Editing trailer/Soap Website complete

Today was a positive day all round in terms of completing unfinished work. Myself and Anna Philona re-visited the learning centre where we had first begun creating our soap website. (Picture on the left shows Anna in action editing the site). Due to the software only available at this centre this was our third time and hopefully our last to come back.

We spent the morning fixing and altering our soap website. We improved fonts into house style and rearranged the page layouts to look more presentable. We also choose to add an extra feature. As we had extra time when filming we chose to shot additional footage that would contain a sneak peek short thirty second clip of what would happen in the soap next week and decided to upload this onto our website too. Therefore we edited this, cut the scenes and added a few quick transitions to include onto our website homepage. Throughout this process we again used the Mac computers and we used a software called iWeb. Overall we were very pleased with the end result of our website and feel that it has true potential.

(Below shows a few print screen of just some of the pages of our website)

Our next task of the day was to finish editing our trailer. We completed this on an easier Windows software programme. We fixed the wrong jump cuts with fades in/outs in order to allow continuity and rearranged a few of the scenes to give it more of a trailer feel rather than a long soap episode. Also we added the soundtrack music of our choice and were able to mute, lower and heightened this in the places we wanted though some of the speech given by the actors were too low to hear what they were saying and this was covered by the music. We also changed the contents of the title pages and where they were placed as the previous ones didn't seem to fit in quite well with the full edited trailer. After all these minor tasks were done and our hard work paid off the trailer was finally 100% completed.

The trailer will be uploaded soon and able to view via the group blog.

Final Soundtrack Research

Today myself and fellow group member Shadei Rabeie focused on looking for our final soundtrack music. Had previously researched into trailer music we knew the type of genre we were looking for. We wanted something that would be quick and edgy in order to match with our fast paced trailer.

We based our search around the website London grid for learning to look for copyright free music that we would be able to easily attain. This site allowed us to choose from many, including a variety of different genres, moods and atmospheres. Eventually we narrowed our search down to five possible tracks and discussed these with the rest of our group members resulting in one final agreement, see below:

http://audio.lgfl.org.uk/tracks.asp?l1=Instrumentation&l2=Electronic&l3=Metallic+%2F+Industrial&l1c=3&l2c=37&l3c=37180&offset=30
Revenge - this track was excellent for quick pace with the strong use of different instruments though we felt that it was maybe too fast and seemed like it would fit a rock theme rather than an action and drama which we aspired for.


http://audio.lgfl.org.uk/tracks.asp?l1=Mood+%2F+Atmosphere&l2=Mood&l3=Driving+%2F+Exciting+%2F+Exhilarating&l1c=1&l2c=2&l3c=1045&offset=30
Beat addict - again this was an excellent choice of track with lots of fast sudden beats however its down fall was that it only lasted 1minute 40 seconds. As we have not yet edited our trailer fully we will need to chose a track that will last at least 2minutes long in order to allow extra time between cuts.

http://audio.lgfl.org.uk/tracks.asp?l1=Mood+%2F+Atmosphere&l2=Mood&l3=Exotic+%2F+Sensual&l1c=1&l2c=2&l3c=15030&offset=30
Yerevan - this track was a different type to all the others we had chosen. It was very calm and mellow though it fitted perfectly with one of our main storylines based on a religious family. Though we came to the agreement that it would not be suitable for the whole of our trailer leaving the viewers a little confused as to the genre of the soap.

http://audio.lgfl.org.uk/tracks.asp?l1=Style+%2F+Genre&l2=Favourite+Styles&l3=Rock+%27n%27+Roll&l1c=2&l2c=26&l3c=23440&offset=30
Chewing a brick - This was our hardest decision as we favoured both this track and the motorbike song. The track was fast and edgy everything we wanted it to include though eventually we had to choose between the two and the motorbike song was the one we initially preferred.

http://audio.lgfl.org.uk/tracks.asp?l1=Style+%2F+Genre&l2=Favourite+Styles&l3=Punk&l1c=2&l2c=26&l3c=23381&offset=30
The motorbike song - this was our final decision and we are happy with this track. It has sharp boundarys to it yet heightens in dramatic stages. We feel that it will settle in well with our trailer and what we aim to reflect. We needed a track that was modern in order to attract to our target audience. Having continuously viewing our trailer in the process we feel this track will fit it well.

Our last step that we took was downloading the track and then importing it through itunes which was all processed successfully.

Editing Process day 2

The second day of the editing process both group leaders myself and Anna Philona spent the whole morning dedicated to this task. Firstly we had to watch the one hour long footage from start to finish in order to view all the different shots we had taken. Once we had viewed this we were able to choose the shots which we felt worked best. This took much longer than expected as it was the first time we were editing using the Mac computers.

We used a software called iMovie which is only available on the Mac computers though considering we had never used this software before we managed to adjust to it well. Once the scenes were cut we put these in the order of preference from our storyboard - as it is a trailer we intertwined the storylines together jumping from each to the other in order to keep the audience anticipating.

