Video and Sound Production | Project 1

Melvin Yung Khun Yew | 0357241 | Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
VSP 60104 Video and Sound Production
Week 2 to Week 6

Hola! Video and Sound Production.

This module introduced me to the knowledge and skills required to digitize sound and video elements for multimedia design projects, using the appropriate multimedia platforms.

Image credit: DC Studio on Freepik

These are the jump links to each part of this portfolio

• Summary from lectures
• Exercises
  
• Instructions
• Work Process
• Lecturer's feedback
• My reflections

Lecture summary

Week 2

In the lecture, I learned the basics of using Adobe Premiere Pro, where I edit and arrange the separated clips into the timeline to create a complete video flow.

Basics of cinematography

1. Shot size
2. Framing
3. Camera Angle
4. Composition

What is the camera shot?

According to Studiobinder, it is composed of a series of frames that are shot uninterrupted from the moment the camera starts rolling until it stops. Camera shots are an essential aspect of filmmaking and video productions because by combining different types of shots, angles and camera movements, the filmmakers can emphasize specific emotions, ideas and movements for each scene.

Camera shot size cheatsheet

Here are some examples for each camera shot size:

• Extreme Wide Shot
  

  

  (EWS) Extreme Wide Shot Example in Mad Max: Fury Road

  
  Usage: Make subjects feel distant or unfamiliar, overwhelmed by their location
  
  When to use: emphasize the location or isolation
  
  
• Long or Wide shot
  

  

  (WS) Wide Shot Example in The Martian

  
  Usage: Keep subjects in plain view amidst grander surroundings, letting us see beautiful background imagery, and make any big moment cinematic.
  
  When to use: for scene setting, how characters fit into the area.
  
  
• Full shot
  

  

  (FS) Full Shot Example in Django Unchained

  
  Usage: Subject(s) fill the frame while keeping emphasis on scenery
  
  When to use: to feature multiple characters in a single shot
  
  
• Medium wide shot
  

  

  (MWS) Medium Wide Camera Shot Example in The Usual Suspects

  
  
• Cowboy shot
  

  

  (CS) Cowboy Shot Camera Shot in Wonder Woman

  It frames the subject roughly mid-thighs up.
  
  
• Medium shot
  

  

  (MS) Medium Shot Example in X-Men: Days of Future Past

  
  Usage: more emphasis on the subject while keeping surroundings visible.
  
  
• Medium close-up shot
  

  

  (MCU) Medium Close-Up Shot Example in No Country for Old Men

  
  Usage: Typically favours the face, but still keeps the subject somewhat distant
  
  
• Close-up shot
  

  

  (CU) Close-Up Shot Example in The Usual Suspects

  
  Usage: perfect for important moments 
  
  
• Extreme Close-up shot
  

  

  (ECU) Extreme Close-Up Camera Shot Example in X-Men: First Class

  
  Smaller objects get greater details and are the focal point.
  Usage: to emphasize a specific feature of the subject

What is camera framing?

Studiobinder says it is the art and science of placing subjects in your shots. Camera shots are all about composition. Rather than pointing the camera at the subject, you need to compose an image.

• Single shot
  The only subject in the shot is called a single shot
  

  

  Type of camera shots example: Single Shot in Iron Man

  
  However, over-the-shoulder single shot aka "dirty single" technically has more than one person in the frame, but the character in the foreground isn't featured. 
  

  

  Type of camera shots example: Over-The-Shoulder Shot in Armageddon

  
  
  
• Two shot
  It is when two characters are featured in the frame.
  

  

  Type of shot example: 2-Shot in The Matrix Reloaded

  
  
• Three shot
  Same as the principle before, the frame has three characters in it.
  

  

  Type of shot example: 3-Shot in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1

  
  
  
• Over-The-Shoulder shot
  It is a perspective of a shot that shows your subject from behind the shoulder of another character.
  

