Fiction Adaptation: EDITING

Through out my editing process, I decided I would align the clips of that day up in the edit the same day. This was so I would be able to edit straight away and edit sections together instead of waiting to film everything and then editing it all together. This saved a lot of time and made editing my clips more enjoyable as I didn't feel rushed at all. Towards the end of the edit however, I did feel quite stressed as I was still doing the graphics and sound which made my edit more stressful. 

At first editing was quite simple, I aligned all the clips together to see how much I would need to cut out - which was a lot. I really didn't want to cut out my introduction to the garden party, where Nancy greets her friend at the door and they drink tea, as I felt I had some really nice shots. However I was 2 and a half minutes in and the poem hadn't even started yet! I also still hadn't added all the clips in as I had some more filming dates which meant I knew I would need much more time.

The next step I had was finding an old fashioned filter that fit my film. I didn't want a tacky over the top filter and most certainly didn't want it in full black and white as I feel the colours in my film make it have a sweeter tone as I feel black and white would make it too sad and serious and I wanted mine to have a mixture of emotions. I finally found a good effect called 'Dry Heat' it was a nice tinted brown colour which worked really well with my 20's theme and enhanced the look of the costumes and hair. 

I then began adding in the narration for the poem. I found this difficult to do as when I saw my story in script form, it felt like everything would fit together - but I underestimated the time it took for actions and movements to actually take place, which meant sometimes the clips where too long and sometimes they didn't fit parts of the poem enough. For the narrator, I decided I wanted to use both my actresses who played Nancy. To do this I figured out on a line at the end of the poem I decided I would blend both their voices together and gradually the older version of Nancy would take over and recite the poem. I asked the two woman to read the poem out slowly, so luckily on the lines they fit perfectly together!

The edit became the most complicated when I needed to cut parts to the music (the dance scene) and when I did some choppy cutty parts when the soldier is on the screen. I found it hard to cut the clips without making it look too weird and distorted. I also wanted to cut the ladies dancing to the music at the start of my story however I could only do this for certain parts or the footage wouldn't edit together well.

There was also problems such as continuity. As I filmed the young Nancy's scenes over two days, I had to make sure her hair looked the same. However I unfortunately did her hair slightly different by mistake which I personally think is noticeable as it looks longer (her her is clipped into a faux bob). The second continuity problem I had was the fact that strands of Nancy's hair kept coming out, I tried to fix this whenever I saw it happen, however I noticed on some clips strands of her hair is hanging out.

Throughout the sound edit (after finally getting all the sounds I needed!) I began editing them into my piece, which really brought my film to life. I really like the sound in my film however i'm still unsure on certain parts such as when the sad music comes on when weird things happen to Nancy and when her locket falls on the ground, I think it sound a bit too sci-fi with the bleeping noise.

Finally, I had to create a graphic match in my piece - where one photo from one era blended into another shot of the same photo but 50 years later. I found this hard to do as I stupidly filmed the shot differently... One shot is filmed from the angle looking up, whilst the other is straight on. I found it difficult to match them together however I used the transition fade tool so it makes it look better. I wouldn't have been too bothered about including the graphic match, however it's crucial in the change between the young Nancy and the old Nancy.

As the time limit for the film was only 5 minutes, I feel I struggled to manage time adequately. I filmed too much and had to cut too much out which was upsetting, however I did learn I need to think more when writing the script as although a page is a minute, it could be more if what you write has a lot more going on than you think, or if the characters move slower.

Overall, editing the film has had it's ups and downs but I have enjoyed editing it as it's something I like doing. I've learnt a lot about time management and making sure continuity is always the same as it's hard to fix. If I could change something it would be probably getting a composer for my sound effects as I'm really happy with the chosen music, however I think the sounds aren't specific enough - especially the outdoor sounds which are really off putting.

Fiction Adaptation: EDITING GRAPHICS

The graphics process during post production was extremely time consuming but the finished product was definitely worth it!

I wanted to add an old fashioned tint on my film, but wanted the red apple and red rose to stand out in a bright red colour so they became noticeable to my protagonist in the story.

I wasn't sure how to do this and even Fergus was a little stuck too! Eventually we figured it out and I realised I needed to create a lot of masks and layers in After Effects to create a shape and add a colour over the top of it.

THE APPLE.

