First Rough Cut!

Here it is!

Your first look at what my final piece will look like.

There is still many issues with editing and titles, but they are things I plan to improve in each rough cut.

I will be producing a series of rough cuts (most of which will only change slightly), with different music tracks in order to test which music track works best.

For now, enjoy!

Rough Cut 1 - Snowdrop Soundtrack from Elleah Stanton on Vimeo.

Missing A Lesson

After missing my media studies lesson today due to being out of school I have not had the chance to update my rough cut.
I will be using one of my free periods this week to catch up. I plan to test different soundtracks to see which one fits best. Also I want to insert the titles into the sequence and figure out where to put them.

Until then,
Elleah

Editing Techniques

I have been researching the various different editing techniques.

Graphic Match -

 A cut between two objects or situations that are a similar in action to each other, suggesting a link or strong connection between the two.
I have not filmed with this technique in mind, however if I was going to use this in my title sequence, I would film maybe a shot of a knife sawing backwards and forwards and a shot of my protagonist brushing their teeth in the same motion.

Action Match - 

 When two shots are used to show the same action, creating a fluid cut.
I will be using this throughout my title sequence in order to have high continuity.

Motivated Cut -

When a cut from one shot to another is motivated by events or dialogue in the first shot.
This is not something I will be using in my title sequence because my character is meant to be completely unaffected (unmotivated) by the corpses and torture tools around him.

Jump Cut - 

Two sequential shots of the same subject are taken using shots that vary very little. It gives the effect of skipping through a short period of time.
I didn't intend to use this in the first place however after looking through my footage, some of the shots are quite long, so I will cut them once or twice to shorted the action. 

Cross Cut - 

When drama is happening in two different shots that are obviously happening at the same time. This is used to show a link between the two embedded narratives.
I will not be using this in my title sequence as I am focusing on the life of one character and putting another narrative alongside the original one could divert from the focus of his life.
If I was going to use this then I would probably take close up shots of blood dripping and weave them into the original footage.

Superimpose - 

When another shot is layered over the top of the original shot. Commonly used to suggest previous events linking to the main shot or even thoughts of the character.
I will not be using this technique as I think it looks tacky, and lightly unprofessional.

Piecing the Puzzle

I have finished inserting my shots into the timeline on Premier Pro. They are all in order and all the shots I need are there so I will not need to re-shoot any of them. This is a large bonus as it would of been a lot to ask of my actors to come to re-shoot, and it would take a long time to create the setting again just for a few shots. So I am very pleased!

The soundtrack (Snowdrop) is also inserted, however I have not decided yet that this is my final choice on music.

Between each shot I have inserted a short black space for approx. 2 seconds. I did not anticipate this however when I tried it I really liked how it looked. I am thinking of putting the titles in these gaps so that they can be seen clearly.

That's all for now!

Uploading and Selecting

So, today I uploaded all of my footage onto the media server! (how exciting).

I have been sifting through them and sorting them into bloopers/bad shots and then shots that actually work. So far all of the shots that I need are present however I am only half way through looking at them. I was worried that they would be wobbly; some of them are slightly wobbly but this is only due to the fact that I was holding the camera. I was unable to use the tripod in a lot of the shots due to restrictions in the location. Despite filming them hand held, they are surprisingly not too wobbly if I do say so myself...

Revisiting Music

I have found a couple of tracks on incompetech.com which are possibilities for the soundtrack to my sequence:
Gymnopedie No.3
Snowdrop

Blue Feather

Brandenburg Concerto No.4

FILMING DONE

Corpse, Director, Serial Murderous Psychopath

Well, today has been a long day, getting up at the crack of dawn so that we could shoot whilst it was still light and spending all day shooting every shot.
I filmed each shot more than once even if I thought it was okay so that I have some to choose from when I am in the editing stages.
Overall I am very pleased with the outcome, I have looked over all the shots on the camera and they all seem to be present/not wobbly. However, I will need to take another hard look at them when I have uploaded them onto the media server in sixth form and choose which shot works best.

Preparations For Tomorrow

I have prepared a hollywood-style snack bar for my actors!

Also, here are the tools that I will be covering with blood tomorrow.

Savior Laura, Blood, Location and Props

Laura Saves the Day

The person who was supposed to be bringing in the camera for me to use today didn't turn up, which left me in a very difficult decision as there was no more cameras. However Laura has given me her camera and tripod for me to use for my shooting tomorrow. I was going to have to reschedule the shoot which would of been a disaster as my actors have to travel a long way and its been planned for a while. So, thank you Laura! 

Blood in the Making

I don't have have any fake blood! So I have resorted to making my own. With corn flour and food colouring generously provided by Rhiann, I managed to mix together a liquid that resembles blood. I am aware my blood does not look completely blood-like however it is the best I can do with the resources I have.

This will be used to put on DIY tools and in various places around my setting.

Location Cleaning!

Today, I have also prepared my location by tidying and cleaning the surfaces of the room. I have also taken out all the homely objects (sorry dad) to make it look professional and slick.

Props Everywhere

I have now got my blood-resembling juice and will soon be getting my tools from my garage.

Preliminary Testing

I have completed a very short preliminary task I set myself. I decided to put my institution logos, titles with their transition effects and music together in Premier Pro to get an idea of the mood and tone, and how my final product may look. Obviously my final video will look completely different as it will have actual footage in. But for now, this has given me a good insight into my possibilities with the software and music.