  

  (OTS) Over-the-shoulder shot Example in Westworld

  
  
  
• Over-The-Hip shot
  The camera is placed with a character's hip in the foreground, and the focus subject in the plane of acceptable focus.
  

  

  Over-The-Hip Shot Example in Film: Minority Report

  
  Usage: This shot suggests a power imbalance.
  
  
• Point of view shot (POV)
  A POV shot shows the viewer exactly what the character sees.
  
  
  
  

Week 3

What is a storyboard?

"A storyboard is a visual representation of a film sequence and breaks down the action into individual panels. It is a series of ordered drawings, with camera direction, dialogue, or other pertinent details. It sketches out how a video will unfold, shot by shot." - StudioBinder

Image by StudioBinder

A storyboard may contain:

• Drawings, sketches, reference images or photographs
• A description of the shot
• Shot specs
• Arrows to indicate camera and/or character movement

Extra info:

A storyboard artist is the one who typically creates a storyboard for a film

A storyboard can help a filmmaker avoid continuity errors.

Storyboard format and layout

Traditional vs Thumbnail

Traditional storyboards are basic pencil sketches that include detailed information like arrows for camera movement, characters, props, etc.

On the other hand, thumbnail-style storyboards don't have any writing.

For more information on storyboards, click the button below: 

What is a storyboard by StudioBinder

The next step is: How to create a storyboard?

1. Identify key scenes in the script
   Mark up the key parts of the story by highlighting major beats such as actions, locations, wardrobe, staging, narrative aches, and major plot points.
   
   
2. Map out the key scenes
   

   

   Image by Milanote

   
   
   
3. Add images or sketches
4. Describe what happens in each frame
   
• Composition and Framing
• Transitions
• Character Blocking(positions and movements)
• Emotion and Expression
• Annotations (Use additional notes and captions)
• Dynamic action (Break down fast-paced actions)

Week 4

What are the stages of film production?

The most widely agreed-upon stages are:

• Development
• Pre-production
• Production
• Post-production
• Distribution

However, many film scholars divide the film creation process into a broader three stages of production — Production, Distribution and Exhibition.

Development

Development is usually overseen by a producer, as they are the people who are responsible for getting the initial pieces together - the creatives, the financing, the general schedule, and so on.

The two primary phases within the stage are:

The Package

A package is a collection of the creative elements that will be part of a project (screenplay, a piece of intellectual property a director or some actors.)

A good package will exhibit sell-ability which a financier can look at and immediately see why it's a worthwhile investment.

DeNiro waiting for The Irishman to be greenlit

Financing

Financing for a film can take many forms, and the routes for studio financing are very different from those for independent films. Indies can get funding through networking at festivals, crowdfunding, grants, tax incentives, private equity investments, or even their own pocket.

Pre-production

Budgeting

A producer with the help of a line producer (who goes through a budget: line by line) will create a detailed shooting schedule that will foresee location, cast, film crew, and equipment costs.

Getting a team together

A movie is made by hundreds of people. In pre-production, a producer hires heads of departments who then help fill out their respective departments with people they trust.

Positions in film

A casting director reads the script, consults with the director, and puts together auditions for all the parts that need to be filled.

Pre-visualizing

This might mean making a storyboard or meeting with the production designer. Then there is location scouting, in which a scout will typically be accompanied by a tech scout.

Production

The Call Sheet

A call sheet is a document sent out by an assistant director each day before a shoot, which tells each member of each department what their call time is and what they should be planning to do for the day.

Sample call sheet by StudioBinder

The Set up 

The grip and electric departments set up the lighting for the shot, and the camera department set up the camera and any rigging involved for movement. The makeup and costume departments get actors into the right look.

Shooting

These are the steps typically required when filming:

The Assistant Director announces "Picture is up", the sound mixer presses record, the camera operator starts rolling, the clapper loader slates, the director says action and the director says cut.

