eager to learn is post-editing, because it is a technique and one of the most important links in the entire film and television production. For instance, how to choose suitable sound effects and background music? How to effectively decompose, combine, and edit the visual material and sound material that was shot in the early stage to form a complete, continuous, and attractive movie? I hope I can have enough professional ability to be competent for this position in my future work. Plus, I also want to improve my storyboarding thinking this semester, especially in the pre-production part, the concept and plans need to be confirmed. To do so, the shooting process will be more organized. On the other hand, due to online teaching, my communication skills have weakened a lot. Even though I have been through online learning for more than two semesters, I am still not accustomed to talking to students I do not know through the Internet. However, effective communication has always been an essential part, thus, enhancing my ability to communicate with classmates and professors in an online environment is also one of my goals.
Overall, as the studio description said, “through an iterative cycle of learning, making and reflection you will develop your competency in production techniques and your analytical skills will become more refined.” I am sure that I will gain valuable experience and absorb professional advice from this studio.
