Editing Diary

To edit our footage and create the final teaser trailer, my group used IMovie as the main software. I have previously used this software package in year 12 where I was placed into a group of 3 and we had to make a short movie which included editing aspects such as shortening clips, adding sound and including transitions.

When it come to editing our footage, we dealt with the task as a group. As we was working on the IMovie software package that no one was fully experienced in, we decided that if we deal with the task as a group rather than delegating smaller tasks across the group then we would be able to create a more effective and successful final product.

It took roughly 2 weeks to complete the editing fully as there was many aspects that needed to be carried out. Rather than posting a daily editing diary I have kept a paper diary of the tasks that got completed on each day. This paper diary has been typed up below:

Editing Diary Day 1:

On the first day of editing we had to transfer the footage to the IMovie software via a fire wire where all footage was uploaded and shown to us on the screen. As IMovie uploads footage in real time, this task took a whole lesson as we had a large amount of footage due to shots being taken 3 or 4 times. Therefore, we wasn't able to begin editing today due to the long wait for footage to upload.

Editing Diary Days 2 and 3:On the second day of uploading, we looked through all of the footage and decided what bits of footage was relevant and the bits that we wasn't going to use. This took a long time as there was debates over the bits of footage that we felt would and wouldn't work. Once we had decided on the footage we wanted to use, we then placed the footage in order according to our storyboard. Although we had a clear structure of what footage we wanted and needed to use, we felt that some aspects didn't work so we rearranged some clips and moved away from the structure of our storyboard.

Editing Diary Day 4:
Now that we have the structure of the footage in order and complete, we began to add transitions and shortened clips to ensure our trailer did not exceed 1min30secs. This took a 2 hour lesson to complete as we wanted to make sure our trailer looked aesthetically pleasing to the viewer and that each clip flowed into the next one properly and smoothly and that there was no jumping of the clips.

Editing Diary Day 5:
To add effect to our trailer, we decided to place black clips in areas of the trailer where text could be inputted to create suspense for the viewer watching it. We used phrases that would relate to our trailer package, however we aimed not to give away too much information and aimed to confuse the viewers as it was only a teaser trailer, not our full trailer.

Editing Diary Day 6:
When it came to adding music, we had a major problem arise. We were informed that it was within the rules of the exam board that any music added to the trailer had to be copyright free. Therefore we had to research and look for sounds that weren't attached to any copyright laws. We looked at websites such as http://www.freeplaymusic.com/ and http://www.music4yourvids.co.uk/ to find the needed sounds. Eventually, we found a clip of a heartbeat to play throughout the whole trailer and added this sound clip to the IMovie software. However, we also found another clip of music that we found eery and scary that we placed over the heartbeat sound. Both of these sounds interlinked and work fantastically well together and added extra effect to our final product.
Editing Diary Day 7:
Finally, we added credits to the trailer such as the name of the film and the actors and actresses acting in the film. Once we had added these credits, we had completed our trailer.