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The Definition of Great Editing

Editing is often regarded as the ‘invisible’ art, due to the fact that it’s not as identifiable as, for example, a well composed and visually stunning shot. In fact, one could argue that some of the greatest edits, especially in film, are the ones you don’t take notice of because you’re too focused on the story they’re telling. Andrei Tarkovsky once said that each shot can be seen as a component used to build a film as a whole, and in that sense, editing is the art of constructing images and sounds together to tell a story and invoke emotion. To me, editing is exactly that, and much more - it’s about rhythm, instinct, thought, emotion, psychology, art. As an editor, you are somewhat of a god in your own right - you are able to manipulate time and space and manipulate frames and movements; set the pacing, tone, mood and overall aesthetic of a film or video. You can blend countless elements of image and sound and create a film out of that.

For many people it’s hard to define just what an editor does, let alone try to gather an explanation of what makes an editor good. Which is more or less understandable - editors themselves have never really been celebrities in a way a director or sometimes cinematographer can be. It doesn't make it much easier that there are different types of editors and the same traits that make a film editor good might make, say, a documentary editor unsuccessful; what a music video editor does best might be the same thing that fails a corporate video editor. Knowing the aim of the piece you’re working on, the demographics, desired effect and so forth are crucial in order for your work to succeed. Opening an editing program, throwing audio and video together and exporting it does not make you an editor; however, having a vast technical knowledge regarding editing software, the ability to create the backbone of your project and work from there, and the understanding of what you’re supposed to make and how to make it, does. 

Continuing on, different types of media have different aims and concepts and therefore require a different editing skillset and approach. While films and music videos, for example, are more artistic and give an editor more freedom to experiment with things, play around with the narrative and so forth, corporate videos and documentaries leave less space for expressing creativity and focus more on being informative and engaging enough, as they usually have boring content that needs to be manipulated in a way that will make them engaging and watchable. It’s of utmost importance to understand where exactly are you going with an edit and what are the needs of your client or the general market. 

I can’t narrow down what a good edit is for me - sometimes it’s the ‘obviousness’ of an edit which impresses me with just how many and how well-timed the cuts are, other times it’s how masterfully the edit is done and how naturally everything flows. However, it always stands out to me how everything’s paced and I’m more interested in the reason behind a cut moreso than in the amount of cuts in a film or video. 

It could be said that if an editor’s job is done properly, it’s not going to be noticed, especially to the untrained eye; usually, if you notice the edit whilst watching a film, for example, it’s for the wrong reasons, whether the flow is suddenly interrupted or a cut feels off. There are no strict lines you need to follow while editing, I find editing to be a complex art that requires creativity, innovation and out-of-the-box thinking. Apart from everything already listed, a professional editor should not only know when to make a cut, but also put more thought as to why that cut is being made at this exact moment; editing is not about following a template and a set of rules, but being creative; it’s about being able to use not only logic but also emotion and being able to tie visuals and audio with the viewers’ feelings. 

In conclusion, I feel that there aren't necessarily wrongs or rights in the craft of editing. It doesn’t invole just a theoretical consideration of the effect of one shot upon another, or a mechanical measurement of frames - it’s a much more complex art that requires a much more artistic and open mind than most people perceive. The skillset an editor needs can’t exactly be narrowed down to, say, being able to do a number of cuts per minute - it’s about using not only your brain but your emotions in order to create something that can provoke an emotional response in your target audience. Good editing can sometimes go unnoticed by the general public, however most often than not that’s the whole point of it. But even thought it’s hard to identify it straight away, a good edit is an integral part of any film or video production.

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JOHN ALCOTT: A STUDY ON NATURAL LIGHT, ONE-POINT PERSPECTIVE AND SYMMETRY IN CINEMATOGRAPHY

John Alcott (1931-1986) was a british cinematographer, best known for working with american director Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999). He started his career in the 1940's at Gainsborough studios, where his father, Arthur Alcott, worked as a movie executive. Starting off as being a clapper boy, he gradually worked his way towards becoming a cameraman, and then a director of photography. His big breakthrough was given to him by Stanley Kubrick in 1968, when Kubrick promoted him from a camera assistant to a director of photography during the filming of '2001: A Space Oddyssey' (1969). Kubrick, a master cinematographer himself, seemed to like Alcott and this led to many more collaborations between them.

