The Editing List

This is a list that was compiled by our group which contains all the particular parts of our project that must be improved either through post-production or by re-shooting shots.

The way we came to these decisions was by watching the rough-cut all together and picking it apart frame by frame and stating what needs to be improved and how we're going to do it. 

Ultimately this list is going to be helpful when it comes to re-shooting the project but also in the editing room ; this list will help remind us what definitely needs to be done in order to perfect our project.

Thriller Opening (1st Draft)

This is the 1st draft of our edited sequence which only contains the footage without any titles added to the piece. The reason for this edit was to test out the footage that we shot along with anything that may impact the flow of the sequence. What we picked out was that there are in fact many shots that poorly fit with the next ; making for a poor match on action. We also encountered two shots that weren't stable enough which caused difficulty seeing what was happening on screen.

However, we where extremely impressed with the lighting in the sequence which was a successful test; there were also a few shots that we perfectly shot that we had planned from the storyboard. But due to the faults in continuity; caused our group to decide on re-shooting the entire project in order to perfect on what we did well but most importantly learn from this draft and focus on fixing the shots that affected the continuity of the sequence.

Overall I felt that this draft gave us the chance to reflect over our ideas testing what works and doesn't work; allowing us to see how we can improve our project and make it better as we move forward with the project and ensure that the re-shoots reflect on what we've learnt from this draft.

1st Editing Session

'Preview screen from the editing session'

For the first editing session my aim was to at least have a complete draft of our entire sequence that only included the footage itself without the credits or any other visuals added within post-production.

As the director of this project I wanted to approach this editing session with the intentions of taking the footage we had captured throughout the entire course of filming and then edit the sequence to match frame by frame with the animatic. 

'Editing timeline from the rough-cut'

I approached this idea by overlapping the edit I had made for the animatic with the footage for the sequence to ensure that the shots played for the exact amount of time it was intended to last instead of possibly changing the way we planned the sequence to be.

Once the sequence had been assembled, co-editor 'Jamie Gerrish' and I spent a large amount of time playing the sequence repeatedly and analysing our project in order to then see what's the most logical way to handle our project throughout the rest of post-production.

After Jamie and I spent while screening the sequence, we had compiled a list on what needs to be altered within the edit of our sequence; we then came to a conclusion that we must re-shooting the entire sequence. This decision was made after looking at the footage we had already taken and realising what worked and what didn't; then caused us to learn from our first attempt and execute it better in the re-shoots.

Once we all had got together as a group, we all had watched the sequence then Jamie and I explained our thoughts on what we need to change in terms of the editing of the sequence but also explaining why we should re-shoot the entire project. Once the rest of our group had understood our judgement and came to terms with this idea we all collectively agreed on the decision.

2nd Day of Filming

As we had prepared for this day of shoot with the set already organised; we quickly delved into capturing our shots. The 2nd day of shooting consisted with us finishing the remaining moment left to film within our project which was in fact the very opening sequence which involves the actor assembling the bomb in a low light room as he works facing a wall which displays a collage of terrorism.

A look at Aayush Joshi as 'Joseph' at work

As the director of the project, I am delighted to say that today's shoot was an absolute success ; we were able to capture all the shots we needed to deliver our sequence and the cinematography was stunning due to the lighting that helped deliver a sinister tone to the sequence that we intended. 

The overall execution of the sequence we had shot today looks phenomenal and in some cases has surpassed my expectations regarding the mise en scene of the set which was yet again was  supported by the cinematography and the lighting of scene which I thank my director of photography "Jamie Gerrish" for helping me achieve the look I wanted by suggesting alternative camera angles and lighting techniques. I would also thank actor "Aayush Joshi" for delivering the character of Joseph by providing such an ambiguous mentality to the character.

I look forward to entering post-production on our project where my co-editor Jamie Gerrish and myself will assemble the clips and include a musical score to truly refine the execution of our sequence. This will also give us the opportunity to notice aspects of the story that may acquire improvements resulting in potential re-shoots.

Testing Set Pieces 'The Collage'

Once we had put together the props and set pieces needed for the opening sequence. We primarily focused our attention towards the collage in relation to presenting it in a manner that involves arranging it so it looks as it is psychotic yet organised.

In order to achieve this, we began by sticking them on the wall and displayed them as if it were a piece of art scattered like a twisted mural of horrific acts of terrorism.

