2. Process
I decided to start experimenting with different editing
techniques for my short and am starting off with basic
methods of transition into the opening sequence, in this
instance I decided to try a simple fade in technique. With
minor adjustments to the time slot between each key
frame. This can be done by going under the effects category
of Premiere pro once the media file has been inserted, after
which it is possible to drag the effect onto the file at either
ends of it on the timeline. You can then access the
keyframes section of the file by looking in the top left
corner, adjusting these keyframes along their own isolated
timeline will change how long the effect will last for, it is
then also possible to create your own keyframes as well in
order to make the transition even longer. This was simply
done to help me familiarise myself with premiere pro's
different transitions that it has available and to get
comfortable with editing again, above anything else.
3. process
This was my first finished experiment with transitional
effects, I also used this opportunity to familiarise myself
with the colour correction techniques so that later on I
can use it to drain the saturation of any scenes that I
want without taking significantly longer stretches of
time to try and edit the scene to how I want, in this
case I have used the colour correction techniques to
simply change the time of the day in this JPEG image as
an introduction to the technique, the pixilation is due to
the low resolution of the picture and unfortunately it
wasnβt meant to be resized to this scale, this issue
won't be present in my actual film. I was able to change
it by increasing the corner darkness of the image and
giving it an orange tint on the Lumetri scale. The colour
gradient tool allowed me to change the colour of the
picture overall, by adjusting the brightness, vibrance
and saturation. This can be accessed and used on a
panel a the top of the screen called 'colour'.
4. Using the Lumetri colour scale on premiere pro to adjust the vibrance and the saturation of the scenes at the
start of the film, this is what my film is going to look like when my character is experiencing the effects of the
drug, a simple adjustment to the film but an effective way of showing the drugs effects on the user, it will also
help to amplify the effects of the visuals when my character is no longer experiencing the effects of the drug, as
well as assisting the audience into knowing what exactly the drug does without directly giving it away with
dialogue.
Process
5. ProcessIn this part of the clip I have used the Lumetri scale again but this time to reverse the saturation of the scene
as well as the vibrance, I also provided an additional effect by increasing the fade of the film, in order to give
it a more drained feel, I didn't however switch the scene to black and white as I wanted the film to feel more
dull but at the same time I didn't want the audience to get the impression that the film had switched to a
film noir type of style. It would also help to emphasise the effect that the drug makes the world seem more
colourful by comparison, not that the colour never existed at all.
6. process
The directional blur technique is useful
in many different types of
cinematography however it is most
prevalent in the action/thriller genre of
film, this is because it serves as a
useful transition between shots due to
it's speed and subtlety and
therefore it is most useful during any chase
scenes in films that involve the need to swap
between shots and scenes on the fly without
it looking too jarring, I am going to be using
the directional blur effect in my film to the
same ends. The directional blur effect can be
found the same way it is possible to find the
default transitional effects, in the same area
just in a different sub category, then simply
drag the effect onto the video, choose where
you want to place it, then adjust the amount
of blur the effect has in effect controls and
the direction of the blur itself, then finally
adjust how long you want to blur to go on for
by using the keyframe system.
7. processThis was my first attempt at using the
cloning effect in premiere pro and it came
out with a less than desirable outcome, the
issue came in at the different tones of
lighting in the background and in addition to
that the colours of the actor's clothing
clashed with the background and lighting.
Initially I was going to film the character in
different positions on the same background,
then use cropping and repositioning as
necessary. However to make this work on a
second attempt I would have to use the
same shot for all the actions, with the same
lighting level and have the actors actions
spaced further apart.
8. ProcessUpon my second attempt at the cloning
effect for my project I believe it has
gone marginally better.
There are still parts of the project that I
need to edit (mainly the background as
it still has a tendency to clash at times)
but this time round I used a location
with a more consistent lighting source, I
then had an actor whose clothing
colour wouldn't blend with the
background and distort the picture, I
then simply placed the videos over
each other and cropped and
repositioned them as necessary, I then
used the edge feather tool and
softened out the jarring splits between
all the videos, however it hasn't
completely fixed the issue due to the
background being a different colour in
parts.
9. ProcessThis is my first experiment with a poster concept
for my film, it's design is meant to quickly portray
the theme of the film without giving away any plot
details as is the purpose with all posters, the Guy
Fawkes mask is meant to represent the main
antagonists of the film, due to limitations of the
software I was unable to use a custom text design.