John Alcott was a DoP for three other Kubrick films - 'A Clockwork Orange' (1971), 'Barry Lyndon' (1975), for which he won an Oscar, and 'The Shining' (1980). Being a cinematographer, he was responsible for achieving the desired visual feel to them under Kubrick's direction. He was best known for his use of light, which always looked completely natural and never staged; however, all the films Kubrick and Alcott worked together are visually stunning, distinguishable, and even iconic, with 'A Clockwork Orange' and 'The Shining' being cult classics.

A technique Kubrick and Alcott employed in every film they made together is one-point perspective, which is, in basic terms, a manipulation of perspective that leads the viewer's eye straight to the centre of the shot, more or less ignoring everything around it. This is, initially, how you'd see a scene if you were there in person. 

It can be applied to almost every scene in ‘A Space Oddyssey’, ‘A Clockwork Orange’ and ‘The Shining’.

Using composition to determine which parts of a scene to draw your audience’s attention to is one of the things that makes Alcott’s cinematography stand out so much. This gives his films a very specific feel to them and they resonate with their audiences in a way that very few other movies do.

Another way in which the Alcott/Kubrick duo take advantage of composition is the usage in symmetry in their shots. Whilst symmetry is widely used in painting and photography, it’s not often incorporated into motion picture because of the psychological effect it has on viewers. Though making shots visually stunning, on a subconscious level something feels off and could even make you feel uneasy. A prime example of this would be ‘The Shining’ - which, in itself, lacks any jump-scares or graphic violence or any other of the key features of the horror genre, yet it’s still seen as one of the scariest movies of all time - and it relies purely on affecting the viewers psychologically. Using symmetrical shots in which there’s no immediate danger, or anything particularly scary happening, is especially effective, as they make you feel like there’s something wrong with it, but it’s something that you can’t put your finger on. Another key element is the usage of colour in the film - for the most part the colours are dull and dark, often a reflection of the characters’ emotions and indicating the danger. The film strays away from the horror genre clichés such as underlit spaces, forced shadows and harsh lighting; instead it’s aesthetically beautiful and well lit, and the thing that’s subconsciously frightening its viewers is that despite the supernatural elements in the film, it looks realistic. 

All the shots in ‘The Shining’ look good aesthetically, and this is part of where the confusion comes from - on a purely visual level, nothing is actually wrong with or bad about these shots. Another thing that plays a huge part in the films for which Alcott was director of photography is also the use of colour. In cinematography, colour is always known for being able to set a mood, create an atmosphere and so on. For the most part, Alcott sticks to a certain colour palette - he either sticks to warm or cold colours and rarely mixes them together. An example of the latter, though, would be the final scene of ‘A Space Oddyssey’, which is set is some kind of a surrealistic, hotel-like place. The floors are white and lit, there are a lot of warm colours - yellows and golds mostly, but there are also cold blues and greens. The scene looks very otherworldly and dream-like and this is all achieved with the right use of colour, light and composition. 

Alcott is widely recognised for his use of lighting as well. All of his shots look naturally lit, and it’s difficult to try and tell where the artificial light sources have been set up for most of his scenes. Nothing in his shots is ever underlit or overexposed unless it’s specifically aimed to be. He keeps the colour temperature the same to create the natural look, and when they’re other sources of light in the shots - such as chandeliers or candles - they look adequate and work well with the lighting on set. An example of how much he valued his shots looking naturally lit would be a scene from ‘Barry Lyndon’, which he lit with actual candles and using light from fireplaces in order to create an authentic atmosphere for the time period in which the film is set. 'Barry Lyndon’ still holds the title for the lowest f-stop lens used in film (0.7).

He shot entirely on film, and he used ultra-wide and zoom lenses; ‘A Space Odyssey’ was shot on a Mitchell BNC that was specially modified for lenses Kubrick had found that had been commissioned by NASA, and they had F-stops of O.75 and 0.95, originally meant for photographing the dark side of the Moon by astronauts on the Apollo missions, which contributed to the futuristic, ahead-of-its-time look of the film. 

Overall, what makes Alcott so distinguishable among other directors of photography is his understanding and intelligent usage of composition, lighting and colour in his work. All of his films share a similar aesthetic and well composed and visually pleasing shots. His collaborations with Kubrick result in films that are still regarded as some of the best in cinema history.

