UPDATE JUNE 14TH, 2012: egs from your work
I'm doing this from memory (so may not be 100% accurate!), but some egs from each group's A2 work (remember to contrast each point with the comparative weakness of AS work for Q1a) that would help to illustrate analysis on this. As I've had a quick think about each one I've listed arising points below...
(1) Consider the variation between your rough cuts and sample footage with the final cut;
(2) give egs of how you used web 2.0 features to get aud feedback which influenced changes made(being specific with the impact this had on shots/editing style/ideas).
(3) Discuss how you were guided (or not) by existing vids;
(4) Discuss whether you continued with research as you edited.
(5) Discuss whether you worked as an auteur or collaboratively on editing. Don't get personal here; you're writing an academic essay. But it is potentially a very useful point. Give detail on any creative differences.
(6) Did you use more FX than in AS? Did you experiment with but abandon further FX? Did you experiment with colouring distortion at all? What AS FX did you use - be clear on this to show the difference.
(7) How/why did you select shots + parts of frame to layer in? Were you influenced by specific vids or directors (Anton Corbijn?) Did you include animated movement with any layering?
(8) Does your final vid deviate further from storyboard/animatic than final AS did (ie, was editing a more creative process)?
(9) What practical problems did you experience through post-production? (don't get bogged down in a negative rant, but you could briefly address issues with crashing, failing hard drives [and failing to responsibly back up!] where appropriate - compare to greater issues working with mini-DV tapes though)
(10) Were your ideas more abstract; your narrative approach more non-linear; your editing showing discontinuity features? Did you avoid closed narrative to make your vid better suited to multiple viewings?
(11) Did any single change from one cut to the next make a particular difference (eg the final shot in HBK's vid)?
(12) Were reshoots/additional shoots necessary ... and/or possible? Did this new footage change the signified reading of existing material and/or provide the extra exposition needed for an audience to be more likely to follow your preferred reading? (perhaps you were able to use shots intended to signify one thing to something quite different?) How did audience feedback differ from the first cut featuring this new footage compared to your previous rough cut?
(13) Were you able to work round any lack of shot variety (or improve shaky footage) by using FCE tools (eg creating CUs using zoom tool)?
(14) Any tension between target aud and song type (espec if ballad)?
(15) Did you take out (or reframe) any shots which didn't fit with your aud/theme/mood (eg shots of alcohol, or swearing)? [see 18 too]
(16) Did you create any matched cuts through editing that weren't originally planned?
(17) Were your ideas more ambitious at A2; influenced by the extra possibilities FCE offered?
(18) Was there a tension between genre expectations and your own views on representations? [most at AS stuck with basic gender stereotypes fitting archetypal character roles] eg Blazing Grace took out some shots which focussed on performers' bodies in isolation (objectifying the female performer; male gaze)
(19) Would your vid have worked as performance or narrative alone, or was this blend (contrast to AS remember) key?
(20) How did you create verisimilitude through editing? (eg, perhaps you had to experiment with different lines/takes to get closer fit for lipsynching on some lines?)
(21) Re feedback, did it matter/make any difference whether or not the sample aud were genre fans? What aspect/s of your editing/vid did you retain despite critical feedback?
(22) Did you leave yourself enough time to edit as best you could; did any comparative weaknesses/failings through the R+P (pre-production and main production phases) handicap your editing?
(23) Was decision-making around the balancing of performance/narrative footage (plus pace and general narrative sequencing) as important as the FX used?
(24) If you look back to your AS, did you start the A2 editing thinking such accomplished work was likely/achievable (ie, did your ambitions grow once you entered post-production?)? Did viewing past coursework spur you on at all?
(25) Did you experiment with colouring? [many of you applied blue or red filters at AS, and/or B+W/sepia...]
