For the Sheffield college graduation multi-cam project, I was asked to produce in a group a range of videos of the day to document the day for both the students and their parents/ guardians. For my section, I edited together the multi-cam of the ceremony.
The video serves its purpose to document the ceremony part of the Sheffield graduation day. the quality of the shots is reasonably well composed. although the quality of the audio could be better this could have been improved by having more time and accessibility to set up more audio recording equipment. From an audience view of the video, it is good as it shows clearly each student who goes up to shake hands and get their paper, although it doesn’t clearly show them starting to walk into shot until after they have passed the pillar which was in the shot.
I feel that for my first time editing multi-cam it went reasonably well and my editing format was to go from a wide shot to a medium close up and repeat for each student. and then when a new course walked up and was introduced I would cut to the shot of students collecting behind the pillar getting ready to walk up to the stage.
To conclude, I think that the graduation and my section which was the ceremony went well. although if I were to do it again one thing to improve upon is I would make sure to get a clearer shot of the students gathering and lining up to get shake hands and get their paper. Throughout the production of the graduation, i have further improved upon a lot of the skills needed in order to work professionally for a client.
I have improved my reliability and time-keeping skills throughout the intro module. Some examples of this below are from the Sheffield project and the practising up towards it. I have improved upon my reliability since the start of this module.
Interviews
I was reliable within the crew in all the roles. Whilst doing the interviews an example of this is when I was directing and it was my job to clap the clapper board and say What needs to be said before cut/action. – checking every member is ready. In this role it was my job to direct everyone and lead I did this effectively however I do feel I do better being directed by someone else than doing the directing.
Sheffield Sports Project
I was reliable whilst working with my partner. Whilst doing the sheffield sports project an example of this is filming at the ice Sheffield I was at the pick up location with in enough time in order to be reliable and film. By being there on time it insured that I was able to check out the location as well as think up some shots whilst getting there. This also improved upon my time keeping skills as I kept my time effectively in order to get to ice Sheffield to film well within time in which to set up and film. Although I could have been more reliable whilst filming the Hillsborough stadium as I though I was an hour early however it turned out I wasn’t which caused me not to film both entrances. this caused the section of the outside of the Hillsborough stadium shots to be laking a little. next time I need to make sure to do pre checks and further manage my time in order to make sure Im extra early just in case something causes an event to happen earlier than expected.
Sheffield Promo Project – Sheldon’s project
I was reliable whilst working with another section of the Sheffield promo video project. An example of me being reliable is when I was there with them helping them film. By being reliable with them and collaborating on their project I helped produce some shots which may not have been thought up if I had not been there. This is also an example of how I have improved upon my timekeeping skills. I arrived on time in order to go help them film which resulted in everything that needed to be filmed was filmed except from one section due to accessibility issues.
Multi-cam project – Graduation
I have improved my reliability skills throughout the intro module. Some examples of this below are from the multi-cam project and the practising up towards it. An example of me being reliable is me turning up on time which meant that we had a little more time to get set up. This also shows my time keeping skills used and how I’ve further improved by make sure to set off earlier in order to make extra time for setting up and coming up with ideas. Another example of me being reliable is making sure I got the camera set up and starting the recording so that the Multicam would work effectively. A further example of me being reliable is that I was the one who started the Audio recording through the mic system used by the speeches.
Music Department recording
I was reliable whilst working in a group to record the music performances. An example of this is when I was working with others. This went well as we did in fact film the performances. I have also improved upon my timekeeping as I was on time in order to do a quick mental plan as to how it was we were going to film which made filming it a little less stressful as there was a little time to plan ahead instead of just thinking up the plan on location. If I had not been on time and reliable however there would not have been a set of continuous shots of the songs playing which would mean that the footage would have been fragmented and looked unprofessional.
Sheffield college Graduation
I was reliable whilst working in a group to create a multicam of the Sheffield graduation. An example of me being reliable is when I operated one of the cameras. Without that camera there wouldn’t have been a medium close up of the hand shakes which shows the importance of being reliable. By me being reliable in this example it meant that not only would the audience be able to tell when they or their children are receiving their paper and getting their hand shaked it made the ceremony a little more interesting than mostly just a wide shot of the ceremony. As well as being reliable I was time effeicent as I turned up early which left time for setting up and doing a little pre filming before anyone started to arrive.
