Dance Video - Editing Process Week 1

Now that we have successfully filmed and everything has gone to plan we move into the postproduction stage of this project. We began this the week commencing 24th April 2017 and began firstly by having a meeting as a whole group to discuss the details of the kind of edit we want to create. Here are the main points we discussed on Monday morning in our meeting:

Editing Meeting 1

Katherine is our groups editor as she and I both volunteered to do it but since I already have a large creative role as Director and Choreographer etc we let her take on this role as she can have more focus on it the whole way through the process. We did however say that even though she is editor we will obviously all participate with feedback and ideas etc so we are all happy with the final edit and so that we all get a say in this as we have all worked so hard on it so far. Katherine began by on Monday uploading and reviewing the footage which me and Sugini partook in swell. We were really impressed with the footage and getting to see some of it really inspired us so we then had our discussion/meeting about the edit. We began by discussing the style of the piece, we still agreed that we want it dark and edgy however we want it to still be continuity aware as well so that people can see the dance for how it was choreographed. We like the idea of adding in effects though, we want each phobia to be personalised with the effects but make some effects generic through out so it still flows as a whole piece.  For example we want a flashing effect in the Astraphobia section to represent lighting which will make it look more effective however effects like overlays which will make it more experimental will be used where needed throughout all the piece. Also we decided generally speaking that each phobia should be edited separately to begin with and the editing style should be slightly personalised to that phobia and then we will been them all afterwards. We decided Arachnophobia needed to be very quick cut and paced with a lot of jumping moments between long shots and close ups. We then decided claustrophobia would move slightly slowly but have a lot more mid and close up shots which will box the dance in to show claustrophobia. Then Astraphobia will be lot more long shots but will be cut to represent thunder and lighting suddenly exploding like the dancer. Katherine was happy with everything we discussed and spent the rest of the day logging clips and beginning to find the best footage to be used so me and Sugini left her to this.

Edit Meeting 2

On Tuesday Katherine assembled a rough cut herself for the Arachnophobia section based on what was said yesterday. Myself and Sugini then went in at 1:30pm once she had assembled something to see how it looked and how it reflected the phobia and what we had planned. I felt like it worked however because it was rough there was a few problems we addressed as a group. These were firstly some continuity issues with the dance which we worked together to fix. Then we looked at some of the speed and timing choices. I liked Kats approach of speeding up certain movements because it did make it seem more tense and fast like a spider however it was too much in some movements in my opinion so we went through and slowed some back down and just adjusted the speed in certain areas to make the effects flow within the piece rather than standing out too much. We then had quite a large issue with a part of this dance which was where we had filmed what was meant to be a jump scare because the camera pans away and then when it pans back the dancer is in a completely different place/position. However some how it had been overlooked that we had filmed a pan out for this but not a pan in which was confusing. I knew how to on Aftereffects create this camera movement effect however I didn't know if there was a way to do this on Avid. Kat said she was going to look into this and if it wasn't possible we came up with a new idea which was to use a glitching effect instead so have the piece glitch to an empty space then glitch to her suddenly in her new position. We didn't get round to putting this in but that is because Katherine is going to come back and do more advanced effects at the end once she has a rough cut done which makes sense. Lastly me and Sugini just made a few suggestions of shot changes where we though a different angle or shot type worked better. We tried to get a nice varied amount of shots which flowed but were jumpy too so that they reflected a spider. Once we were all happy and it fitted to the music track we saved and were ready to come back in tomorrow and work on the next phobia.

Edit Meeting 3

On Wednesday we went with the same structure as yesterday as it worked well so Katherine went in and assembled a rough cut for the Claustrophobia section today based on what we had talked about. Me and Sugini then went in at 1:30pm to again see what she had made and help to improve it with more ideas and feedback. Today was a lot quicker and smoother as Katherine had got a flow now with the piece so assembly came quicker and flowed better however again me and Sugini helped resolve a few of the continuity problems and find some better shots for certain parts. This dance was meant to be majority of close ups however Katherine had tried it with a lot of mid shots and wide angles instead however I did like this because it allowed the audience to see the dance more easily which still gave across the feel I felt like we needed. I did however get some more close ups put in to add some variety and interest because our piece is 6 minutes long so we need to really keep excitement in it through out. Again we also went through and assessed the speed of the piece because again Katherine had sped certain parts up and certain parts down which worked in certain areas however we played with this to make sure it all flowed and fit with the music. There were certain moves which I felt needed to be slower to really see details which was my main focus because like I said we want this to be detailed and exciting and hold a viewers attention. When we were then all happy with how this section flowed we then saved it and were happy. This section didn't have many effects within it yet but again we will come back after a rough cut is done and add these where needed.

