Inspiration – Editing of Photographs
Pan’s Labyrinth, for the high contrast
Alice in Wonderland, for the high contrast
I increased the contrast by a lot, in part so that I could add a spotlight with masking as well.
Alice in Wonderland, again for the blue & green tones
The tones here are more of a purple, but I felt that that was more suited for evening time.
Lord of the Rings 3
I really like the greenish tones here. Even though the picture is warm overall, the murky green tones lend it a feel of uneasiness that I aimed to convey with the editing for the frame below.
Thought process
I layered a lot of the sounds from Ms Ruyi’s archive of sounds over one another, and made the scissors sound and book dropping sound myself.
a) Other ambient noises I considered for the first scene on stage:
b) Heavy breathing vs build up to crescendo
I thought about having the sound of heavy breathing for the above frame, that I recorded myself.
c) Fairy wand sound?
I also thought about having a fairy wand sound for the frame that Qis opens, the book, but decided against it because I thought it was too cliche.
d) Crying sound vs thunderstorm music
I thought about having an actual crying sound for the scene where Qis is crying, but again, I thought it was too cliche. I felt that having thunderstorm music would be more cinematic and appropriate for the fantasy theme, too.
e) Low, buzzing sound
The low, buzzing sound when Karen is sick is also inspired from the sound 3:05, which gives me a very unsettling, nauseous feeling.
Rejected photos
Felt that low angle is more dramatic, also gives feeling of the book going to fall.
Thought of maybe using this for the frame where she gets startled and hits the bookcase, but it’s too static.
Lower angle to make it more dramatic and static, but decided to use two hands for the bigger action created.
I also thought of using this shot, but I figured that we already established that Qis was reading the book. I thought the more central shot emphasized the importance and large presence the book is going to have later on.
Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsPuXCUDcqY
Reflection
A huge part of this project for me is learning how to use Premiere Pro CC. I was initially just going to use iMovie, but realized I was very limited in terms of what I could do with sound.
Premiere Pro was very initimidating at first because I always saw it as a software that professionals use, and I’ve only ever made 1 video in my life, and that with iMovie. However, with the help of YouTube tutorials, I learnt how to use it! The basics, at least. It was very challenging at first, then I’m really proud of myself that I got over my fear of using Premiere Pro – I’m a lot more confident with video editing now.