I have improved my technical abilities throughout the intro module. Some examples of this below are from the Sheffield project and the practising up towards it. I have also improved my knowledge and confidence with both DSLRs and video cameras.
Compositional Shots
Rule of thirds – Horizon line
Here is an example one of my compositional shots whilst practising the rule of thirds.
Thomas A. Bailey – “The two-thirds rule, which can be changed only by constitutional amendment, will no doubt continue for a long time to come. like monogamy, it is not completely satisfactory, but, like monogamy, it has won general if somewhat grudging acquiescence.” It does follow the rule of one-third ground 2 thirds sky or building. It also follows the rule of the bottom horizon line which I placed the ground section on. As well as following these rules having placed the building within the four focus points it makes the building the focus. However, I do still need to practise on the rule of thirds in order to make further improvements. which is important to further improve upon the rule of thirds because the more effective it is used the more appealing and eye-catching it is to the audience.
Foregrounding is a shallow depth of field.
Foregrounding – Here is an example of how I use foregrounding in conjunction with the rule of thirds. In this shot, there is one-third of foreground contrasted to two-thirds of the shot. This adds some more interest to the shot making it more appealing. Although I could further improve this shot next time if I were to have one single duck on the colliding line instead of the two which could confuse the audience/viewers. doing this is useful as in a film if the cinematography is great it’s one of the things ticked off the list such as good sound meaning you have the audiences attention snow all you have to do is create good content whether it be a factual or fictional piece with a good narrative structure.
My footage
During filming at the Hillsborough part, I experimented with the above techniques taught/discussed in class. Throughout this process, I experimented using the rule of thirds and the horizon line.
This went well although I do still need more practice. as one of the shots where the ducks as in the lake because of a few ducks not being above the horizon line, it made the shot a little confusing and there was no main focus. Therefore it should have been a shot where all of the ducks were above the horizon line. I also could improve by experimenting a little more with symmetry. Edith Wharton says – “The desire for symmetry, for balance, for rhythm in form as well as in sound, is one of the most inveterate of human instincts”. Doing this is important because it makes shots more likely to not just grab the attention of the audience but also be approved by them make my projects more likely to be watched. Quotebook as person example
Editing and montage (date) says “Quoted”
Interviews
Here is an example of me practising and further improving upon my technical abilities.
Whilst doing the interviews there were three technical roles which I did which were as follows: the director, the Camera operator and the audio recordist. during these roles, I improved my technical abilities. an example of this is when I did my shot which was a close up of one of the interviewees as shown below.
In this shot, it is correct as the person is more too the left not in the centre which is more appealing to the audience. as well as this there is a correct amount of headroom as well. Although I could have lined up the colliding lines better with the eyes of the subject which would have made the shot that more professional next time I do a shot like this I will make sure that the subjects eyeline is correct. As well as filming this shot audio was recorded separately which required audio syncing which I did in final cut. I did this by using a capper board set which helped final cut to sync the audio up. I did this because the audio from the boom mic produced a more clear voice with a lot less background noise.
Exposure effects
I have further improved upon my technical abilities by experimenting with the camera settings on a 60d camera. an example of this is shown below.
In this shot, I improved upon my technical abilities with the settings of having a long exposure. doing so whilst someone uses a light and moves it about in a certain amount of time 20 to 30 seconds which creates light trails/ a light painting. this is useful as it can be used to create a certain mood/feeling in a shot as well as used in a time lapse in order to show the passage of time but with light trails creating more interest.
I have further improved upon my technical abilities by experimenting with the camera settings on a 60d camera. a further example of this is shown below.
To create this effect the shutter speed was at a high shutter speed with the other settings iso and aperture high in order to compensate for the darkness. this should create a frozen motion with the objects in the air as the focus. however in this shot, only one of the pens in the shot is partially in focus but it could have been better. In order to further improve upon this, I plan on next time manually focusing more on the pens and taking my time to make it look more professional.
Dexter
I have further improved upon my technical ability specifically on my editing ability. The idea was to produce one-minute peace with unrelated footage and use it to express to the audience the feeling of a certain emotion. I chose anger and after screening it that was what the audience felt so it went well. although if I do this again I could improve by either taking the time to film it instead of using found footage or make sure all the aspect ratios are the same.
