Editing Diary

Editing Diary

The editing software we used for our thriller was 'Pinnacle'. When we first started our coursework, we didn't know how to use it. But when we had filmed and edited our prelim it gave us an idea on different transitions, sounds and other editing skills we could use. We first imported all the footage from our camera onto the computer and decided on which clips were and weren't suitable to use in our thriller. On the first day of editing we decided to just put all of the clips in order based on our storyboard, without adding any major editing to it except cutting. We would cut the clips if there were parts that were not necessary for the film. We decided to do this before editing as we went along because once we had done sections we would watch it back to make sure it all fit together, and if it didn't we would see if there was another clip that could replace it to improve it.

After we were happy with the order we had put it in, we started editing it to make sure each clip run smoothly onto the next. We would do this by using cuts, fades or other transitions which still fit in with the torture thriller theme. For example, when the hillbilly paedophile had flashbacks of the little girl we added a 'dreamy glow' to make sure the audience could easily see that it was a flashback and not just another scene happening at the same time.

For some of the scenes we managed to change the speed, so it fit in with the rest of the thriller and looked more realistic. For example in the end scene, when there is a voice over of a hillbilly, we slowed down the speed of the voice over so it was more understandable.

We also used the colour changing effect on the scenes where there were flashbacks. When the flashbacks appeared we would make the scene look darker, which would help exaggerate the mood in which was set by the little girl and hillbilly.

The main problem we had with editing our thriller was the last scene, where it fades into a blackout for 5 seconds then a shot of the hillbilly's eyes appear. This is because when we first put the clip in we didn't use a blackout so it went straight from the previous scene, which didn't flow well. So we then decided to try other effects as we were determined to have this clip the last one of the thriller. After trying different effects we found a fade into a blackout for a few seconds whilst the hillbilly was talking worked well.

We then added the music we had chosen to our thriller, thinking we would have to cut out parts of it to make sure it fit in with our thriller. But we were fortunate enough that it already fit with the thriller, for example when the hillbilly started walking faster across the fields the music would speed up.

The last thing we had to add to our thriller in the editing process was the title of the thriller, the actors names, our names and the production company. This didn't take long as we just had to add transitions to them and make sure they were easily readable.