Final evaluation of editing skills throughout the year.

Final evaluation of editing skills throughout the year. 

Throughout the year I feel that my editing skills have developed and improved by becoming more high quality and by being more appealing to the target audience. When looking at some of my very first productions to the last a clear improvement can be shown as I have started to experiment more with how I edit, and the techniques have become more noticeable and advanced. 

When looking at my very first production of ‘City Waves’ a new wave film inspired by Wong Kar Wai some of the techniques were lacking as I hadn’t had chance to develop my skills and was still learning how to use different techniques. One of the techniques I hadn’t full developed while editing was being able to blend different audio channels and at parts the production had a clear cut in the audio when it changed from music to the voice over as it didn’t seamlessly blend together. However, one part of the editing I feel worked successfully was how I used a mixture of clips in colour and clips in black and white as having a strong contrast in colours to convey different emotions if extremely conventional of Hong Kong new wave films. This can be shown when there is a clip looking towards a shop front and the clip blends from colour to black and white as the audio says ‘And the sky is grey’ as it helps to connote feelings of sadness into the clip. . I was also able to develop this experimentation with colour through some other productions by adding a colour overlay in my music video in order to connote feelings vs happiness and sadness. 

Another part of editing that I was able to improve from this first production to the last is being able to add a warp stabiliser to hand held clips to make them look more professional. In some clips such as where they are walking through the city / town are very shaky where as when making my music video with some walking clips I was able to add a warp stabiliser in order to look more professional and less confusing / difficult to watch for the audience. 

As well as this another part of the editing for ‘City Waves’ that worked well was using the ability to edit on the beat of the audio of which I was able to continue for all of my productions such as my music video and promotional video. This worked well as it made the production seem more professional and made it much easier for the audience to follow as they knew that something would happen on the beat. 

One of the editing techniques that I was better able to develop throughout the course was being able to experiment with colour for different productions following on from using black and white in ‘City Waves’ to using colour gels in the four hour film challenge and finally to using a colour overlay in my music video of the colours yellow and blue to connote either happiness or sadness. When using the coloured gels of purple and blue in the four-hour film challenge for ‘Possession’ the experimentation with this colour improved when it came to editing as the brightness was turned down it gave the clip a more effective look and allowed the colour to show through more. Although the colour turned out more purple it was able to better connote to the audience that this girl has an ambition of being liked by her peers. 

Then when it came to using colour to experiment in my music video, I decided to just use a colour overlay and add in the colour during the editing process. I decided to do this as I felt that it gave the two scenes e.g. the past and the present and huge contrast in the emptions that was being portrayed. In one scene (the past) I wanted to connote happiness and did this by adding a yellow colour overlay as this colour has strong connotations of this emotion and allowed the audience to understand that the clips with a yellow overlay were positive and happy memoires for the protagonist. When it came to the second scene (the present) I decided to use a blue colour overlay as blue has strong connotations if sadness and isolation of which the protagonist is feeling in the present. These two colours worked well in being added in the editing process as it allowed me to show a strong contrast in the emotions of the scenes. 

However, I skill I still needed to better develop when it came to my music video is the ability to blend clips together, for example in my music video when there was the mid shot of the protagonist walking up and the other protagonists hand reaching out to him even though she isn’t actually there. Although the scene was effective in showing to the audience that the girl is no longer there for whatever reason and may be perceived as a ‘ghost’ I feel that the editing could have worked a lot smoother. This is because when the colour overlay first changes from blue to yellow when the hand reaches in it blends so far then suddenly jumps to the yellow overlay. Although there is still a fade when this first starts, I feel that it could have been edited more smoothly like when the colour overlay fades back to blue. 

* Sudden change from this to this.

A skill that I was able to use in editing throughout the year was the ability to edit on the beat of the soundtrack as I was able to do this from my first production to my last for my promotional video. Being able to edit on the beat meant that when the audience was watching the promotional video they were able to pay better attention to the video as it wasn’t confusing and meant that they were able to get the preferred meaning of the promotion video of ‘Puppy School Atherstone’ being a happy and friendly place to train and socialise as puppy. 