Poker
I have further improved upon my technical ability specifically on my editing ability. An example of this is as shown below.
Whilst doing this edit I have improved my technical editing ability. I improved upon editing by using the theory of cutting on action. this has improved my ability in the editing of continuity editing.
Sports project
Before I began editing I imported all of the footage and then organized it into different folders. I did this because it not only makes the editing process easier it also makes it faster and more effective. this helped me to focus on developing my technical skills meaning I didn’t have to think about where I could find a certain clip.
In this shot which I filmed of the people going into the entrance at the Hillsborough stadium, it was a little unsaturated and dark. So I colour corrected it by upping the highlights and lowering the darks a little in order to make it pop more and be more appealing to the audience. This went well although next time I need to double check the exposure beforehand whilst at the location. I alternated the settings whilst watching the histogram in order to try and even them out the histogram isn’t as even as I would like it to be as when I did even it out it looked almost cartoony which was not an appropriate effect for the clip in the Sheffield sports project.
In this shot, I also used a wide aperture to create an effect where the focus is on one subject which is further away and the closer other subjects are to the camera the more blurred they are. I used a wider aperture because I think that it makes the focus be more on the person in focus to the audience. however, I should have had a shot just following on person to the inside of the door instead of just standing there which the next time I do something like this I will make sure to do in order to further improve.
In these shots, I Filmed two players on the ice. in the first shot which went reasonably well due to the focus being on the two players and being compositionally correct. although I did not use it in the edit because it was a little too slow paced. in the second shot which I also chose not to use in my edit which was because I had the shutter speed set to low and so when following the players, they were blurry in the shot. Even though I did not use the shot I do feel it is still a good compositional shot as it has two-thirds of action and one lower third of a blurred black. From doing this I have further improved my knowledge on the importance of using the right camera settings as it can greatly affect the shot either in a positive or negative way.
Whilst editing together the footage for the Sheffield sports project I decided to chose to the three shots above. I chose these shots to go one after enough because they follow the rules of montage. Where an action or object which is the same can be used as a traction to another shot. I also used these shots following the match on action technique used to almost make the cut invisible. I achieved this by Cutting just as the states almost stop the football just being kicked into the air followed by the football hitting the goal. This went well.
In the following shots above I used a panning motion from the gate with information to the Sheffield Wednesday ground with things going on. I did this because the extra motion followed by action in the shot not only is more appealing to the audience but it also is an effect I used as an almost introduction to the place.I also used a narrow aperture as I wanted as much as possible in the shot to be in focus because whats happening should be clear to the audience people arriving and a lot of them hinting at the popularity of Sheffield. I then edited the shot to a cross transition to the time-lapse. I did by doing this it in a way is a reversal of time showing people arriving which could give the audience the idea that there are already a lot of people there but a lot more are coming. this gives the audience the idea that Sheffield is popular and therefore enforces the whole idea of the video. By cutting to the people still walking in the same direction I am following the 180-degree rule. Which I did because I feel that the somewhat jump from a plan to the left may be a little disorienting but by having another following shot of the people going in the same direction may help the audience to reorient themselves.
Multi-cam project – Graduation
I have improved my technical abilities throughout the intro module. Some examples of this below are from the multi-cam project and the practising up towards it.
Music Client
Whilst working with the music client talk about the live editing and settings system. I learnt a new skill of which I had never really known much about which is live editing. This is the process of using a wired stationary version of the atem a fold up live editing system. Using a live editing system means if your client wants to leave with a finished project it makes that possible.
Music Department recording
Whilst filming the music department performances I further improved my technical skills.
An example of this is whilst setting up the tripod shot for each band I altered the Iso and gain settings in order to achieve the best possible look even though I was filming in low light conditions.Gustavo Mercado says –“The size of a medium long shot is ideal to showcase a character’s body language, some facial expression and the surroundings simultaneously.” As shown above, the shots are reasonably well exposed and are well composed with some foregrounding. Although if I were to further improve this shot I would have liked to have been able to get in front of the heads as I couldn’t quite get the entire band in the first shot.
