Research - The Development Of Editing Technology

Research the development of editing technology

include mention of;
-Early editing - cutting
-Moviola
-Flatbed Edit Suites
-Linear and Non-linear editing
-Online and Offline editing
-The digital Era (CMX-600, Edit Droid And Avid 1)
-Modern editing platforms (Final Cut, Premiere Pro)
-Film and file types

Include mention of key texts affected by the developments in technology. You must include videos and images that help illustrate your answers


Early Editing - Cutting

Early editing involved cutting down film negatives and placing them in order, it then went through a machine called the Moviola or the K.E.M. A Moviola is a device that allows a film editor to view the film while editing. It was fthe first machine for motion picture editing when it was invented by Iwan Serrurier in 1924.

The Lumiere Brothers started it all off un 1895, they invented cinematography, it was a three way machine that recorded, captured and projected a motion picture. The work they produced only consisted of one long roll of film, a continuous shot. This means that they had to film everything in order as it took long amounts of time to cut and sew the film together this is why you can see in some of their films the mistakes they'd made that they had to keep in the film due to not having the advances editing technology that we have today such as premiere pro and final cut.


Moviola
A Moviola is a device that allows a film editor to view a film while editing. It was the first machine for motion picture editing when it was invented by Iwan Serrurier in 1924.


Flatbed Edit Suites
A prism reflects the images onto a screen, and a magnetic playback head reads the audio tracks. The most common flatbed editors are the six-plate which has one picture transport, two sound transports, and the eight-plate, which has two picture and two sound transports.



Linear Editing
Linear video editing is a video editing post-production process of selecting, arranging and modifying images and sound in a predetermined, ordered sequence.


Non-Linear Editing
Non-destructive editing is a form of audio, video, and image editing in which the original content is not modified in the course of editing; instead the edits are specified and modified by specialized software.
Non-linear video editing is achieved by loading the video material into a computer from analogue or digital tape.



Offline And Online Editing
Online and offline editing is very common in TV and other media projects which they hardly mentioned in film because of the blurred boundaries. 

Offline editing is actually a rough or draft cut of the project by editing a low-quality footage together, so the main editor and possibly director could get ideas for the final cut. Another role for an offline editor is to create an edit decision list (EDL) which is similar to log sheets (a list of shots). It is very important because once the offline editors done a list of the shots they put in a rough cut, the online editor would follow and make changes in order to edit a final cut. Offline editors can also make creative decisions; shots, cuts, dissolves, fades, etc.

Online editing is a final cut of the project by editing a high quality footage together. Online editors would reconstruct the final cut based on the EDL, created by the offline editors. They will add visual effects, lower third titles, and apply colour correction. I noticed that the reason the offline editing has to be done first is because it is cheaper to use in a long period of time in contrast to online editing.

The Digital Era 

CMX-600
A CMX-600 is the first non-linear video editing system. This system was first introduced in 1971 by CMX Systems, a joint collaboration between CBS and Memorex. CMX referred to it as a "RAVE", or a Random Access Video Editing. 
CMX was formed as a joint venture between CBS and Memorex. There goal was to produce a revolutionary new offline video editing system. This system stored the video on computer disks, which provided instant access to both picture and sound, and the ability to make, and see, changes in real time.

This new systems was called a Random Access Video Editor (R.A.V.E). Adrian Ettlinger, of CBS, provided the concept for the new system, and Memorex, then heavily involved in data recording, provided the disk recording technology.
Complete control of the editing process was done with a Light Pen. The editing console (pictured above) housed two black and white monitors. The monitor on the right was used by the editor to select scenes, select cut points, and to control playback. All this was done by clicking on parts of the screen.

The left hand monitor showed the edited sequence. You could at any time play the sequence, forward, or backward, and at a variety of speeds.
 
