Author: ke27

POV Scene Research Cornell Notes

CueNotes
How do they edit the effect?

What does their camera rigging look like?







Editing in opening and closing black spaces to mimic blinking


Both hands are visible and are used

Frantic cuts and movements to show panic and a rising tension when the character is late for something.

Subtle daily routine stuff is shown at the beginning, like cracking your knuckles, finding where your glasses are, turning off your alarm etc.

Camera movements are planned very well and are very careful; a result of careful movement by the person handling the camera rig.

Scenes are take you out of POV have a specific role of establishing backgrounds, immersing the viewer in someway

Andrew Stanton Storytelling – Cornell Notes

CueNotes
Story telling is like Joke telling
Make someone care: aesthetically
The beginning of stories should have some kind of hook, a promise that the story is going to be worth your time.
Hide the fact that your making the audience work for information
Absents of information attracts viewers
Unifying theory of 2+2
Characters and stories of a spine to them
Change is fundamental to stories, being static kills a story, cause life moves on.
Drama is anticipation mingled with uncertainty.
Story telling has guidelines, not hard rules
Can you invoke wonder?
Capturing your truth with your feeling.

Summary

The essence of story telling is to make the audience work for the information that you don’t provide, and providing that information makes it boring. To make people want that information, you need to hook the viewers; create a promise that their time is worth looking into the given information. These stories must be ever changing, a story without change is one that isn’t worth watching. The goal should be to invoke wonder into the viewers, capturing your truth in the format of cinematic storytelling. Anticipate without knowing.

Production Project: The Perfect School – Film Session 5

the Haunted house
“the Haunted house” by freestone is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

SUMMARY

Role

Editor

Intention (SMART Goal)

By May 10th, as a part of team 5, I will have practiced the art of visual story telling through well placed cuts and edits by studying Chris Dickens carefully placed cuts and where he prolongs cut.

PRE-PRODUCTION – INQUIRY

Leader(s) in the Field / Exemplary Work(s)

Chris Dickens

Chris Dickens is a film and television editor who is popular for his films such as Shaun of The Dead, Hot Fuzz and Slumdog millionaire, a movie that he won an academy, BAFTA and American Cinema Editors award for best film editing. He went to Hailsham Community College, then graduated from the Arts University of Bournemouth. His use of editing and his placement of cuts amplify the comedy while also efficiently leading us through the story in a fun way.

Training Source(s)

Time StampNotes
1:30

2:30


2:53

3:10


3:30


7:30		press c -> Cut in premiere

Watch your clip over and over again and be highly critical of it and be honest with yourself

Make sure your audience understands your editing/ cutting

Position and scale: Direct the focus of viewer through editing
Added motion blur can add to the smoothness

Every cut should be purposeful, and should direct the viewer in the direction you want them to see.

Transitions: How you get from a to b is very important (pacing)

Project Timeline

Pre-production

  1. Brainstorm ideas
  2. Create storyboard
  3. Create slideshow and share with all team members
  4. Write screenplay
  5. Decide on location and character roles
  6. Gather/make props, costumes, equipment

Production

  1. Set up shots
  2. Prepare blocking for each scene
  3. Film all scenes
  4. Record all sounds/dialogue and create music

Post Production

  1. Put all recordings for audio and video in shared Google Drive folder
  2. Label final shots
  3. Decide which scenes to keep, get rid of, or re-shoot
  4. Transfer audio and clips into Premiere Pro
  5. Put clips in order and make all edits
  6. Put audio in and sync up to video
  7. Make all finishing touches
  8. Export final film
  9. Add evidence to slideshow
  10. Present film and slideshow to the class and receive feedback

Proposed Budget

Nothing, under paying our crew is the essence of filmmaking.

PRODUCTION – ACTION

The (FILM, SOUND, or GAME Creation)

Skills Commentary

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1W66h1suGshWFPv6U5NqE8MBUi5BQllYTfbBueyggJA8/edit#slide=id.g129686acda7_2_14

My role for this film was as editor, my evidence is in the slideshow

POST-PRODUCTION – REFLECTION

21st Century Skills

Ways of Thinking (Creativity, Innovation, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving)

During this session, a problem we faced was with how we would film in POV. One of the issues we thought about was how consistent we wanted the perspective to be, since staying in POV would lock us in with the scenes we could shoot, while breaking POV would give us more options, but at the expense of immersion. In the end we decided to lock ourselves into POV, which in the end went very well. Another thing that went in hand with filming in POV was creating an experience that felt like the perspective of a person, like the shaking of the head to show the nervousness of the character or various speeds of moving the camera to express other emotions.

