The document summarizes experiments the author conducted with camera angles, editing software, color correction, and sound editing. For the camera experiment, the author practiced different angles, handheld shots, and lighting. In the editing experiment, the author edited together various shots on Premier Pro and added transitions, titles, and color correction. For color, the author adjusted hues in Premier Pro to create different moods. In sound editing on Audition, the author adjusted volume, trimmed audio, and edited multiple tracks together. The author intends to apply techniques from these experiments, like varied angles, transitions, and subtle color/sound adjustments, to their final film project.

1. Experiments
Georgia Brown

2. CameraWhat was your Process?
I started off my production experiments by getting used to using the camera and all of the filming equipment again. To make this experiment, even
though I have used the camera before on multiple occasions, I felt that as this was the final major project and it is very important, that I should
reacquaint myself with it all so that I can do my best camera work when I start production. The first thing I knew that I had to practice was using
different camera angles and as you can see on the photos below I did do that. Because my film will be strange and the audience should feel
uncertain I will be using canted angles that should throw them off. Hence I practiced filming from different angles, one was from lower down
which generally makes the person on camera seem in charge and dominant. I then did some on an angle like the one in the bottom right hand
corner. I also practiced filming whilst not using a tripod which is something that I haven’t done before however I think it worked well as it gave me
a chance to take different shots that aren’t restricted in their movement and vision. However in the future when filming my real footage I will use
a shoulder mount as a lot of my footage will be filmed when people are walking and so the camera will need to be moving as well. I was worried
that the footage may be shaky as I was holding it by hand however it wasn’t which is fantastic. This could however have been because wasn’t
really walking my self and we filmed in movement restricted area and so there wasn’t much room to move anyway. I also wish I had has the
chance to use the shoulder mount however at the time of filming I didn’t realise how much of a good idea it would have been and then later on it
was being used by somebody else. However I think if I do some test shots with it before filming I should be ok as I can usually work how how to
use things fairly quickly and effectively. There are some obvious weaknesses with this however it was difficult to experiment with without making
my film that I had planned so I did something different which meant that the whole use of the camera changed too. However I still think that I
managed to use interesting angles which were out of the normal ordinary mid shots which was the aim of this experimentation. I think that many
of the angles that I used here were also used in some of the films that I researched like Shutter Island and A Cure for Wellness as they used lots of
canted angles and unusual shots. Since I had to film this at college I had a limited amount of places to film and set this and there I just
concentrated on using different angles and techniques. However one thing I was aware of was the light. Having to change the ISO on the camera
was constant as the light from the window was much brighter when I was shooting from different angles. I was also keen on getting the light
around Sumiah's head, as shown in the middle photograph, as I thought it looked aesthetically pleasing. I also wanted her to be to the centre right
so it looked as though she was looking at you as if you were with her and I wanted the background to be as plain as possible so I picked plain white
walls so that she stood out. Of course since this part was mainly focused on camera there wasn’t much thought put on mis-en-scene however I
was aware of the clothing and aesthetic look of Sumiah herself and I wanted to make sure there wasn’t anything else in the frames so that she was
the focus of all the viewers attention throughout the video as that is what is was ‘promoting’.
What elements of your experiments will you include in your final product?
There are many elements of this experiment that I will include in my final product, firstly the use of all the different camera angles. In my previous
video rotation, although my film was of a similar genre, I didn’t really use a mix of angles when filming as I was more focused on getting the
content and it working together. However this time as I now know more about filming than I did before I am definitely focused on using the way I
film to affect the audience emotionally. This means that I will be using canted angles and angles in reflections and close ups and long shots to
create the emotion I want for each particular scene. I am also excited to film without constantly needing a tripod for every scene as I feel that it
limits you I the movements that you can make.

3. PremierProWhat was your Process?
Firstly I put all of the videos onto the computer by inserting the SD that was in the camera into the Mac and downloading al of the photos and videos. I
then went through all of the videos sorting through the good takes and putting them into a folder so that I could easily access them when I needed too. I
then opened up PremierPro and imported the folder of good takes and chose which ones I thought I wanted in my film. Once I had chosen a few videos
and put them in line on the sequence I started to crop them down so that they fitted together smoothly. Although I had used the program before I felt as
though I needed to get to know how to use it better so that when I make my FMP film it is as good as it can possibly be. Another obstacle that I will face
when making my fmp is the time restraints and therefore I felt as though my experiment film should be under some kind of time limit too so that I know
how to work to a goal and how to crop and change what I have to reach my target. Once I had the sequence done I had to add effects to pull the videos
together. Despite this video not being related to my film via content it is still the same medium and therefore I felt that it was still a valid experiment. I
also felt that in the time I had to experiment it was not enough time to experiment by making an actual short film as you need to plan and produce them. I
therefore ended up making a short 20 ‘advert’ for Spring/Summer 18 clothes. Even though this isn’t related to my film in its genre or style I did it as it still
uses the same functions like using the camera, lighting, directing actors, then editing it and putting sound on it. The effects worked alongside the music as
I wanted it to seem as though the clothes were trying to break out from ’winter’ hence the crackling and black that it went back into. I did this by putting a
dip to/from black on the videos on premier. Once the visual aspects of the whole video was complete I added in the sound. I used the crackling sound for
the breaking part of the video and then a springy happy music piece for the end as it would make the audience happy and excited about the video.
Another thing I I changed using Premier was the RGB curves which change the colours of the videos. I decided as this was a happy summer video that the
tone should be more pink/red and therefore I changed it so that the whites in the picture would be just slightly tinted. I then copied the effects and
‘pasted attributes’ onto all of the other videos so that they all ad the same level of colour on them to keep consistency. I also added a title card onto the
actual video which isn’t something I have done before and I definitely think that it looks better and quite professional however I haven’t yet decided
whether I want it on the video or after the film for my FMP. I think that the main strengths shown in this would be that I managed to put widely different
shots which varied in distance and angle and make it seem normal by putting them in certain place on the timeline. However obviously there wasn’t
much to practice or change with the video that I shot as there wasn’t any special effects or dialogue which meant that editing was fairly simple. Despite
that however the colours that I used, while unlike the ones I will be using on my film, were very good and worked well for the tone of the video and
weren't too much or too little. The only change I think I could have made while still sticking to this ‘story’ would have been to change the scene and have
more people in it. This would have made it much more like other clothing adverts that you see on the TV as they, especially for summer, are often shot
somewhere hot and possibly by the beach.
What elements of your experiments will you include in your final product?
There are many elements of this experiment that I will be taking over to my final product mainly the effects that I put onto the video as the rest of this
experiment was just reacquainting myself with the overall use of the software. I haven’t never really used transitions however I will definitely do that in
my film as I think it can effects the perception of the film and make it much more professional. I will also take into consideration the title card and when it
is shown in the film for both for the Name and the credits after the film.
Video is on the
blog post.