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BOXING PROPOSAL

DURATION

3-5 minutes

TARGET AUDIENCE

12+

RESUME

12 Rounds Boxing are a membership boxing gym in Clapham Junction. They’re suitable for anyone

regardless of their experience and what makes them unique compared to other boxing gyms is the

friendly, fun and supportive atmosphere in each of their sessions.

To promote the gym with this corporate video we will try and capture said atmosphere and show

how boxers train. We will also interview the both co-founders, Kat and John, to introduce their

specialities and the inspiration to start 12 Rounds Boxing and what they want to achieve with their

gym. We will also have interviews with other trainers at 12 Rounds so that the target audience can

meet the professionals that work there. Because the gym’s friendly and supportive atmosphere is

just as important as the training, we will interview boxers about their thoughts on the gym, the

trainers, the sessions, and what made them choose 12 Rounds over other boxing gyms.

SUGGESTED ELEMENTS

 Interviews with the owners to show their inspiration, motive and goals about opening the

gym

 Interviews with the boxers to show what their experience at the gym has been like

 Cover shots to capture boxers training, preparing for fights and fighting

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

TREATMENT

The backbone of the corporate video will be the interviews of the owners, Kat and John. The

beginning of the video will show cover shots to establish the gym, and then they will introduce

themselves and talk about 12 Rounds.

Their interviews will intercut with footage relevant to what they’re speaking about. The next

interviews will be of other trainers at 12 Rounds to give better insight about the process of training

and a breakdown of trainings, as well as their goals and motivation.

Because the friendly and supportive atmosphere is important to 12 Rounds, there will be interviews

with people that train at the gym, so their opinions and thoughts on it can convince the audience as

to why 12 Rounds is a better boxing gym than others and what their experience has been.

To enhance the vibes and energy that this video intends to give, for my edit I will use a few songs in

the background.

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This is the Budget for our Short Film project.

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If filming at my house their isn’t going to be many issues. The works being done are only on the walls so their isn’t tons of tools and mess on the floor.

Risks.

1, Wires from equipment within corridors, This is easily resolved by minding where you tread.

2, if my family are in then i will have to...

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Location Reece

IF we cannot find any other locations we can use my house for it, we are having works done in the living room so it might add abit of a apocalyptic feel to it.

Photos can be taken soon if other location is not found soon.

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List of things needed for creating ‘Heart Z’

· Location, We would need to find a rather large house to shoot this in. would need to speak to other students about this.

· Make-up Artist for creating the zombie effect on the woman’s skin. We could possibly find one within the college.

· Actors would...

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Corporate Video Essay

In this essay I will be discussing corporate videos and myexperience with working with corporate clients to produce a good final product.

A corporate video is a piece of work produced for a company, organisation or corporation, and in basic terms, it’s a video meant for promotional purposes but not for mainstream broadcasting, and as such it’s mostly broadcasted on the client’s websites. Their intention is to show the company in a positive way and emphasise on the values of said company/corporation or organisation.

The typical workflow for a corporate video starts with research of the client you will be working for. This includes looking through their website or social media pages, seeing if they have had other promotional videos done for them, and generally looking at what they’re known and recognised for that should be included in the video. Then, usually you’d have a meeting with your client where you discuss what they want to achieve with the video, who’s going to be their target audience – for example if they’re doing it to promote their business to potential clients or to be shown to employees, etc. In said meeting you will also need to take notes on what they want to include, who’s going to be doing the interviews, what’s the overall look of the video that they’re after. Usually you also need to talk about shooting days and deadlines, budget, and locations. Once this is done you move on to the next step, which is to plan your shoot – at this point you’ll need to know if you’re filming a certain event or just general shots of, for example, the services your client provides – and plan accordingly. You’ll need to decide what equipment you need, how many lenses, lights, and so forth. When you have everything planned out and you’ve decided on a date with your client, it’s time for the shoot. Once you arrive on the location, it would be useful to look around and see where you can set up cameras and what shots you can get, especially if you haven’t been to the location before. Once you start shooting, the filming process should go as planned, but if they are any complications or obstacles, it’s best to speak to your client and decide on another date you can go and re-shoot. When filming interviews, you’ll need to consider the positioning, the backdrop, the lighting and the sound. If after the filming is done there are shots or interviews that you’re not happy with or don’t look good; or if there are shots that you have forgotten to take while you were filming, you should contact your client and arrange to re-film.