As a result I used one of the default images,
however to make the text slightly more unique
with my poster I decided to distort it, this was
simply done through selecting the layer I wanted
I.e the text itself using the text tool and highlighting
it. Next I right clicked on the layer in the drop down
menu to the right of the screen, I then used
the warp tool and used the 'arc upper', I then
twisted the letters to +50%, set horizontal
distortion to β7% and vertical distortion to β38% to
get the resulting style. With the subtext I
highlighted it and used the character tool to move
the letters apart in order to get the exact
measurement of space that I wanted. This is
definitely the type of style that I want my film
poster to be like and I will also likely use a similar
design technique, however I will also be using my
own imagery for it instead of a sourced photo. I
also feel that the space next to the image and
could use some more text, however this would
likely just be a fake release date for the film, this is
because while the space is empty this isn't a cover
for a magazine , the poster for a film, especially a
psychological thriller shouldn't have a very busy
poster, it should be able to send a clear message to
the audience what kind of film this is, and that
empty black void helps to emphasise this idea of
10. ProcessI decided to further experiment with different choices in design with another
poster for my project, while I have kept the image very similar to my original
experiment, I believe this is an image I could more easily mimic/recreate with
photoshop compared to the other one, however I don't like the text layout that I
chose for this experiment, I believe since the image takes up most of the screen I
had to place the text over it, and now that I am looking at it from a finished
perspective, I believe that it is a better idea to place the text alongside the image
so not to obstruct it. On a positive note I think it was a better idea to place the
fake release date at the bottom of the poster, as well as using another one liner
to introduce it, instead of simply putting 'release date'. Another issue that I have
with this design is the text, I think that the text layout and design is both
simplistic basic, and I think with extra time I could've developed this aspect of
the design to be more complex than it is. In this design I used very similar
techniques to the last one, except using a different text style, and setting the
horizontal and physical distortion ton different levels than before.
11. Tools and processesRazor tool: The razor tool is the most basic and essential tool to create a film or any form of video, it used to split up parts of a video file into
separate pieces, which will allow the person editing the video to use different video effects and transitions at different parts of the media file,
as well as allow them to relocate separated parts of the file to different locations of the video.
Transitional effects: These are effects that are you to make the video move more smoothly from one scene to the next instead of abrupt cuts,
some of the effects are available as hard files in Premiere pro that allow for simple transitions, in which case it's as simple as a drag and drop
onto the video file. However even though it takes considerably longer it is possible to create your custom and more impressive transitions. It is
also possible to edit how long your effects go on for and the amplitude of the effect over time, this is done using keyframes.
Keyframes: These are another essential tool to creating unique editing techniques, these are created through the editing effects control panel
and selecting the small stop watch icon next to each effect, this will give you access to the keyframe panel and it will give you a keyframe by
default where the effect will start, you can then go forward or backward in the video, adding or taking away keyframes to change when the
effect will begin or end, you can also change the percentage of the effect at each keyframe so you change how much of the effect will have
taken place at that point, this allows you to have ultimate control over your digital effects.
Colour correction: Colour effects can be done through a few different methods in premiere pro, however the way I did it was using the Lumetri
scale, this is accessed through colour effects on premiere pro, at this point using lumetri colour is easy, it offers the user several different sliders
to adjust the colours of the scene (as seen in my screenshot),
12. ReflectionThe number one effect that I will be keeping in my final product is the colour correction effect that I used in my first real experiment to alter the
colours of the scene drastically to create the drug induced effect and the symptoms of not being on it. This visual effect is going to be crucial in
creating my film and so I definitely will use it in my final product, although I may put more work into it next time round as at this point in time I
simply experimented with a few of the controls to see what effects I could create however with a little more time to edit I believe I could create
something more impressive than what is present in the experiment.
The cloning effect on the other hand I am unsure of, I know that my original film plan was absolutely going to use the cloning effect to duplicate
some of the characters in the scene to decrease the demand for actors and wardrobe, this however became a near to impossible goal as using
the cloning effect outside is incredibly difficult. While technically doable there are many variables to take into account to get good enough
footage to use for any shot, it requires a lot of time and precise methods afterwards to get the shots looking good enough, as a result I can
either edit my screenplay to have this effect take place indoors, or I will have to cut it out of my screenplay entirely as most of my film takes
place outside.
There are different aspects of each of my posters that I would likely use in my films, the image I used for the background for instance, the dark
colour schemes I believe support the themes of my film the best and I would likely use the side angle to leave room for the text in the poster, in
the second poster I would probably use the same release date technique that I've used there.
Editor's Notes
Discuss the tools and processes used in your experiments