Edit Droid
The Edit Droid i a computerised analog NLE (non-linear system), which was developed by Lucas film spin-off company, the Droid Works and Convergence Corporation who formed a joint venture company. The company existed up through the mid-80's to the early 90's in an attempt to move from analog editing methods to digital. Edit droid debuted at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) 62nd Annual meeting in Las Vegas in 1984 concurrent with another editing tool that would compete with the Edit Droid for all its years in production, the Montage Picture Processor. The Edit Droid was never a commercial success and after the close of The Droid Works in 1987 and subsequent redevelopment of the product for seven years, the software was eventually sold to Avid Technology in 1993.


AVID 1

Avid Technology is an American technology and multimedia company founded in August 1987 by Bill Warner, based in Burlington, Massachusetts. It specialises in audio and video; specifically, digital non-linear editing (NLE) systems, management and distribution services.

Avid products are now used in the television and video industry to create television shows, feature films and commercials. Media Composer, a professional software-based non-linear editing system is Avid's flagship product.

Avid was founded by a marketing manager from Apollo Computer, Bill Warner. A prototype of their first digital non-linear editing system (the Avid 1) was shown in a private suite at the National Association of Broadcasters convention April 1988. The Avid 1 was based on the Apple macintosh 11 computer, with special hardware and software of Avid's own design installed.

Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro is a series of non-linear video editing software programs first developed by Macromedia Incorporative and later by Apple incorporative. The most recent version, Final Cut Pro X 10.4.6, runs on Intel-based Mac computers powered by MacOS High Sierra or later. The software allows users to log and transfer video onto a hard drive (internal or external), where it can be edited, processed, and output to a wide variety of formats. The fully rewritten Final Cut Pro X was introduced by Apple in 2011.

Since the early 2000s, Final Cut Pro has developed a large and expanding user base, mainly video editors and independent filmmakers. It had also made connections with film and television editors who have traditionally used Avid Technology's Media Composer. According to a 2017 study, Final Cut Pro made up 49% of the US professional editing market, with Avid at 22%. A published survey in 2008 by the American Cinema Editors Guild placed their users at 21% Final Cut Pro (and growing from previous surveys of this group), while all others were on an Avid system of some kind.



Premiere Pro
Adobe Premiere Pro is a timeline-based video editing app developed by Adobe Systems and published as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud licensing program. First launched in 2003, Adobe Premiere Pro is a successor of Adobe Premiere (first began in 1991). It is geared towards professional video editing, while its sibling, Adobe Premiere Elements is targeted towards the consumer market.


REFERENCES
http://www.vtoldboys.com/editingmuseum/cmx600.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EditDroid
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avid_Technology
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Cut_Pro

Camera work - (Pull Focus, ISO, Shutter Speed)

Pull Focus Technique

First impressions of using a camera we were asked to do a Pull focus, a standard pull focus is a creative camera technique in which you change focus during a shot. Usually this means adjusting the focus from one subject to another. The shot below begins focused on the plant in the foreground, then adjusts focus until it is sharp, both shots show a shallow depth on field. 

Why we use the Pull Focus technique?

The pull focus technique enables you to switch the focus of your shot from one subject to another. Used skilfully, it's a time-tested way for the videographers to pull viewer's attention from one item in a scene to another, or from one person to another during dialogue. 

Below are two examples of two obvious pull focus shots, they can be used in films which sometimes viewers can be unconscious to as we just follow the main focus. But they are clearly shown here to have a shallow pull focus which creates a significant effect in showing a main focus to the audience.

In the task we were asked to do was to get evidence of a pull focus, being this was the first time I'd used a camera you can see as I progress onto better pull focus shots throughout the lesson in which we were taught how to do them.

This was the first attempt at a pull-focus in which I did, in this shot I decided to write the word pull focus on paper and then significantly use a pull focus on it. The shot was inside, in very low-key lighting with a low iso explaining the very dark video and a first attempt.

In the next pull focus i attempted, i went outside and filmed around the college, I used the pull focus technique this time to emphasise the drawing on this pole and show it's significance, you could say this could be quite a creepy shot if it was used in the right context.

The third one which I attempted, you can see the see the quality in the pull focus get significantly better, the camera movement is also less shaky and i've clearly thought of a unique idea to show the technique it's also a lot more subtle than the other one's.