In post production, you always start off by sorting out your footage – this includes renaming and organising your footage in bins, getting rid of the shots you won’t use and synchronising the audio with the interview shots. Then you start working on the rough cut, where you’ll have to structure your corporate video and put your interviews together. Usually you wouldn’t bother with cover shots and cut aways until you have the ‘skeleton’ of the video, which are the interviews. When the rough cut is done you show it to your client to get feedback and make changes if necessary. If you’re both happy with it so far, you go back and you start working on the final cut, which is where you start adding all the cover shots and cut aways that are relevant; it is good to have a nice intro and outro to your piece. In the final cut, you really need to be working on the pacing of your video and making sure everything flows together nicely. When you get to the stage where the edit is finished, you move on to colour correction. This is necessary not only for aesthetics, but also to make sure all your shots look similar and even out any differences, for example if you’ve filmed an entire day and you can see a slight difference in the lighting and colours between the shots you’ve taken first and last. It’s also necessary if you’ve used a camera with flat colour settings, such as a BlackMagic.

For my corporate video project I worked with two different clients: 12 Rounds Boxing, a boxing gym based in Clapham, and the North West Kent College IT Department. I had different roles for the different clients, allowing me to gain more experience compared to if I only worked on one corporate video; along to that both of the videos were quite different in terms of content and what they were meant to achieve, which also gave me the opportunity to explore the options when creating videos with different purposes. The corporate video for 12 Rounds aimed to give its viewers a feel of what the gym actually is and show what makes it stand out than your typical boxing gym; the owners of 12 Rounds really took pride in not only the quality training they provide, but also the friendly environment and the enjoyment boxers get from training at 12 Rounds. The corporate video for the NWK IT Department, on the other hand, aimed to show and promote their services.  My role for 12 Rounds was to film the interviews and some cover shots and I was the editor for the IT promo.

Before the shoot for 12 Rounds, I had a look at their website. I noticed that they mentioned their friendly and supportive atmosphere a lot and the photos they had were of the owners and members smiling while training to contribute to their statement. 

 They also emphasised on the personalised training programs they offer and the fact that they are beginner-friendly and encourage anyone to come along to their sessions regardless of fitness level and previous boxing/fighting experience. I had this in mind while filming the cover shots, and tried to get as many shots of people smiling and enjoying themselves while they train or during the little breaks inbetween different exercises as possible. For the interviews I used mostly a 55mm lens, which provide a wider aperture and narrow focus, which I think made the interviews look more ‘personal’ and visually appealing. 

I think that this interview style really worked well with the overall feel of the video and helped emphasise on the friendly and professional atmosphere which you feel when walking into one of 12 Rounds’ training sessions. Since John is the owner and founder of 12 Rounds, his interview was a two-camera interview, with one of the shots being a profile shot. 

The gym had a few windows and let a lot of natural light in, so I used this to my advantage when it came to lighting my interviews. I used three-point lighting for all the interviews, with sometimes using the natural daylight as a key light and then just using a fill light and a back light to distinguish the subject from the background. 

I didn’t want to have harsh lighting on the person being interviewed, instead I wanted it to look nice, cinematic and contributing to the relaxed and friendly feel of the video. Radio mics were used for all of the interviews, due to the environment in the gym being quite loud and noisy, and a boom mic would have picked up a lot more background noise and would have resulted in bad audio. The radio mics only picked up the interviewee’s voice and very small amounts of background noise, so the audio was not only usable, but also surprisingly good considering that it was recorded while people were training in the background. The gym was not that big so I had to make best use of the limited space I had, which caused me to film some interviews at the same place, but I changed the camera angles, lighting and the setting itself in a way that didn’t even suggest that some of the interviews were shot on basically the same spot. As for the cover shots, I used zoom lenses for the cover shots, including a 100mm and a 15-135mm ones. The benefits from them were that I was able to get cinematic and well composed shots without getting in people’s way, which in turn made the shots look very natural and show people actually training as they do when they’re not being filmed, since the camera wasn’t too close to them and they didn’t have to put on an act as a lot of people tend to do when they find themselves in front of a camera. 

