In this video I used a combination of different shots to show a person being chased.
There is a long shot of a person just sitting looking at their phone. There is no music at this point as no action has taking place so there is no need for the music.
As the door opens the song Funky Town plays. This is used to signify the entrance of the person who is supposed to be the the main villain. The sound of the door closing also signifies this as well.
As soon as the frame cuts to the down the stairs sequence, the action music begins. This signifies that the chase between these two characters has started.
The long shot of the staircase once again highlights the theme of a chase taking place. The slow motion jump required the use of Adobe After Effects. Unfortunately, the camera we were using didn't have a high enough frame rate so the slow motion looked a little juddered and not as smooth as I would have liked. In future productions this is definitely a consideration.
The effect this has however, is that the chase is intensifying in speed and the anticipation of the outcome is very effective at tension building.
This high angle mid shot was difficult to do because of how high the angle was. It was achieved by standing on a chair and holding the tripod at full extension above the actor. This is effective because of the way in which it shows a pursuit. The character looks from side to side to see the person he is chasing. This shot also reinforces the geographical location and how it is changing and reflects the way in which the chase/narrative is progressing.
The music that went along with the chase was effective as it continues throughout the whole sequence. Music also changes when developments happen in the narrative.
The use of the montages would not only help me to show the progression of the narrative but would also allow me to show the individual characters journey. For example when the villain enters through the door the short silence that follows is significant as it shows tension between the two characters.
On reflection it would have been better to show what was on the phone that the main protagonist was using. This could have possibly shown a wanted poster for the villain and maybe show the words "do not approach, very dangerous". This would have explained more about the narrative.
What I learned.
Throughout this task I learnt how to to produce a film trailer effectively:
- The amount of time spent filming was long compared to the amount of film that was finally produced, when I film my trailer I would need to allow a significant time to take into account re-shoots and transport.
- The actors had to be able to represent the desired characteristics of the character they were playing
- The camera angles had to represent the mood of the shot. This would easily convey the general feel of the film.
- Location matters!! If the location didn't reflect the overall feel of the film the trailer would appear childish and inaccurate.
- Continuity. Half way through the protagonists shoes change. This was due to the muddy conditions, while this is not too noticeable it lowers the professionalism of the film.
64-bit architecture
No longer restricted to the 4GB limit of 32-bit applications, Final Cut Pro uses all the RAM on a computer to handle larger frame sizes and keep more frames in memory. It is now possible to create more extensive projects and work with deeper, more interesting multi-layered effects.
GPU utilization
Final Cut Pro uses the high-speed GPU on the graphics card for effects, previews and rendering, so you can work with richer effects in real time. The GPU also enables background exporting, allowing you to deliver projects while editing.
Background processing As you edit, Final Cut Pro takes advantage of unused cycles in the background to execute a range of tasks including rendering, transcoding and moving media. Open the Background Tasks window to get a detailed display of active processes, and manually pause or cancel any background process with a click.
All of these new cutting edge programs and codecs mean that final cut is the most sophisticated editing software available.
I like the way that you have been creative in siting the camera to give variety and interest to your shots. You have undertaken some very useful editing practice and thought about the conventions of this kind of sequence. I would like you to look closely at a similar chase sequence (Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train has one that is on foot or you could look at any Bond movie) to look at other shots types and editing patterns you could make use of.
ReplyDeleteYou could rename this page planning. You need to set up the rest of your pages now too.
ReplyDeleteThis was such a useful preproduction task George. When you evaluate your final product make sure you reference this task and the skills you acquired from undertaking it. You might want to rename the tab to make it clear i.e. call it 'Planning task'
ReplyDelete