Run Lola Run Reflection

What did you think of Run Lola Run? Was the film what you expected? How did it surprise you? What were three things that you noticed in the film from the unit that you learned about?

Run Lola Run was an odd but interesting film. I was expecting something close to Sherlock, which demonstrates many different types of interesting transitions. I was surprised they incorporated an animated scene  n their film. I liked the second run when Lola tumbling down the stairs in animation was following by Lola as a real character on the floor after she tumbled down the stairs. It gave a alternate reality-like twist to the story. I was also surprised they used split screens in a film that is not based off of comedy.

Three thing I noticed in the film from the editing unit:

Cross cutting: The cross cut can be found between Lola's running scene and Lola's father's interaction with the woman.

Dissolve: After the death of Lola and Manni in the first two runs, the scenes dissolved into a red, then into Lola and Manni's mysterious scene in bed. 

Eye-line matching: This was most clearly seen during the death of Manni and Lola. They both looked into each other's lifeless eyes, facing directly into the camera.  

Motage Edit Status

What is the subject of your montage edit? What is it's status? Are you able to complete it in time? Why or why not?

The subject of my montage edit will be love; the love of family and the love of dance. The montage will be about a girl who grows up in a loving family. She begins to love ballet at an early age, and slowly finds herself being immersed into the world of dance. When she is about to go into high school, her father joins the military. A montage of the horrors of the war will be played side by side with the girl's dramatic dancing to express her emotional state. I am unsure whether or not the father should come back alive or not. My montage project already has a song selected and the basic storyline is made. I will most likely be able to finish it on time especially since this project can be easily worked on home, and exported as a premiere pro file. Images are also easy to find at home as well.

Murch on Editing

Summarize each of the six rules of when to make a cut. Why do you think cutting on emotion and story are so much more important than the next four?

1. Emotion: The overall emotion of the cuts must match each other to prevent the confusion of the audience. The cut must add to the preserved emotion.

2. Story: The cut must make the story advance. Each cut should be able to provide new information to the audience.

3. Rhythm: The cut must be placed so that it goes with the rhythm of the music to fit with the overall established rhythm.

4. Eye-trace: A technical rule to make sure to have a reasonable point of view.  The character must be looking in the same area as the previous clip.

5. Two Dimensional Plane: The 180 degree rule. Are the characters facing the same direction as the previous cuts?

6. Three-dimensional Plane: Objects must be coherently placed in the three dimensional world. 

Cutting on emotion or story emotion is much more important to than the following four because the rest of the rules can be used to disorient the audience to call attention to them. If the editors make a bad cut on action on emotion, the audience will not be able to fully immerse themselves into the story. However, the violation of other rules can cause the audience to be disoriented, forcing them to focus on the important scene.

Manipulating Time

Summarize the three techniques that she taught in this lesson. What is a way you could use each of these individual techniques going forward with your video's that you create?

Slow Down: The slowing down technique allows the audience to see the motion slowly, lengthening the duration of the clip. This can be used to emphasize a fast action of the clip in a more dramatic way. These will be most effective in dramatic jumps to appear as if the character is floating in the air for a longer span of time. This can also be used for hair blowing in the wind effect because it creates a dream-like atmosphere.

Speed Up: The speed up tool shrinks the duration of the clip. These are commonly seen in time lapses to show the flow of time within a couple seconds. Action scenes can be sped up slightly to appear as though the actor is moving faster than they actually were.

Reverse: The reverse tool rewinds the specific segment. This effect can create a magical effect because these reverse segments often display an action that cannot be done in real life. Using the reverse with the speed up tool may be able to create the effect of going back in time if used correctly.

Split Edits

What is a J or L cut? What do they do? How can they improve your edit?

The J cut is when the visual cuts after the audio, forming a shape resembling a "J". This allows only the video to be cut later or the audio to be cut earlier. The opposite is known as the L cut, in which the visual cuts before the audio, resembling the shape of a "L." These techniques can improve an edit by mixing audio tracks and visuals to create new sense of continuity. For example, in an L cut in which the audience sees the visual before the corresponding audio track, the reaction of the second (non-speaking) character can be observed. This allows the audience to understand the emotion of the second character towards the speaking character. On the other hand, if the editor uses a J cut, the audience can see the speaking character's emotional state after the character's line.