The owners of the gym, Kat and John, were both there during the filming and were able to see the process and have their say in what they wanted us to film. We also used a camera slider for some of the shots, and I think that the wide range of equipment we had with us helped make the footage look professional and cinematic. After the shooting day was over and we were back at college, I looked through what me and Herbert had filmed and was overall pleased with the quality and content of the shots, I was also quite happy with the way the interviews turned out.

My workflow for the IT promo was different, as I wasn’t involved in the filming and had to the edit with the footage I had. I started by organising it and renaming the files. I personally like to cut the interview into different questions and name the clips after the questions asked after I’ve synchronised the audio with the video. This helps me know what exactly I have to work with just by taking a quick look in the bin where I keep my synched interviews. I have found that it’s a really efficient way to organise my files, as when I’m done sorting out the footage and ready to start the rough cut, I can structure my interview quickly because I have each question as a separate clip, which would not be the case if I had just synchronised the interview and then had to load it onto the timeline as one clip. It also works if, for example, you have two interviews and you want them to intercut with one another. My next step was to start the rough cut, which did not take me long at all. Once it was done, I started adding cover shots and cut aways. I wanted to choose a catchy and uplifting song for this corporate, so I ended up using Daft Punk’s Harder Better Faster. I think it also went well with the video’s content, as most people, including me, associate Daft Punk with technology. I decided that I want the video to go somewhat in synch with the background music, as the topic of the video itself is not exactly overly interesting, and this way it would keep the audience’s interest. So I created some space between the interview clips for two reasons – firstly to add cover shots and secondly to make the whole video feel more like a relaxed conversation rather than someone overwhelming the viewers with huge amounts of information all at the same time. I had already loaded the song onto my timeline, so when I added the cover shots, I cut them in synch with the music. I did the same for the intro I created, I had each shot on screen for just a few seconds and then cut it to the beat of the music. I think that this style of editing worked with this corporate for a few reasons – firstly, it did present somewhat boring information in a more or less entertaining way; I also found it a bit non-conventional compared to other videos of this type and it made it feel more like the IT Department’s services were being advertised and promoted rather than just stated; lastly, I think that it just gave a nice feel to the video. Once the final cut was finished, I exported the video and uploaded it to youtube. Usually I’d colour correct my footage using DaVinci resolve, but I found that it was not necessary in this specific case – the video was shot on Canons and not BlackMagic cameras, besides due to the nature of the lighting and the white setting in it the shots looked okay as they were.

The key elements of a corporate video are to show the client in the best possible light, engage the viewers and keep their interest throughout, send a message and intrigue its target audience. With that being said, I think both of the videos achieved that in their own way. The target audience for the 12 Rounds corporate was potential members of the gym, people who want/like to keep fit, and people who would like to take up boxing and possibly start fighting professionally; it was also not aimed at one gender only, as despite boxing being seen as a men’s sport, there were quite a few women training at the gym and we had included interviews with them in the final piece. The IT promo was aimed at North West Kent students. I think that both engaged their demographic.

Personally I am happy with both of the projects. They were both two very different experiences and gave me a taste of how the workflow can change for different types of corporate videos, I also the option to see what it’s like to work with different clients. As previously mentioned, it also provided me with the opportunity to try out different roles within creating a corporate video, and I got to work on both my cinematography skills and my editing skills. I liked the edit for 12 Rounds which Herbert made, and I think the footage is of high quality and professional standard. I think I did manage to capture the atmosphere of the gym with the shots I took, and filming on location with the clients was a very beneficial experience for me overall. I got to work with equipment I have only used in training sessions before and I also learned a lot about communicating with the client you’re working for and making use of a location that I haven’t visited before. I think that the final product was good and hit all the key elements of a corporate video. As for the IT promo, I can’t say I had amazing footage to work with, nor an interesting topic, but I think it prompted me to think creatively and out of the box in order to try and make an interesting video out of boring content. I think I did good considering the whole edit only took me two days from start to finish, but I also think it could have been way better if I only had more (and better) footage to play around with; there are also some little things about the edit that I think could be improved.

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For this project we had to create a 2D animated ident for London farmers market. It had to be around 30 seconds long and. For the first few weeks we learned the basics of animation so that we would know what to do when we actually had to start animating our project. This included animation principles, rotoscoping, and some photoshopping. 

