After hours and hours of pre-production planning, the next step is execution, which comes in the form of post-production, or editing. This means that after planning out my montage project for week, it was finally time to start recording the elements for my project.
My goal was to capture all of the proper visual composition guidelines I shot during last week’s scavenger hunt scavenger hunt. The difference is that my shots last week were still images. This week, I would need to get enough movement in my shots to keep viewers entertained throughout the video. The plus side to video is the addition of audio, which means that I also got to incorporate ambient sound, music, a voice over and sound effects to help keep the montage captivating.
I didn’t anticipate too many obstacles with this project, but what I did not expect was recording my project in three-digit temperatures.
It is safe to assume that my partner and I were both extremely grumpy by the time I checked off all the shots I needed and were finally able to head back to the sweet, sweet A.C.!
READING
Author Tom Schroeppel dives into what comes after the initial shoot in Chapter 10 of “The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video.” In the chapter, he uses driving as a metaphor for our eyes editing what we want to see in everyday life. The example he uses to help readers understand the process is when we’re driving and through the windshield we see a wide shot of everything in front of us. That view, or shot, turns into a close or medium shot when we turn to the side of the road to look at the speedometer. Schroeppel states that the basic shot our eyes provide is a25 degree angle, which is equivalent to a 35mm camera or full frame digital camera.
He then suggests an experiment to control what you can see and hear by editing our reality. He encourages the exercise because beginning editors often want to jump straight into editing, when they should be making sure they fully understand the script and know what viewers need to see and when. A few other tips he offers editors include logging all material with as much detail as possible, trying out a paper edit, which is script from cut-up sections of an editing log, setting up the world with an establishing shot, utilizing basic sequences, ensuring each shot is different from the last so it does not look like a jump cut, find a good pace to edit your shots and setting a unique and appropriate editing style.
When it comes to sound in editing, Schroeppel suggests L-cuts to make it sound smoother, and incorporating background music from a library to evoke certain moods or to help reinforce a specific message. One of his last points is encouraging editors to take a step back and let some time go by to help view the work with fresh eyes and ears.
Some final things I left with after reading this chapter are to remember that video is art, which means it’s subjective. There is no definitive right or wrong way to do things, but rules, guidelines and tips are there because they have been known to work. But in the end, as long as we learn from each project we work on, all we can do is continue working on growing from there.
RESEARCH
If it’s one thing I know about editing it’s that everyone does it differently. As Schroeppel notes, there may be guidelines that are helpful to follow, but adding your own personality to your video can definitely make for some unique and creative work.
For instance, when I think of different editing styles, I think of filmmakers like George Lucas and Edgar Wright. One of the first examples that comes to mind is in the 2004 movie Shaun of the Dead. That movie, while witty and hilarious, is also a great example of hyper-quick edits and unique transitions in his montages. In the clip below, the viewer is able to get more than a handful of different scenarios over a span of time in just a couple of minutes. Edgar Wright does this to quickly convey a lot of information, as well as to evoke chaos.
Another example (and Edgar Wright film) is the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Like Shaun of the Dead, it uses extremely creative ways to transition between shots. The viewer can see cuts and transitions using people or objects, which is different from a post-production edit such as a dissolve or wipe. The transitions are extremely quick, but they are accentuated by a sound effect to bring attention to the new shot or scene. In the scene below, viewers can also see a match cut, also known as a Cut on Action, which helps create interesting scene transitions.
Anyone who has heard of Star Wars is bound to have heard of its transitions and wipes, which are incorporated in every film, both live-action and animated. While most film and broadcast students are now encouraged to not overuse them— or not use them at all— they were a signature choice by George Lucas to move from one scene to another. Wipes are when a shot moves from one side of the screen to the other, replacing the previous scene. While Star Wars wipe transitions vary in direction, they all serve the purpose of transitioning to another storyline.
CREATE
After reviewing my visual composition scavenger hunt from last week, I set out to record my montage at Doolittle Park in Edinburg, Texas. A big difference between last week and this week were the number of people and families at the park. Last week, I had to maneuver my shots to ensure I wouldn’t capture any child’s face. This week, the park was virtually empty, aside from two to three families, which made it easier to record and not need to worry about having to talk to dozens of different families to make sure it was ok that I record around their kids.
My piece came out to 2:30 minutes because I needed to be sure that I incorporated each visual composition guideline through various shots and locations. Throughout my montage, you’ll find at least one of the following:
- Rule of Thirds
- Balance (visual weight)
- Balance (color)
- Angles (depth)
- Frames in the Scene
- Leading Lines
- Backgrounds
- Basic Shots (shot framing):
- Wide shot
- Medium shot
- Close up
- Extreme close up
- Perspective
- Shallow Depth of Field
Before heading to the park, I made sure to print the list so I could cross off each category and write notes after each one so I knew what to look for when it came to editing. The moment I recorded that last shot, I grabbed my gear and booked it to my car to blast the air conditioning on high!
The following is my montage.
Not only was it extremely hot, the day I recorded was also extremely windy, which meant distorted audio. I wound up removing a lot of the natural sound and incorporating several sound effects, such as “kids laughing,” “kids playing,” “bird and duck sounds,” and even “bike riding.” Using sound effects really helped dampen the heavy wind sounds, and in the end, I was pretty happy with the way my montage turned out.