4. Colour
What was your Process?
To experiment with colour I used Adobe PremierPro as that is where I will be putting the videos together and using
effects on my videos for when I make my FMP. To do this I added one video and just kept it on the same still so that
all of my photographs looked the same and therefore I could compare them properly.
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I then used the RGB curves effect to change the main colours that are shown in that video. I started with green and kept it dark, the green to meant to signify
that the feeling is weird and uncertain or that something is strange and that is something that I do want to convey in my film. I also made the shadows more
obvious and made the entire thing slightly darker which is hopefully meant to convey that there is something sinister in the shadows or that there is
something hiding/missing. I then did one without as many dark shades and with a lighter green tinge to it however I don’t think that this colour is as effective
as the darker on. The darker one looks more sinister and I feel will be more effective than the other in effecting the audience perception of the film as it is
scarier where as the lighter one seems to green and too obvious as the audience isn’t meant to notice the colours. I also used the RGB curves to make the
colours more blue which can impact people into feeling sad or like something is missing. I kept the first version dark as well so that I could compare it to a
lighter one and see which was best, like I did with the green. I then did the lighter version of the blue and however I think that it is too blue and may be too
sad for the scenes. Once again I think that the dark one is much better as it conveys the feeling that there is something sinister going on and that there is a
secret hiding. I think that there are loads of strengths of my colour correction here as they are all very subtle yet have obvious differences when you look
closely. You can also get a different vibe from each colour which is what my aim was when changing the colours. There aren't that many weaknesses however
you could maybe say that I haven't played around with out colours as I only really used blue and green however I did that as I knew they were the kind of
colours I needed to bring out certain emotions and feelings in my audience. I think that many of these colours look like ones used in the four films that I
researched for my secondary product research as they all used similar colours and shading to bring out emotions and feelings in each of their shots.
What elements of your experiments will you include in your final product?
I will definitely take many elements of this experiment into my final product as its not something that I have ever focused on before when editing. I am going
to use either the dark blue or dark green colour when I edit my footage as they both show that thee is a ‘secret’ or something is ‘hiding’. I also think that the
colours show uncertainty and sadness which is what the audience should feel when watching my film. I will decide for definite when I have shot the footage
and I edit it as the lighting and colors in the shot will effect what I decide as I don’t want it to be too dark or too off coloured. I have definitely learnt more
about changing the colours on PremierPro as its something that I can use again and again when editing footage or stills. I think that the colours I have chosen
represent the feeling of my film much more than for example, red, as that may signify evil or love and neither of tem relate to my films or the way I want my
audience to feel.

5. SoundWhat was your Process?
To do my experiment in sound I used the Adobe software to edit music and sound effects. I downloaded music from online royalty free music
websites and imported it into Audition. I had never used Audition before and therefore it was just a case of getting to know the software on my
own and finding out al the things that I could do without any help. First of all I took a clip and starting changing the length or cutting parts out of
he middle so that It was shorter altogether but still had a beginning and end. Then I changed the volume of specific parts to get the effect
wanted for that section of the audio. I did this with multiple different tracks, an audio track of someone speaking, a song and a sound effect. As
you can see in the photographs below I changed the tracks from what they were like on the top, to how they looked underneath. They changed
dramatically and therefore will have a different overall effect in my film and on the audience as if I left them unchanged. I definitely learnt a lot
about audition as I had no information about it before and know feel like I can use it to a certain level. The reason I chose to use Audition for
this was because I do not know how to play any musical instruments and this means that I am not very good at using BeepBox or GarageBand as
they contain instruments and therefore I cannot create a good tune. Although I have to use pre-existing tracks I do think that it is effective for my
film and audience as it means that they will be of a better quality than if I were to make them as I cant do it at all. I do however put my own spin
on it by editing it and changing it to so that it fits the exact needs that I have planned for. I think that my sound experiments were strong as I am
able to put my own spin on music or sound effects whilst keeping them audible and usable despite myself not being good at music. However the
obviously weakness would be the limitations that it put on it myself as I cant create, write or make music and therefore I can only go so far when
changing it without absolutely ruining it.
What elements of your experiments will you include in your final product?
I will definitely use many of the techniques that I learnt on Audition for when I edit my film as I need to make sure that the sound is as good as
possible as that is were I have fallen down in the past. I will always edit the sounds to my satisfaction before putting it on PremierPro so that I’ve
made them my own and so that they fit the right tone and feeling for each particular scene.
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