Finishing Editing the Short

    

    After doing the major parts of editing it was time for sound. The sound was very important for our film. This is because our film is mainly silent in dialogue. Because of this we had many background noises incorporated into our film. We decided to make these noises ourselves. What we did was we found a way to make the sound into a mic. If we couldn’t exactly remake the sound, we found an object that sounded just like it. This part was a little difficult, but was worth it. Overall the sounds are very easy to make. For example the major sound that we made was arguing. We simply argued in the mic but tried to alter our voices. Once this was done, I overlapped the sound. I cut it to the certain parts that we needed it, and I lowered the volume or adjusted anything else to make the sound fit.

    After the sound was perfected this was the last step in my editing process. After this, my group and I met up again. We talked over the phone and I spoke to them about how everything went and essentially what was done. They understood and knew exactly where to take it from there. After this each group member edited the parts of the film. We had group meetings anytime someone finished and I answered any questions or any concerns. My group and I have finished the major parts of editing. We have some finishing touches to make but we can’t wait to see the final product of our short.   

Continuing the Editing Process

    

    To continue, I had to cut each piece of footage. Once I was content with the footage I was ready to get more in depth. But before I did this, I communicated with my group mates. We all went on a call and I told them what I kept and what’s gone. We all agreed on the choices I made when it came to cutting. I reviewed with them what I was planning to further do with the footage, so that they could have an idea when they took over. After this call I felt more confident in the editing. I was able to get everyone’s approval and we were able to throw around ideas. 

      The next step and editing was to work on the transitions. This is important to have a seamless short. This is also important for any scenes that had any special editing techniques, and makes the film seem more professional. The first thing I did was add the basic transitions. This includes regular cuts in scenes that had dialogue or anything else that wasn’t special. I then focused on anything different. For example I had to change the transition to zoom for some of the scenes. This would play into the plot and requested edit. For example, for an action match scene I had to make sure the clips lined up. Not only that but I had to make sure the physical in the clips matched up. This is so that the graphic match could be easily perceived by the audience. Once the transitions were finished the last thing I did was sound.

One of our action match scenes.

The Editing Process

         The next step was actually editing. Because we planned out the editing we were confident in starting the process. The way we scheduled our editing goes as follows. I would edit the beginning of the film, my group mate Lauren would edit the middle and my other group mate, Savanna would edit the end. Like I stated in the last blog, we made sure to communicate. This was important because of the lack of face to face we suffer from remote learning. I edited the footage on the software iMovie. I was confident in the software because it was the same one that I used last year and I knew it worked well and had everything needed. 

          The first thing I did was watch every single clip. Because this is a five minute in length film, there was a lot of footage. So to properly know what footage we had I had to watch every single one. When watching the footage I looked for significant scenes and made sure they were correct. Another thing I did was check off every scene in the script that was filmed. I did this because last year my group and I missed a few scenes to film, so I knew that this could possibly be a problem. To avoid this I made a checklist and made sure each scene was filmed. Once this was done I selected the footage. I took every piece of footage that we would need in the short and put it into the editing software. Once I had all of the clips, I started to cut them. This process was very long. I also had to make sure that this was done perfectly. I wanted to make sure everything was included and nothing was cut out that could benefit the film.

Planning to Edit our Short

    After concluding filming, we started to edit. In my last project I edited a lot of the footage. I find that I enjoy editing, because I am good at it and I like to dissect the footage. It’s also fun to see the film come to life and have pride in the finished product. So going into this I was looking forward to editing. My group and I decided to split the editing. We would each edit on separate days. After making this editing schedule, we had to distribute the footage. We filmed on my group mates phone, So we had to find a way to get the footage to all of our devices so we could edit. After a couple of tries, we created a shared album that allowed us to all view the footage. We found that this worked better than just sending the good clips. We were able to have access to bloopers and screenshots to post on our social media or blogs.

     Once this was done, it was time to start planning the editing. My group and I had many meetings on this. This year is of course a different experience for all of us. This was because last year we were able to edit as one. We could sit in class and edit with our whole group, while everyone put their input in. But because of remote learning this year that was not possible. So my group and I had to overcome this obstacle by finding ways to edit apart but together. So we came to the conclusion of splitting the editing and communicating with each other heavily so the editing stayed consistent and on the same page.