Ways of Working (Communication & Collaboration)

An issue we faced near the end of production was how our editor(me) got covid the week of finishing the recording, and I was unavailable and unable to edit remotely from home. I communicated with the group with my predicament and was able to have another team mate take on editing while I was gone, then I would overlook the editing after I got back.

Tools for Working (Info & Media Literacy)

For this film, the editing was done in Adobe Premiere. I used many sources to learn about editing, the primary one I used was “How to Edit: Ultimate Beginner’s Guide” by Finzar.

Ways of Living in the World (Life & Career)

When creating a film for a project in a team, in times where you can’t and aren’t able to work; you realize that it’s not always about you, and sometimes you need to sacrifice your own growth for the better of the film.

Reactions to the Final Version

“Good work on so many levels, good work” – James

Self-Evaluation of Final Version

I think our film was successful because it is Simple, Unexpected, Concrete and Emotional. To start, the premise of our film was very simple and easy to understand and the twist that the school was messed up didn’t come to much of a surprise, but was well executed with the music and well placed sound effects, while The strictly POV perspective of the film creates a sense of immersion and ties the film all together.

Grammar and Spelling

Grammarly

Editor

Merja

Story of Film -Episode 2- The Hollywood Dream

Miami International Airport
“Miami International Airport” by Junior Henry. is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

1918-1928: The Triumph of American Film…

  • The Thief of Bagdad (1924) dir. Raoul Walsh
    • Made Bagdad decretive
    • Shadow lighting
    • low focus
    • Clever cutting with consistent characters facing
    • Spacing that isn’t confusing
    • Uses anticipation
    • Classical < Romantic
    • Reality breaks fantasy

…And the First of its Rebels

Peanut Killer Part II Electric Boogaloo – Session 4

Peanut Butter Cup Heart
“Peanut Butter Cup Heart” by Bob.Fornal is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

SUMMARY

Role

Screenwriter

Intention (SMART Goal)

By March 2nd, as part of my film team, I will explore the screenwriter’s skill pathway by following The Visual Story by Bruce Block and will have created scenes that use contrasted lighting to express the visual story structure of tone over the scenes of our Session 4 project.

PRE-PRODUCTION – INQUIRY

Leader(s) in the Field / Exemplary Work(s)

Stephen McFeely

Stephen McFeely was the screenwriter and producer for multiple big marvel movies including Infinity War, Endgame, The First Avenger, and Captain America: Civil War. His strengths lie in his use of tone. In the scene above the tone of the film is very dark when looking at the lighting, but when you listen to the dialogue, it becomes significantly less serious and more comedic. This styling of dialogue and lighting is scene in a lot of marvel movies and that’s what makes them standout from other superhero films.

Training Source(s)

The Visual Story by Bruce Block

Tone Notes:

  • Find a subject to focus on, no movement
  • color does not = tone
  • watch film in black and white to judge lighting work
  • hiding and revealing things
  • Communicating with other parts of the team to sculpt a tone
  • Controlling tone through the staging of film.

1:34 – Using a pitch deck to communicate a vision creatively to convey tone

Project Timeline

Pre – Production – February 14 – February 23rd

  1. Brainstorm ideas
  2. Create storyboard
  3. Create slideshow and share with all team members
  4. Write screenplay
  5. Decide on location and character roles
  6. Gather/make props, costumes, equipment

Production – February 23rd – February 28th

  1. Set up shots
  2. Prepare blocking for each scene
  3. Film all scenes
  4. Record all sounds/dialogue and create music

Post Production – February 28th – March 7

  1. Put all recordings for audio and video in shared Google Drive folder
  2. Label final shots
  3. Decide which scenes to keep, get rid of, or re-shoot
  4. Transfer audio and clips into Premiere Pro
  5. Put clips in order and make all edits
  6. Put audio in and sync up to video
  7. Make all finishing touches
  8. Export final film
  9. Add evidence to slideshow
  10. Present film and slideshow to the class and receive feedback