Sheffield college Graduation
Whilst filming the graduation I further improved my technical skills. An example of me improving is when I was setting up the camera and tripod for the steady muli-cam shot of the students getting their papers and shaking hands. As shown below. This shot is in focus, properly exposed and reasonably well composed as by having the cameras subject a little more to the left than centred makes it a little more natural for the views eyes than if it was straight in the middle.
In the shot above I recorded is well composed, exposed and in focus.
A further example of my technical improvement is whilst walking around filming the parents and students arriving I had to alter settings quickly. whilst doing this I improved upon my knowledge of the cameras by having to quickly alter the focus and exposure before the people walked out of shot. Although I do still need to further improve upon my knowledge of the cameras as I couldn’t seem to get a good shot outside as it was way too overexposed, until later on after the shoot I found out about there being build in ND filters. A Video camera was used because of the fact that if a DSLR was used walking around like would need to be for the arrivals it would have produced extremely shaky footage as well as there been the benefit of the zoom on the video camera making getting shots of people a little easier, this is because it meant that you could get a shot without having to either move a lot forward after a shot or the other way around having to move back in order to get everyone in a shot.
Whilst editing the ceremony even though it took a bit of time to get the videos synced to each other as they weren’t all turned on at the same time, in the long run, using Multi-cam was the best idea as it made editing both efficient and fast. whilst editing using Multi-cam found it to go a lot easier than when editing the Sheffield sports project as it was just like a live editing system all I had to do was click on either cam 1, 2 or 3 and repeat the process depending on when I thought the shot should be changed. this improved upon my knowledge of knowing when a shot should be changed as I showed the students arriving at every different course and then switched between the wide and medium shot of the students going to shake hands and get their paper. As well as this whilst filming the Sheffield graduation multi-cam as a group we all made sure that all the cameras were on the right side. it was important to do this as decreed by the 180-degree rule for continuity editing.
I have improved my communication skills throughout the intro module. Some examples of this below are from the Sheffield project and the practising up towards it.
Interviews
Whilst doing the interviews I further learnt just how important communicating can be. An example of me doing it correctly is giving some ideas as well as when I was the director and did the check-in with all the crew on sound and camera. Whilst doing this I improved upon my communication techniques and abilities which were listening and observing and then contributing an idea of which what to do and how to do it.
Sheffield Sports Project
Whilst doing the Sheffield sports project I worked with a partner and with some music department students throughout the project. doing so required a lot of communication and example of this is whilst working with my partner I listened to ideas he had and then either agreed with them or further added to the ideas with other ideas angles for a shot or where to film Sheffield sports related to the project.
I also further improved my communication skills Whilst communicating with the music department. using the following communication techniques were required listening, observation and then contributing an idea or a solution to a problem. An example of this is whilst taking a first listen to the songs the music department students had created just from their ideas of what might work for a Sheffield sports welcome to Sheffield video I gave ideas/alterations to the music talking about how I wanted the pace to go so that it would match up to the actions happening as well as the pace of the video. however I did also ask for a 1 and a half minute piece which after them coming pack a few times for alterations even whilst asking for a 1 and a half minute piece I ended up with a 2 and a half minute pice making editing a little more tedious as I had to cut up to of the soundtracks and pice them together.
Music Department Performances
Whilst filming the performances and beforehand in the planning for it a lot of communication was needed. I feel that I did so effectively. An example of this is whilst planning I observed and listened and then added to or agreed with what the other members of the crew thought about positions for the camera and how it should be filmed. a further example is whilst filming the performances as my role as a camera operator I listened to the director and then made the necessary alterations when needed whilst filming whether that be changing the shot or the camera’s position. it is important to communicate whilst working in a crew because not only will it make the final product of a production more professional it also makes sure that ideas aren’t just ignored which could add further to a production.
Multi-cam project – College Graduation
I have improved my communication skills throughout the intro module. Some examples of this below are from the multi-cam project and the practising up towards it.
In the pre-production process, I improved upon my communication skills further. An example of this is whilst creating the pre-production documents I communicated well-giving ideas, alterations and contributing potential risks for the health assessment.