We then added the title pages which we placed on black backgrounds with white bold font, these pop up in between the cuts as if it is telling a story and last only a few seconds on screen. The title pages go as follows:
"The story of five teenagers,"
"who live in the moment... "
"even if that means"
"Breaking the Rules"
"LIBERTY"
"COMING SOON"

we felt that these titles worked well as they emphasized what our soap is about and also attracting our young teenage adult target audience.

After a hard working day we are pleased to say that the majority of the editing is completed. Our next steps now include finalising the music which we will need to add to the trailer. As well as fixing any cut jump cuts by adding transitions.

The start of the editing process

As all of the filming process is now finished and as the deadline date edges closer it was time for our production group to move on to the next stage this being the editing process. Due to an advantage of software avaliable we visited the CLC learning centre where we were able to use a range of technical equipment.

It was essential that all group members were present as we all needed to agree on both the shots we were going to use and how they will be arranged.

Firstly we began by importing all of our footage onto one of the macs this proved to have taken longer than we had imagined and we were running short of time already. After realising that it would be a problem and no way of transferring this planned to be edited version back to our school accounts we had to stop the process and continued it back at school. This of course was a huge disappointment as we had hoped to at least have edited half of our footage although it did allows us to re-introduce ourselves with the skills we had learnt last year.

We have now made a plan of which for the editing of all the scenes to be finished by the end of the week. Additionally this weekend will be spent finding trailer music to match with our scenes where after Monday this will be added to the edited version.

The Filming Process; Completed

We can successfully state that the filming process of our production is now finished. After a number of dates filming over a period of a few weeks we have been able to wrap up all of our filming. Although we will need to upload the footage onto the computer and see if any shots need to be re-filmed.

Today we finished the last few shots, these included the thirty second sneak peek of couple Maria and Dervish and the last shot of Joanna and Shiffa which is to be contained in our trailer. Originally the sneak peek of Maria and Dervish we planned to follow our draft script although after a discussion within the group we decided to change it and improve it. Overall we felt that the improved script worked well, developed an understanding and potential continuity flow for any future episodes.

Next we aim to begin our editing within the next forthcoming weeks and have it completed by the beginning of February. Our following steps include researching and looking for trailer music before we begin the editing process.

The Filming Process: Day 2 Photos

Here are a variety of photographs from todays filming process showing the group working hard in action;

This photograph shows me filming a close-up of Shiffa coming into the living room where her potential husband awaits her. I used part of the tripod though the shots came out fairly shacky.



This is Moji and his on-screen mother in action rehaearsing the lines just before shoting the scene.

Shadei (Shiffa) practising her lines before the filming begins ensuring she knows them off by heart.

Characters Shiffa and mother during the prayer scene. We layed out blanket to represent a prayer mat therefore creating realism.



Me and Anna Philona preparing and setting the scene, ensuring lbright lighting from outside doesnt ruin our shots.


Me filming one of the scenes on Shiffa, using the tripod had a major impact on the outcome of the shots.

Shadei and her on-set mother going through their lines before the real thing.

The Filming Process: Day 2

Having rescheduled a number of dates we were finally able to arrange a time and date where all the cast needed for the second storyline were available to be present.

Moji; Acting as Shiffa's potential husband

Shadei; the character of Shiffa, (the rebellious teen)

Extra 1; Acting as the role of Shiffas mother

Anna Philona and Elena Antoniades; Directing and filming

Storyline 2; Cultural Clash

We structured the filming out the same way as we had written the script, making sure not to miss out any crucial continuous moments. We began by filming the scene where Shiffa is positioned in front of the mirror and is attempting to put her headscarf on correctly. We shot this scene using two specific angles as when the editing process begins it will give us a wider amount of footage to work with. The first shot we used was from Shiffa's point of view looking through the mirror, here we had to make sure that the camera was positioned correctly in order to avoid getting it in the shot which at first seemed a little tricky. We also used a shot from a different angle to see which worked best.

During the prayer scene we had a few problems with the space in which we were working with and the light from the sun ruining the shot. Although in the end we were able to find a suitable effective position where the characters could be seen clearly and the sunlight was blocked out using the props of sheets.

Our last scene that we shot was additional footage sneak peek which will be uploaded onto our soap website. It will only last around thirty seconds showing what the next episode of LIBERTY will contain. Today we managed to film our first part of this sequel, of Shiffa and Moji.

Mise-en-scene was important in all of these scenes that we filmed today as we needed to create a sense of realism. We used many props to our advantage emphasizing this strict religious family. We made sure the characters looked the part using their clothes to portray their characters e.g. dark coloured clothes not showing any flesh as well as not showing any hair (using a headscarf).

The filming process is nearly coming to an end, though all that is too be done next is the final scene between the lesbian couple Shiffa and Joanna. Also we will need to film our last 30seconds sneak peek of Maria and Dervish. These scenes should be done within the next two weeks.