Edit Meeting 4

After me and Sugini left yesterday Katherine stayed to begin assembling the Astraphobia section of the dance which is the final section. She was also in early today (Thursday) to finish assembly early as we had a tutorial with Rosie our Tutor at 12:30. Me and Sugini came in at 11am to see Katherine's basic assembly of this section which she did explain was the hardest section for her as we seemed to have less variety in shots but she had come up with something which I felt was maybe a little weaker than our other sections but there wasn't anything particularly wrong with it. Me and Sugini went through and gave our feedback and helped to change certain parts but we also struggled with making some decisions. To make the dance fit the music Katherine had supper slowed down some of the leaps and jumps which I didn't think would work due to the nature of this dance however it actually did because it gave time to see detail which was actually really interesting. However we still had to reassess some of the speed decisions because too many slow movements would make it too jarring with the music so we had to try and find an in-between of interesting but cut to the music continuity which was hardest with this section. Even though we had planned to have a lot more long shots and wide angles for this section as its bigger and about a bigger subject now seeing it edited together it lacked the close ups which the others had making it actually more dull. I was worried as this was the last section and was meant to create a build so we had a conversation about how effects will play a big part here when we get round to adding them. We are thinking about some strobe and glitching effects with possible overlays as well and repetition of movements. We didn't try these yet as we were waiting for our tutorial first on our rough cut before diving into this.

Editing Tutorial

It was really useful to have Rosie watch this as it was an outsiders opinion who hadn't seen anything we had put together yet even the choreography. I was very excited to see what she though and here are the main notes I took in the meeting which we needed to think about:
Arachnophobia - Interesting Choreography, More close ups of hands would add more interest, Gib shots can be jarring because the floor is distracting so reassess the use of these, Close up Gib shots are better though.
Claustrophobia - This flowed well but needs to be cut faster for music, Gib shots work a lot better in this piece, the music is fast paced so the cut should be fast paced even if it doesn't fit exactly with the beat, Ending of this section is good, Too dark in some shots so need to colour and expose these.
Astraphobia - The speed effects were effective in this section, lots of long shots which seem to have lots of floor in them which is again distracting so maybe think about reframing or reassessing these.
General - Cut more to the movement so that the audience sees a good variety of this from different angles etc to keep excitement, effects need to be added but do this in measured way, too many long shots with too much floor in so reassess these, repetition might be nice especially to create motifs which repeat and could even reverse some of the dance (More Experimental), don't be afraid to break the continuity as this is holding us back, think about how we are going to combine the sections and find an interesting way to do this.

This feedback really helped and having a discussion with Rosie made me feel a lot more confident as she has liked what we've done but also given us some very helpful feedback to help us try and push this piece further which I really want to do.

This is all the editing we got done this week but we are coming in Tuesday and Wednesday next week all together to make the changes we want to based on this feedback and on our opinion then it will be a finished Dance Video!

Dance Video Filming Days 1 & 2

We filmed the dance video in the studio over the 28th and 29th March which went really well. This are the main points of what happened during those days:

Day 1

Our call time on the first day was 9:00am so this is when we all arrived in the studio. The crew today consisted of myself as Director, Sugini as DOP, Katherine as AD/Producer, Maisie as Camera Assistant/Operator, Ethan as Camera Assistant/Operator, Rufaro as Runner/Clapper, Ollie as Gaffa and Grace as our Dancer! We also had a makeup artist called Lisa who came in at 9:00am to do Graces makeup for us. This took about 45 minutes so while Grace had this done to one side of the studio our Camera team and Runner were collecting the equipment and setting all it up. The equipment was set up even if we weren't using it straight away because we then could leave it in the corner of the studio out the way so when it came to equipment changes between shots it was a lot quicker. While they did this me and Katherine finished organising the paperwork such as the schedules and the script and handed it out to the relevant people who needed copies. Also while this was happening Ollie our Gaffa was setting up the lighting for us with mine and Sugini's direction and tutor Anne's help. We eventually settled for two LED panel lights directly above the space pointing down to create a subtle but noticeable spotlight area which we had been aiming for in a pre-light. This worked very nicely and we tested it on camera and the team agree and myself that it worked very effectively. It worked so well to the point were we decided that the lighting did not need to be changed for each shot and could simply stay above. This again cut down our time in-between shots and helped us have a very productive day. We noticed some light leaking in from the windows behind the black curtains that we pulled round for our backdrop. Me and Ollie minimised this by using black tape to stick the blinds flat against the window to minimise as much light as possible. This made the lighting and the set look even better. Now all the lighting was set up and we were happy we dismissed Ollie as we no longer needed him. Katherine then moved on to put Grace in her costume now her makeup was done. While this was happening myself and Rufaro laid the dance flooring down which took some time but we needed to make sure we did it neatly and effectively for safety reasons. Finally once everyone had finished setting up everything they needed to I got Grace into the space to warm up and run through while final preparations were made by the other crew members.

We were then at 11:45am ready to start filming. This was 30mins behind schedule but the extra time was needed to make sure the floor was laid properly and that Grace was warmed up properly which was all for safety purposes. We began rolling and at first it was hard for us to get into the flow of it because the Dance was broken up and we were all adjusting to our roles. However I took control as Director and kept making sure every member of the crew especially Grace knew exactly which section of Dance was for which shot and at times I put the music on to help everyone including Grace get into the feel and mood of the piece.

This helped and we began picking up pace a lot more especially after lunch. Katherine was keeping onto of the schedule by calling out each shot as we moved onto it and I used my annotated script to help me then call to the crew the dance moves that would be happening in that shot. The Sugini would direct her camera team in how to prepare and what to do for the shot while I ran through it and got Grace ready for it. We would then after each take give a moment to the camera crew while they told us weather they were happy to move on or not. While this was happening I would give my feedback to Grace to keep her motivated and I would also review quickly what was filmed so I could suggest any changes to the camera team or Grace if it was needed.

We finally worked our way through the whole of Arachnophobia (Section 1) till 7:15pm. We made sure we took plenty of breaks and regularly so that we were able to keep going and more importantly so that Grace was able to keep rested and have energy to work through out the whole day avoiding injury. At 7:15pm we let Grace cool down and change before leaving set. We then stayed with the crew and got everything ready for the next day so that we could come in and get straight on with filming the following day. We also used till 8pm to back up the footage from this day into 3 different places on our external hard drives and computers. We then turned everything off, locked up and left set. Day one was completed and I was happy with what we had captured as it looked very effective and I was already imagining exciting ways to edit it together. I was even more hopeful for day 2 as we had done everything possible to minimise set up time and time between shots and we had a very good work flow by the end of day 1 so I knew day 2 would move even quicker and be more productive.

Day 2

The Crew we had on this Second day were all the same as yesterday apart from we did not have our Gaffa Ollie as the lights were still in place from yesterday and we had decided before that we would not move them so there was no need for him. Today the call time was again 9:00am as we needed Grace in makeup at 9 as it take 45 minuetes again with the makeup artist Lisa. While Grace sat and had this done the crew were setting up the last of the equipment (as most was done yesterday) and the camera team were preparing for shot 1 of today which was using a Gib and therefore complicated to get right. I helped them do this by offering my opinion on the shot and also standing in place for them to test the equipment on someone. I then quickly for safety did a floor check and sweep as well to make sure nothing was on the dance floor which could cause an issue for Grace as she danced on it. I then re-taped the blinds back down to the windows to avoid the light leaking in to set and also neatly repositioned the curtains and basically checked the set looked correct and was safe. Then once Grace was done with makeup me and Katherine got her into her costume for Claustrophobia which we were filming first today. Once she was in costume I got her into the space to warm up and run through anything she needed. While this happened the crew were completing final preparations and checking through the schedule. We then started filming at 10:20am which was much earlier than yesterday but still slightly behind schedule. However it did not take us long to make our time back as filming today flowed so well and was really productive. As a Crew/Team we had yesterday got a good workflow and dynamic figured out which was working nicely and so today we got straight back into that and it made it very successful.