ISO- International Organisation of Standardisation

ISO stands for the International Organisation of Standardisation which is the main governing body that standardises sensitivity ratings for camera sensors. The term was carried over from film, when the ISO rating was known as the “film speed” and “ASA.” Having a standard of sensitivity is important, as it allows you to shoot the same ISO on different cameras and trust that the exposure value will be equal for example using an ISO of 200-400 is best as you should never really increase the ISO you should try increase the amount of light in the shot as it creates and increases the amount of "noise" the image/video shows.

To Remember - The Higher the number (e.g. 1600) the more sensitive your camera is to light meaning more light is let onto the image/footage but the quality deteriorates.

The image below shows the different ISO's and clearly showing the difference between the amount of light shown.

With both analog and digital cameras, ISO refers to the same thing: The light sensitivity of either the film or imaging sensor. When you change the ISO on a digital camera, you’re rendering the sensor more or less sensitive to light.

To Remember - ISO and Noise
Increasing the ISO speed above the sensors base ISO is just the same as under exposure. It's not a good idea to use higher ISO settings just to combat poor light - in poor light everything looks like bad, and if it looks bad then the image will look even worse.

 
In the next task we were asked to take two videos comparing the effects of ISO to moving image, one video outside using a very low ISO(100) and one video inside using a very high ISO(1600).

The first video demonstrates a video shot in low ISO outside, the weather was sunny so you only needed a low ISO as the light is already extremely bright. It is always best to use more natural lighting than adjust the ISO which is why I used the low ISO(100) for this video taken outside.













The second video is where I decided to use the higher ISO(1600) as there was not much natural light on the inside only coming from the windows so it was best to use the higher ISO in this video. There is very low-key lighting in comparison to the outside, so a slightly higher ISO would be preferred however 1600 is still far too extreme in these circumstances.






I believe my videos are effective in which you can clearly see a difference in the amount of light shown and the difference that natural lighting and a low ISO (looks a lot better and more realistic) than a video in dimmer natural lighting with a very high ISO. The technical challenges I faced when filming these was not being used to using a camera so I needed slight reassurance in how to change settings on the camera from peers, after taking many contrasting videos I finally got the gist of how to change settings including the shutter speed, frames/s and the ISO. I would've improved my videos by taking 2 videos in the exact same lighting so you can see the difference a lot more clearly.

Shutter Speed

To Remember - Shutter speed
In photography and digital photography the shutter speed is the unit of measurement which decides how long shutter remains open as the picture is taken. The slower the shutter speed, the longer the exposure time. The shutter speed and aperture together control the total amount of light reaching the sensor. Shutter speeds are expressed in seconds or fractions of a second. For example 2, 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000. Each speed increment halves the amount of light. That's why you also have to adjust the ISO and aperture for each video/photo when you adjust the shutter speed setting.

The photo below shows precisely how the shutter speed affects a moving image, a higher shutter speed gets a crisp photo of the moving image and makes it much more clear, the slow shutter however takes a more natural view as it has less frames per second.

The shutter speed task

For this task we were asked to get video evidence (10-20 seconds long) of the following:

- Slow shutter speed, 1/30 second
- Normal shutter speed 1/50 second
- Fast shutter speed 1/250 second or higher.




I decided to film water as running water is a very beautiful and natural source, I used the water cooler to demonstrate this however i would use next time a fountain or something outside where light will be natural and brighter, using the different shutter speeds shown. 







The first video demonstrates me using the camera with a slow shutter speed using 1/30(frames/second) this means the footage will be much more raw and much more of a natural view.
















The second video shows a video of 1/50 frames per second, this video has a slight change of more definition to the water however not as crisp and defines as the this video which demonstrates a shutter speed of 1/250.





The last video clearly shows the fast shutter working to make a crisp and high definition video of the running water, this is in fact my favourite of the three as it shows to be so clean and high definition.