Post Production

This stage is to finalize the work that is done after footage is captured to finish the film.

Picture Editing

Thelma Schoonmaker describes her job as cutting together the footage to create a coherent film.

There are three general cuts that an editor will go through, along with collaboration with the director: 

• Assembly
  This is where the editor and director review, select and put the footages in order
  
  
• Rough cut
  This is where the movie rhythm becomes more of a priority
  
  
• Fine cut.
  This is where decisions are more intricate and the cut is approaching picture lock.

Sound Editing

Sound editing is the process of putting all the sound effects, dialogue, voiceovers, and more in place.

Sound mixing is the process of getting all of the levels correct for exhibitions.

Additional Visuals

A lot of additional treatment goes into many shots, including VFX-like compositing and computer-generated images (CGI). 

Jurassic Park

There is also a colouring process, where colourists make changes to the overall colour tone of the film.

Distribution

Marketing

A marketing process will look vastly different depending on a film's budget and projected box office, which includes cutting a trailer, making a poster, build an electronic press kit.

Securing distributions

Distribution is a bit like the Development process part 2 - it's about who you know and being able to sell your vision. If all else fails, there's always the internet.

For more information on production stages, click the button below: 

Stages of film production by StudioBinder

Roles of the production crew

For this blog, only the basic roles of a film production will be explained. 

There are numerous roles in a production team, which are:

• Producer
  A producer is responsible for managing the production from start to finish, including developing the project, finalizing the script, arranging the financing and managing the production team.
  
  
• Director
  The director is primarily responsible for overseeing the shooting and assembly of a film but is linked with dozens of other artists and technicians.
  
  
• Screenwriter
  A screenwriter carefully crafts the dialogue in a film and shapes the sequence of events so that the story unfolds logically and in an interesting way.
  
  
• Production Designer
  Before one inch of film is shot, the production designer creates a series of storyboards that serve as the film's first draft. These storyboards ensure the visual continuity of the film from start to finish.
  
  
• Art Director 
  The art director is responsible for the film's settings such as the buildings, landscapes and interiors that provide the physical context for the characters. This crew is also responsible for acquiring props, decorating sets and making the setting believable.
  
  
• Costume Designer
  The job is also important in a film, as costumes convey a great deal about the film's time and the characters who wear them, including their economic status, occupation and attitude toward themselves.
  
  
• Cinematographer
  The director of photography captures the script on film or video and must pay attention to lighting and the camera's technical capabilities.
  
  
• Editor
  The editor arranges individual shots into one continuous sequence, and his choices have a profound effect on the appearance of the final film.
  
  
• Actors
  Actors are responsible for portraying the characters in a film. We should not underestimate the importance of the actors in a set as they play a large context in the whole film other than just appearing on the set and reciting lines.
  
  
• Music Supervisor
  Music has been an integral part of movies since the 1890s. Choosing the right music for the film will intensify the story for the audience.
  

For more information on production crews, click the button below: 

Film crew positions by StudioBinder

Instructions

Mr Martin Chong, my module coordinator and lecturer for this semester, provided us with the necessary files including the module information, and reading elements to give us a headstart on this module.

Fig 2.1  MIB - Module Information Booklet

Task 1  |  Project 1 Audio Editing Exercises

In the first task starting this video & sound production class, we have several exercises to warm up and aid in gaining theoretical and practical knowledge for the Adobe Premiere Pro.

Time length: Week 2 — Week 6

Learning goals:

• To acquire technical and digital media competencies by demonstrating the creative use of software, and effective use of digital media skills to promote or communicate design concepts or solutions.

The exercises include:

1. Audio - Sound for Visual
   Record sound clips to be used to create sound effects.
   
   
2. Audio - Sound Shaping
   Select a choice of scenarios and create the soundscape for the chosen scenario.
   
   

Submission requirements:

1. Progress documentation in E-portfolio

Work Process

Practical Exercise Week 1

In today's class, Mr Martin taught us how to import multiple video clips and export them into a single video after arranging all the clips in an orderly manner in Adobe Premiere Pro.

