Sometimes when you start a new Subject that you have never done before, you can be bombarded with new information and new systems. One of these subjects can be media, I have never done media before so when I came into this subject I found a new system I had never used or even heard of before. This system is called final cut pro X. It is an editing software used to design and edit clips to your liking.
What is it?
Final cut pro X is a video editing software/application produced by apple,
How do I use it? When you launch the application you will be taken to a screen to something similar to this:
This is an example of an completed project, once you learn the basics of the software you should be able to make yours just like this, When you enter the application you will need to upload your chosen clip to edit, This is how you do it.
What makes the idea of story Boarding effective?
Some ideas could be:
Good Characters (What do we love about our Favourite Characters)?
Varied Camera Shots
No Clichés (Why not make it a bad ending instead of a good one to create a depressive atmosphere)?
Cliffhangers (Leave the answer of an subject at a later point or at the end so people wait for another film to release)
Different Sounds at different Points (Diagetic and non-Diagetic are important)
Unique (What makes it different from other films of that Genre)?
Good Dialogue (We remember key quotes from our favourite films because they memorable, for example Hasta la vista is well remembered because its significant and unique)
With this knowledge of what we can do to make our opening interesting can allow us to develop high marks as we avoid the main concern of many action films, I.e the hero always winning, but what if we changed it by applying the idea that the hero loses instead?
In my group our genre that we have chosen is action, Although may not the resources needed to produce a short opening like the Avengers Age Of Ultron, We have also got our basic storyboard of the opening scene which is still being produced at the moment. Using knowledge from lesson on media, for example we are taking the concept of the Todorov theory, The idea that all narratives work with a Circular Structure: Equilibrium->Disequilibrium->Equilibrium Order->Disorder->Order
(He also believed there are five stages to the Narrative) Equilibrium->Disruption->Recognition->Repair->NEW Equilibrium
So far our basic Narrative includes Our single Protagonist and Antagonist, With also some extras to fill in some spots. We also have to take in consideration of the Vladimir Propp theory, The idea the functions of characters. These functions apply to film and/or Television:
The HERO
The VILLAIN
The DONOR
The DISPATCHER
The FALSE HERO
The HELPER
The PRINCESS
Her FATHER
NOTE: The names given to the functions do not mean they match their gender or even human form. The Hero may be female, the princess may be an object- for example the M4 Sherman In FURY.
Most of the time production crews use a variety of camera angles to make the film more interesting, Before modern day equipment, old films were primarily filmed on one camera angle. Since then their has been more shots created.
Tracking-When the camera moves to follow/track an object or person, this can be used to show an important figure or object. Panning-When the camera move left-right on a pivot, used to view a conversation or a sport match(i.e. Tennis) Whip pan-High speed pan High angle/low angle-Can suggest power in inferiority Zoom-A way of moving in and out without moving the camera, used to show something of significance Crane/ Helicopter shot-Simply used on these objects to create a landscape shot, for example in the opening scene of kingsman through the mountains. Shot/Reverse Shot-where one character is shown looking at another character (often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. Match-on action- an editing technique for continuity editing in which one shot cuts to another shot portraying the action of the subject in the first shot. 180 degree rule-When you film a scene using separate shots, it's important that people understand where everything in the scene is.
Some Examples of different Camera Angles include:
This moment in the 'Kingsman' Opening scene it uses a zoom in shot with also a bit of stedicam, to prevent shaking.
The opening scene I have chosen for my analysis is the terminator 2: Judgement day Opening scene, Terminator 2 is an action film based on the terminator franchise created by James Cameron. This is one of few films where the sequel is voted that it is better than the original.
The first few frames show a destroyed highway in Los Angeles, Its shows multiple destroyed vehicles and ruined buildings, this is significant as the action genre is normally based around explosions and mass destruction, this entire picture is the aftermath of a nuclear weapon, the most destructive weapon in our time. The scene uses a tracking shot to follow from the skeleton in the car to the destruction of the city. the frame uses hard lighting with back lighting to create a suspenseful mood as we are seeing a city completely wiped out, so its not the best sight to see so director created a suspenseful mood to ask questions like, why is the city wiped out?
The next scene shows the main antagonist, a T-800, a machine designed to kill off humanity, The character a clear villain as explained in the Proppain theory that each film created has a set of stock characters, i.e. hero,villain. The T-800 is a clear indication of a villain because the red eyes are a clear sign of evil as red is the colour that is seen as evil. the camera in this scene is from a low angle which could be significant as this is the perspective to show inferiority. the explosion in the background signifies that their is a battle tacking place, the action genre needs to feature explosions. The T-800 is clearly representing the evil force and the villain as it his role to kill off humans.
In the final scene of the opening scene it shows zoom in and a tracking shot of the protagonist of the film, John Conner. He is clearly shown as the hero of the film as during the war, the people are in chaos and need a leader, so John Conner takes the role as people look up to him by saluting to him. on the left side of his face he has multiple scars as he has been damaged in war, this is significant as the the hero is showing dedication to surviving and saving humanity(as with every hero) the lighting has a dark lighting and plenty of fog to give it the dark mood of a bad war.
To Conclude, the opening scene was created to give an idea of what the future held for our current heroes in the 80's and what it will become unless it is changed. This sequence is powerful as it portrays the set-up with the movie, you could in openings link it back to beginning. to create such a powerful opening it needs to create psychological effects such as the heroism of the soldiers who fight to protect their fellow man, this creates a dark opening but powerful as it gets us to think how can they prevent it? by putting questions in the beginning can make the viewer want to find out and drags them into the rest of the film. the general sequence of the opening uses the binary opposition, its man vs machine. From this research I've now got a clear understanding on how I am going to portray my opening, although due to limited resources I may not be able to produce explosions or car chases. Although I am going to involve both the protagonist and the antagonist as a flash-forward.
Tuesday, 6 October 2015
Our Kit Kat Chunky Video: Experimenting with Final Cut Pro X
