After researching, phoning a friend, and messing with Adobe After Effects, I was finally able to get rid of the reflection in the shot. We wanted to get rid of the reflection in order to not distract the audience with the camera and people and so that we could maintain verisimilitude. Figuring out After Effects was rather difficult, but the results were more subtle and believable than any edit that Premiere Pro could do. After effectively blurring out the people and camera, the next challenge was exporting. That was a long process because the simple export button that I was used to in Premiere did not turn the image into a video clip. So instead of sending it to export, I had to open a render tab and manually send the video to my hard drive. Its easier said than done. Eventually, I got the blurred video into my Premiere project and was able to overlay the original footage with the blurred. Unfortunately, a bit of egg falls onto the pan at the exact location of one of my blurs so halfway through the shot, a piece of egg seems to have a halo around it, which is not realistic. So I only put the blurred video over the original video until the egg was there to hide one of the blurs. The result was phenomenal; one of my finer moments.
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It HAPPENED! Our number one fear that we thought was completely irrational....Garrett shaved..... Now our MAN has a different appearance and unless he puts some miracle grow on his face, I don't see how we can change that. We do have some options. We can either reshoot in order to maintain continuity (not recommended) or we can put in a montage that communicates that he shaved (highly recommended!). So all is not lost. This is one obstacle, but with a few more shots we can make it art. Today, I was able to complete all the editing for the amount of footage we have. Using the script as a guideline, I organized the sequences in the film in order to determine where shots go. In the breakfast montage, I decided to put the burner shot before the cooking egg shot because of the logic of turning on a burner in order to cook an egg. In the script, it depicts the burner being after the egg cooking. I pieced together the eating scene and left space in between a couple of shots to signify to myself that we will need to get a few extra shots in order for the sequences to make sense. I reviewed the video that we had and noticed that in one of the shots, there is a reflection that shows the camera and a few people in our crew. I didn't have time to figure out how to correct the issue. Today was very successful, but that reflection is going to bug me.
A significant part of our film was edited today. I was able to sync the video to the audio for all of the footage that we have and I organized the two montages. One montage is of the process of cooking breakfast and another shows the empty rooms in the house. The breakfast montage is meant to establish setting, prompt the audience for the next sequence, and provide an interesting communication of the actions of the killer in a series of short shots. The montage with the empty rooms will be shown later in the film to emphasize that the loneliness of the killer is what prompts him to seek out a new family. It is shown after we are presented with the first victim to show that despite his habit, he still feels isolated from humanity. I think these two montages are very important in the film and help convey more meaning. I am very happy with the progress thus far.
Probably one of the most boring, yet necessary parts of editing is importing the shots. Not only did I import shots but since we recorded audio separately, I also imported the sound too. Oh and thinking of it, now I have to make sure the footsteps and the voices correspond with the video correctly. I was hoping to have a bit more time to actually edit, but we were still very successful and the process of going through our video helped me figure out where I want the shots and how the arrangement should be.
Fabulous day today! We completed the two montages, and did a bit with the kitchen and dining room scene. Unfortunately, no extras were able to show up so we could not complete the dining room scene or the major death scenes. It was very important that we included continuity in our shots. We were often faced with the idea of having the light source from one direction and then not having enough light on a particular closeup. In order to promote aesthetics and continuity, we simply adjusted the light so that it would appear to come from the correct direction but in reality, the light would be closer and more at an angle. We have a series of shots that may prove difficult in establishing continuity because they are from two separate rooms. We shoot the walking down stairs into kitchen at the major stairs in the front of the house and the kitchen in the back of the house. Sound effects and editing magic should be able to make it work.... In class, I edited the night scenes a bit more and collaborated with the team. We were able to discover shots that we need in order for each sequence to make sense. Also, we tried to figure out the essence of what we are trying to convey to the viewer. In the scene where the victim is escaping, we used focus changing when filming in order to show his confusion and the impact of the paralytic drug on him as he is regaining control of his body. In order to continue with this concept of confusion, we put one take of the victim running under the opacity of 70% with a different take of the victim running with the opacity of 30%. The result was phenomenal; it created a double exposure that showed the double vision and uncertainty of the victim at this point.
I created a new project and began the first edits of the film. Since the film has well lit environments followed by dark scenes, I separated each light to dark couple into their very own sequence. This helps prevent confusion in the editing. I had difficulty editing the parallel edit that dealt with the escaping victim. I wanted to have the audience relate to the victim by having the POV shot; however, it would be juxtaposed with a closeup shot and and long shot. I am worried that it may jar the audience, but that also may be a good thing in order to allow the audience to understand the confusion of the victim that is recovering from the paralysis drug. I will have to double check but I think it will work without causing confusion. It may be necessary to eliminate the shot of the victim running away from the camera, or we can superimpose it with the head of MAN in order to convey his knowledge of the escape. I also have footage of a shadow that may be useful to convey that MAN is watching.
So it looks like we are going to do the inside scenes at my house. In order to prepare the house for shooting, I wanted to alter a few things to make life easier on all of us. First thing is that I removed all personal items and anything that would likely change (jacket on a hook, grape juice on the counter, etc.) By removing these, we would have less difficulty with continuity and confirming that all objects are in the correct location every time we shoot. I also organized the living room to have the major shot of the couch very parallel. With the natural arch in the home, I have a clock in the center of the wall, the couch below it, and a red rug centered on the wall as well. By having this important shot extremely parallel, it will be disturbing to the viewer and it will communicate the unnatural level of control that the MAN wants to have over the family and the home. The arch way symbolizes the structure of the family unit and MANs determination to maintain the unity throughout the story.
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