editing update

I have now completely finished the editing of the video for my film and have reduced it to exactly 2 minutes.

I have also just put in both soundtracks and have edited them so that they both finish on a dramatic and louder note. For the 2nd track I boosted the bass, this is because the track has a very deep double bass line which when enhanced creates more of a rhythm and continuity to the film.

For the ending of both tracks I have selected a different part of the track that is one long note and played it louder over the end of the original track ending which fades out. This is so that the endings both come to a conclusion at the end. The first track also fades out this note as well so that there is a dramatic start as it cuts into the second sequence.

I now only have to add in the titles until I have completed the entire title sequence.

editing update

Having worked on all different aspects of my opening for 5 weeks I am very nearly finished. I have now finished all of the editing of the actual footage and sound. I have decided that I will put my title in at around 10-15 seconds, this has dealt with an issue I had with the continuity of the lighting in my footage. Some of my shots were far lighter than others which meant that I have had to edit the chase so that the girl is shown to be running over a longer length of time. The lighter shots play first, then the title, then the darker shots including the strangling scene to make it seem as if time has passed.

I have also decided on the two soundtracks that I will use, however I need to edit these so that they fit perfectly with the film for example adding fades and adjusting the sound levels. I have also recently worked to improve my diagetic sound by reducing background hum and improving the sound levels of each line too.

Overall I have been making good progress with my thriller opening and I hope to finish up the few aspects that are left very soon.

soundtracks

Having done quite extensive research on various copyright free websites to find my soundtrack I have decided on two different tracks I will use for the two different sections of my opening.

I heard about a website called Audio Network which enables the searching of music through styles, moods and genres. The website allowed me to search for the different tracks via how I wanted them to sound. However even then I found many tracks which weren't at all what I thought I would use, but seemed to work well with the film.

In my planning I specifically stated that I would not use a loud, obvious orchestral track, however, having tried more subtle tracks such as the one in my planning, they didn't seem to give full effect to the film. Therefore for the first part sequence in the opening I have chosen the track 'Devil Rides Tonight' by Ray Davies. I chose this because:

• It has a fast tempo of 144 bpm which keeps the pace of the chase moving.
• It is in a minor key which fits with the killing.

It is described as a "fast vintage orchestral drama" piece. And having played it with the first sequence I think that it works well in building tension and emphasising the drama of the chase and the murder.

For the second sequence with the meeting in the street and the shots of the "godfather figure", I had been very unsure in the planning stages what kind of soundtrack I would use at all. In the end I decided on the track 'The Prowl' by Tim Garland and Gareth Johnson. I chose this because:

• It effectively highlights the fact that the opening is set in the late 1940s and is an old crime thriller/gangster movie - Audio Network describes it as a "nocturnal, sleazy big band detective/spy theme with a dramatic build".
• Again it is in a Dm key with keeps the dramatic and thriller-like feel
• The tempo is a much slower 102 bmp, this slows the pace down of the opening and creates more contrast between the two separate parts of the opening.
• The track has a very moody and film noir style too which I really feel helps make the whole opening more stylish, just as classic noir films are supposed to be.

Overall I am very happy with my two soundtracks. I like the fact that I am using two separate tracks as this keeps the opening interesting by making it seem as if there is even more to it, it also creates a contrast which I feel has the same effect. Even though the tracks aren't what I had originally planned, I think they work better as they also fit so well with the style that I wanted my opening to have.

final ident

I finished my final ident that I had planned for "Jack in the Box Studios".

To make the ident i used stop motion made up of 141 stills of 31 different sketches. The idea behind the ident was to be a slightly twisted version of a typical jack in the box, in the fact that the jack in the box is dead in the box. This distorts the idea of the jack in the box being a toy for small children and twists it in to a more dark and sinister form.

to do list

By Friday 15th February I have to complete:

• My ident.

I will complete this before Wednesday 13th February.

• My titles.

I will complete this by Friday 8th February.

• Reshoot the high angle, POV tracking shot for the first sequence.

I will complete this by Thursday 7th February.

• Find a soundtrack to use.

I will complete this by Monday 11th February

• Fully finish the editing.

Complete with all other parts by 15th February.

titles

The title of the film 'Anatomy of a Murder' will appear around 00:22:00, it will be a white title on a black background and will probably look something like this:

I hope to animate it so that the title appears and then cracks is two horizontally to look like the picture above. This frame will then rip away to reveal the film playing underneath it, as shown in this rough example:

I will most likely do this using a green screen underneath the titles which I can then play the film onto. The edges of the paper will fade away so that in the end the film is playing and fills the screen as usual.

editing update

Over the past week I have continued to edit all of my footage. At the moment I have a 2 minute 20 second long opening. I am in the processes of cutting down the first section and adding in the right clips to the street scene. I have decided to edit the interior scene and the street scenes separately, then once I have finished rough cuts for both I will adjust them so that it cuts between the two.

This week I have been mainly working on the street scene, first I watched through all of the footage and was very pleased with the composition of the the shots. So far with this section I have been piecing together the dialogue shots and forming a rough cut that I am just beginning to trim down and edit more closely.

Finally, this week I also discovered that many of my shots look better in that they are less shiny, they have more depth to them, and they aren't quite as dark if instead of using the 50s TV effect on final cut, I simply reduce the global saturation to -100%. Because of this it is likely that I will colour adjust the whole opening to be like this.