LO5: Be able to edit recorded footage in post-production to create a cinematic quality product

LO5: Be able to edit recorded footage in post-production to create a cinematic quality product

Editing in Post-Production (Effects)

Title Card

I created the title card I wanted to be presented in the short film on Photoshop; it's base source came from the 'Bebas Neu' font applied onto a golden background filled via paint bucket too create a simple colour contrast of white on the 'Old Fashioned' cocktail inspired colour palette. This colour choice was inspired by other (crime) dramas like Killing Eve which transition from a scene of similar colouration into a title card that reflects the very same colour scheme, creating a cinematic transition. I also used the shape tool to turn the apostrophe in 'I'm' into a star to further the theme of 'luck' within the film's visual style.

Credits

Similarly to the title card, the credit sequence I wanted to be comprised of multiple photoshop images edited to fit the style of the film and its climactic ending. As a base source, I used the font 'Ignotum' due to it's conventions within film posters or film credits, especially in the zeitgeist of the 1970/80/90's which the film draws inspiration fro in relation to other 80's media like 'The Big Lebowski'. I then rasterised the type and applied a blood spatter effect with a red splatter tool brush and created a worn down black background effect with the same brush and varying opacity settings. 

Adjustment Layers 

To further the low-key-lighting conventional of crime-drama film, I wanted to make some scenes darker in the final production of the film therefore, I sourced adjustment layers on Premiere Pro and changed their lighting values to create a darker image. I then extended the length of the adjustment layer on the film's timeline as appropriate for each relevant scene.

To edit the colour tones in a scene, I edited the RGB curves to make the central lighting darker and reduced some of the red tones to create a colder image reflective of the dark connotations of the genre.

Vignette

When sourcing the vignette for the short film, I used the circle feature/effect within Premiere Pro and applied stencil alpha onto the adjustment layer the circle was placed upon as my base source for the effect. I then increased the centre and radius of the effect to make the circle larger and feathered the edges to create the illusion of a vignette on screen, with edges that become more opaque as they bleed into the centre of the scene.

Analysis of Post-Production Techniques

Through the inclusion of post-production techniques such as vignettes and adjustment layers, I have been able to create artificially intense, low-key lighting to further the connotations of danger typically elicited by crime drama film. These tense connotations could be furthered by post-production splicing through the use of J-cuts to create frenetic confrontations in character dialogue during their interactions in high-pressure scenes. This meant that sequences of predictability like shot-reverse-shot and traditional conversational maxim (exchanges) could be furthered to create verisimilitude by way of interruption: this helped to create further realistic (and dangerous) undertones for the audience.

Through the exploitation of light, I could manipulate the colours of each shot to create juxtaposing connotations between characters. The way I organised this during filming was to set up the mob boss in a corner isolated from the natural light peering into the scene; his only illumination coming from a tungsten lamp behind him. For the protagonist however, they are depicted in a vulnerable, exposed natural light which, like with the mob boss, could be furthered with cold colour palates in this exposure to further the connotations of danger for the character and juxtaposition in the shot-reverse-shot structure.

Final Film

Note: Final Film suffered a lighting issue due to how the media file was exported in Premiere Pro creating overly bright imagery and vivid (red) midtones in a couple scenes