Proposed Budget

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

PRODUCTION – ACTION

The (FILM, SOUND, or GAME Creation)

The Film

Skills Commentary

The Film Slideshow (Commentary)

POST-PRODUCTION – REFLECTION

21st Century Skills

Ways of Thinking (Creativity, Innovation, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving)

Ways of Thinking: One of the problems our team faced during this session was how we were going to approach the creation of the film. The original premise of this session was to recreate our film, but with a better visual story structure. Instead of doing that, we decided to create a sequel to the film before, which required significantly more pre-production and creative work, causing us to spend crunch time in production.

Ways of Working (Communication & Collaboration)

I think during production, we did a good job at communicating more most of the production. The difficulty of communication was that we had more people than we usually do which tripped us up a bit, but other than that, overall we were quite successful and we were able to communicate ideas well enough that it gave us an excellent film.

Tools for Working (Info & Media Literacy)

For this film, I used Celtx to create the script that we used for the film. As well as the Spider-man: No Way Home Script to use as a reference and guide. I also used The Visual Story Book by Bruce Block to learn about tone.

Ways of Living in the World (Life & Career)

This production taught me that working with a lot of people requires a lot more organization and communication.

Reactions to the Final Version

A comment I got from Michelle, was how she “appreciated how you spoke to the audience during the presentation, and how you used arrows and pictures of the shot to show your intention and where it was”

Self-Evaluation of Final Version

By the end of the production and presenting, I feel like as a screenwriter I did my job well while creating the script. Where I didn’t feel like I didn’t do my job was in the tone of the film. Overall I believe we created a creative, emotional and interesting film and I think that our team did an excellent job.

What I Learned and Problems I Solved

What I learned from this film was the difficulty of representing a story structure, while five other roles try to represent their own story structure as well. During this session, we had to deal with a much bigger group of people, requiring us to double up on roles. This caused a communication problem, where one person was manning the role, while the other wasn’t doing much. Eventually we found out a solution later into production after properly communicating.

Grammar and Spelling

Grammarly

Editor

Merja

Peanut Killer – Session 3

Found a Peanut
“Found a Peanut” by MTSOfan

Role

Cinematographer

Intention (SMART Goal)

By January 28th, I want to utilize camera angles and lighting compositions that emulate the tension in horror films. To do this I will study leaders in the field that have achieved what I want and follow tutorials on how camera movement makes a movie terrifying.

PRE-PRODUCTION – INQUIRY

Leader(s) in the Field / Exemplary Work(s)

Primary Source: The Shining

  • Cinematographer: John Alcott
  • Very still camera movements, very little room to move.
  • The camera shakes on an action and follows movement
  • The camera glues onto the person in peril, forcing us to watch them scream and writhe.
  • Uses a wide angle shot to represent how dire the situation is
  • Eyes are important
  • Camera tracks/follows Johnny to create suspense
  • Facial expressions matter – They tend to be the main focus of the sequence

Training Source(s)

1:30 – Structure of Horror Downtime, Build-up then Scare

2:34 – Cutting from a Character to their POV (when approaching a threat); Push-ins

3:57 – Open spaces scare people/ Closed spaces are safe

4:36 – Rapid handheld style vs. smooth

5:10 – Unseen Threat – Sometime cutting to a shot without a visible threat can be terrifying. “What we can’t see is scarier than what we can see”

Project Timeline

  1. Brainstorm Ideas
  2. Create storyboard
  3. Present storyboard to class
  4. Create Slideshow
  5. Decide on location
  6. Write screenplay
  7. Make “Peanut Gallery”
  8. Prepare blocking for each scene
  9. Gather props and costumes, etc.
  10. Set up shots
  11. Film all scenes
  12. Put scenes/shots in google drive folder
  13. Decide which scenes to keep/get rid off
  14. Label final shots
  15. Put clips in order
  16. Record all sounds/ dialogue + create music
  17. Transfer audio and clips into premiere pro
  18. Put audio in and sync up
  19. Add stuff to slideshows
  20. export video
  21. Present Video and slideshow

Proposed Budget

40 millions dollars ( -40 million dollars after legal fees)