- HBK/NiN: the concept was abstract from the outset; closed, heavily anchored readings were not the intention. Storyboards only served as rough ideas, and the concept only fully emerged through the process of editing. The final shot, of the eyes opening, utterly transforms the overall reading though, switching from an overly downbeat narrative hinting at suicide to an ending hinting at hope and revival. The genre, and style of previous NiN videos (give examples tied to specific parts of your work), was a key influence on creative decision-making. The process of multiple layering also led you further away from anchorage; narrative enigma not only fitted with the genre and track atmospherics, but also helps make a music video open to multiple viewings without becoming dull. Applying a standard linear narrative, using Todorov's structure, wouldn't help with this
- Mellie/N'Sync: did you test out different endings, experiment with polysemy v anchorage of ending? How did your idea of ending change/get redrafted through editing as opposed to the original footage shot? Did you add further footage following on from feedback on rough cuts (I'm sure you did, can't rem the details)? Did you initially have an issue with repetition due to insufficient coverage or insufficient range of setups? Why did you re-edit the shot of Charlie with whiskey bottle, and did you have to manipulate existing shots (creating artificial zoom in FCE rather than taking new shots perhaps?) given that the main shoot was over and access to performers difficult? What difference did layering make when you began to add that? How/why did you select shots + parts of frame to layer in? Discuss the issue of pace and length of takes - any tension between target audience and song type (youth - ballad)? How were you influenced by existing vids?
- NUmusic/Robbie Williams - your journey was from a fairly literal and linear initial cut to a more abstracted, non-linear final cut: why? Discuss the process of tweaking many individual shots, adjusting (and cutting) to minimise shakiness and adjusting aspect ratio - could you have done this with AS (iMovie06)? You also created additional shot variety by artificial zooms through FCE. Your post-production additional/re-shoot options were limited by the children, but you did get some extra performer footage; discuss that. Would an additional setup with each of the three pairs have helped the edit? Did you seek to create 'matched cuts' that weren't in your original (linear) plan/storyboard/animatic? Did you cut any shots (handprint...) which were flagged as inappropriate?! How/why did you select shots + parts of frame to layer in, and what feedback did you get once these began to be added?
- Swillob/Muse - your initial sample footage and final cut are very different; discuss the journey and why this was. Each of you experienced extensive AS reshoots; what did you learn from that experience that you applied to the A2 post-production process? How/why did you select shots + parts of frame to layer in? What FX did you use and why (easy comparison with AS)? Did you experiment with but abandon further FX? Was there any tension/point of difference between general audience feedback and Muse fan feedback (accessed through web 2.0 sites?)? Were your ideas more ambitious at A2; influenced by the extra possibilities FCE offered?
- Blazing Grace/Destiny's Child: at what stage did you decide to shoot extra footage, and why? Did this new footage (ducks!) change the signified reading of existing material and/or provide the extra exposition needed for an audience to be more likely to follow your preferred reading? How did audience feedback differ from the first cut featuring this new footage compared to your previous rough cut? One of your key editing issues was how far to go with the objectification of your female performers: you took out a shot which showed Sophie's legs in isolation [objectification makes dehumanising] - why; did this make any difference to feedback; were you applying learning from AS here? Was there a tension between genre expectations and your own views on representations? Was sharing editing duties problematic - were there creative differences? What, specifically, makes your editing here superior to that on the AS? Layering a key factor.
- BY NOW I'VE ADDED 18 POINTS ABOVE, SO I'LL BE BRIEFER....
- Sublime Transcendence/Sunburnt in December: Colour distortion of the 'creature' - discuss! Would your vid have worked as performance alone? Taking out swearing + Conor urinating. Did you include animated movement with any layering? What issues did you face with the genre convention of very fast pace/short takes? Given the extreme nature of the music, was feedback from non-genre fans notably less useful? What aspect/s of your editing/vid did you retain despite critical feedback? Did you leave yourself enough time to edit as best you could; did any comparative weaknesses/failings through the R+P (pre-production and main production phases) handicap your editing?