In the production process, I improved my communication skills further. An example of this is whilst filming the arrivals I communicated with others about what to film and who. So that most of the time no one was just filming the same person without knowing.this was important otherwise the same person could have been filmed a lot more than needed where the objective was to film as many different people as possible so the audience could notice themselves/ they children the students.
In the post-production process, I improved my communication skills further. An example of this is whilst editing I communicated with others and once a few ideas were contributed and listened an agreed upon text format was used for the opening and closing titles. this communication was important as if there had been no communication on this it would have ended in just videos with different titles and fonts which could confuse the audience.
I have improved my documentation skills throughout the intro module. Some examples of this below are from the Sheffield project and the practising up towards it.
Interviews
Whilst doing the interviews one of my roles was as the logger. during this role, I improved upon my documentation skills whilst doing the logging sheet. an example of this is when my job was to note down the take, interviewee, audio track and video number. It is important to keep a log sheet because it helps the editor to more effectively edit and organise footage into a video.
Sheffield Sports Project
During the pre-production stage of the Sheffield sports a project, I filled in and created various documents as shown below are examples.
Using the call sheets for the following locations were important because they helped to plan on the days of filming and what time to meet in order to get to the location on time. Although I still need to improve further upon call sheets as I need to add a bit more detail.
Creating the recce was useful because although need to improve upon my recces by being more detailed and through which will make the filming go a lot better. This is important because it makes filming on location go a lot better as potential problems and all of the shots have been previously thought about and planned on location before filming. I will further improve by making my recce shots more in-depth and descriptive in the future.
Doing the risk assessment was useful because it made filming a lot less dangerous and even though my partner did fall on the ice the proper precautions were taken protective gear and being smart not trying to get a shot if it could injure anyone in the crew. Although he was still injured which happened as an accidental slip of which no more precautions other than not going on the ice at all could have been taken.
Wasn’t really that useful as a lot of the shots I made I came up with on location, although I do plan upon trying to use them more as they can be more useful when trying to convey what a character is feeling or even what the character is going to do to the audience.
My documentation went reasonably well, although I do need to improve further in my documenting skills by practising on more of the creating and generating of ideas. for example by improving upon the storyboarding and shot listing side of things.
Multi-cam project – Graduation
I have improved my documentation skills throughout the intro module. Some examples of this below are from the multi-cam project and the practising up towards it. An example of these improvements is how I helped to create the schedule, risk assessments and a floor plan in a group. As shown below the red square is the camera position I was planned to operate.
I have improved my creativity and Idea throughout the intro module. Some examples of this below are from the Sheffield project and the practising up towards it.
Interviews
Whilst doing the interview I improved upon my creativity and Ideas generation. An example of this whilst doing the interviews I came up with some ideas for shots and where the chair should be placed and intern the interviewee.
Sheffield Sports Project
Throughout the production of the Sheffield sports project from the pre-production to the post-production, I have improved upon my creativity and ideas generation. An example of me doing this is my contribution at the begging for shots and places that could be filmed depending on the various different ideas ranging from nightlife to sports and other types of things that could be turned into a promo for Sheffield such as wildlife and parks. A further example of me improving upon my creativity and ideas contribution is whilst working with my partner I contributed a lot of ideas both on and off location for shots – whether it be the sizes, angles or point of view which I felt would be interesting to an audience. GustavoMercado says – “in terms of composition, it is not uncommon to find balanced compositions that have their own visual weight distributed symmetrically or evenly in the frame being used to convey order, uniformity and predetermination. likewise, unbalanced compositions are often associated with chaos, uneasiness.” Symmetry – An example of a shot I helped to build an idea of getting a shot of the hockey players coming out onto the ice. I suggested that in this shot it should be symmetrical as it would gain more attention from the viewer’s eyes. this is because symmetrical shots are accepted by an audience.
Below are some further examples of shots I thought could be good and helped to develop the ideas of.
I thought that a shot of the football being kicked and ice skates making ice fly up like snow would be a good idea for a shot as well as for it to be used as a transition in editing. I helped to further improve the idea by putting through an idea that got rejected of having an extreme close up of the blade colliding with the ice as I thought it would have looked good for the screen to be filled with ice particles flying in the air. although this idea was rejected and so did not happen.