'Shot Test'

Once we had in fact finished the ensemble of the collage; we then placed the actor within the scene and took a test shot of the set in order to provide the crew an in sight of whether or not it's coming together the way we intend it to which our response was yes in deed it has due to the distinctive match it has with the conceptual art from the storyboard. After the testing, we felt confident and prepared for the shot commencing the following day.

Set Development

Before we shot for the rest of our project in the opening set piece involving the desk and wall collage; our group got together a day before shooting in order to prepare the set ready for the shoot.
As apart of the preparation, we spent a few hours discussing how we want to execute the sequence regarding the scenery of the environment how we want to light the scene in order to help set the tone for the sequence. In addition to this, the discussions help resolve some minor issues regarding narrative relating who the sequence will deliver the subject regarding his involvement in the story.

'Our group discussing and planning the scene'

We began by discussing how the scene is going to play out in order to give our group more clarity in regards to how in fact we should arrange the set in order to tease the story the way we want. We first started off by discussing how we were going to arrange the collage on the wall and all of the other items on his desk.

'Crew commencing preparation for filming'

Once our group had finalised our ideas and reached a collective agreement; we began to prepare the set for shooting the following day in order to save time and to ensure that we have fully prepared ourselves and truly dealt with the pre-production stages of our project.

The collage of Articles

An important set piece within our opening sequence is the collage that the character 'Joseph' has up on his wall ; which is seen throughout the majority of the sequence. The articles are meant to illustrate the themes of the story we are teasing in our opening whilst conveying the subject's immoral intentions. 

The articles have to be related to terrorism; regarding my task in gathering these articles I felt that I had to get various events from different sources stating events. Another form of media I thought would have been interesting to incorporate was various pictures or text symbolising the acts of terrorism.

Once I had gathered these articles and other forms of media, I sent them to my fellow group members which they approved that they each had relevance within our project due to the alarming messages they each illustrate which are related the the themes and ideas we wish to represent in our opening sequence.

Scouting for the 'Collage Set"

Within our sequence, the subject is placed within a low light room where is which he is sitting by a desk facing a wall covered with articles and other forms of media conveying ideas related to terrorism.

Our group got together to scout for rooms within various types of buildings that could fit the visual aesthetics of the scene we've envisioned. 

Location #1

We as a group agreed that this set was not suitable for our scene due to the colour of it's surrounding was not what we intend to scene to look, simply because we want the colour the be warm orange or white in order to portray a convincing environment that would be interconnected with an existing house.

Another issue with this set is that it lacks both electrical power running through the unit and that it doesn't have the primary set pieces of a desk and chair; which to acquire those items would involve a great distance of travel to transport the props to the set and then take away.

Location #2

This location was what we had ultimately decided fitted the concept we had in mind for the scene all from props to lighting; the location has a clean and well kept environment which will help benefit our sequence when attempting to portray the idea that this location is apart of an existing house.

The only minor issue that we have encountered is that in regards to the location, our group much reorganise the layout of the room in order to make way for the desk, props and other set pieces.

1st Day of Filming

Before the end of the term has ended, our team decided to film the last scene within our project which in fact takes place entirely in school. I am delighted to say that it was a successful first day of production in which we had captured all the footage we intended to shoot; the footage looks satisfying and will be edited whilst we wait to continue with the rest of our shooting schedule. 

A look at Aayush Joshi as the lead character 'Joseph'

Regarding today's shoot, after looking back at the shots we'd taken in comparison to the shot list ; we may have to alter the shot list due to change of mind regarding the aesthetics given by the shots simply due to the narrative in which they provided. Since now through the camera technique of not revealing the subject's until he enters the class room.

Location Scouting for the "School"

The Corridor

*INSERT PHOTO

In order to introduce the location within the sequence; the character is seen walking through a corridor. In order to illustrate to the audience that he is in fact placed in side a school, we wanted a corridor that reflects a school and that is why we had chosen this corridor due to the simplicity of its straight path providing us with easy mobility for camera placement and movement.

The Classroom

Within the last 30 seconds of the sequence, the scene takes place within a school so we wanted a classroom which due to its brief time on screen; we wanted a room that audiences would immediately  associate as a classroom due to the use of learning posters and school folders around.

The Shot List

This is the entire shot list for the production of our project; this list will act as a guide but also as a reminder to what in fact we'll need to shoot and capture during the times acquired on location. Within the list it includes specific details regards shot types and duration in order to reminder the creative team on what in required for the shot but also to aid the creation of this story.