Step 1: Import video clip (Mints Advertising)

Step 2: Arranging the video clips in the timeline panel

Step 3: Done!

    

Exercise: Doritos Super Bowl Ad

Step 1: Import the video clips

Step 2: Arrange all the video clips in an orderly manner (The number sequence is wrong)

Step 3: Export!

    

First week's quiz - Shot size, camera angles and composition

Practical Exercise Week 2

I've included all the week 2 exercises inside this presentation slide for easier management.

In the second week, Mr Martin left us some exercises to do in the PPT slides, letting us understand the examples of the principles through the video examples.

Lalin practice editing 

Step 1: Arrange the scenes according to the clapboard information

Step 2: Selecting and cutting out the excess video clip
            (Removing the clapboard)

Step 3: Adding the chat bubble graphics with cross-dissolve transition for smoother animation.

Final video editing - Lalin

Lalin video editing - 8/5/2024

Testing our knowledge of the camera shot sizes, 8 of the camera shot sizes are selected for a video shoot exercise, where the video needs to present the shots.  

Thus, I grouped up with my fellow classmates to shoot the videos that met the requirements, allowing us to further understand and apply the knowledge.

Unfortunately, I didn't take photos of myself filming the various shot sizes with my teammates during the video shoot sessions. Here's the video editing progress in Adobe Premiere Pro instead.

Link to the video

Final video exercise

"A friend in need" short video - 3/5/2024

Week 2 Quiz — Three-act story structure

Week 3 Quiz — Storyboard in film making

Week 4 Quiz — The Production Crew

Project 1 Exercise 1
Audio Dubbing
During the class, Mr Martin provided us with a muted video clip from the movie Everything Everywhere All At Once and required us to list out all the intended sound effects in the video clips with details listed in an Excel sheet for better visualization.

The first task includes:

• List down each scene on a spreadsheet 
• List down each sound effect for each scene

Scene listing with the group on 10-5-2024

Google Sheet

I've learned some techniques of audio dubbing and what aspects to consider.

• Voice for different subject/gender
  Premiere Pro > Audio Effect > Pitch Shifter > Semi tones

• Volume for:
  Dialogue: -6dB to -12dB
  Ambient noise: -20dB
  Hard sound effect: Depends

But before starting to edit the audio in the clip, I prepared the necessary dialogue audio and some hard SFX (mop sounds etc) by recording them myself on my trusty phone.

Audio Prep — 16/5/2024

This is the progress where I put all the audio together, including dialogues, hard sounds and ambience sounds according to what's happening in the video.

Audio editing in Premiere Pro — 17/5/2024

To allow easier editing progress, I separated different types of audio in the tracks to let me know what audio I'm currently making changes.

Audio layer separation

Final edited video

Everything Everywhere All At Once video clip audio dubbing - 17/5/2024

Sound Shaping
Continuing the project, Mr Martin taught us how to make audio with different effects so that they sound like from different environments. Thus, I'm tasked to do various scenarios of sound where they have different effects.

The sound-shaping tasks include:

• Voice of phone call
• Voice coming from inside a closet
• Voice of toilet/bathroom
• Underground cave
• Alien/ Orc voice

Using Adobe Audition, I adjust my pre-recorded audio for audio shaping with different sound effects such as flanger, reverb, echo, pitch shifter and more to achieve the sound effects I desire.

Sound effects between audio tracks in the Audition

Lecturer's Feedback

No feedback is available for the exercises for this project 1

My reflections

My learnings:

In this project, I'm able to learn the introduction to filmmaking, with the principles of cinematography, storyboards and more. With many opportunities provided to put the lessons to use, I'm glad that I'm able to learn knowledge that I've only touched the surface before in more detail.

My observations:

My weaknesses or obstacles 

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