When we got to the point where we had to start pre-production for our animation, the first thing I did was to take a look at the files I was going to be working with, the original logo and LFM's slogan. After that I already had a brief idea of what I'd like to create, so I started brainstorming. I wanted to keep my project simplistic and professional-looking rather than add too many unnecessary effects just for the sake of it. I decided to stick to the original colours of the logo with only making slight changes. I chose a song that I thought fits the tone of the animation and I started storyboarding my idea. With my storyboard I think that it could be improved as I didn't add enough detail on it and also at that point I still didn't know which of the things I planned I can actually do on After Effects and if I'm setting myself unrealistic goals. So I decided to play it safe and keep the transitions and animations simple but effective, though I'm not sure that this was properly shown in my storyboard. 

Once I knew exactly what I wanted to do, I imported the files in After Effects and started the rough cut of my project. Because I wanted to create a simplistic ident, I didn't need much help from Oly, although she did help me and gave me advice when I was stuck. She also gave me the original font used in the logo. Overall I didn't really face problems during my production, and I pretty much stuck to my original planning, but it was for good - I think the final product ended up better than what I had planned.

I overall think that my animation went well. I had no major problems or setbacks and no drastic changes from my storyboard. I think my final animation did have that simplistic and professional feel about it, which is exactly what I wanted to achieve. I put the song I had chosen last and at this point I had some doubts whether it would still fit the style of my animation, but I personally think that it goes well. 

After I had finished my animation I showed it to the class in the last lesson. The feedback I got was positive, and people thought my animation looks very professional. The one thing I got criticism about was the colour of the slogan - the first and last sentences were in white, but the paragraph in the middle I had decided to make green, and while it looked okay on the screen of my mac, when I showed my project I realised it blends in with the background, which is what people said. I'm personally not very happy with the ending, as I tried to fade out the audio but it didn't quite worked; also, for some reason at the very last second the screen goes to white, which I tried to fix but couldn't, as I couldn't find what exactly caused it. 

What I think I could have improved is the pre-production for my animation – if my planning was more detailed I could have done the animation even better. For example, I could have added more detail and provided more information in my storyboard. I find that the production went well, and if I had to do the project again, I would only make small changes to it, like the colour of the slogan, and maybe work on the ending a bit. But I'm overall happy with how my animation came out, especially since I had only briefly used After Effects before, and now I'm more confident in my knowledge of the software and I think that my animation ended up being of high standard.

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Music Video Directors

Vivien Weyrauch & Fabian Röttger

(A Nice Idea Every Day)

Vivien Weyrauch and Fabian Rottger, more commonly known as A Nice Idea Every Day, are Berlin-based music video directors. They are mostly known for using a technique called ‘camera shift’, which is achieved by using up to ten DSLR cameras mounted on a specially constructed tripod and placed evenly apart. All of the cameras are recording the same object from a slightly different angle each. The footage from each camera is merged together in post-production and the final product is a surrealistic, 3D-looking footage. The effect results in stunning visuals which have the potential to create a very specific atmosphere within a music video. A good example of using camera shift to give a video a certain feel to it is the video for ‘Shadow Moses’ by Bring Me The Horizon. In this case the lyrics are about ‘going nowhere’, so they filmed the video in a snowy German forest and the narrative is ambiguous and vague. The effect creates a feeling of disorientation and confusion, it makes the audience feel lost, and it’s a visual representation of ‘going nowhere’. It’s a more or less surrealistic video. Depending on the amount of cameras used in the making of a camera shift music video, the final effect could either look really smooth (like in ‘Shadow Moses’), or the cuts can be a little bit more sharp and obvious, like in the music video for ‘Aviary’ by Mint Julep, where it still looks 3D and again gives off a surrealistic feeling to it. In ‘Doubtful Comforts’ by Blue Roses, the effect is used to create a look of distortion, and in ‘Bernadette’ by IAMX it’s used to achieve a strange, somewhat eerie vibe that goes well with the overall creepy circus look of the whole video.

