Editing Stuff!
Well it’s looking more and more like I won’t be able to help
with the editing on this one. It might even be wise to say to Nike that it
won’t get finished until tomorrow, as I get the feeling the cameras might not
be here until half 3…
Anyway, here are some things that could help with editing
the character piece.
First: Edit it in the .fcp file called “dawaterfront”
(except there are more vowels in the real name, thanks Cara). Create a new
sequence – you could even name it something appropriate if you really want. This will
create a new timeline tab, but you still have access to all the footage we took
previously. Hooray!
Second: Choose the story (I suggest the first one
Lexie
told, as we got some good footage of steamers at the harbour). Get rid
of the
footage track – we only need the audio. Now, edit the audio down to one
minute.
It will require chopping up bits and pieces from the middle – if you end
up
with something that sounds too clipped and strange add a “cross fade”
transition between the two clips and see how it sounds.You can adjust
the duration of the cross fade by clicking on it and then clicking
apple+J.
We’ll only need the bare bones of the tale, so remember the
skeleton of the story’s format: the beginning is Lexie leaving Edinburgh on the steamer, the
middle is seeing the submarine, the end is when the war began and she never
went back. Any other details are probably irrelevant, as nice as they may be.
Nike wants us to be more paced in our shots, so we have to
really pick our best ones and stick with them. Maybe limit ourselves to 10 or
15 clips, though that’s just a rough estimate and you’ll know by the end how
many is required. Last time I think myself and MJ just wanted to cram in all the
prettiness...apparently this is BAD so don't do it!
Match audio and visuals. But you already knew that.
Colour editing:
This really is about experimenting with filters – but
remember that too much colour editing can degrade the quality of the image.
Three Way Colour Corrector is your best friend. It’s an
incredibly powerful tool. You can use it to just play with the colours, or you
can use the little dropper tool to specify colours that you want edited. Just
play with it and you’ll figure it out.
To do a bleach bypass, copy and paste the footage onto a new
image track directly above the original footage. Add a “Three Way Colour
Corrector” effect from the effects tab to the copied footage. Set the
saturation low, so the footage appears in black and white. Go to “Modify –
Composite mode” and click “overlay”. This sets the opacity levels so the above
clip sort of…leaks through onto the original footage below, and the effect
itself crushes the blacks whilst maintaining the whites so you don’t get an
overly dark image. You can adjust the colours of the clip below to tweak the
image to make it look even better.
Also remember that you can copy the effect onto other clips
by using the “paste attributes” tool. To use it, copy the clip you want the
effects from, then go to the clip you want to paste the effects on to. On that
clip, select “paste attributes” and a dialogue box will appear with some tick
boxes. Make sure “filters” is ticked.
KEYFRAMES. They’re finickity things but once you’ve got them
down, they are incredibly powerful little fellas. Nike already introduced them
to us with audio – and that’s probably where they are primarily used in film
editing. You set keyframes with the pen tool. I suggest looking up how to do
this because this is very difficult to explain without having the power to show
you. Which reminds me of the most important rule of all when it comes to
editing:
GOOGLE IS YOUR GOD AND SAVIOUR. SERIOUSLY. Stuck? Google a youtube how-to, you’ll be well on
your way in no time.
When I’m away I will write up a proper guide to editing
sheet, and also give you gys some notes from my film textbooks I found useful.
Best wishes!! Keep in touch Maddrim, I'll miss you!
No comments:
Post a Comment