Finally a big editing skill that I was able to develop throughout the year was being able to add writing onto the videos that were produced in order to allow the audience to understand what exactly the video is about and for the promotional video to allow the audience to know exactly what the puppy is doing and what things they are learning in puppy training. When adding writing to the text I was able to get them to fade onto and off the screen is a seamless way that the audience can easily follow and blended effectively. 

Overall, I feel that throughout the year my editing skills have shown a great improvement allowing me to create more professional and effective productions that better appeal to an audience as they are more actively watching the production and are better engaged. All though some skills could still be better developed such as being able to blend clips together some skills are very effective and well developed such as adding a colour overlay in order to encode specific feeling into the production for the audience to decode.

Clips, Footage and Bins.

Clips, Footage and Bins. 

Evaluation of production skills across all units.

Evaluation of production skills across all units. 

When looking at my production skills throughout all units I feel that my strongest skill for production was the amount of planning I used in order to create an effective product at the end. The most effective time that planning helped my production was when it came to the production of my music video as if it wasn’t for effective planning, I wouldn’t have created the final product that I did as the first plan didn’t work out. During the planning process for the music video I came up with a contingency plan that meant that if the first plan didn’t work out, which it didn’t, I still had another plan to fall back on, another narrative that could work just as well as the first. Planning also ended up being an effective production skill when it came to creating my promotion video as early planning meant that in the first meeting with my client I was able to show some ideas to them rather than going to the meeting being unsure of what I wanted to achieve, early planning was also effective here as it meant that I could focus on filming in more detail as I was aware of exactly what I wanted to achieve. 

However, one production skill that could have been improved was the filming process or more specifically the equipment that I decided to use. During most productions I decided to use a DSLR camera and a tripod and usually only stuck to these two pieces of equipment. If I had decided to use more pieces of equipment for all productions, they could have been more effective and high quality if I had used more lighting equipment or particularly things like gels for my music video instead of adding a colour overlay in the editing process it could have looked more effective. I know that gels are effective as they had previously been used in a four-hour film challenge applying Lacan’s mirror stage theory where a purple / blue gels was used, if I had done this for my music video it could have looked more effective as I would have been able to connote the feelings of the scenes in a more effective way.

Another production skill that got better developed across all units was the ability to research beforehand in order to find out what had previously worked in similar productions vs what didn’t. By doing better research I was able to make better decisions when it came to my own production as it meant that I could create a final product that worked well for audiences and was effective overall. A particular unit where research helped improve my production was in music videos as I used both primary and secondary to influence my production e.g. using a colour overlay similar to a music video from the 1975 or by choosing the song Laughter Lines by Bastille as it was the most popular choice in my questionnaire. 

Time management also proved to be a very useful skill when it came to making any productions as it was developed very early on when completing the four hour film challenges as learning how to stick to the time frame given meant that when I produced more productions I was better able to keep to the time restrictions and understand what needed to be done by when. Time management I believe became one of the most useful skills when it came to production as I knew when I would have things done by and was able to have spare time to add anything extra to the production if needed. This skill also proved to be very effective when it came to making my promotion video as I was able to show the client when I expect to have certain things done by e.g. drafts and was able to help them to feel more confident in what was being done as they knew they also had time to have their own improvements added in. This was also very effective for the client as it meant that production could be carried out more effectively without them worrying. Within developing my time management skill, I also created multiple gant charts as it allowed for me to know when I needed to compete certain things by and keep track of what was happening and when. 

Overall I feel that my productions skills from the first unit to the last have had a great improvement as I have managed to create productions that were increasing in quality and was able to take constructive criticism on board to create productions that would better appeal to the target audience’s. Although some skills could still use some developing such as experimenting more with the filming equipment used I feel that the skills I have developed defiantly helped in allowing me to create effective productions that appeal to target audiences, the client and to encode the right messages into my productions for the audiences to decode. If I was to complete some productions again, I would try to make sure that I used some of the same productions skills such as planning and time management to my advantage while experimenting more with how certain things are filmed in order to create more interesting and appealing productions.

Final Promotional Video's and Evaluation.

