Thursday, 19 January 2017

Marking up script

What is marking up a script?

Marking up a script is when a director identifies the coverage of each shot. This is incredibly useful for a director because it allows them to see the shots they have covered for each scenes.

Below is an example of marking up a script:








A director should used this because it gives them a clear picture in their head of what scenes they have successfully completed shooting. Without marking up a script, it becomes an extra thing to think about on top of all the other aspects of film. It is simple and effective. It links to the organisational skills a director needs to have to produce a film.

Continuity

What is continuity?

Continuity is combing shots together in order to create a sequence of shots that brings the audiences attention to the story the director wants to get across. You might wonder what would a scene look like if it did not have a good level of continuity. The audience will become confused and their attention will question the realism of the scene rather than being engaged to the story.


Good continuity is key to having a watchable story. It is key because the audience will feel like the action that takes place is real and not staged.


Below is a good example of continuity editing:





As you can see from the clip above the action flows. Their is not a moment in this scene where one shot is irrelevant to another, they all merge together to create a watchable scene of action.

Jump cutting

What is jump cutting?


Jump cutting is where the camera jumps to a shot where the scene can be enhanced. For example, a girl is crying in a medium shot. The shot can then jump cut to a close up of her face to portray her emotions further.


For the audience, this enhances the scene dramatically. It enhances the scene by viewing actions in different ways without dragging out scenes. It comes down to the flow, the flow of jump cutting at the right times. You need to ensure that you jump cut at the right moment otherwise it can seem like the editor is unprofessional and can draw the audiences attention away from the content of the scene and towards the poor editing.


Below is an example of jump cutting:






The clip above is an example of using jump cutting to cut time within a scene. The audience new what was coming when he was shaving off his beard however it would be unnecessary to show a 10 minute clip of the actor cutting his facial hair. The director used jump cuts to speed up the scene to keep the audience engaged.

splicing

What is splicing?


Splicing is merging together two shots of photographic film together. This is important because you need to to merge together shots to create a flow. Obtaining flow within shots is essential to making the film a successful edit, the better the flow of shots, the better the image will appear to the audience.




Below is an example of splicing:




As you can see from the clip above, splicing is done physically with a splicing machine. It is essential for merging the clips you want together to form a flow of footage that you want the audience to see. Not splicing correctly could cause the audience to become confused with what you, the director, is trying to portray.

Transitions

What are transitions?


Transitions is the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another is the official definition of transitions.

Transitions make the space before each clip become smooth and easy on the eye.


Below is an example of a transition:







As you can see from the clip above it shows example of different types of transitions. They make it easier on the eye of the audience to stay engaged clip to clip. The important thing to remember when using transitions is that you need to use transitions at the right moment of the shot, near the end of the shot is perfect because it allows the audience to view to transition from scene to scene and the effect makes it look more professional.



Thursday, 12 January 2017

Cutaways

What are cutaways?

A cutaway is the interruption of  continuous filmed action by inserting a view of something else. Cutaways can be used to create further suspense for the audience when the climax within the action is rising.

An example of cutaways being used to withhold the action would be the clip below:





The clip above is poor acting however the cutaway is there. Notice how the action has climaxed and the audience is anticipating is the girl is going to fall off the balcony. Then, all of a sudden, the camera switches to a person who is witnessing the event take place. This creates further tension for the audience because the action is withheld so they are left to anticipate what happened.



Point of view shot

What is a point of view shot?

 A point of view shot is a camera angle used to obtain a point of view from a character which the director has chosen. For example, if the director wanted it to be in the main characters point of view he would make the shot behind him or looking forward so the audience sees what the character sees. This would be a first person point of view.




Why use point of view shots?

Point of view shots are effective because they make shots seem more realistic for the audience. Having a point of view shot means the audience can see from a characters point of view which makes a scene more powerful. The audience will feel like they are their and can relate to what the character is feeling based on their point of view.


An example of a point of view shot:



As you can see, this is a first person point of view shot. This means that the audience will see what the person is seeing. It makes the scene more powerful by capturing what this person is seeing, the audience will feel the struggle of riding up the hill, they will feel the sun beaming down on them and imagine taking in the breathe taking scenery.