Post Production- Editing

Editing refers to the post-production process of making a film. It allows us compose different clips into one timeline creating a sequence. This process involves cutting raw footage into manageable chunks and putting together out of these different shots from different angles. It also allows us to put credit titles into the clip as well as adding sound effects to create atmosphere and mood throughout the piece.

The program we used was Adobe Premiere which is a composition/editing software. It allows us to edit any clips that we import into. What it does is that it has a timeline in which we can put all of our different shots into to create one seamless sequence. We can add sound, titles and effects as well to achieve what we're trying to make. Before we started editing, we need to decide on many decisions such as whether to still stick to our '1 shot' sequence where the whole opening sequence is left into 1-shot as the way it was shot or whether we should cut from objects to objects as the 1-shot may not look that good due to unstableness and shakiness of the camera. We, together as a group, made the decision to stick with the 1 shot sequence as it would be more unique and more challenging to make them look professional. We also needed to decide whether to stabilise the footage or not and the colour-grading whether to add it in or leave it as it is.

In the editing process, I was in charge of the credit titles, putting together different shots and make sure that the continuity was perfect, adding textures to the sequence such as the zooming out of the last scene and the fading of the title. I had to make sure that all the credit titles shows up at the right time which doesn't interfere with what was going on in the sequence. I also had to make sure that the focus of the audience stays on the answerphone messages and  the objects in the scene and not the titles. All of this had been done in the editing suite allocated by my teacher. We assigned different tasks for each person in our group, for example one person is responsible for the soundtrack and sound effects etc.

On our first editing session, we put the raw footage into the timeline and roughly putting in place on what goes where. We used the selection tool to select clips in the timeline and move it to where we want to. We also used the track selection tool when we need to select more than one clip at a time to move it so that it fits with the sound effects. While cutting each clip, we used the zoom tool to make sure that the point we cut each footage is absolutely accurate so that the continuity would be perfect. We used the hand tool to move around the timeline so that we can select different points to make changes to or cut. We also used the razor tool to cut a clip into 2 different clips when we wanted to extend a particular moment of the shot.

Due to the shakiness of the camera when the sequence was being shot, we decided to use warp stabiliser effect in our sequence. This effect basically allows us remove unwanted camera movement from the footage such as wobbly handheld shots. To achieve this we need to analyse the footage as well as render it so that the footage plays smoothly as possible.

From this editing process, I learned how to use basic tools in Adobe Premiere such as the selection tool and hand tool as well as the more advanced tools like the razor tool. I also learned the process of adding titles and selecting different fonts/sizes to suit the sequence. I also learned how to add effects such as transition of videos and other components such as the zooming in between one shot and another or zooming out. These skills has helped me to be able to edit my own personal work and allows me to perfect the thriller opening sequence as I have learned to use the software properly and effectively.