Final Promotional Video's and Evaluation.

For my final production I ended up creating two promotional videos for Puppy School Atherstone, one of these videos ended up staying as the original idea of being a review based video, this is because it meant that the audience watching were able to see what previous attendees thought of the course that was on offer and allowed them to get a feel for what classes were like. By doing this also allowed for the promotional videos to portray Puppy School Atherstone in a positive way that encourages audiences to want to attend the safe environment. The second promotional video that was produced originally started as a ‘semi-instructional’ promotional video but ended up being a ‘What’s on offer’ promotional video which allows the audience to see exactly the things their puppy will learn while at Puppy School Atherstone. This promotional video was produced in the end as the client felt that it worked better at explaining to the audience exactly what it is that they offer and allows the audience to make a better judgement on whether they would like to take their puppy to Puppy School Atherstone. 

Evaluation Review Based Promotional Video. 

For this Promotional video I decided to create a video that would make the audience aware of what previous attendees though of the course and how it worked well for their own puppy. In order to get the reviews that were used in the video I managed to get in touch with those who had previously attended and also found some reviews left on Puppy School Atherstone’s Facebook page which allows me to get both primary and secondary research into people opinions on Puppy School Atherstone. I feel that using reviews in the video allows for Puppy School Atherstone to be promoted in a positive way encouraging people to want to use their services. 

At the very start of the video I decided to have the logo for Puppy School to fade onto the off of the screen, I feel that this is effective as it allows the audience to know what the video is for as well as establishing the brand the video is promoting. By doing this I was also able to establish the brand identity as this logo is easily recognisable and is used when Puppy School is being promoted and on their products e.g. puppy school manual. 

As well as having the Puppy School logo at the start of the video I also decided to introduce all of the puppies involved at the start in order to grab the audience’s attention by appealing to their emotions by seeing cute puppies. By doing this it means that the audience will want to keep watching the promotional video as it means that they will want to see more of the puppies that were introduced. When originally creating the video I only introduced the puppies by showing them in shot but ended up including their names which faded on and off screen. This ended up being done as the client felt that it would be nicer for the owners of the puppies to see them being properly introduced but it also allows for the audience to feel more personally connected to the puppies being introduced to them. 

As soon as all the puppies were introduced I started adding quotations of what previous attendees had to say about Puppy School Atherstone. In the final version some of these quotations were made shorter in order for them to make more sense to the audience reading and to help promote Puppy School in a more positive way. I also had to edit some of these quotations to remove any typos / errors so that the promotional video looked more professional. A positive about the reviews used was that some of them were able to match up to what the puppy could be seen doing on the screen an example of this is when one review says ‘The recall work was great…’ as a puppy demonstrates recall practice on the screen which allows the audience to see exactly what the review is specifically referring to. 

A final positive of the review based promotional video for Puppy School was having a mid-shot of a previous puppy attendee wearing the rosette that is given on the last class. This is a positive as it reminds the audience who the promotional video is for as well as reinforcing the brand identity. This is also a positive as a rosette has connotations of success or being good at something and suggests that if the audience takes their puppy to Puppy school then their puppy will too be a good well-behaved puppy that succeeded Puppy School. 

Overall I feel that the review based promotional video if effective as it represents Puppy School Atherstone in a positive, happy and friendly environment which is also further reinforced through the mise-en-scene and soundtrack. This is because all of the lighting in the mise-en-scene was in ambient / high key lighting which often has connotations of positivity as well as having an upbeat soundtrack to connote happiness surrounding Puppy School Atherstone.

Evaluation ‘What’s on offer’ Promotional Video. 

For this promotional video it originally started off as a ‘semi-instructional’ video by showing the audience half of what Puppy School teaches in order to get the puppy to sit etc. but due to the video not fully explaining it the client felt it may be slightly confusing to the audience and turned it into a ‘What’s on offer’ promotional video by showing to the audience what they can expect from Puppy School classes. By changing the video concept it meant that the promotional video ended up being more effective so that the audience can see what techniques the puppies in the different clips are demonstrating making the video clearer to understand. 