- HayeFattie/Girls Aloud: The alcohol bottles and how you got around that. Issues of representation: framing the female performers. The wide array of FX trialled and how you decided which to use/reject, including the diverse audience types you got feedback from. Changing the ending. Were the FX the key part of your creativity here, or were any changes to pace/length of takes/shot variation and/or the narrative sequencing and balancing between narrative/performance as important? If you look back to your AS, did you start the A2 editing thinking such accomplished work [its worth noting the charity accolade] was likely/achievable (ie, did your ambitions grow once you entered post-production?)? Did viewing past coursework spur you on at all?
- TwoTwigs/Swing Movement: Your balance between performance and narrative changed dramatically from your initial edit; the competition success of your performance-only cut is also relevant here. By the final cut, was the balance right, and what guided this decision-making process to (re-)shoot additional material? Changes made to shot angle of raw footage (too extreme dutch angles). Open ending to A2 vid compared to AS? You could briefly reflect on how this would have turned out (how pre-production influences post-production) if you'd stuck fully to original ideas.
• How much of your text was ‘created’ only in post-production?Consider the Digital technology topic in particular when you're working on this one.
• What technologies did you use to modify your raw material. How did this change the meaning of your work?
• How much did you manipulate sync sound or create new sound for your text? What effect did that have on your text?
• How much of your footage ended up ‘on the cutting room floor’ (unused) and why?
Some points I'll address below:
iMOVIE 06 v FCE 4
AUTEUR + COMBINING DIRECTING/EDITING
THE DIRECTOR'S CUT
IMPACT + SPREAD OF NEW MEDIA
AUDIENCE FEEDBACK
'SALVAGING' WEAK FOOTAGE
RE-SHOOTS
DRAFTING
PACE/TIMING is frequently a key factor and influence on Media coursework post-production
TIME LIMITS: HELPFUL?
EXPOSITION
You should not write a long intro for any DCRUP topic. HOWEVER, a BRIEF summary of what you did at AS and A2 should be your starting point:
At AS I created the opening two minutes of a new feature film (following on from a basic preliminary task), working within the slasher sub-genre of horror. I stuck with this genre/I chose [genre] at A2, creating a teaser trailer/short film.
iMOVIE 06 v FCE 4 What influence did the differing software have on your editing? Did FCE enable you to more adventurous or ambitious; excercise more finesse/finer control? [to answer such questions you need to think of specific scenes/shots/effects in BOTH your AS and A2 productions to do a compare/contrast, and cite some specific tools/features in the contrasting software]
AUTEUR + COMBINING DIRECTING/EDITING The auteur concept is also useful here: editing is a specialist role and many directors will oversee but have limited hands-on involvement with editing. Consider examples of directors who do their own editing. There are also many famous director/editor teams, who spark debates over who actually has most influence over the final shape of a film. There is a useful wiki on this, including a hyperlinked list of notable examples:
The history of Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola's infamous war epic, makes for an interesting case study: years in the making, his editor unquestionably deserves much of the credit for this sprawling opus (the director's cut lasts a whopping 202mins!).Film critic Walter Kerr has argued that editing is comparable in its importance to directing itself, and should be credited as such.[1] Quentin Tarantino has been quoted as saying, "The best collaborations are the director-editor teams, where they can finish each other's sentences," and that his own editor, Sally Menke, is his "only, truly genuine collaborator."[2]Crediting the editing of a film is made more difficult by the fact that the relative contributions of the director and the editor vary enormously. At one extreme lies the old Hollywood studio system; as described by Lizzie Francke, this was the "period when the editor was often left to his or her own devices in the cutting room. The pressures of production turn-over during the hey-day of the studio system often meant that the director could not be around to supervise since they were on to their next production."[3][4][5] At the other extreme lie "auteur" directors who personally edit their own films. The Coen Brothers are a contemporary example. Cecil B. DeMille's silent films (through 1918) provide an early one.[6]
The director's cut has become a standard method for squeezing further profit out of films (first the vanilla DVD releae, then the special edition, then the director's cut, and maybe the ultimate edition), showing that at a basic level the public recognises the importance of editing.
