❈ Final Major Project ❈
— Ethan Feinberg —
Reflection from lessons
30.03.2021
In the lesson we had in the morning with Sam we learned about genres and how to accurately analyse them, we studied the difference between Iconography, narrative and thematic how to correctly decipher which is which. We used our knowledge of genres to figure out what certain movies genres were such as "Paranormal Activity" which we decided was a mix of horror and thriller. We then chose which type of traditional conventions matched up to certain movies depending on context after watching three movies trailers. One thing I picked up from the lesson is that movies cant be categorised as one specific genre and they cant be put into a box, they have many different aspects and fit into many different genres.
20.04.2021
Signature Techniques
Edgar Wright: Fast-cut Action Montage
Fast-cut editing is an editing technique that consists of short cuts repeated throughout a scene. This can build suspension in the scene and make whatever is happening seem more intense. Some movies where he demonstrated this editing technique are baby driver in the chase scene and in Hot Fuzz.
Steven Spielberg: God Lights
Stephen Spielberg uses god lights in his films to showcase an actor or actress in either a negative or positive way. This depends on the scene and the character involved in the scene. This can make someone seem somewhat angelic when the light is coming from behind them. It shows them in the centre of the screen so they are the main focus, but on the other hand, the light coming from behind an actor can seem mysterious or frightening. An example of his use of god lights is the scene in E.T when they fly on the bike with the moon behind them, this was to show the wonder and magic that was surrounding him.
Wes Anderson: Symmetrical Framing
Symmetry is used constantly in Wes Anderson films to pin point important scenes and put emphasis on whats at the centre of the frame. Most film makers use the rule of thirds in their films and often like to have the focal point be either in the left or right side of the screen as this implies it is less scripted. But somehow Anderson manages to use symmetry in a somewhat hypnotising way, when you see symmetry in an Anderson film you know that its an important moment or that he wants you to acknowledge the character/ object in the centre of the frame.
Sunday Music Video Edit:
In our first lesson back to college, we had to film a music video for a chosen song; my group decided on the song Sunday by Easy Life. I filmed while Ben acted, Sophie & Stella directed the video, and we went for a simple video with a crazy looking background as we thought this went the best with the video. The purpose of the task was to use a dolly shot, but we didn't use it; I think our group got distracted with our original idea and lost sight of the task. Either way, I like the outcome of the video. Using the green screen behind Ben was a good choice and gave us a lot of creative control because we could choose whatever we wanted to be behind him.
Editing to the beat of the music:
In our third lesson, we got given 15 minutes worth of footage, and we edited to the beat of the music, which was also provided. My video failed to render, so I have used Sophie's to show the task; I edited mine in a fast pace style to build the scene's tension and make it seem more dramatic. We were given videos of the woman driving out of her window, close-ups of her face, and clips of her gear stick. The track was relatively easy to fit the video to as I made keyframes and then knew where to cut my clips. We also so some examples of when music videos have been edited to the beat of the music.
Black and White & Speed Ramping:
We had a lesson on using tints in our videos and how slowing down/ speeding up works, and what effect it can have on your video. Videos can be changed entirely by altering the colours within them; for example, using tints in a video like a car chase would change it from being tense and exciting to possibly being scary and as if you are expecting the worst. Film studios use tints all the time to make what they film fit the style they're going for or even to turn a scene into black and white to show the significance of it.