Editing and Camera shots (Portfolio Project #22)

 I've finished the line edit!! Isn't that so so amaze? (I also watched Project Hail Mary today, it was soooo gooood)(you should read the book if you haven't)

I've been working on the score, but I'll talk about that on another blog. Right now, I just wanna talk about my editing.

There wasn't anything necessarily hard with it, I've been editing for a few years now, so there where no technical speed bumps. That being said, I've never edited a full short film. It was fun to apply what I've seen and studied to my work. Our film is about 6 minutes long, which, yay! I was scared it was going to be 10 minutes, and in my fear, I pictured Mrs. Stoklosa's look of disappointment and my soul collapsed into itself. (Hi T. Stok if your reading this!)

ANNNDDD you first place winner for best shot in the whole short film isssssss......

I really like this shot, mostly because of the amount of intention I placed behind it. See, this is the first time the viewer sees Dahlia. So, I decided to represent her personality before her face. Notice how she's facing away from the camera to bring attention away from her character and to the leading lines that frame her. I use vertical lines to represent structure and disincline, just because that's what I noticed other films do, and the fact that she enclosed inside the door frame show how she ends up trapping herself inside her work later in the film. 

This shot isn't the most visually appealing, but it is (I think) the coolest.

And second place goes tooooo.....

I was taught to NEVER have the camera tilted up or down at someone during an interview, because that makes them look inferior or superior. I don't know if that same rule applies to film, but I chose to have Dahlia sat for the argument and Melia standing. I did that to represents their different personalities, since Melia is more outspoken and Dahlia is quieter. In conflict, Melia confronts and Dahlia avoids. Melia is preventing Dahlia from working, leaning over her desk, demanding answers. Dahlia is quiet, and looks down when she fidgets with her pencil as if she's willing to do everything but be in an argument. 

Last and least, third place goes to...

This is, I feel, the only shot people are talking about. But.... it just looks cool. I didn't intend much from it apart from showing Dahlia is distress from a side angle. Only thing I can say is that the scene is intentionally dark. I wrote it out to be at night so I can visually represent how down Dahlia is feeling. She quite literally feels like she's engulfed in darkness.

Honorable mentions!!

This shot was framed as a parallel to the car scene above. Where as before Dahlia was drowning in her own stress, here Dahlia has become content with what she's done. She's still stressed, but she's decided to not let it control her, instead she looks to hope (thus, the brighter colors)

I just really like this shot, because... Sprout is cute. The leading lines make the shot visually appealing, as well as the depth in the shot. But, like, that it. I just wanted to show how she's repotted Sprout.