The flipside to this is the lack of control many directors have over the edit, which the studios will often oversee with little or no involvement of the director, who may be working on a new project while post-production is carried out. Orson Welles famously wrote an anguished 58 page to the head of Universal when he saw how the studio's edit had butchered his vision for Touch of Evil (1958) [wiki on this; in-depth article on how two famous editors re-cut the film in 1998, after Welles' death, using this memo as their guide - a fairly unique 'director's cut']
During the AS-toA2 period, and again at the start of the year, I suggested to you that you could cut a new version using FCE; an extended director's cut. If you did, you can certainly discuss any differences.
This document further explores the role of the director, and in so doing so discusses the role of the editor:
Becoming a Film Director: How to Break Into The Industry
IMPACT + SPREAD OF NEW MEDIA Digital recording + editing kit has become affordable and accessible, with Macs in particular introducing many to the art of film-making and editing with its iLife package (iMovie, IDVD, Garageband etc) bundled, while on PCs the basic Windows MovieMaker software also comes bundled. Never mind camcorders at under £100, most mobile phones now have the ability to shoot video (see this post on the 1st iPhone movie). The bedroom editor is arguably poised to become as prominent as the bedroom music producers who have long been established as part of the music biz, especially within the dance (and remix) genre.
See Colin, the £45 UK horror feature that made it to Cannes! [wiki]
Audience feedback is a factor in post-production; consider how you've sought out feedback (eg using YouTube, Facebook at A2?) in ways that wouldn't have existed not so long ago! Did you find yourself speeding up the pace (or slowing down), for example, following audience feedback? How many unique 'cuts' did you produce in addition to the final cut?
'SALVAGING' WEAK FOOTAGE Has editing enabled you to 'rescue' some quite poor footage? You might have shots of ciolence, for example, in which the victim grins or simply shots with poor acting; the longer such a shot is on screen, the more evident its flaws become. By a process of intercutting with other footage you may have been able to largely disguise the flaws in these shots.
RE-SHOOTS Not a topic to get too caught up in, but even the studios will sometimes find it necessary to order (invariably very costly) re-shoots once a rough cut is in; did you likewise have to arrange some? Did you make alterations to your narrative during the editing process (depending on how you cut footage, it is possible to radically change the intended meaning, or reading, often as a consequence of audience feedback). There have definitely been quite a few examples of major changes made to the 'official' narrative following some of your feedback sessions, with audience reaction providing some oppositional readings which in some cases you've simply taken on board and worked with rather than trying to change the cut to better fit your original meaning.
DRAFTING How extensive was your drafting? Did you abandon any storyboarded scenes? [as always be specific, and give some denotative detail] Why?
PACE/TIMING is frequently a key factor and influence on Media coursework post-productionTIME LIMITS: HELPFUL? Did you find that the effective time/length limitations (opening 2mins; up to 5min short; circa 30-90sec teaser) actually had a positive effect on your post-production work, by forcing you to be more selective, and more ruthless in rejecting unnecessary material?
EXPOSITION A useful term to consider: EXPOSITION. How did you enhance the exposition [detail on the plot, characters, backstory] provided through post-production? This includes music - you have probably signified a hero/villain through appropriate music, and generally tried to manipulate an audience's emotional response. Perhaps you recorded an unplanned voiceover? Or engaged in some overdubbing? Maybe you simply re-ordered some footage, or used titles to add exposition; anchor your preferred reading?
SOME INDUSTRY CONVENTIONS IN SUM:
- the look, feel and even the narrative can be utterly transformed during the post-production process, recognised through the marketing of 'director's cut' releases
- it is not uncommon for feature film directors to have little involvement with editing, however, with studios seeking to control the shape of the final cut (few directors are able to insist on having the power of final cut)
- the increasing affordability and accessibility of digital recording and editing kit has seen a boom in micro-budget film-making, with the director/editor roles often combined, including financially successful feature films such as the £45 Colin
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