Filming Salems Indoor Scenes

 

         My characters scenes were the last to film. My character, Salem had a lot of thought out scenes and more importance when it came to props and camera movements. For example, my characters plot required a pregnancy test. My group and I wanted to get that together. This was so that we could pick the right one and one that would be shown obvious on camera. After we picked up the prop we were ready to film. Before we filmed we looked over a few things. First we went through each scene so we could refresh the plot in our heads. We then set up the filming location. We did this to make sure everything was in place and visible. After this we started rolling the camera.

        These scenes were one of my favorites to film. Because this was my assigned character, I was acting in the scenes. I loved doing the acting and think I did it well. I had to make sure that each emotion was correctly conveyed. In order to do this I looked back at the script many times throughout filming. I also had to work with the camera. This meaning I had to make sure the scenes were showed the way my group and I envisioned. For example, if there was going to be a certain movement for the camera that would come into pay when editing, like a graphic match, I had to make sure that I acted in a way that would work with that edit. We also had to make sure we shot all of the scenes needed for those types of edits. Once we were done with this we cut on filming and started getting ready for editing.

Filming Graces Indoor Scenes

 

     The next thing to film was Graces indoor scenes. We knew that we had all of her props and the location set up, so we decided she was best to film next. Grace had a lot of background noise. Her particular plot in the short was arguing parents. At first we were going to have her dad play a role. We later decided against this because we wanted the film to connect only with the three girls. We felt it would help the audience to understand the situations better. This could also help them relate or feel for the characters. Bringing them to like the film and remember it. So, we stuck with just the three girls and thought that Graces background  noises could be made and applied later on.

     When it came to Graces scenes I filmed them. My other group mate, Lauren helped by keeping the script nearby. This was so that I would know what to film next and figure out how I could manipulate the angles and camera movements to play into the plot and Graces emotions. When filming I had to make sure the scene was set. This included getting rid of anything that was not relevant but was in the scene. I had this problem with mirrors. The room we were filming these scenes in had a lot of mirrors, so I either moved the mirror or angled the camera a bit differently. I also had to make sure every shot was perfect, no matter how it had to be achieved. For example, in one of the scenes Grace is shown upset and laying on her bed starring up at the celling. This shot was achieved by me getting on top of the bed and shooting directly over her. Once these scenes were completed we had one more sequence of scenes to complete.

Filming Chloe's Indoor Scenes

 

          The next step in our filming process was the indoor scenes. The way our films plot goes, we had three individual clips to film. This was because each character had a story to tell in their scenes. The first person we filmed was Chloe. We did Chloes scenes first because we knew she had the most and it would take more time. My other group mate Savanna filmed these scenes while I directed them. This consisted of me saying what was next in the script. I also included what I wanted the scenes to look like. I also helped with props. Chloe had many props in her scenes so I  placed them and set them up in the shots. 

         To continue, Chloe’s scenes were also the most important. She had the big cliff hanger scenes. These scenes would make our movie more interesting. Chloe had to operate through obstacles in the film and at the end decided to take her own life. Those final scenes were important to get right. We wanted them to be believable. This meant perfection in the acting and filming. I went through each scene with my other group mates. After this, I showed my group mate that was filming, what angels each scene had to be and what exactly should be shot. For example, at the end of the short film there is a scene where it shows Chloe’s hand clutching a pill bottle. The camera then pans to her phone ringing. We shot this scene many times in order to get the right angel and feel. Overall, filming Chloes scenes took a lot of thinking but in the end they turned out perfect. Now all we had to do was film the other two characters.

       

Filming the Outdoor Scenes

 

       This past weekend my group and I started filming for our short. We all met up at my house and planned out our first shots. We wanted to film the scenes we had together first. This is because they were first in our film anyways and incase there was an emergency where someone had to leave, we already had the shots together. The first location was the park. We also filmed these first because we liked the lighting during that time of day. It fit with the film and plot. This was also one of the few scenes outdoors. Filming outdoors has its pros and cons. This location gives the film diversity, but theres also conditions we can’t control. This includes, lighting, weather and people around us. 

      To continue, these scenes came to be a success, even with the little control we had. My group member, Savanna filmed most of the shots, except for hers, while Lauren and I acted. We wanted the first of our scenes to be natural and happy, because our characters are friends. So I acted with savanna and we laughed and had fake conversation. These were easy to film since there was going to be music in the background, which would mean there was no real dialogue to act out. We then worked on the speaking scenes and walking scenes. We wanted to show the girls of the film walking in separate directions to show they are  walking home, but to also symbolize their life differences. We directed this by angling the camera so that an actor could be seen in the back of another ones shot. This would show them walking into that opposite direction and then switch to the background actors point of view. After these scenes it was time to move onto the individual indoor scenes.