Editing Analysis

The process of editing was an exciting challenge, having never used Final Cut Pro before, we were given the chance to learn a new and useful skill. This software is usually only used by industry professionals, it isn't designed to be easy with lots of audio, video and editing transitions. To begin with i made three bins and split our clips into either 'location,interior exterior' shots. This made it easier to decide which clips to use at certain points. I began with using the locations shots to set up our film and let the audience know where our film is set. As our film is of the phycological thriller genre we needed to create a sense of mystery and building tension at the beginning. It also needs to come across that this character isn't normal in terms of fitting in with society. In terms of editing what we did to set up the story was to desaturate the colours of the clips of the inside of the car with Megan looking outside, this is because we are looking at Megan from our perspective (audience perspective) We wanted the audience to see that Megan's whole existence is mundane. We were going to make it black and white, but black and white suggests an air of glamour, that this character does not have. Instead we set the desaturation amount to 38 which means that some colours still come through, there just diluted which is what life is like for Megan. We then change perspective to looking out the window, we are seeing Megan's point of view.  In the editing we had to show that there was a clear difference between what we see and what Megan sees.  We experimented using video transitions such as blur, glow and stylise. However these all seemed too chaotic and took away from what we were seeing. So instead we decided that the best idea was to contrast with the desaturated perspective the audience have of Megan, making everything she sees overly saturated. We wanted her to look outside and see the road withe flats on it like everything is too bright, too harsh. By editing it this way we are showing the audience that Megan will not be able to cope with the outside world, she is not properly equipped to cope with it.

From this we then move on to the exterior shots of the flat where they are meant to live, from this point it began to get sufficiently more difficult. We had to create a flow of movement, its very easy to edit clips together but to make it naturalistic when switching angles/ perspectives is difficult. The first few times we edited the exterior shots together didn't work because the cuts were too quick in between clips which took away from the suspense of the film. The audience had to be taken in slowly. I tried making the clips longer and even that didn't work, it was still too quick. We found a solution to this problem by slowing the clips down by about 60-70 percent. This made a more natural flow, however some shots still looked misplaced. Going from long shots to close ups were a particular issue, as it looked fake and stilted. What we did on shots like this was added in a short cross dissolve which is the most commonly used transition as it looks naturalistic and is just a way to gloss over sharp jolts in between clips. Through editing these clips, we soon discovered how hard it is to stick to your original storyboard. When you plan your storyboard, the images are just still on the page, you just plan what in your mind will make sense. However once these images are on screen and moving, you soon realise that certain shots wont work in relation to others and will not describe the characters psyche explicitly. Some changes had to be made such as adding in more shots of the flats to show more of Megan's perspective, how she feels overwhelmed. In the editing we showed an image of Megan looking up at the flats then cut to a shot of her perspective looking up at them. We also realised we had too many exterior shots, and theres no way we could use them all, as we only have two minutes to set up our story. We decided we had to pick only the most vital shots, setting up our characters and setting up the plot.  For example in the exterior shots we knew that it was important to show the audience Jemma getting the box out the car, with the sticker 'fragile' on it. This is because the box is important, not only does it symbolise Megan's fragile state of mind, its also used later in the film when Megan takes the mirror out of the box. To show that this scene is important we didn't edit it at all, we left the whole clip as it was. It is quite a long clip in comparison with others. This also builds up the tension as it delays the impending action. We then showed Jemma and Megan walking towards the flats, we edited this so we see them from behind, as if someone else is watching them, then cut it to where we see a side shot of them walking to it. By editing it this way we wanted to show how worried Megan is about moving into these flats. She is feeling so many emotions right now and the audience need to be aware of this in order to sympathise with her character.

We had a lot of interior shots as this is where the main bulk of action takes place. We had already decided at this point in the editing that the whole film was going to be slightly desaturated to create a mundane appearance. This desaturation shows that there is no hope in the film of prosperity. In the interior shots we experimented with showing lots of extreme close up as an intertextuality to Hitchcock films. The first shot you see is a hand turning a door handle, creating suspense, we then see Megan's face and her hand turn on the light switch. Hands are claimed to tell you everything about a person, there past and there future. Megan's past is bleak and her future is looking bleak too.  In our editing we wanted the hands to stand out, to show Megan's cautiousness at opening the door, at turning the lights on and what is to happen. One particular scene that we filmed in the room that was difficult to film was Megan sat on the bed looking at herself in the mirror, then cutting to Jemma talking and finally Megan's reaction to what Jemma's said. This is an important clue into what happens later, the girl who lived theres clothes are still in the wardrobe, which is a key plot point. We couldn't afford to cut or miss any dialogue out. We first show Megan looking in the mirror looking at her reflection, we wanted to show the difference between what we see and what she sees. We added a video transition to this clip of an echo, glow and blur, which creates a disorientation effect. This tells the audience that she is losing grip of herself, she is confused about who she is. Then we see Jemma looking in the wardrobe which has no video transition added, she is opposite to Megan in the way that she is has a normal state of mind, she has a firm grip on reality. When Jemma speaks we then cut to a reaction shot of Megan, she pulls the mirror away from her and is back in reality, forced to now deal with her current situation. Most people would question why those clothes are in the wardrobe but Megan decides to go look out the window, still clutching the mirror like it holds answers to questions. Megan looks out the window and sees the stalker, this was the hardest part to edit because it involved shot reverse shot. We had to show Megan looking out the window, seeing the stalker and then a reaction shot. We first showed a side shot of Megan looking out and then cut to a shot of the stalker. With reaction shots its important that you keep everything at eye level, otherwise it will lose the effect you want to create. These shot reverse shots are meant to be quick and act as a crescendo of tension and panic. We added a video transition onto the clip of the stalker where it begins to go shaky, so it feels like Megan is shaking in panic at what she is seeing (add in what effect you put to achieve this) After this Megan drops the mirror which is significant as it shows that her questions will go unanswered and also that bad luck is around the corner. When we filmed the dropping of the mirror we experimented with lots of angles to try and get it right. We couldn't actually drop the mirror and let it smash, so we improvised. When editing what we did was first show a side shot of Megan holding the mirror and then dropping it, we then unlinked the audio from the clip and added in the audio of a previously recorded sound of the mirror hitting the ground. At no point do you see Megan actually drop the mirror, but you know that she has. 

The final part of the film is Megan showing Jemma that there is someone at the window which again involves a shot reverse shot. We edited so that we first see Megan looking out the window then showed her perspective of the outside which like before is shaky and blurred, however there is no stalker there. We then cut to Jemma looking out the window and her perspective of the outside, which unlike Megan's is not shaky and blurred. Once again we wanted to show the contrast between the twos perspective of life.  The final image we see is the stalker looking up at the window. Showing he was there all along, we didnt add any transitions to this, we wanted it to be still and show the poignancy of it.