To begin with, I imported the clip of my character Nancy holding the apple up, I then created an adjustment layer and clicking on the original clip, drew a mask around the outline with the pen tool. After many failed attempts at moving onto the next frame and moving the mask I realised I was doing it wrong as the mask from the previous frame was moving and didn't stick in the position I wanted. I finally figured out I had the wrong key frame turned on and needed to have the mask path key frame turned on not just the mask general keyframe. In after effects the clip is broken down into how many frames per second (25) this meant I was editing 25 frames per second and if there was a huge movement in a shot it was annoying to individually move each little dot on the pen tool as for some reason I couldn't move the whole mask. After this I went to the colour correction page and clicked on the 'Curves' tool. This brought me to the RGB (red, green, blue) switches which I could move around to get a colour on my mask on top of the apple. I turned the red up high so that my apple would stand out against the tint on my film. I am really happy with the outcome however I know it does look a little cartoon like.

THE ROSE.

The process of making the rose red was similar to the apple, however throughout the very very long apple process I figured out a few things that made creating the graphic quicker. Firstly, I found out that I can actually move the mask on each key frame instead of using the blue dots to move it (which took so long). This made the process much quicker, but I needed to make sure I had the 'position' key frames turned on on each frame movement under the mask layer. Throughout this process I also realised I could use the tracking tool to track the motion of the clip and click on the rose so it would track the movement. This meant I could 'parent' up the mask layer with the tracking layer so that I only had to create the mask once as the mask followed the track. Most of the movement was quite smooth when I tracked the motion and didn't need much adjustments. 

I also realised that I could save a preset of the colour adjustment which meant it would be same for both the clips of the roses and I could save the exact colour I want. When creating this graphic I realised that the rose looked much better than the apple which was disappointing as I think it brought the look of the apple down compared to the bright rose. After a long few hours I finally had the apple and rose clips sorted out. I really like how they turned out, especially the rose as it really stands out against the background. The next step is to do the same again but for the small rose which you briefly see at the start of the scene as Nancy catches a glimpse of it from the corner of her eye. 

Here is a before and after of the rose which I'm pleased with.













The next graphic I did was create the smaller rose, this was the easiest one to do as I'd spent days creating the above too, watching tutorials on YouTube on how to do it, creating many attempts at the idea with a LOT of failures, but I finally created it, so had a lot of experience in how to do it. The small rose was easy to do also because of how small it is and the layer I had to create was really small. Here is the finished product. From zoomed it in looks very rough however when it's zoomed to it's original place it looks really effective.









The last graphic I needed to create I was worried about doing. I needed to import the character Jack's photo into a small locket that my character Nancy drops on the floor. To do this I decided I would try use the tracker as this would track the motion and hopefully line up the photo for me so I didn't have to spend too much time manually editing it in.
I began by first tracking the motion of the locket when Nancy holds it, she didn't move it too much which was lucky as I didn't want the photo to look too fake and obvious it had been added in.
After resizing the image of Jack and parenting it with the tracking layer, I finally had my starting point. I next needed to go over each key frame and re position and size it so I knew for definite that each key frame looked perfect. A lot of the frames didn't need adjusting, however the ones that did made the others look weird, so I ended up adjusting a lot of them anyway. This was once again a very long process however I got through it in the end. Next, I needed to change the colour of the image and turn up the brightness as it didn't blend in with the photo frame and looked too 'flat' and stuck on the image. I played around with added blurs to the edges of the photograph to make it smoother and blend in more with the locket, however I couldn't get it spot on and I still feel like in the final product it looks out of place, however I'm happy with the way it turned out considering I hadn't tracked an image before.

Here is the image of Jack in the locket Nancy is holding.

Overall, I'm happy with the way the graphics have turned out as I was definitely new to doing these sort of intense graphics in films. I definitely have pushed myself with this and have learnt a lot of new skills in After Effects which i'm happy with and feel more confident using the programme. 

The down side of learning new things is that it takes SO long to learn, I was getting really irritated that I couldn't figure out how to do some graphics and couldn't find any tutorials for ages and wanted to give up as I was using so much time up to do it, not knowing whether it would be worth it. However I'm glad I stuck with it as the rose and apple especially made my film look much better and I don't think it would of had the same effect if the apple and rose where just a normal dark colour and blended in with the background. I've learnt that time management is key and that I should try learn things before doing it as trying to figure it out yourself might work eventually, but takes ages to do.

Fiction Adaptation: THE SET

For the set in the back garden I wanted to create an old fashioned style layout with cups and a cake stand to portray that my characters are upper class.