Similarly to the Review based video the start to the video has the Puppy School logo that fade on and off the screen in order to immediately establish the brands identity and to allow the audience to see what exactly the video is promoting however in this video the first puppy Elsie is frozen at the starts as she fits almost perfectly into the Puppy School logo and begins to move as the logo fades away. By having Elise frozen in the logo means that the mise-en-scene if more visually pleasing as was agreed upon by the client. 

In this ‘What’s on offer” promotional video it also starts similarly to the review-based video as it starts by introducing each puppy involved as well as stating their names in order to allow the audience to feel more personally connected to the puppies meaning that they will want to see more. 

A positive to the promotional video is that it is able to constantly anchor the audience’s attention, and example if this is after the video says, ‘Puppies learning to sit…’ followed by clips of puppies sitting it then says, ‘Plus so much more..” which may act as an enigma encouraging the audience to keep watching to find out what else is on offer as the enigma is answered almost immediately. By constantly anchoring the audiences attention like this means that the audience gets to learn more about what Puppy School offers as well as to help decide if what they offer is suitable to their own puppy. 

The promotional video is also effective as when each activity / technique that gets taught at puppy school is stated on screen a clip is shown of a puppy demonstrating that exact activity / technique. This if effective as it allows the audience to understand deeper what Puppy School offers as they may not understand fully what ‘Happy to be handled’ or ‘Settle’ really means. 

Gantt chart

Gantt chart 

Edit decision lists 1 and 2, Puppy School Atherstone

Edit decision lists 1 and 2, Puppy School Atherstone 

Puppy school semi instructional video

0.0    – 0.06 seconds – mid shot of Elsie, puppy school logo fades in / out

0.06 – 0.08 seconds – Mid shot of Milo 

0.08 – 0.10 seconds – mid shot of Kasper 

0.10 – 0.12 seconds – mid shot of Mabel 

0.13 – 0.15 seconds – mid shot of Mila 

0.15 – 0.17 seconds – mid shot of Monty 

0.17 – 0.19 seconds – mid shot of Cydni 

0.19 – 0.21 seconds - mid shot of Hollie 

0.21 – 0.23 seconds – mid shot of Carter 

0.23 – 0.25 seconds – mid shot of Jess

0.25 – 0.27 seconds – long shot of Kasper walking 

0.27 – 0.31 seconds – Mid shot of Mila being taugh to sit, ‘Learn how to teach your puppy to sit’ fades on and off of screen 

0.31 – 0.35 seconds – mid shot of Carter being taught to sit, ‘By going from this…’ fades on and off of screen

0.35 – 0.37 seconds – mid shot of Jess jumping  for treat being taught to sit 

0.37 – 0.40 seconds – mid shot of Monty jumping  for treat being taught to sit

0.40 – 0.43 seconds – mid shot of Cydni sitting, ‘To this…’ fades on and off screen 

0.43 – 0.48 seconds – mid shot pf Milo sitting 

0.48 – 0.52 seconds  - mid shot of Carter sitting 

0.52 – 0.58 seconds – mid shot of Mabel walking, ‘plus so much more…’ fades on and off screen

0.50 – 1.04 seconds – long shot of Cydni practicing recall in slow motion 

1.04 – 1.06 seconds – mid shot of Carter playing with toy 

1.06 – 1.10 seconds – mid shot of Kasper learning ‘down’

1.10 – 1.12 seconds – mid shot of Elsie and Milo playing 

1.12 – 1.15 seconds – mid shot of Milo learning ‘leave it / take it’

1.16 – 1.19 seconds - mid shot of Mila learning ‘up’

1.19 – 1.25 seconds -mid shot of Cydni learning ‘up’

1.25 – 1.29 seconds – mid shot of Jess learning ‘handling’ 

1.29 – 1.33 seconds – mid shot of Kasper learning walking on loose lead 

1.33 – 1.43 seconds – long shot of Monty practicing recall in slow motion, fades into next shot

1.43 – 1.58 seconds – long shot of Carter practicing recall in slow motion, fades into black

Puppy school Review based video

0.0    – 0.08 second – mid shot of Bonnie, puppy school logo fades on and off screen 

