Master Editing Techniques

 Our assignment this week was to make a film using the 5 master editing techniques. The 5 techniques being contrast, Leitmotif, simultaneity, symbolism, and parallelism, which I think we did a pretty good job in displaying.

The first editing technique we displayed was contrast, as this was the easiest one for us film. For contrast we first showed Aidan bullying me into a locker, immediately after we showed him giving his old and frail dog a treat. These are two contrasting actions that easily let the audience understand the editing technique.

The next scene we filmed was Leitmotif. For this skit we filmed me essentially bullying bez by shoving him, tripping him, etc. After every scene of me bullying him we would zoom into my face and play a sound effect we edited in. The sound effect is a Leitmotif, it is meant symbolize me bullying bezalel.

The third scene was simultaneity. For this scene, we first showed me walking through the halls, saying how much I love bezalel. We then filmed the same for him, where he says how much he loves me (Ryan). At the end of the skit me and bezalel collide, and begin to fight. The audience can easily tell that me and bez are simultaneously saying these things.

Our fourth scene we filmed was displaying symbolism. Although this is a pretty simple word to depict, I think my group did a poor job in doing so. For this skit we show me pointing at bez and making fun of him for being a senior, we then cut to me pointing at the senior poster saying how much I hate seniors. Bez was meant to symbolize a senior, but I think we could have done a much better job for this skit.

Finally we showed parallelism. The first shot shows me walking down the hallway, and I get jump scared by Brian, it then cuts to me screaming at a video game. The parallelism is that i am screaming but for two completely different reasons.

Overall I think my group did a great job in showing the different master editing techniques, even though we could have done better in some aspects, I think our work is adequate

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One Word Film Activity

     The film we were assigned to make was a short film where the characters did not speak, and we were asked to convey the word greed. My group and I edited the entirety of the film on iMovie, where we added sound effects to further express our word as much as we could. Greed is quite an easy word to show, and I think me and my group did a great job in doing so, as we used all the resources we could to further express our one word.

Originally my group decided upon filming a majority of the film at home, but we quickly agreed we should utilize the large spaces in our school to further portray the word greed. After scrambling on what story we should use for the film, we found it best to show the main character (bezalael) picking up a dollar and refusing to share it with a homeless man (Aidan). We found this to be the easiest way to convey greed as not giving to the poor is one of the main examples of greed in the real world. Although the audio may not sound as though it supports the story, we chose to use the background music to increase the suspense and speed of the short film. We also used the sound of the cymbal when he slaps away the hand to further emphasize him refusing to share the dollar. Not only this but the group found it best to use the close up of the main characters face to show he was pondering on the idea of not sharing the dollar.

I do think my group could have utilized the wide hallways much more as well as the different rooms in our school. Although we were lacking on quality equipment, lighting, and editing software, I know we should have taken more time on filming rather than editing the film afterwards. The wandering students in the background of the video can further confuse any viewers, but overall I don't think it effects the film to much. Our acting as a group was very subpar, and if we really put forth more effort into acting, I do think the film would have turned out much better.

This is my favorite scene of our short film, mainly because it really portrays the word greed in the exact way we intended it to. Without this scene of Bezalel slapping away the homeless mans hand (Aidan), then the audience really would not be able to tell what our one word was. This scene took the longest to film, as we really wanted to show the greed inside of Bezalel, as well as making it somewhat comical. Something we did not intend on was the trash can being beside the homeless man, which I think is a great touch. The trash can helps show that he is broke and on the street, even with our limited resources in the school hallways.

I really like our use of the canted angle shot that we used just before this scene. It does a great job in showing that he is in someway below him, as he is asking for money. This shot further expresses the sense of greed throughout the film.