Post Producion: Editing Main Footage

We have now begun our editing process. To begin we created a rough edit of our main footage by simply, cutting and placing the clips in the right order according to our storyboard. Below is the result of this.

Whilst editing red lines will appear above your sequence, this means you need to render your footage.

To do so, scroll over the 'Sequence' tab at the the top and then click 'Render'

Footage needs to be rendered when it is altered therefore it is usually best if you render after a few steps as otherwise rendering may take quite a while.

A technique I used in some clips was altering the speed to slow it down. This can create a more dramatic and emotional feel. Also if it is cut next to another clip which is much faster, a comparison is made and tension can be created. First of all, scroll over 'Modify' up the top and the click on 'Speed...'.

Next this box will appear, in which you can reduce the speed from 100 percent to a lower number for it to be slower or increase the number for it to become faster. Also here you can reverse a clip by ticking the tick box next to 'Reverse' this can give a disorientating feel if put back to back with the original clip, like we have done in the start of our opening with the trees. 

Post Production: Importing Footage

To import footage, first of all remove the SD card from the camera and place it into the Mac. Then iPhoto will pop up showing the clips. Select the clips you would like to import and click 'Import Selected' or if you want all the clips then simply click 'Import All'. Below is our footage in the process of being imported.

Once the footage has imported it will ask if you want to keep the photos. It is best to click 'Keep Photos' so that you can see more clearly what is involved in each clip when editing. As shown below.

Next drag the imported footage from iPhoto onto the desktop. This ensures that your footage is saved. I then made the decision to make a folder with all the footage in to keep the desktop tidier. 

After that, open up Final Cut Express and drag the footage into the browser window. The footage is now ready to be edited. Remember to save your project at this point.

Post Production: Second Take

We have had to postpone our re-film several times due to our cast members having other events to attend and unexpected heavy snow. The weather conditions were not suitable to film as there would be footprints in the snow and this would not convey a secluded location like we had planned for our opening.

Update: We have no re-filmed which has resulted in much better footage. Now we can begin the construction process.

Post Production: First Take

When looking through our footage of the first take, we have noticed a few flaws amongst our work.

A bag could be seen in the distance which does not fit in with the location being secluded. Therefore this clip would not be as effective.

Holeigh's feet can be seen here. This meant that to make the clip work it had to be cut short in editing and ended up looking rushed.

In numerous clips the tripod can be seen in the background when we are at this angle. This results in the clips not being realistic and effective. Also even when cut short in editing it does not work as well as we would of hoped.

Another fault was that the camera we used was on auto-exposure. Therefore the lighting changed frequently throughout and picked up on aspects that did not need to be. For example, the two clips above are consecutive yet have completely different lightening.

Despite these technical difficulties we managed to construct a rough edit.

We decided some parts did not look how we initially wanted them too. For example there is a clip showing each of the friends emotions through extreme close ups, what has gone on is not clear to the audience and it does not look very effective. From this we came up with the idea of adding in clips of a newspaper article of Josh's death and pictures of Josh looking happy being crossed out. This would create a sense of tension and make it clearer to the audience to what the film is about. Also we feel the 'person' watching the friends needs to play more of a role in the opening. Therefore we are going to add in some footage of the friends through the trees and running away through woodlands with the camera. This will make the whole thing seem more creepy. With all this took into account, the faults mentioned above and the rough edit only being roughly one minute long, we are going to re-film.

Production: Filming

Today we got the footage for our opening. We worked well as a group and the chosen actors/actresses were very cooperative. Soon we will begin looking over our footage and making choices upon editing in post-production.

Sorting out the mise en scene was vital in our opening.

The tripod was set up for some shots.

We agreed to do some shots without the tripod.

The hand held effect would be more effective in our opening.

We were very pleased with our actors/actresses.

Planning: Shot List

Below is a list of all the types of camera shots that will be used in our opening and a summary of what will happen in them. This helps us to clearly show what should be happening in each clip without going into too much detail.

ELS = Extreme long shot 

LS = Long shot

MS = Mid shot

CU = Close up

ECU = Extreme close up

OSS = Over the shoulder shot

Shot 1: ELS - Establishing the secluded field as the location.
Shot 2: ELS - The 3 friends begin walking towards Josh's memorial.
Shot 3: LS -  The 3 friends reach Josh's memorial.
Shot 4: LS - A friend places the picture frame down.
Shot 5: CU - The objects at Josh's memorial are shown in more detail.
Shot 6: CU - A match is lit.
Shot 7: LS - The candle is lit and placed down.
Shot 8: ECU - Eye.
Shot 9: ECU - Nose.
Shot 10: ECU - Mouth.
Shot 11: LS - Friends walk over to where Josh's voice is coming from.
Shot 12: CU - iPhone is picked up.
Shot 13: OSS - Video of Josh at a party is watched.
Shot 14: MS - Friends look startled when they hear a sudden noise.
Shot 15: LS - Friends rush back over to Josh's memorial.
Shot 16: CU - The damaged objects are shown in detail.
Shot 17: MS - Their facial expressions are shown to portray feelings.
Shot 18: ELS - The friends are being 'watched' through the trees.

Planning: Storyboard for Opening

Below is our finished storyboard for our opening of iWatch. We will be using this in the filming process to help with camera shots, angles and movement as well as what is actually happening within each clip.


Edit: Before the start of the sequence show in the storyboard we plan on adding in clips of the woods to create suspense. Also in the middle of clips 8,9 and 10 we will add in some extra clips that make our opening more effective in the horror genre.