REFERENCES
https://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/what-is-iso/
https://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/shutter_speed.html

HNC Enrolment Task - Easy Rider

HNC Enrolment task clip from 'Easy Rider'

Conduct textual analysis on the following scene from Easy Rider (1969):

Explain how the text has been constructed to create meaning:

clip link : https://youtu.be/SDAdzb9IeGU

The film plot line entrails two hippies travelling America on motorbikes, they constantly have an intake of drugs within the movie(and supposedly the actors were using real drugs at the time). Earlier on in the film someone they travelled with gave them the LSD(acid) and told them to take it when they were at 'the right place', so they decided that that was the perfect time to trip. Initially the opening shot to the first clip I would say is a mid shot as they are all sitting down, the first take is 56 seconds before the first jump cut which is extremely long for a shot but helps to take the viewers on to the story which makes the scene seem much more powerful as they are experiencing the entire story from one perspective. The first jump cut inserted is a quick second interval of the rundown cemetery building they are in front of which is the start of where their minds start to drift from taking the mysterious drug. They are each shown in different clothes, the two boys wearing typical 'hippie' type clothing and the two women dressed what would of been named as scandalous back in the 60's. All four of them however are shown to be easily influenced and all enjoy the use of recreational drug and alcohol abuse shown in the clip as they pass a bottle of it round and one man pictured to be smoking. There wasn't a major proposition for health back in the 60's as everyone smoked and drank as if it were the norm back then hippies smoked marijuana, kids in ghettos pushed heroin, and Timothy Leary(Harvard professor), urged the world to try LSD. Hence in popular imagination, the 1960's were the heyday of illegal drug use - however historical data indicate they probably weren't.
As Peter offers out the LSD the women question 'what is that?' and 'what do you do with it?' suggesting their lack of education in drugs but also suggesting the fact that it tustve been a new wave drug or just in that area people wee unknown to its recreational use.
The ambient diegetic sound in the background being a continuous monotonous sound like a train chugging along on a track, the sound could signify a heartbeat as it is consistent and uninterrupted up until 1.46s where the beat comes to a sudden stop.
The montage begins with a gradual jump cut, a voice of god type voiceover and things are said such as 'creator of heaven and earth, was crucified, died and was buried, he descended into hell' which makes these biblical connotations seem very eerie and sinister when confronted with the meaning of them for this scene as they are in a graveyard filming.
then as the LSD is slowly immersed into their systems the editing mimics this by increasing in pace while its getting faster and faster the montage becomes more daunting as we start to see them naked sprawled in the graveyard and other varied shot types which try to make the audience feel uneasy as the producers are trying to imitate their visions and trips to the audience. The varied shot types, and the fast pace of it creates a very hallucinogenic view for the audience to almost see it through their eyes the randomised shots and quite dark meanings.

The statue Peter is filmed holding onto while he implores 'shut up' proposes to the audience he is hallucinating/having a bad trip he is pictured at around 1:58 in five different shots all exactly the same length and focus, just changing his position showing his demise. I also read somewhere that when Peter is holding the statue, that director Dennis Hopper had asked Peter to talk to the statue as if he were talking to his mother who had committed suicide at ten years old, Peter had refused to do it as he had never formally confronted his feelings about his mother's death. However Hopper had insisted on it which is why you hear Peter call the statue 'Mother', and he states that he both loves her and hates her, which expressed his conflicted emotions. This scene in fact persuaded Bob Dylan to allow the use of his song "It's Alright Ma" in one of the final scenes, which contains lyrics referencing suicide, Peter told Dylan, "I need to hear those words" as Dylan has agreed to its use.
Which entrails that it wasn't in fact acting and that he had actually had an emotional breakdown in the scene thinking about how his mothers suicide affected him which now knowing that information creates much more significance and desolation. Some of the weird lighting effects in the LSD scene also came about because a can of film was accidentally exposed when it was opened before being developed.

Unit 36 - Music Video

Unit 32 - Promotional Video

Unit 31 Editing

Unit 30 - Camera and Lighting Techniques

Unit 11 - Film Studies

Unit 6 - Practical Skills

Unit 2 - Research Techniques

Unit 1 - Contextual Studies