Rough Overview of Frames:

My Story in 20 Words:

Guy released from prison. Flashbacks of his ex-girlfriend hit him. He misses her. Contemplated. Calls her. She picks up.

What happens next?

 

Photo Editing Style:

Comparison of BEFORE & AFTER

The original photo looked dull, which is opposite of the effect I have in mind to achieve. Hence, after post-production editing, I edited the all photographs to give it a constant thematic of colour to entice and attract.

Overall, the tinge of blue adds on to the melancholic mood, which relays back to the idea of the storyline. I wanted saturated looking photos, that enables my still photo film to look cinematic.

 

Video Editing Style:

Trailer

Fast cuts, fast-paced music, ominous background music. These are the characteristics that define a trailer film.

Generally, a trailer of a film takes about 2.5 minutes, and I thought, hey, why not try creating something more exciting, something that challenges me.

Editing a trailer is different from doing a normal story narration where the cuts happen to go at a slower pace.  So instead of telling my story in a mandatory way, I decided on doing a 3.10 minutes movie trailer for my film.  That aside, I wanted my trailer to end off with a cliffhanger – a question left unanswered. This is so that it would intrigue people to “watch the film”. Hence, the film got cut off right when both parties pick up the call, each saying “hello…”. This would allow the viewers to speculate and anticipate. Will they get together? What will he say to her? Does it means she has forgiven him?

WE WILL NEVER KNOW. (Only me hehe)

Also, I added on a 12 seconds duration of blank frame dialogue, whereby there is nothing on screen. The purpose of this is to direct the focus to the emotions of the dialogue without any distractions. This is a different approach altogether.

 

My Work Space (Timeline)

 

Editing Technique Applied: 

Non-Linear Narrative Style –  Purpose is to create an interesting way of storytelling instead of having it told chronologically. In my opinion, this would heighten the dramatic tension in between each sequence.

 

180 Degree Rule: To establish a connection between two shots that take place simultaneously at a different location. Building relationship between 2 people.

 

Jump Cut:  This kind of edit gives the effect of jumping forward or backwards in time, which is exactly the effect I aim to achieve. In conjunction with the non-linear narrative storyline, it adds dynamic to the storyline, apart from telling the story in chronological order.

 

Match Cut: Eye to eye, Hand to hand. The film fades away revealing interconnected scenes that have hints of similarity to the previous shot.

Film Transition: Dissolve: Smoothen out transition to prevent awkward looking jump cuts

Fade to black: Flash forward / Fade to white: Flashback

 

Soundscape:

Notice that there were a few different locations from the video. There’s 1, Carpark, 2, Inside of the Car, 3, Outdoor. I imagined all these locations to give off a certain type of ambient noise which would make the video sounds more believable. Hence, I went around to record ambient noise from the carpark next to my apartment and use it for my film.

Furthermore, in order to create a more believable sound experience, I tried overlapping a series of different sounds with the intention of creating depth to my edit. While taking note that the sound should not be too distracting, and it ought to be evenly spaced out so that it wont be too overwhelming (like all types of sounds coming at you at one go).

 

Artist Reference:

Mark Woollen

“The thing that’s unique about Mark,” says Angus Wall, who won an Oscar earlier this year as co-editor of “The Social Network” and who has cut trailers himself, “is that there are formulas for making trailers. And all those formulas have these tricks. And after a certain point, a lot of trailer cutters become a collection of their tricks. But not Mark. I think he considers each film individually and his approach depends on the film. And that’s the reason he’s so good.”

Famous Trailers by Mark:

Schindler’s List, Traffic, The Social Network, A Serious Man, 12 Years a Slave, and Little Children

I like how Mark is able to translate 2 hours worth of movie into 2 golden minutes, how he can encapsulate the best of scenarios within a short time frame. I am inspired by the way he cuts off abruptly at certain scenes and then leave a BIG question mark as to what happens eventually. He is able to weave it all together in a compelling way

 

Behind the scene:

*BIG THANKS* to my amazeballs group members, who are super efficient and super professional!!!

 

Final Edit: Somebody I used to know

Ciaos!