We had it so that Katherine was sat calling out the timing and which shot we were on from the schedule (while also making notes for editing purposes). Then I would use the shot she had called to find the relevant section of Dance for that shot on my script. I then Directed Grace to explain to her which part of the dance she was doing and I also informed the crew and camera team so they knew exactly what they were filming. I then let Grace prepare for this shot while the camera team did. We then would complete and take and between takes I would be giving feedback to Grace to keep her motivated while also reviewing the take with Sugini and the Camera team and giving feedback to them when needed. Sugini would then make the decision as to weather another take was needed (we always did at least 2) then we would either move on or complete another take. This flowed well and not only did we successfully but we also went ahead of schedule massively and were also having fun while doing so.

This meant we got the second section (Claustrophobia) filmed by mid afternoon and had so much time left that we made the decision to move onto Section 3 (Astraphobia). It was always our plan to move into section 3 and get as much filmed as possible today (without rushing of course) as we knew barely any of our crew were able to attend tomorrow and therefore wanted as little as possible to film tomorrow so that it was manageable with a smaller team/crew. We moved onto Astraphobia firstly by taking Grace out of one costume and then me and Katherine put her into her costume for this last section. While we did this the crew and camera team were reviewing footage and also getting everything set up for shot 1 of this final section. I then gave Grace some time to get into the space and warm up again and run through. When she was ready we then began filming at using again the workflow which had worked most effectively for us. I worked very hard towards the end of this day to try and keep everyone motivated and in particular look after Grace and keep her motivated and happy as this was a long day and we didn't want to make it too intense for her. We all powered through and finally finished filming the last section and even moved onto some B-Roll footage and at 7:50pm we finished filming as the whole dance was now filmed. We let Grace cool down and leave set while we all packed down as much as we could before we had to lock up and leave at 8:00pm. We most importantly again backed all the footage up in at least three places. We then planned to come back tomorrow morning to pack down and return all the equipment etc so we left and locked up at 8pm.

Filming began slowly as we were getting adjusted to the situation however we soon picked up and really productive workflow and we had a really hardworking team and crew who helped us as well and I am just happy that it went so well and we got some really successful footage!

(Photos Taken By Ethan Salley)

Advanced Photography Assessment Task 4 - Professional Toolkit

For the fourth assessment task we had to print two images from previous tasks but we had to colour proof them first professionally on the colour grading screen and make sure we set the printer up correctly. Here are the main points of what I did to achieve my two prints:

Printing has never been my strong point but I feel like with this work flow I have been able to produce some really nice prints to a quality and standard I am happy with.

Advanced Photography Assessment Task 3 - Professional Toolkit

For this third task we had to capture portraits in the studio using lighting based on the style of chiaroscuro art technique in particular the artists Rembrandt and Caravaggio. This is Narrow Lighting and Broad Lighting which we had a practice with however this time I was in the Studio with no guidance. Me and two classmates who were due to all work at the same time for this project put lots of messages out and contacted people we knew in the area and were able to get a lot of different people to come in and pose for these portraits which was very helpful as I captured an amazing variety of images. I obviously focused on Narrow and Broad Lighting but I also used this chance to experiment with some of my own lighting ideas too and got creative. We also had to have one portrait with out own lighting on anyway so this was good. I set my Camera up to be White Balanced for Flash and ISO 100. I then set shutter at 60 and use a light meter to tell me what to put my Aperture on for each lighting set up. I then push the flash trigger on my camera and connected this up to the light I was using and made sure this light was the required brightness that I wanted. Here are the contact sheets from my Studio Shoot before I edited or anything:

I had a massive variety of images to choose between but I had to have 3 finals. 1 Narrow lighting, 1 Broad Lighting and 1 Creative Lighting. Here are my final 3 which I chose because I felt not only did the demonstrate the lighting techniques effectively but were ascetically my personal bests:

Broad Lighting

Narrow Lighting

Creative Lighting

I then went on to Edit these finals like so:

I am really happy with my three final portraits as I feel like I have really taken the time to complete each stage of this process to the best of my ability learning these new skills and refining skills I already had.