Another idea I put forward which did not happen as I wanted a high angle shot of the seats and everything and to have the lights come on from complete darkness. I wanted to do this shot because I thought that by having the lights come on from complete darkness could have been a good starting shot, however, this did not happen and was rejected as there would be no way to get up that high as well as turning all of the lights off due to it just not being acceptable by the ice hockey organization.
Project – Sheldon’s project
I have further improved my creativity and ideas generation. A further example of this is whilst helping him to film some of his project I gave ideas for some shots from a low angle of people walking past as well as some shots in graves park. this helped me to further improve my creativity and ideas generation as it not technically being my section of the project gave me an almost 3 rd person perspective making generating creative ideas easier and more effective.
Sheffield college Graduation
I have improved my creativity and Ideas generation throughout the Sheffield college graduation multi-cam project. An example of this is whilst producing the project after walking around after getting the arrivals I did some shots of the ceiling a slow panning shot from the ceiling to where the ceremony would be held as well as getting some low angles of the candles and a statue. I did this because it added to the structure of the cathedral and captures the attention of the audience building up to the ceremony section adding interest.
I have improved my teamwork skills throughout the intro module. Some examples of this below are from the Sheffield project and the practising up towards it.
Interviews
I have improved my teamwork skills and an example of this is when I worked in a team to film a group of interviews. I felt that I worked well with the crew and did my different roles effectively which were rotated.
Sheffield Sports Project
I have further improved upon my teamwork skills another example of this is whilst working with a partner throughout the Sheffield sports project. this went reasonably well and the project was finished, however, it was at times a little confusing when things were filmed separately and I had to sift through footage in order to find certain shots. in the future, depending on the project I may work better independently on a project like this.
Sports project – Sheldon’s project –
I have further improved upon my teamwork skills another example of this is whilst working with a different part of the Sheffield promo project I helped to contribute some ideas for shots. as well as giving some advice.
Multi-cam project –
I have improved my teamwork skills throughout the intro module. Whilst working on the Sheffield graduation project I worked in a group throughout to create pre-production documents, as well as in the production process. this went well and helped to create a project such as the graduation in fact if I were to do it independently I don’t think I could produce a professional or whole piece of fact.
Music Client
I have further improved my teamwork skills, whilst working with the music client an example of this is when I worked with the camera operators through the radio system whilst I operated the live editing system.
Music Department recording
I have further improved my teamwork skills. whilst recording the music department performances I worked in a team to do a quick plan half an hour beforehand and then recording the performances. whilst doing this I worked as a camera operator and worked in a team communicating with the other changing angles and stopping and starting recordings of the performance.
Sheffield college Graduation
I have further improved my teamwork skills, I did this whilst working on the Sheffield college graduation project. an example of this is when I worked in conjunction with two other camera operators to create a Multicam of the graduation speeches and ceremony.
Talk about not filming the right entrance due to crowds and police next time do more planning in the recce shots.
What Skills?
I’ve improved upon my Timekeeping as shown as I turned up early so I could get the people going into the stadium. by setting off early filming this is an example of how by turning up early I just cant them coming in as they went in about 30 minutes early. I got there an hour early. although how ever I do ned to improve on my time management as if id gotten there perhaps earlier I could have filmed the other entrance which I could not because of crowded areas and security. I have also improved upon my Reliability as
Creativity and ideas
I have improved upon documentation – pre-production documents as
I have improved upon my Technical ability. an example of this is as shown below a shot using the the rule of thirds.
Insert image or clip _ lower thirds people upper building explain why you haven’t used it.
In this shot, there is one-third of foreground contrasted to two-thirds of the shot. This adds some more interest to the shot making it more appealing. Although I could further improve this shot next time if I were to have one single duck on the colliding line instead of the two which could confuse the audience/viewers. doing this is useful as in a film if the cinematography is great it’s one of the things ticked off the list such as good sound meaning you have the audiences attention snow all you have to do is create good content whether it be a factual or fictional piece with a good narrative structure.
This went well although I do still need more practice. as one of the shots where the ducks as in the lake because of a few ducks not being above the horizon line, it made the shot a little confusing and there was no main focus. Therefore it should have been a shot where all of the ducks were above the horizon line. I also could improve by experimenting a little more with symmetry. Edith Wharton says – “
Dale 