Films

Editing

I am glad that I allowed for the editing time that I have had for this project, I knew that it would take some time to do but what I didn’t realise is that each time it will be little changes that are wrong. Just like I struggle with proof reading, going through edits is exactly the same. I find it difficult to see things that are wrong in something that I have practically memorised, you almost see from memory and not what is in front of you, this is why I have relied on feedback from my family and also have a break in between viewing each of the films. Small changes have been my biggest problem throughout. I would think that everything seems okay on the computer, export it off or put it onto a disc only to see when I get home that actually there is something wrong with it. I have done this a few times, and although it is tiring I feel it is a process that I have to go through personally because this is also how I proof read any writing that I do. 

After editing the main sections of the films together from the notes and storyboards that I made up a few weeks ago, I added in the subtitles with the various different fonts as this was something that I felt had worked from when I watched the original testers. One of the other problems I have had is that on the computer screens at college, the size of the text and the style looks and feels very different from when it is on the screen, often what is just the right size on the computer is too small when it comes to the old TV sets, this is also another reason why I have had to go through and change various aspects many times. This week I have been trying to finalise the films to get them to a stage that I am happy with, this is proving harder than I thought. I feel that if there is something I am unsure about then I have to change it. After the first wave of edits I realised that some of the subtitles needed to have a darker shadow around the outside of the lettering to allow for it to stand out from the white, and some had to be bigger. My main concerns are that the audience will be able to read the text and also that the subtitles all flow together although they are slightly different. 

After what I thought were the final changes for these, I now realise that there are a few things wrong with one of the films where the media hadn’t loaded properly which is the fault of the computer. The films are practically finished at this stage however my next aim is to sit with my mum and watch them altogether just to check if there is anything else out of place that I can change on Monday along with some of the media that hadn’t loaded properly. My main concern is some of the subtitles as I feel a few might still be too small, however this actually changes depending on the screen, so I think perhaps I might only have to change the size of the subtitles on the one screen to make sure that I am happy with what they look like now that I have got the TV positions finalised. I plan to get my mum to watch the films with the sound off to make sure that she can read all of the subtitles from the distance that the chairs will be placed. It will then be a case of making these few final changes at the beginning of next week and getting some copies of the DVDs made. 

The films on the screens

My main concern with the TV screens was the quality of the image. Some screens produced an image that was incredibly bright and clear, which is something that was completely unexpected of such old TVs. I wanted to make sure that there was a balance between the four and that none were out of place, this involved swapping a few of the TVs round and seeing what ones had the better images. I am finally happy with what TVs I have chosen as the images work well on all of these and there isn’t one that stands out because it is too bright or too dark. I have adjusted the settings on all of the screens to also try to make them work together as closely as possible. Another concern was that on some of the TVs the film is shown with the screen cut so that it fits horizontally. I felt that it really didn’t work when one of them did not do this as it looked out of place when they were all put together, I realised this evening that this was not the TV screens but the DVD players. Therefore I was able to change to one with a better quality image that also meant that there was an equal number of silver and black TVs, which wasn’t necessarily a problem for me but it was something that was noticeable. 

The sound is something that I will have to set in the studio as it will travel differently compared to my living room where I am testing these out for the final week. I don’t want them to be loud enough that you can clearly distinguish the words that are being said or disrupt any other work in the show, but I definitely want the audience to be able to tell that the sound is these people talking, almost like a low murmur throughout the room, much like how it is when we are in the studio.