Natural Transitions P.1

What is a natural transition? What are three different techniques that this video mentions? What would each of them add to a scene?

Natural transitions are transitions intended to have a smooth flow to disguise the cut. These can easily cut between time and/or location.

1. Use similar objects or shapes

For example, since a clock and the moon both have similar circular shapes, they can be used to as a natural transition. This can also be applied to similar textures of the same color, such as the wall.

2. Use similar colors

Much like the wall example in #1, similar colors can be effective as natural transitions. This color can also be black, which can be created by covering the lens at the end of one shot and at the beginning of another shot. The blue sky is also a great example of utilizing similar colors.

3. Use similar camera movement

Camera movement can be effectively used as natural transition by utilizing the same techniques in two consecutive shots. For example, if a tilt from top to bottom is used in the first shot, it may look interesting to cut in the middle to another shot tilting from top to bottom. Swish pans are also natural transitions that create continuity through camera movement by disguising the cut through a blur.

What is an editor?

Drawing from what you've learned and experienced so far, what is the editors role in a movie? Out of all of these responsibilities, what are three that you could give examples of?

Editors create a natural flow in between shots by cutting, arranging, and correcting. 

Cutting: Editors must have the ability to cut parts of the shots which are uninteresting or otherwise unnecessary. This is an important skill to have, because the editors cannot choose the shots which are simply beautiful. A scene may be the most beautiful shot ever taken, yet editors must cut out the shot if it is unhelpful for the story.

Arranging: The editors must know how to arrange the scenes correctly to enhance the flow of the edit. This means the editors must choose which scenes are necessary at what moment in order to tell the story in the most effective manner. Some stories will not make sense if it is ordered incorrectly. The better the continuity of the edit, the harder it is the recognize the editor's job.

Correcting: Fixing the mistakes made in the raw footage is another job the editors must be able to do. No matter how cautious one is on set, some mistakes cannot be found unless the scene is carefully viewed by the editor. It is the editor's job to correct these mistakes by cutting them out or using special effects.

Cutting On Action

What is cutting on action? How does it seamlessly blend two shots together? What are two things that you must keep in mind when cutting on action in your films?

Cutting on action is an editing technique which means to add a cut when there is motion occurring on screen. It seamlessly blends two shots together by forcing the audience to focus more on the action rather than the cut by cutting on an action frame. When cutting on action, the editor must keep in mind that the action of the scene must flow together. For example, if the preceding shot cuts right when the character touches the door knob, the next shot must show the door opening immediately. This way, the flow of time and action are not disturbed by the cut. Another thing the editor must keep in mind when utilizing this technique is to storyboard before shooting. Not only would this make the editing process easier, but it also helps when shooting the film to have a preplanned list of shots.

Mise-en-scene

What is mise-en-scene? How is the term used in the film industry? What are two reasons that it is so important?
Mise-en-scene is "the arrangement of everything that appears in the framing " In other words, it is the entirety of what appears on screen including the set, lighting, and costumes. The term is commonly used in the film industry to describe the result of the collaboration of people who create on screen what is asked of them from the director. Academically speaking, this term is most often used to describe the overall feel of the movie. Mise-en-scene is important because it communicates a certain emotion to the audience. The sets and costumes, as color of the screen can evoke different types of emotion. Mise-en-scene is also important because it communicates the context of the story or character. For example, if a character is wearing a scrub, the audience can make a reasonable conclusion that the character is a nurse.

What is Timecode?

In your own words, explain what timecode is to someone who has no idea. What is it? Why is it so important for editing video?

