3. Brief Project Explanation
In this project I plan to film and edit a continuity sequence that builds to a tense
climax. I’ll be using filming and editing techniques to maintain an interesting and
engaging imagery. I’ve decided to make the main plot based on The Bloody Mary,
a folklore character, thus some of my editing techniques and shots will be
thriller/horror-like.
To meet the goal's requirements and needs, I have to firstly establish, shoot, and
cut a sequence that shows different elements of continuity editing. Later, I'll
define the continuity editing I employed, evaluate its effectiveness, and identify
places for improvements.
The clip exhibits my comprehension of the following 5 media techniques: match
on action, eyeline match, cross cutting, shot/reverse shot, the 180-degree rule.
4. Further explanation of the shots used
Shot/reverse shot
The shot/reverse shot film technique involves two
characters or objects, typically with one on the left and
one on the right side of the screen.
This technique is often used for dialogue scenes to
indicate who is speaking, as well as to provide insight
into each character through their body language and
facial expressions. In most cases, there are
continuous shots without any editing cuts from either
character’s perspective.
The term was coined by Sergei Eisenstein in 1925
while working as a director for his first sound film
Strike (1925).
5. Further explanation of the shots used
The 180-degree rule
The 180-degree rule in cinematography states that the
camera should stay on one side of an imaginary line
between characters. When you keep your camera on
one side of this imaginary line, you preserve the
left/right relationship of your characters and help the
audience maintain a sense of visual consistency. This
means that no matter what type of shot you use, the
viewer still knows where everyone in the scene is
located. Breaking the 180-degree rule is known as a
"reverse cut.” The jarring nature of a reverse cut may
disorient the viewer, so when it occurs somewhere, it’s
used to communicate a specific message.
6. Further explanation of the shots used
Close-up shot
A close-up shot is a type of camera shot size in film
and television that adds emotion to a scene. It tightly
frames an actor’s face, making their reaction the
main focus in the frame. The director of
photography films a close-up with a long lens at a
close range. This allows the actor to establish a
strong emotional connection with the audience, and
the audience to intimately see details in the
subject’s face they wouldn’t see otherwise in a wide
shot, long shot, or full shot.
7. Further explanation of the shots used
Cross cutting
In film editing, crosscutting describes the video editing
technique of switching back and forth between scenes,
often giving the impression that the action occurring in
different locations is unfolding at the same moment.
Also known as parallel editing, this technique dates
back to director Edwin S. Porter’s The Great Train
Robbery of 1903. It’s usually used to create suspense,
to state a point and/or to play with space and time.
8. Further explanation of the shots used
Wide shot
A wide shot, also referred to as a long shot, is a
camera angle that shows the entire object or person
and their relation to what surrounds them. The wide
shot lets the audience absorb all the information at
once. The wide shot can feature a number of
characters and allows the audience to read their body
language and see how they interact with each other.
9. Further explanation of the shots used
Mid-shot/medium shot
The medium shot is a great way to capture both the details of and actors performance and their surroundings. The
distance from the subject means you can frame up multiple actors at once, and capture everything they are doing
in the scene.
10. Further explanation of the shots used
Match on action
A match on action cut (also referred to as cutting on
action) is a type of film transition that cuts from one
shot to a closer shot in order to emphasize an action.
Match on action cuts are used by filmmakers to
generate seamless flow in editing. Match on action
cuts are also an important part of continuity editing.
11. Further explanation of the shots used
Eyeline match
Eyelines are determined by where an actor looks
during a scene. They can help inform viewers of the
scene's geography, as well as conveying actors'
relationships and moods. Eyelines are also a powerful
tool for telling a story through visuals and directing the
eyes of the audience to portions of the frame.
12. Preliminary Task Synopsis
The story appears in a house in Belgrade. After two girls have been on their
phones for a while, one of them giggles and the other is curious. The giggling girl
then proceeds to make a challenge called The Bloody Merry with her friend, even
though she knows the other girl is not a big fan of these things. Still, she leads
her friend to the bathroom and locks her there, promising things are going to be
ok and she’ll let her go once she finishes the challenge. Then, she herself turn
the lights of and scares her friend. After that, she apologizes.
17. Actors
Serena plays
a ‘bad girl’,
the second
girl. She’s a
troublemaker
and likes to
make fun of
her friend,
but feels
sorry every
time
afterwards.
Bobby, on the
other hand,
plays a ‘good
girl’, the first
girl. She
believes in
supernatural
and is very
careful when
it comes to
playing with
folklore
creatures.
19. Overall, I’m satisfied with how my work turned out. If I had more time, however, I believe I
could’ve done better. It was the first time I was making something entirely by myself,
since before I used to do things in a Filming School for kids. Additionally, I’ve worked with
my friends and the two of them became actors for the first time, too. It was one of the
most challenging things, to work with friends. I do not blame them for this and I’m grateful
for their help, but for them this shooting day was something fun, meanwhile I was
stressing out. I began to film this short film two weeks before the winter break and the
deadline was coming for me, so I had to speed things up. When Bobby and Serena wanted
to laugh and joke, I had to remain my strict mood and push them to work - something I
didn’t really enjoy.
I think that my work met all of the requirements, since it contains all of the shooting
techniques I’ve mentioned. I’ve used match on action, eyeline match, cross cutting,
shot/reverse shot, the 180-degree rule, shot/reverse shot becoming my favourite. I don’t
think it was hard to maintain and face all of the rules, and I believe if I had a better camera
I could’ve done this work even better, increasing the sound and the video quality. Even
though it was supposed to be less then two minutes, I think my story is well-told and
honestly, I’m the one who made it look so fast-paced. It appears to me that if I had more
experience while creating this short film, it would be more than possible to delve into the
storytelling even deeper during the short time given.
Evaluation
20. Furthermore, the filming itself was chaotic. As I said, my friends were having fun while
acting, but my stubbornness took over and I wanted everything to go perfect, line by like
from the script, shot by shot from the storyboard. My friends, obviously, are not the
professional well-trained actors who know how to keep a straight face, so we had to take a
lot of retakes they were laughing so much. Time, everything always cuts to the fact that
you always need more time. It is still a pleasant experience and this task gifted me
unforgettable memories with my friends - something truly worth repeating.
After running and rushing during the filming day, editing day was the most calm for me. It
was easy to edit, too, since I didn’t have any extravaganza shoots and most of them I knew
how to edit, how to bring this entire film together. My idea, thankfully, didn’t change much
and the script didn’t have any changes, I managed to stick to it and do the best I can to tell
the story I wanted to depict. However, for the editing and the filming I had to make a
research, to revise all the shots I wanted to use. The research is shown in this same
presentation.
21. So, I believe that this project made a great impacts on my skills, from better understanding
of why time management is needed, to expanding my lexis. Before this project I wouldn’t
be able to be that specific with the terms, and that improved and will help me on the exam
for the movie analisis.
The End
