Editing Diary- Sound Effects

I had planned some sound effects that I wanted to use in my opening. I had originally planned to use a heartbeat sound effect a cannon sound effect a clock tick sound effect. I later decided that I wasn't going to use a clock ticking sound effect because I had already included the sound effect in my production logo and also because I had changed my plan so I decided not to include it in my opening.

I was looking for a website that offered copyright free sound effects for me to use. I was recommended by a friend to visit a website called: freesound.org. Freesound.org is a place where people sign up and post copyright free sounds for people to use. I spent some time playing through the vast amount of sound effects they have. After going through over 50+ sound effects, I had chosen the sound-effects I was looking for. This stage of the editing process took the longest because
 I had to cut the sound effects over the selected clips. This in its own right took me a long time, however that was not the main issue I faced. Some of the sound effects needed to be played a few times in a row. This became a problem because I had to try and make the transitions between the sound effects sound natural. This took a lot of trial and error and a lot of time and I tried to make it seem as natural as possible.

This did teach me however the significant importance of editing and why it is crucial that you carry out a planning process. Shortening and cutting certain sound effects down and repeating it proved to be a challenge, one that lasted over the course of a few days.

The Opening

This is the link to my film opening video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhoWhEa36vw

This opening is 1:59 which is just under the maximum limit of two minutes that the opening is allowed to be

Editing Diary- Run re-film

As I have mentioned in previous posts, the brightness was a clear issue when filming over different days. I had to re-film me running because the first time I filmed it I found out that it was too bright. I had to re-film me running.

This took me a while to edit because I had to cut the run into smaller sections because if I didn't reduce the run clips it would have exceeded the 2 minute mark and I am not allowed to exceed the 2 minute mark. I also had to adjust the backing track to fit with the run scene.

This did take some trial and error to shorten it to the correct length but it was reasonably simple and didn't take up too much time as I just replicated what I did with the previous footage.

Props

Props was a tricky part to consider when planning my film. Since I changed my film idea in the planning stage it was tricky for me to decide what props to use. I then brain stormed some of the stereotypical items you would expect in a horror film. Some of the ideas I came u with were, Knife, doll, eye, gun and mask. I found however that using a mask wasn't going to be a good idea as I didn't feel that any of the masks were relevant for a devil based film so I decided not to include it. When planning, I had to re-film the eye shot multiple times as it was tricky to get my eye close to the screen without the camera getting very blurry. I found this an issue as the camera found it hard to focus close up but after multiple attempts I got it to focus.

The use of these props are important because they are meant to make the audience confused and wonder what relevance they have to the story. This would be cleared up if this opening was to be turned into a film. Here some of the prop footage that I used within my opening. I filmed more than I used but it is always better to have too many than too little. I also re-filmed some of the shots as I was not happy with them. All of these shots were mine and filmed myself, I did not take them from any copyright free website because I wanted to make my opening as original as possible. When I was looking for props, I was looking for props that were stereo-typically seen as sinister. This is because I wanted to create tension in the opening so people will want to carry on watching my film. My questionnaire results showed that scary horror films are most enjoyable for a 15+ film.

A big factor I had to consider was target market. When filming, I had to take the 15+ audience into account because I have to make sure it is suitable to that specific demographic. 15+ films do not focus on gore or blood. I took this in mind when filming so I didn't focus on blood and gore. This is because if I did, there is a chance my age rating would be increased to an 18. This means my product couldn't be marketed towards my specific target audience. This is why I stuck to sinister clips because I wanted my opening to be tense but without blood and gore.

Editing Diary- Sinister Clips

When it came to editing it involved some trial and error. Some clips required more time than others because some need more concentration. I tried out different lengths for the clips to see which ones needed more viewing time and which didn't.

This picture includes a few of the sinister clips. The clip on the left (The Light) is longer than the clip on the right (The Eye). This is because the light requires more attention as it is turning on where as the right it is just a quick glimpse of an eye.

This is an example of how the sinister clips need to be of different length. I also made all the shots black and white. This is because I feel that colour will make the opening seem less tense. Not having colour also helps with light levels. Some of the shots are filmed on separate days. Bright colours grab the audiences attraction and draws their focus towards it. Taking away the colour helps the audience to focus on the scenery and the camera work.

It took seconds to make the shots all grey-scale but it took time to find the right length for the clips as I didn't want to exceed the 2 minute time limit as the openings have to be under 2 mins.

Editing Diary- Background

This day of editing was reasonably short. This was because I was adjusting the volume of the backing sound effect. When I was speaking I had to lower the volume of the backing.

This took a while because I wanted to make sure that the backing track wasn't too loud but at the same time not too quiet.

I had to adjust the backing volume for the footage because I wanted to make sure the backing track didn't over power the audio.




I also had to fade in the talking because it was very loud when the audio came in so I faded it in so the audio doesn't just start abruptly. This was all the editing that I did this day.

Editing Diary- About the Grove Devil

In my opening, I didn't want to give too much away in terms of the background behind the Grove Devil because I wanted that would have been outlined if I made this opening into a film. For editing, I inserted all four clips of the talking scenes. I then separated the sound from the clip. This is because as I was talking about the Grove Devil, I wanted the audience to see my journey getting to the woods and also to see me talk to the camera. This is because I wanted the opening to feel more personal. This direct address makes the audience feel involved. The cut to the street while I am

talking also allow the characters to feel like they are with me on the journey.

These two shots are screenshots from my talking about the Grove Devil scene. The sound volume had to be edited because it was quite quiet. I had to increase the audio volume and decrease the backing sound effect to make my lines clear when I am talking about the Grove Devil. This is because those lines are very important to the story as they explain who the Grove Devil is and where he is going. Without this information, people would be unsure on why I am going to the woods.

I also had to cut the footage about halfway because I needed the camera to switch from the street to my face because I wanted my face to be included while I deliver the dialogue because I wanted it to feel more personal while addressing the audience. This was because I wanted to add more verisimilitude so that the audience can feel empathy for the character as he goes into the woods alone.