PRODUCTION – ACTION

The (FILM, SOUND, or GAME Creation)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rdzsZC__GEKIqaBYYTCrnMDYrZrGuSCC/view

Skills Commentary

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1zc1hgIquREPYJX9YVan79ubb1cckoYWchh8xI8JfMtQ/edit?usp=sharing

“I liked you various uses of focus for dramatic effect”

POST-PRODUCTION – REFLECTION

21st Century Skills

Ways of Thinking (Creativity, Innovation, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving)

Ways of thinking: To creatively change the base script into horror/thriller, our director and editor came up with the idea of changing the narrative of the story to revolve around peanuts and a peanut allergy.

Ways of Working (Communication & Collaboration)

Ways of working: We had multiple absences during the production due to covid-19, so communication outside of school and crunch time were absolutely crucial for achieving the final product of our film. We also excellently communicated with each other in our respective roles in the film making process to make sure the results were exactly the directer envisioned.

Tools for Working (Info & Media Literacy)

Tools for working: For this film, I used multiple videos to understand what tools of the trade was used and how they were used to create a horror film. As opposed to our previous films, I decided to use an actual camera instead of a phone.

Ways of Living in the World (Life & Career)

This production helped me understand how much I need to think ahead in real-world situations.

Reactions to the Final Version

After presenting our film to the class, a classmate commentated on how they “liked the use of focus and lighting in multiple parts of the film”. It was nice knowing someone acknowledged that part of the film, but I wish I had heard more about what I need to improve.

Self-Evaluation of Final Version

The final version of the film was spectacular, and blew my expectations out of the water. Typically in our production I don’t really get to see the final film until the presentation, but that lets me see the wonders editing and sound design does after the film had been, you know, filmed. Although I do see my own faults, especially when it came to the unintentional shaky camera movements.

What I Learned and Problems I Solved

I learned from this film that I had plenty of tools at my disposal and am not limited to just my hands. I also learned how to upload stuff onto the computer. We had to solve the problem of getting a high angle by using a ladder.

Grammar and Spelling

Grammarly

Editor

Merja

Film Theory Research

CueNoted
What are the rules to language?

How does structuralism apply to film?

How can interrupting patterns built by structuralism emphasis underlying meanings of a film? 		Structuralism examines the foundations of language itself, to examine the rules that govern language

“Signifier” i.e Sound Pattern, said out loud or quietly
“Signified” or The meaning of the word spoken or thought of.

“Individual frames in a relatively brief scene are structured to emphasize ideologies”

“The relationship between words and what they signified gave words meaning”

“The underlying goal is always this: to identify the foundations the cinematography and dialogue establish in a genre or collection of films, and then examine how singular films fit into or subvert these foundations”

Summary

This section of the film theory article explained how structuralism is the foundation of language and understanding how the rules apply through a “signifier” and a “signified” and how it relates to film by referencing the film, “The Birds” as if it were a series of paintings and how each individual scene emphasizes the

Story of Film – Episode 1 – Birth of Cinema

My baby love

Introduction

1895-1918: The World Discovers a New Art Form or Birth of the Cinema

1903-1918: The Thrill Becomes Story or The Hollywood Dream

Editing Resource Notes

Source #1

0:47 – Jump Cut

1:09 – J Cut

1:41 – L Cut

2:33 – Cross-Cutting

3:00 – Cutaway

3:38 – Montage

4:16 – Match Cuts

Source #2

0:57 – “Editing is all about the eyes”

2:05 – “Emotions takes time”

3:21 – “Other emotions play better over multiple shots”

5:39 – “Editing is 70% Rhythm“

6:49 – “Editing is(can be) invisible”

7:04 – “Some emotions play better when cut in a jarring way”

7:16 – “Cut to make the audience uncomfortable”

7:44 – “What really matters is what reaction you want from people” (More unusual cutting)

8:04 – “If Editing is so instinctive, how do you learn it?”