A video is a cumulation of multiple photos displayed in sequential order. Time code allows the editor to define the frame in a sequence indicated by the CTI, or current time indicator. The CTI will most often be seen as a long vertical line on the timeline panel. The four groups of numbers are hours, minutes, seconds, and frames. Time codes are important to editing a video because it helps pin point a certain frame at a specific time. For example, time codes can be specifically typed in the editing software to reach an accurate frame. A full length movie will require more attention to time code in order to differentiate from good shots and bad shots. Professional videos require more attention to detail of frames in order to maintain continuity between shots or tell the story more effectively.

Premiere Pro Surprises

How are you getting used to editing on Premiere Pro? What surprises you about it? What challenges are you having?

I am starting to learn a couple new keyboard shortcuts, mastering the use of c,v, i, o, and '. I understand sequence types to a certain degree and I am starting to understand basic color effects. I was surprised that the audio file is always separated into two, and I have yet to figure out why that is. I was also surprised that logging is an important part of editing, because it seemed like a long and unnecessary task when dealing with short films. I am still challenged by management of files. Everything because very confusing when a shot is identified incorrectly. I am still trying to learn new keyboard shortcuts, because I accidentally press an unknown button at times which causes unknown effects on the timeline. I continues to struggle with time controls; I am still trying to find where the speed curve is located.

Guide to Montage Editing

What are three concepts from this article that you can incorporate into your montage edit? Why did you pick these three? How can you apply them in the edit?

Use Symbols: I chose the use of symbolism because incorporating this tip in a montage edit helps the audience create a story within the seemingly disoriented and unrelated clips. It provides a way for the clips to connect with each other without having it be the same location or time. I can apply this tip into my edit by first looking for a thread in between the shots. Once I have found a theme within the multiple shots, I can create the edit to emphasize the symbolism.

Mix Close-ups and Deep Shots:

I chose mixing close-ups and deep shots because I understand that variation in shots make the film much more interesting compared to a bland film with similar shots all around. This helps with the overall idea that a montage edit must make the audience "lose control". Having unusual shots in unusual locations keeps messing with the normal expectation of what's to come. I can apply this into my edit by allowing a variation of shots side by side; they do not require to be in completely different locations.

Use Color and Tone:

I chose this clip because I understand myself how odd a montage can look when the overall atmosphere differs between shots unintentionally. By making sure a montage has a similar color sequence, it can create a constant mood throughout the montage. I can apply this into my edit by using the color grading feature on Premiere Pro or by using look up tables to have a constant color. I can also make sure there is a specific color for most of the shots.

Linear to Nonlinear Editing

What three technologies needed to be invented to change the editing industry from linear editing to non linear editing? Why do you feel that each of these technologies were important?
Note: Please be specific.

Videotapes:
This was the first non linear editing program. Although it was extremely difficult to operate and forced editing to be a more technical process than a creative process, it helped the lead the way to more efficient ways methods of editing. The introduction of videotapes allowed a great reduction of the cutting and gluing process. 

Computerized VTR: 

The computerized VTR allowed the editor to include in and out points. Previously, cutting a film was a physical job, in which one had to cut the beginning and the end of the shots. this reduced the amount of expensive mistakes.

SMPTE timecode: 

This system allowed single frames to be located in a scene. Prior to this invention, editors only had a general idea of where the cut should be placed, yet through this invention, it became a step closer to nonlinear editing, cutting frame by frame.

Montage Editing Techniques

Summarize one of Pudovkin's techniques outlined in this video essay that interests you. How does it contribute to the storytelling in the modern movie clip that the narrator talks about? Why do you find this interesting?
Parallelism contributes to the storytelling in the modern movie clip by placing an obvious symbolism or allowing time to flow naturally for the audience. This technique can create a sense of correlation between the shots in a more elegant way. I find this very interesting because these shots successfully achieve similar shots in different time periods in different locations yet they still flow nicely together due to the visual similarity or audio similarity. Parallelism is also interesting because the two different shots can contain a suggestion for future events in a plot.

Continuity Editing

What are three perks of continuity editing that this article mentions? Why are they important? What are three rules mentioned later in the article that help you achieve good continuity? Why are they important?