To create my set I took a simple green table and placed a white table cloth on it with lace around the edges to create an old fashioned style. I then added some wooden chairs around the table as I researches furniture back in the 20's and found wooden chairs. 

Next I placed 2 cups opposite each other and made sure you could see the floral pattern on them. I chose to buy small cups as I feel these portray my character better as she is very delicate and petite. 

The central piece of the table is the cake stand with all the little cakes on it. My character is very organised and neat so I made sure that the cakes all had a pattern and wasn't just placed randomly on the stand.

I wanted to make sure my scene was realistic so tried to add as much detail as I could. I really like the bright sunny shots but I feel like when I add the old style effect it will made my scene look much more realistic.

Here is the finished table set.

Fiction Adaptation: LUNCH ARRANGEMENTS

As I'm going to have an intense first day filming, I've offered my actors some lunch. I want to do this as first of all they will be hungry, and second of all I want to make sure my actors are all well fed and comfortable throughout the day. I feel like offering them at least lunch (travel exp. only paid for one actor) will make up for not paying them and they may have more respect for the production.

Throughout the morning and afternoon we will be taking short breaks and I will be offering them teas and orange juice.
I'll also make a big selection of sandwiches at lunch for my actors so they aren't going hungry as well as some biscuits and crisps.

The lunch is pretty basic for my actors but it's quick and easy - hopefully they will still appreciate it and enjoy the production!

Fiction Adaptation: LOCATION SCOUTING

I've decided I am going to narrow down ideas of where I can film and choose some definite places.

In my mind I considered shooting at the following locations:

-[EXT.]a backgarden

-[EXT.]a park

-[ETX.]mote park

-[ETX.]markets

-[INT.] kitchen

-[INT.] empty room

-[INT.] bedroom

-[EXT.] memorial

But I visited some of the locations and did seem to find problems with a lot of them. Here are the problems I faced and then the solutions I came up with.

Firstly,

When looking online at mote park (never been before) I thought it looked absolutely beautiful, there was a long tight path with trees from both sides creating a path for my actress to walk down, it looked really nice and I thought if I go down and visit it, I can take a better look.

When visiting the park I found that the spot I wanted was really hard to find, it took another 15-30 minutes to walk round the park to actually find  a good place to film, which wasted more time and I was worried I would forget where about it was on the day of filming and waste more precious filming time. Also as it's winter, the location doesn't look as pretty and nice as the photos. The leaves have all fallen off the tree's which makes the location look more horror based than a dramatic summer piece. I also realised that it was a 40 minute walk from the first location and if I wasn't 100% sure on the location - it would be a huge waste of time and money (as I wouldn't want my actress to walk there as i'm shooting it the same day at the scene in my garden). I decided the location wasn't for me and crossed this off my list.

For the memorial scene, there is a memorial plaque near my house near Maidstone West station. As it was recently remembrance day - the memorial looks beautiful filled with hundreds of stunning red poppies all around it and notes from people. When first walking past it, I really liked how it looked. However, when going back to the location I thought it wouldn't fit with my story, the reason was is I want a photograph of Jack in a photo frame and another of Jack and his best friend, along with a box with her locket in it and the poem, but why would Nancy bring all these things to a memorial, to take them out just to put them back? I thought it would make more sense to have her lighting candles in her room creating a very dramatical piece in a dark room with just a spot light on Nancy. This was my original idea and I really do feel it will create a stronger story than an old lady being sat at a memorial with lots of objects. Another reason I didn't choose this location is because I want her to walk away from the memorial and I worked out that Nancy is 20 in the 1920s and the older Nancy is 80 which means that the older Nancy will be set in the 80s. I feel that the background wouldn't fit an 80's theme and it also has too many modern things in it. Therefore i've completely crossed this off my location list.

I wanted to film at some old fashioned markets as I feel this would add another dimension to the theme in the 20's. However, when scouting markets I could only find some that where on a Saturday and Tuesday. When filming i'm being very specific as I do want the sunshine (although with a filter it might not be too obvious it's not sunny) and I found that these days where raining - continuity would become broken from sunny filming dates. I also found that when I visited the markets it would be hard to make them look old fashioned as they are busy and if costumes are not old fashioned it would be very obvious and ruin the whole style of the film - which I desperately don't want.

Although the 3 locations above are proving to be difficult to find a place to film, I had lots of back up ideas so I aren't stuck.