Production Project – Session 2

Keyboard in action

SUMMARY

Role: Cinematographer

Intention (SMART Goal)

My intention (SMART Goal) was to have intentional lighting and intentional focus

PRE-PRODUCTION – INQUIRY

Leader(s) in the Field / Exemplary Work(s)

Primary source: Scott Pilgrim VS. The World

  • Cinematographer: Bill Pope
  • Dynamic camera movements
  • Creates tension
  • Lighting perfectly frames the silhouette of the two characters fighting
  • Very interesting and dynamic lighting that captures the viewers attention
  • Camera follows and moves with the movement of the characters during the fight scene.
  • Fast paced
  • Holds the viewers attention with plenty of movement

Training Source(s)

  • 1:22 – Can amplify the cruelty of scene with it’s static and cold stillness.
  • 3:14 – Camera pans can be used to reveal information and builds anticipation
  • 4:05 – Whip pans are used to heighten the energy of the shot
  • 5:14 – Camera tilts can be used to the dominance or the vulnerability of a person
  • 17:45 – Tracking shots are different from push ins and push outs, because they move with the subject and instead of just moving out or toward the subject.

Project Timeline

  1. Start Pre-production
  2. Make Storyboard
  3. Add tasks to Trello
  4. Assign Fibonacci numbers
  5. write screenplay
  6. gather props
  7. decide on location
  8. set-up shots
  9. film scenes
  10. record audio for scenes
  11. decide on scenes to keep/get rid of/reshoot
  12. label clips
  13. transfer audio and clips to Wevideo
  14. put clips in order
  15. trim clips
  16. put audio in
  17. make finishing touches
  18. export video
  19. put link in tracking sheet
  20. create slideshow for project
  21. add evidence to slideshow
  22. present film + slideshow

Proposed Budget

PRODUCTION – ACTION

The (FILM, SOUND, or GAME Creation)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EQKHPjcbwHXny5t64-hh5seG6WD0IWCG/view?usp=sharing

Skills Commentary

https://tinyurl.com/6n8afy9v

POST-PRODUCTION – REFLECTION

21st Century Skills

Ways of Thinking (Creativity, Innovation, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving)

Ways of Thinking: To get an idea of how the film would play out. I created a storyboard with the assistants of my team to create a plan that was interesting and creative. A part of that process was a plan for a cliché training montage; to break the mold and subvert expectations we decided to create a twist at the end where the protagonist over trains and comedically hurt the antagonist at the end.

Ways of Working (Communication & Collaboration)

Ways of Working: Throughout the project, me and my team had to communicate on what days to film and our time restraints. One of the hurdles we had to jump was the fact that if we filmed on different days, our actors wouldn’t be wearing the same clothes. This would effect the continuity of the film, so we decided to split the film into 3; the first encounter, the training montage, and the final showdown. All these scenes were filmed on different days, one scene per day, to show the progression and clear separation of shots while still keeping continuity.

Tools for Working (Info & Media Literacy)

Tools for Working: For this film, I used a single video about all the different shots and what they did to a film, as well as getting inspiration from the short videos on TikTok and Youtube. During pre-production I researched Bill pope, a cinematographer who worked in the industry. For filming, I used our directors phone to record to save and create more time for the rest of the team.

Ways of Living in the World (Life & Career)

Ways of Living in the World: During session 2, other than working on the project, I had buttloads of homework (thanks pre-calculus). I spent a lot of my time working on personal art projects and rewatching some of my favorite animated shows, and thinking about volleyball.

Reactions to the Final Version

After finishing up the film, we had to present it to the class. Mr. Leduc commentated on “how the bright red and green lights on the actors faces, against the dark background draws the attention of the viewer to what’s happening” This feedback helped me learn what I did well, what I wished I heard more of was on what I didn’t do well, sadly that was out of my control.

Self-Evaluation of Final Version

The final version of the film had a simple premise, which was a typing race; a unexpected twist at the end which made the cliche training montage work; we created an emotional connection to the protagonist with the unexpected but endearing acting from Windsor; and finally created a sense of story from the structure of the 3 parts and the multiple stimulations that drove the story such as the music during the training montage.

What I Learned and Problems I Solved

What I learned during the process of this film was that I wasn’t going to be able to do everything I wanna do as a cinematographer and that my job isn’t to execute my vision, but to execute the directors vision of the film. I also learned a very important lesson in the limitation of time; this was learnt when I was unable to save the footage we had just recorded to the computer due to the class ending, I solved this by switching to phone for the film.

Grammar and Spelling

Grammarly

Editor

Sabina