PIMM PRAMOJ 7079
A2 Media Studies
day 1.
On our first day of filming, we spent the morning experimenting with hair, makeup and costume, making these aspects of the mise en scene stand out from others. As only one of our actors, the protagonist, was available on the day we decided to film the scenes which only featured her alone. This included the tracking shots and the montages. Below is the first cut from the raw footage that we had gathered. For each scene, we filmed it around 3 - 4 times so that we have options as to which shot we liked best. On the day we filmed, there weren't many people on the BTS SkyTrain or on the streets, which made it easy for us to film our shots. However, the weather was extremely hot, which resulted in the constant touching up of hair and makeup. In addition, we initially wanted a gimbal stabilizer and a light reflector to help with filming and lighting, but we were unable to get hold of these equipment on the day we were filming. Fortunately, we were able to improvise and shoot accordingly to our storyboard. To improve, we want our actor to show more emotion on camera, as our protagonist is going through a range of emotions and feelings. We would also like to work on stabilizing our shots to improve the flow of the scenes.
behind the scenes.
day 2.
Due to Covid-19, our protagonist was unable to film, as she was no longer in Bangkok. Because of this, we had to improvise and change our storyline and protagonist to finish our film. We ended up using some of the existing footage from what we already filmed, but then filmed a bunch more to complete the film. We came to the conclusion that we will have the best friend, Ash, be our protagonist instead and one of our team members will act this role. By having one of our own act, it made it easier to film, as we were all working together anyway.
To pick out a costume for Ash, we styled some potential outfits to fit the character's personality. We wanted a grunge look, playing with dark colors and layers. Throughout this process, we took pictures of each complete outfit to see which one we liked best. As for filming, we still were not able to get a hold of a gimbal, but we learned from the last time we filmed and the results came out way better.
behind the scenes.
editing.
As the co-editor, I chose to edit in Premier Rush. To put the clips in, I started off by selecting the raw clips I wanted and putting it together as a first assembly for my group member Pinn to edit in more detail using Premier Pro.
To mimic a conversation between the two characters, I cut the clip into chunks and adjusted them so that the dialogue in each of the clips flow and connect with each other.
To cut the clips, I clicked on this tool, or clicked the letter 'S' on my keyboard.
As there is quite a lot of dialogue in our film, this feature allows me to reduce the background noise, so that the dialogue can be heard clearly.
I also slowed down some clips to give the effect of time passing.
rough cut.
feedback.
We asked our peers to watch our film, to be able to identify what we did well and what we could improve for our final film.
What Went Well:
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Conveying the characters' emotions to the audience through shots, camera angles and acting
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Good / effective use of flashbacks
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Shots flow well
Even Better If:
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More fast paced editing in the beginning of the film to convey frustration of Ash
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Audio mixing could be better
sound.
Sound Effects:
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footsteps are recorded separately
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heartbeat, polaroid flash, record player sound, breathing and voice message all downloaded from youtube
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AT&T voice message was put on tip of each other and using voice reverb and echoes to increase intensity and panic
Voiceover:
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recorded in voice memo and put in whilst editing
Soundtrack:
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reduce sound by cutting up the soundtrack and reducing audio gain for each one, use crossfade to make it smooth
Dialogue:
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some j-cut and l-cut when the two characters are conversing
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audio track mixer to use DeHummer, DeNoise and DeReverb to get best audio
'Love Me' by the 1975 was added in the beginning to reflect the mood of the protagonist whilst going into Sky's house along with establishing shots. We put this in the beginning, slowing down the pace when Ash realizes that Sky isn't home and something is wrong. The slower pace and lower pitch gives off a sinister feeling which informs the audience that something isn't right.
News flash on the radio:
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highpass tool to make the voice recording sound like it's coming from the radio
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lowpass tool was used half way through to make the sound muffled and reflect how the protagonist feel disconnected from the world after Sky's disappearance
Heartbeat sound effect speeds up after her conversation with Jack, showing her anger and worry increasing.
final draft.
WHAT WENT WELL:
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good angles / shot sizes
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effective storyline
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shots more stabilized
EVEN BETTER IF:
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volume of music unequal in parts
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font difficult to read