Editor Research Presentation

As part of my research I looked at the history and editing techniques of 3 editors; Jabez Olssen, Mark Day & Nancy Richardson.

Update on first FMP project

Over the weekend, the writer of one of the FMP films sent over the screen play for their film 'Black', in which they want me to work as visual effects artist for one of their final shots of the film; a solar eclipse. I read the screen play (which was very impressive) and this described in more detail the actual eclipse scene. It is slightly different than I initially thought, but I really want to push myself and take on the role.

I looked at a few videos of real life eclipses, just to remind myself of the actual events and the movement and look of the scene. Below is an example of one of these videos.

I also looked at a couple of tutorials for After Effects, just to give myself an idea of how I would maybe create this shot. The best one is featured below.

I replied to James (the writer) and confirmed I would like to be involved in the film, and will now spend time doing test shots until the time when I have exact direction for the shot.

Meeting with FMP

Today I met with the tutor and students from MArt Film & Media Production to discuss projects I could be a part of for my portfolio. Although some of the students were missing, I spoke with the directors from 2 groups who are in need of some help. One of the groups is producing a short film and needs a visual effects artist and possibly a colourist for a scene in the film. Although I want to edit, I am happy to use my visual effects skills to help out on other pieces of work. The other director I spoke with is making a short drama and they are in need of an editor.

The tutor said she would speak with the other groups and finalise exactly how many projects I could work on. I would really like to be a part of these projects as the editor and/or visual effects artist, but I need to make sure there is enough work for me to do as I have to think about my assessment, as this is a major part of my overall degree.

Hopefully by the end of next week I will know for definate how many and which projects I will be working on. If there are not enough pieces I will have to come up with a project of my own to do alongside the FMP projects.

Editing Types & Transitions

EDITING TYPES

Films:
Hectic/Nervous (eg horror films)
Fast Paced (eg battle scenes/chase scenes)
Slow Paced (artistic/romantic/sadness)

Documentary:
(Environment cuts, cutting sound)

TV:
Soap (Conversations)

TRANSITIONS

Split Screens
Cuts moving in
Rotoscoping
Whirling
Zooms

Initial Intentions

When I thought about this project over the summer, I thought that I would need to produce something that was heavier in visual effects, as I thought this was where I fell down last year. However after our crit session I realised that I infact need to do the opposite. If I want to be an editor I need to wear my editors hat, rather than trying to wear every hat (storyboarder, caster, costume designer, make up artist, cinematographer, editor, visual effects artist). If I want to be successful I need to concentrate on the area I want to specialise in.

With this in mind I was stuck. I decided to move my inital 'visual effects heavy' piece to the digital compositing module, as I have put alot of work into that idea and didn't want to throw it in the bin, and I thought it was more relevant to that module. But now I needed an idea for this module, and I had nothing. I couldn't work out what would be the best genre to work in, in order to focus on and highlight the editing. So I spoke to my tutor and we came up with an idea, that I should look into working with the Film and Media Production students and edit their projects. This meant that I could gain experience working with a group as just the editor, rather than having to concentrate on all of the other elements.

I was put in contact with the lead tutor for the Film & Media Production course who informed me that I would be able to work with maybe two groups as an editor and also doing some visual effects. I am going to a meeting next Friday to meet the people in charge of each group to discuss working with them. I am really looking forward to working as an editor on someone elses production, as I think it'll be a great indicator for what I will expect in the industry.