Post-Production

The editing process took a total of 5 hours, approximately, and consisted of the group verbally contributing to a decision on which clips needed cropping so that it corresponded with the shot list, whilst one member used the video editing software to do this. I found the editing process easier than I expected, partially because this element of media is one in which I’m most interested in.

However, the responsibility for physically editing the footage was designated to one member of the group, despite the fact that other members were keen to take part. This role should have been fairly shared between the group. Although, we used this as an aspect of the post-production stage which we could improve on during the stage in which the audio is adjusted.

The editing process created various decisions that the group had to make based on the result we desired from the footage. One of these choices was based on the opening scene in which the group decided to quickly fade the first shot in from a black background. This idea was based on our knowledge of X Factor auditions, and the common way in which producers edit their scenes.

We also had to decide when each shot should finish and the next one begins. This was particularly challenging in the scene where ELLY walks down the stairs and joins KELLY because the timing had to be perfect otherwise this continuity error would become very obvious.

During the stage where the audio had to be adjusted, all members of the group actively edited the audio and understood the process. This consisted of marking areas where the sound needed to be increased and decreased, then moving the marker up or down accordingly. This idea was also used to mix the audio of the two different shots, by marking four areas towards the end of both of the clips them lowering the marker on each.

Prior to the process of editing, the team had devised a table which would be used to log the rushes. This was exceedingly useful in reference to editing because the preferred shot was highlighted and the time in which it started and finished was stated. This made it easier to locate the ideal footage and how long the shot was exactly.  

 
After reviewing the edited version, I can easily conclude that the product was relatively impressive considering this is our first filming project. Personally, I think we could have used more footage depicting the conversation between KELLY and ELLY so that we could have included more of the shot-reverse-shot technique. This particularly applies to the shot of ELLY’s back whilst she is speaking for a significant period of time, as this doesn’t conform to the common X Factor interview style.

 

There doesn’t appear to be any issues with the product in reference to continuity, but we didn’t abide by what was stated in the shot list which caused problems during the editing process as there were shots missing that would have made the product more successful.