An idea that wasn't a back up idea but was pure luck was a small field with benches and large tree's when walking back from mote park. I saw it and decided to explore it more. I really liked the look of it as it was small, had a nice grass part to film on and had lots of trees and areas which I could use to walk out of shot. I really like the park and I am definitely choosing this for one of the scenes when Nancy leaves the garden party.

I also needed a garden in my film and immediately wanted to use mine. This is because our garden is quite big and long with lots of grass available and a huge back door which I want. It's also free to use whenever I want. I've decided I'm going to film the garden party in my back garden. 

For the beginning of the film and towards the end, I want Nancy to appear in the kitchen as she is setting out the garden party and also when she comes back from her walk and finds a letter left from the army about her husband dying. I've decided to use the kitchen at my house for a few different reasons. The first is what it looks like. Luckily when we moved in the kitchen is the lower floor which means it looks quite old fashioned as it's sort of like a base ment and the walls are old styled. We also have a huge brown table which I thought is perfect as I need an old fashioned style table. I knew that when I added an old style effect to my film it would make it look even better. Another reason I choose the kitchen is because it's big and has lots of space. If our kitchen was small I definitely wouldn't have used it no matter what, this is because I need space in the kitchen for my character to move around and if it's too small it will look strange and off putting to the audience. The final reason but least important is the convenience. I can use it when I want and I know when people are most likely to need to use it for cooking (which is hardly ever in the morning...!) so I knew I would have availability to it!

As I mentioned above, I want the memorial (remembrance) scene instead to be in a dark room with just a table and spot light shining on the old Nancy. Once again I luckily have a spare room in our house which is absolutely perfect for what I want. The room has a window which doesn't let too much light in as it's the ground floor. I tried placing a desk in front of the window, shutting the curtain and turning the light off (during daylight). Even without the lighting kit the room looked really nice and dramatic. However, I definitely do need to book out the lighting kit as I need light in the room to make it look warm and show how my character Nancy is isolated and alone - I also think it will add drama to my film. 

Overall, I'm happy with the locations I've chosen and I'm glad I went out and looked for them as if I only looked online at mote park and turned up on the day I would of wasted at least 2 hours (travelling there and back then walking around looking for somewhere to film) and also if I just appeared on the day I might not have been completely happy with what I found. Another reason I'm glad I scouted locations is because if I hadn't have gone to mote park I wouldn't of found the other small field/garden that I want to film on for definite. 

Fiction Adaptation: BIG UPDATE.

So today is the day of filming day 1, and I have 4 of everything. 4 cups, 4 dresses, 4 bracelets, and a couple of hats. However, I received 2 emails last informing me that my actresses can no longer make it as they have other film commitments (paid, of course).

For my this was a huge deal and I was worried what my film would look like with two 2 girls.. I started worrying, emailing applicants and extra people asking them to be in my film. I did get an applicant however she decided it was too far away. It really annoyed me that I had over 15 applicants for the role of Nancy (and they agreed to be auditioned for the role of the friend too) but then everyone suddenly dropped out on me last minute. Luckily, my main character was very dedicated and the other character was too.

I had to plan something out instead of worrying, so I decided to change the idea and have it as a two person best friend garden party instead. I was worried it wouldn't work -however I when filming today it worked much better anyway, and I would of had too much footage and not enough room anyway if I had 2 extra people. I also wouldn't have been able to fit the girls round the table and it would of been awkward to film a round circle - so this actually did work in my favour luckily. This also meant I had more choices of dresses for the second character as I wasn't keen on one of the dresses as a 1920s style anyway.

In conclusion, I think it worked in my favour that the girls dropped out, even though it is irritating I wasted a lot of time planning and developing each character in terms of personality and costume. However I learnt that it's not always a waste as it did turn out for the best and I did expand my organisation skills a lot when doing the research and buying of the costumes.

Fiction Adaptation: FEEDBACK SO FAR

Today I showed my fiction adaptation to Helen as I wanted some feedback so I wasn't showing it to her a week or less before the deadline and wouldn't have chance to make any dramatic changes.

To my surprise, she seemed to really like it and complimented that it was beautifully shot. I was really worried the costumes wasn't going to be up to scratch even after the exsessive research done, but to my luck - Helen said it was on point.

Helen told me I needed to add more natural sounds in the background along with the radio soundtrack which I agreed with and planned to do.

Overall I'm happy with the feedback as I really was doubtful if she would like it as when I pitched my idea and wrote my script, the feedback wasn't too good - however I feel much better about my idea now.

I am going to make some changes and show it to Helen again and Simon and class mates to try get as much feedback as I can.