0.08 – 0.14 seconds – long shot of Monty 

0.14 – 0.17 seconds – mid shot of Mabel 

0.17 – 0.21 seconds – mid shot of Hollie 

0.21 – 0.25 seconds – mid shot of Mila 

0.25 – 0.30 seconds – mid shot of Carter 

0.30 – 0.33 seconds – long shot of Kasper 

0.33 – 0.36 seconds – mid shot of Jess 

0.36 – 0.40 seconds – mid shot of Cydni 

0.40 – 0.44 seconds – mid shot of Elsie 

0.44 – 0.47 seconds – mid shot of Milo 

0.47 – 0.57 seconds – mid shot of Cydni learning ‘down’, ‘We really enjoyed each class…’

‘and we definitely believe it helped our puppy’ fade on and off screen 

0.57 – 1.02 seconds – long shot of Carter learning ‘down’ 

1.02 – 1.06 seconds – mid shot of Kasper learning ‘sit’

1.06 - 1.14 seconds – long shot of Monty sitting, ‘Classes were very accommodating and enthusiastic each week’ fades on and off screen

1.14 – 1.17 seconds – mid shot of Milo sitting 

1.17 – 1.32 seconds – mid shot of Mabel sitting, ‘Our puppy learnt a lot…’ ‘and we uses these different techniques each week’ fades on and off screen

1.32 – 1.36 seconds – long shot of Elsie learning ‘settle’

1.36 – 1.40 seconds – long shot of Bonnie walking in the street, ‘it really helped our puppy’s confidence when leaving the house’, fades on and off screen

1.40 – 1.44 seconds – mid shot of Jess sitting 

1.44 – 1.51 seconds – mid shot of Mila playing, ‘it’s and fun and safe environment for your puppy to learn’ fades on and off screen

1.51 – 1.55 seconds – long shot of Hollie sitting on stand 

1.55 – 2.10 seconds – long shot of Milo practicing recall in slow motion, ‘The recall work was great…’ ‘ which now allows us to let our puppy off the lead when walking’ fades on and off screen

2.10 – 2.14 seconds – mid shot of Cater being handles,5-star rating fade on and off screen

2.14 – 2.19 seconds – mid shot of Bonnie wearing puppy school badge, fades to black. 

Client feedback questionnaire

Puppy School promotional video client feedback.

Q1) How effective do you think communication was?

Unsatisfactory  (0-3)	Satisfactory (4-6)	Good (7-8)	Outstanding (9-10)
			10

Q2) How effective do you think planning was for production?

Unsatisfactory (0-3)	Satisfactory (4-6)	Good (7-8)	Outstanding (9-10)
			10

Q3) How up to standard were the consent forms created? 

Unsatisfactory (0-3)	Satisfactory (4-6)	Good (7-8)	Outstanding (9-10)
			10

Q4) Do you think production was carried out in a safe way that protected all involved from harm and complied with your health and safety requirements? 

Unsatisfactory  (0-3)	Satisfactory (4-6)	Good (7-8)	Outstanding (9-10)
			10

Q5) How satisfied were you with the production process that took place during filming?

Unsatisfactory (0-3)	Satisfactory (4-6)	Good (7-8)	Outstanding (9-10)
			10

Q6) Overall how satisfied are you with the final productions /promotional videos produced?

Unsatisfactory (0-3)	Satisfactory (4-6)	Good (7-8)	Outstanding (9-10)
			10

Q7) Do you feel that planning for the unforeseen was accommodated for?

Unsatisfactory (0-3)	Satisfactory (4-6)	Good (7-8)	Outstanding (9-10)
			10

Client Comments (Optional) 

Charlotte was extremely competent and professional in all of her dealings with Puppy School Atherstone. She was well organised and structured in her approach, took feedback onboard positively and any requests or queries were dealt with promptly.

She liaised well with my owners and was well-liked by all.  We are very pleased with the final videos and are impressed with the amount of effort and hard work that Charlotte has invested into the project.  

Many thanks again Charlotte and good luck with the rest of your studies!