Post-production - 'Utopia'

Post-production is the last stage of film production: sound, editing and titling is completed during this time. Planning (pre-production) and production is essential as post-production can only do so much if the original footage is inadequate; during this time corrections can be made but this is not the purpose of post-production. The audio will be mixed, extra sound added where necessary, shots improved and the order of these shots and events will be established.

The Wired article on how Utopia got its comic book look explains that in order to re-create the look of a comic book, Munden turned to the Technicolor palette of 1950s Hollywood. The old fashioned way to edit colour was to colour in each frame by hand using mainly greens, blues and reds. The three-strip Technicolor process Munden used was composed of the opposite colours: yellows, cyan, magentas; these colours are what gives the show its lively eye-catching look that everyone is so mesmerized by. The video below shows just how vibrant each scene is.



Here are some shots that depict exactly how much a simple change in colour can change the whole mood/feeling of a shot:

Before

After

Before

After

Preliminary task

So, our first task is to create a short film opening. This involves a character opening a door, walking across a room, sitting down opposite another character and exchanging a few lines of dialogue.

Within our opening, we must use some important shot types. Here they are along with the definitions:

Match-on-action - where the editor cuts from one shot to another view that matches the first shots action; it's a form of continuity editing.

180 degree rule - a basic guideline that states two characters in the same scene should have the same relationship. You must not cross the 180 degree line from both characters.

Shot reverse shot - an editing style to present the scene in a linear and chronological manner, typically used in conversation to quicken the pace e.g. arguments.

I'm working with Katie, Jess and Lauren to produce a mystery film opening!

Action scene

Jess, Katie and I were given a task to complete a short action scene involving a knife fight. Our film had to include a wide shot to show both characters facing off, close ups to show the character's faces and emotions, cutaways, a whip pan as we threw the knife to show speed and most important of all, the film must include a dramatic death! After finally getting our desired shots, we used clipper, an editing app for iPhones, to piece together all of the takes; this gave us our end product. I hope you enjoy the film as much as we did making it!

Camera angles

 

Here are a range of practice shots involving Katie Robinson and myself, we related these to a bullying storyline to make it easier to understand the many different camera angles. Enjoy!

 

 

This shot is an over the shoulder shot to show the emotion of the character on the left, it shows intimidation and disgust. This shot also allows the audience to see with the character sees.

This is a low angled shot to show the power of the character and make them seem taller than they actually are.

 

This is a long shot to set the scene, also known as an establishing shot, and it's also used show the character in full, we focused on the net to show the character as isolated and trapped.

 

 

This is a two shot showing both characters in an equal way, it's used to show conversation and to establish relationships.

Welcome!

I have not studied Media before but I have always wanted to know how TV and film are made. I am looking forward to finding out more about this. One particular area that I am looking forward to studying is the editing side of film. I believe that editing really gives a film its finishing touch and makes the audience feel more involved.

The task, to create a 2 and a half minute film opening, sounds like a fun and creative opportunity and I can't wait to get started.