Filming for Editing: Summary

15th October 2012

Summary

As part of our New Wave project one aspect that we had not yet looked at was editing so we decided that our next step was o film some footage that could be used to utilise certain editing techniques. To begin we wanted to shoot footage that would be appropriate during editing to make use of the "Kuleshov experiment" where a single shot of an actor is used in juxtaposition of various images that the audience obtain different meaning from, during editing the footage will have the shot of the actor intercut with these different images to convey different meaning and emotion behind the images. To reference the initial Kuleshov experiment we used similar images to be intercut with the actor, a skeleton, a bowl of soup and a doll, which are similar when compared to the original Kuleshov experiment which used a casket, a bowl of soup and a woman to represent different feelings that the audience could interpret.

We also decided to shoot footage that could be used to create continuity editing and that applied to the 180 degree rule, where the action in the scene always takes place at the front and the camera never crosses a 180 degree line, so over the shoulder shots can be used to show different points of a conversation for example. The scene we set up was a simple conversation by two people at a table so we could shoot both of the subjects from either over the opposite subjects shoulder or from behind them  so that we can edit the footage to jump cut between the two, shot reverse-shot, to give it the appearance that the conversation is jumping between the two subjects as in reality, while also obeying the 180 degree rule.

Equipment List

• 1 Canon 5D DSLR camera
• 1 Tripod
• 1 Compact digital stills camera
• 3 SD memory cards of 8GB or higher
• Miniature Studio light with "Barndoors"

OH&S: Occupational Health and Safety

For these practices in Filming for Editing techniques we would be in the lighting studio which is an enclosed space and could contain various hazards which would be detrimental to crew safety, and the risks involved with working with equipment in such enclosed areas is posed also and these hazards must be observed and resolved before filming could commence. The hazards that could pose a danger are as follows:

• Limited work space, danger of falling and causing injury to oneself or others
• Risk of tripping on cables and wires across floor
• Risk of being burnt by studio lights
• Risk of studio lights falling on crew members
• Risk of damage to camera equipment
• Risk of damage to lighting equipment
• Risk of fire

These hazards are easily prevented by following certain procedures such as:

• Being cautious of surroundings while in the studio area
• Ensuring all cables/wires that may run across floor are kept in clear visibility
• Ensuring that crew do not make unnecessary physical contact with each other to avoid injury from tripping/falling/other
• No inappropriate behaviour in the studio such as running
• Ensuring all equipment is securely fastened or locked into place e.g. tripods etc. to avoid damage to equipment or injury from equipment falling on crew members
• Being cautious whilst handling equipment such as cameras and especially the studio lights to avoid damage/injury
• Ensuring there is easy access to a fire escape in case of fire