  Tom Welsh

(Get Deluxe)

Tom Welsh is a Sheffield-based cinematographer and music video director. He’s directed and filmed music videos for While She Sleeps (WSS’ guitarist Mat Welsh is his brother), You Me At Six and Of Mice & Men. His music videos combine the performance of the band plus a narrative. He uses simple, yet really cinematic and effective visuals. He relies heavily on good composition and camera movement. For example, the music video he made for While She Sleeps’ ‘Death Toll’ doesn’t have a narrative to it – it’s just the band performing in a place that looks like an abandoned warehouse, yet it’s really engaging to watch because of the interesting visual and the huge amount of footage which allows the final video to be fast paced and captures the energy of the band. His shots are well lit, well composed, and if there’s camera movement, it’s thought through and adequate. He also uses slow motion to capture things that happen very fast in real time, for example Mat jumping or Lawrence headbanging. He also considers colour grading through which he can manipulate the overall look of a video. For example, in ‘This Is The Six’, where the most of the footage is of the band performing in a fire circle, the reds are enhanced so everything looks really vibrant, and the visuals match the vibe of the song and the idea behind it; whereas, for example, in ‘Death Toll’ all of the colours are cold, and when compared, the two music videos have a very different look, but they’re similar in the fact that they both work really well with the content and the sound. I’ve noticed that Tom Welsh likes using wide shots, pans and tracking shots to show the environment and all of the band members, and then close ups and extreme close ups to focus on each one of them individually and show and focus on details that are important to the narrative. Apart from music videos, Tom also shoots band documentaries and tour updates.

                                                             Shawn Crahan

Shawn Crahan is a co-founder, songwriter and plays a set of deeply tuned drums for the metal band Slipknot. He directs music videos for his own bands and they’re known for having a very specific look and feel to them that can’t be easily achieved by other music video directors. His work is mostly conceptual, but he has also done performance videos and always has some sort of a narrative or a story to his works, as well as a hidden meaning. His latest works are the music videos for ‘The Negative One’ and ‘The Devil in I’, which were the first two singles from Slipknot’s new album ‘.5: The Gray Chapter’. They’re both conceptual and don’t have a well-defined and distinguishable narrative. ‘The Negative One’ doesn’t once show the band performing, but instead a collection of visuals expressing a deeper and darker meaning. In ‘The Devil In I’, there is footage of the band playing as well as unexplained components that represent the hidden idea. ‘The Devil In I’ is a song about the wars we have within ourselves, and in vocalist Corey Taylor’s words, it’s also about "Trying not to give into defeatism, trying not to give into negativity, trying not to give up basically.” The idea of a war within yourself is visually represented by the shots of one of the band members all alone on a desk in what seems to be a mental institution. He’s wearing a white shirt and there are crows flying around him, which represent war, death, conflict.  The whole video is set in the same building, and there are no actors, just the band. extras dressed as ‘human maggots’, hooded figures and crows. The shots Shawn uses, not only for ‘The Devil In I’ but in most of his work, are simple, wide, and they’re not about being technical (which is the case with A Nice Idea Everyday and Mat Welsh), but about the content and the concept. The effectiveness in his videos come from that same simplicity, the fact that he chooses not to overcomplicate his shots but to visualise artistic ideas. Most of his shots are wide and still, he uses some tracking and slow zooms, and his videos are paced perfectly in synch with the songs.  

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Today in animation I carried on with my London Farmers Market animation. I fixed the pacing of it and I started animating the slogan after Oly helped me install the same font from the actual logo.

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Animation Production Log 3/12/2014

Today in animation I started working on my indent for London Farmers Market. I followed my storyboard and started with animating the tractor and the wheels. To do that, I made the front and back wheels children layers to the tractor so that when they rotate, they also move along with the tractor body. Then I started animating Big Ben and London's eye. a chicken, wheat, and a fence all from the original logo. I used a different animation for each. After that was done, I made the ground a parent layer to everything else and animated it going up so that the screen turns green. Next I will start adding the slogan and animating it.

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Today in Oly's I did rotoscoping. I had to get free footage of an animal from Vimeo and then cut it down to 10 seconds. 

I imported the footage to After Effects. I changed the length and then created a new layer. I used the Roto Brush Tool and started selecting my object. Whenever bits of the background would end up in the selection, I held down Alt to deselect them. 

After I was done rotoscoping, I went back to the composition, then went to Channel > Solid Composite and changed the background colour to pink. 

After that I rendered it to H264.