Preliminary Titles from Elleah Stanton on Vimeo.

Prop Collecting

I have begun my hunt for my props. So far I have collected blood stained cloth, a work bag, toothbrush, mobile phone and sleep mask.

I hope to find some blood-coloured juice very soon.

Disaster!

Three of my original 'dead women' have dropped out due to circumstances out of my control. I still have one remaining actor, Ellie, who can still do it. My mum is going to be my back up plan if I cant find anyone else to do it. If I can't then I am going to need to use Ellie as two different people. Since for some shots I only need one leg hanging out of the shower, I will use Ellie twice.

Action Match!

More Early Starts

I have now started creating the titles that will appear on my title sequence. I have typed them up in a large Birch Std Regular font as they look sophisticated and dramatic.

After filming and putting together the shots I may find that I need to change the colour, size and position on them to make sure they look right against the shot. For example if the shot has quite bright lighting then the font needs to be darker, or if the title is obscuring a vital object in the mise en scene of the shot then it will need to be moved.

Location Scouting

Location 3

This is where I will film the shots of him leaving the house.

 Again, I will be tidying and removing all family-orientated objects to make the setting as professional and perfect as possible.

Early Starts

Due to the fact that I have not got much work left to do in my lessons, I have decided to start some of my editing to fill in the time period between planning and shooting.
Today I have imported the logos for Lions gate and New Line Cinema on Premier Pro CS6.

Preliminary Footage

Using my iPhone, I recorded the shots that I have planned out in my storyboard, just without my actors in them. I did this to get a proper feel for what my final product might look like.

I used a free editing website called wevideo.com as I did this at home and didn't have any professional software. I also added in a soundtrack that I am considering using, along with the title and the institutions.

The Title of My Film

After many hours of deliberation, I have decided on a name for my film!

The Art of Madness

I feel like this suits the tone of my film as it expresses the crazy, psychopathic nature of my character and his life. It also displays how the character has a certain passion for killing, as if it was a type of art form of which he expresses repeatedly.



Location Scouting

Location 2

This is another location I am using for my title sequence.

  This is the kitchen that I will use for the scene where he is getting juice, then for the shots of him walking off out  of the room, leading to the shots of him leaving his house.

  This will be the fridge that I will be using for the shots where he is getting blood-red orange juice, which is placed next to a severed human part.
To increase verisimilitude, I need to remove all homely objects due to the fact that my character doesn't have a family and is very modern.

 I took this picture to show what one of my shots will look like, as I am shooting him walking out of the kitchen to the door.

Breakdown of Titles

After looking at the title sequences I researched, I have devised an average pattern of the titles of cast and crew members.

This post will also show the names of my cast and crew for my project:

Production Studio - Lionsgate Logo

Distributed by - New Line Cinema

Main Actor - Kieran Gray

Supporting Actors - Abbi Laidler, Ellie Nixon, Rebecca Connor

Casting  - Tyler Durden

Costume - Abigail Brown

Music - John Cale

Editor - Elleah Stanton

Co Producers - Quentin Tarantino and Michael Mann

Executive Producer - George Lucas

Producer - John Landis

Written by - Stanley Kubrick

Director - Elleah Stanton

Side Note:

I have decided to use New Line Cinema as my distributor as they distributed Se7en which contains the a large amount of gore, just like my film will.

Location Scouting

Back to Location 1

I have taken some videos on my iPhone to test the lighting and the setting.

IMG 6599 from Elleah Stanton on Vimeo.


IMG 6595 from Elleah Stanton on Vimeo.


IMG 6594 from Elleah Stanton on Vimeo.


IMG 6600 from Elleah Stanton on Vimeo.

Production Schedule

Here is a short run through of the dates for when each stage must be completed. This is the same for all the media students. The only day that I have added is the day that I plan to shoot the entire title sequence. This could be tricky however it must be done as getting my actors to the location is very hard. Also, it needs to be at the weekend due to the fact that the days get dark very quickly and I need it to be bright and morning. This makes it hard if I forget to shoot one shot or if one shot does not look very good. To prevent this from happening I will use a shot log to make sure I shoot all the right things. I will also film each shot at least 3 times so that I have a range of shots to choose from. This was something that I did not do in my previous project which left me with 'gnarly' shots that didn't quite look right.

By 5th January - All planning complete including call sheets, storyboards and scenario
6th - 31st January  - All shooting complete and uploaded onto the media server ready for editing.
17th January-Shooting Day
3rd - 14th Febuary - First draft edit complete and uploaded onto vimeo for teacher/peer feedback.
15th Feb - 7th March - Final cut complete, feedback logged and reviewed.

Props!

Hello again!

Over the Christmas holidays I have been very busy at work researching and planning my title sequence. I have now compiled an almost complete list of the props that I need.
These include:
Socks
Toothbrush
Red Orange Juice (This is going to resemble blood)
Fake Blood
Some kind of severed body part
Sleep mask
Towel
Mobile Phone
Wallet
Knife
Briefcase
Large black Coat
Tools, (saw and scalpel)
Designer aftershave
Yoga book/ books on self improvement

The purpose of half of these props is to create the idea that my protagonist is a wealthy, handsome perfectionist. The other half are to display his psychotic tendencies.