Clarity: This helps the audience understand the story better by allowing them to see which parts are important to the plot, in the order in which they make sense. The clarity of continuity editing in crucial for storytelling in order of plot.

Hides Editing: Good continuity allows editing to be hid, which allows the audience to be more immersed into the story rather than the cuts. If a continuity editing is done poorly, the audience would not only be confused, they would also be more focused on the editing.

Rhythm: The rhythm continuity editing creates can build suspense or expose the mood of the scenario. This way, the views would understand the kind of mood a character is feeling or how dangerous a situation is.

Keep the same style: Switching from a style to another style is a totally different deal compared to switching from a different rhythm. Switching styles in a certain edit can confuse the audience because it changes the flow of the edit.

Have an establishing shot: Including an establishing shot before a scene helps the audience have an idea of the setting. For example, if the establishing shot shows a farm with little technology, we know that the story is going to take place on either a poor farm or a farm back when technology was less developed.

Cut on action: Cutting on action helps hide the editing. If the editor decides to cut when the action is settled, the scene can feel cut off, which causes the audience to feel confused or alerted. Cutting when there is no action should only be one purposefully.

The Early History of Editing

What do you notice about early filmmakers in regards to editing? What similarities did you notice between early filmmakers and the mobile films that your classmates have made?

Early filmmakers had one scene that never moved. These often consisted of a medium shot which did not pan even if the subject went out of frame. After some innovation to the editing process, scenes were put together to form a story, but each scenes were very long compared to modern day movies. The early filmmakers' films and my classmates' films are similar in the sense that they both had very shaky footage. For the old filmmakers, this was due to the quality of the camera, but for us, it was because we refused to put the phone down for our mobile video to be steady.

Beginning your editing journey

How does it feel taking your first baby steps? What are three things that surprise you? What are you finding difficult?

It feels amazing to finally be able to use Premiere Pro. Learning how to edit quicker and more efficiently is very exciting, because it leads to improvement in the film overall. I was surprised that every single shot has to logged by the description of the shot. Although the process takes a long time, I learned that it helps especially when there are numerous amounts of clips. I found it surprising how useful the zoom in and zoom out features are. Not only are they easy to locate because they are identified with plus and minus, but they make editing in detail so much easier. Keyboard shortcuts were familiar to me before, but finding new useful shortcuts were some of the most exciting parts of editing. Using the "`" key to select a certain area into a full screen, and using "ctrl A" to select all are some of my favorite features. I find it difficult that the normal keyboard shortcuts I use are different on Premiere. Although these default keyboard shortcuts can be changed, I lack the knowledge to know which position is ideal for editing.

Organizing your edit

Why is organizing your footage so important to editing? What are two things you found really helpful that you learned in this video?

Organizing footage and accurately logging footage will speed up the editing process. By putting files into folders or marking the clips, it can help the editor find the shot faster. If the files are not logged or put into folders, editors would have to watch every scene based on the thumbnail, which will be time consuming and inefficient. Smart Bins can be used to put together files that similar in names or style of file. For example, the audio format can be put together in one folder by selecting the type of file. These can potentially decrease the time collecting similar shots. Slates can have additional information added to the clip. Information such as crew names, scene numbers and the type of lenses used for the shot can be added manually. This can also be added in the description box found when it is scrolled towards the right. These descriptions can also include the question if it is an interview shot.

Raiders Boulder Scene

What did you notice about the way that the boulder scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark was edited? In your opinion, how did the editing play a key role in the opening of the film?

The scenes with the most actions had the most cuts in it. The most important angles of the story was used in the cuts to help tell the story. For example, the scene where the guy is holding onto the rope had a closeup of the rope in order to emphasize the importance of the rope for his survival. Most of the shots that were hard to recognize as a cut has similar movements in both shots, which helped the flow of the edit. When a character is running from left to right, the next scene would also have a continuation of that left to right motion.The cuts usually showed where the most audio is coming from, whether that is a footstep or a conversation. Also, regards to the audio editing, some of the audio was made to go from the right to the left in order to follow the visual.