The Props List

Due to the fact that we are in deed preparing to shoot our project, we have been compiling a list of all the necessities required for the duration of every sequence within our project. We have listed all the required props and accessories needed for the various moments within the sequence ; this list will help provide our creative team a reminder of what is needed within the project in order to tease the story we want to tell within our thrilling opening sequence.

Coursework Animatic (Final Cut)

This is in fact the final draft of the animatic for our project; this was re-edited with an entirely different song in order to convey the particular tone which our group have agreed that it does embody the gritty yet unsettling vibe we want.

Overall this animatic has provided us with an insight regarding shot duration and the ways in which the sequence will presented.

Character Outfits

Within the opening, the main subject within the sequence will be seen wearing 3 different outfits in order to convey a particular aspect of the character. The character will be played by Aayush Joshi who will in fact wear the different items of clothing when required throughout the production.

Outfit #1

The sequence opens with a home-made video illustrating the subject's intentions to set a bomb of at 12:30 ; within this sequence Aayush will be wearing a black coat,trousers and gloves along side with a halloween scream mask to conceal his face.

 Outfit #2

After that sequence has finished, Aayush is then seen throughout the duration of the piece still wearing black trousers but has removed the jacket and the mask but is wearing a black vest. This outfit will subliminally state that lack of clothes will suggest to the audience that he is in fact in his domain where in which he can feel free to expose himself freely without the need to present himself in way that society deem appropriate.

Outfit #3

As the character is within the school environment, Aayush will be wearing the stereotypical accessories an individual such as himself would be expected to wear. As he is in fact meant to be portraying a male sixth form student; he'll be seen smartly dressed along with glasses in order to camouflage amongst the others.

Coursework Animatic (1st Draft)

Since we had finally finished the storyboard for our project, we decided to compile them together to form the first draft of our animatic. This draft was used not only to visually present our concept to provide our team an idea on the sense of the tone; our main interest was to try a particular song choice and decide from the animatic regarding whether or not we should in fact proceed with that song selection.

The song selection was an opera track which was aspired through our interest to challenge the typical conventions of a traditional thriller opening by including a classical track whilst presenting dark and gritty imagery. However from this draft overall as a team we ultimately decided that the track didn't effectively provide a sense of tension towards the audience; we have therefore decided to go back a choose a far more relevant track and re-edit the animatic till we are happy with the final concept. 

But the animatic is pleasing in regards to how in which the footage will be presented within the sequence; from the next draft of the animatic will give our team another glance at our concept. 

Storyboard for the thriller project

Progress with our coursework project

What are our job roles?

Benoit Ganesan - I am the director and co-editor of the project which in other words entitles me to helm duties to ensure that our group remains on schedule and remains on task. Regards to development; I am developing the ways in which we are going to achieve the visual look of the project that we as a collective team have agreed upon.

Jamie Gerrish - He wrote the screenplay along myself in order to help our team have a verbal illustration of the sequence in order to help the creative team fully understand the tone of the piece. Jamie is also a concept artist for the team by drawing the storyboard in addition to being the director of photography helping the director visually capture the aesthetics regarding colour,lighting and angles in order to fully achieve the director's vision. 

Aayush Joshi - He is the member who came up with the concept for the sequence which he will in fact play the lead role of the antagonist "Joseph" . Regarding the development of the project, Aayush is researching costumes in which could inspire our vision for the character's outfit. In addition he is researching past work that we can use as creative inspiration to the visual look and feel of the work. 

Ashley Banger - He is assigned to be the production manager supporting that we're getting our own individual tasks done to ensure that all aspects of the project are met to high degree of input.

What have we done?

Over the course of the week we've remain on schedule regarding the development of our concept for our thriller opening. Our progress consists of us finalising our ideas for the visual look and the tone of the piece which has been visually illustrated through the creation of a storyboard for each prime frame of the sequence; the storyboard is a way of visually presenting our ideas in order to further develop the project by debating whether or not certain aspects may or may not be needed.

Further signification of our progress is the assembly of an animatic for our project to further present our ideas and to help us visually test our ideas before we commence principle photography.

In regards to visually presenting the conceptual artwork for our project; we have a range of ideas of particular types of tracks which we are interested to include in order to convey the tone we so desire.

What do we still need to do? 

However, now we must proceed to approach the filming stage of production. But in order to do so, we must have found locations regarding where in fact the sequence will take place whilst deciding on the outfits for the character.