Cross media marketing is a form of cross-promotion in which promotional companies commit to surpassing the traditional advertisements and decide to include extra appeals to their offered products.The material can be communicated by any mass media such as e-mails, letters, web pages, or other recruiting sources. This method can be extremely successful for publishers because the marketing increases the ad’s profit from a single advertiser. Furthermore, this tactic generates a good liaison between the advertiser and the publisher, which also boosts the profits. Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networking services and other technologies to try to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives (such as product sales) through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses or computer viruses ( Internet memes and memetics). It can be delivered by word of mouth or enhanced by the network effects of the Internet and mobile networks. Viral advertising is personal and, while coming from an identified sponsor, it does not mean businesses pay for its distribution. Most of the well-known viral ads circulating online are ads paid by a sponsor company, launched either on their own platform (company webpage or social media profile) or on social media websites such as YouTube. Consumers receive the page link from a social media network or copy the entire ad from a website and pass it along through e-mail or posting it on a blog, webpage or social media profile. Viral marketing may take the form of video clips, interactive Flash games, advergames, ebooks, brandable software, images, text messages, email messages, or web pages. The most commonly utilized transmission vehicles for viral messages include: pass-along based, incentive based, trendy based, and undercover based. However, the creative nature of viral marketing enables an "endless amount of potential forms and vehicles the messages can utilize for transmission", including mobile devices.
According to marketing professors Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein, to make viral marketing work, three basic criteria must be met, i.e., giving the right message to the right messengers in the right environment:
Messenger: Three specific types of messengers are required to ensure the transformation of an ordinary message into a viral one: market mavens, social hubs, and salespeople. Market mavens are individuals who are continuously ‘on the pulse’ of things (information specialists); they are usually among the first to get exposed to the message and who transmit it to their immediate social network. Social hubs are people with an exceptionally large number of social connections; they often know hundreds of different people and have the ability to serve as connectors or bridges between different subcultures. Salespeople might be needed who receive the message from the market maven, amplify it by making it more relevant and persuasive, and then transmit it to the social hub for further distribution. Market mavens may not be particularly convincing in transmitting the information.
Message: Only messages that are both memorable and sufficiently interesting to be passed on to others have the potential to spur a viral marketing phenomenon. Making a message more memorable and interesting or simply more infectious, is often not a matter of major changes but minor adjustments.
Environment: The environment is crucial in the rise of successful viral marketing – small changes in the environment lead to huge results, and people are much more sensitive to environment. The timing and context of the campaign launch must be right.
During the editing process we came across many issues that we had to mend. Such issues like our monitor and the software closing down so therefore we would have to re do all the work that had been deleted. This became frustrating for us as a group because it wasnt our fault, there was a fault in the monitor itself but because our film was so far ahead and all the work had been saved on to that computer it wouldve been risky to solve the problem on the monitor just incase everying got erased so instead we had to just save our work everytime we would change or add something as the monitor would shut down unexpectedly.
We all came across issues such as realising that there were some shots missing or that needed to be added on so that there would be continuity in our film, we realised there were shots missing once we had put all the shots together so therefore we had to go out and do those shots. Also when editing we would realise that some props places had changed in some shots or the characters costume would look different so we had to redo those shots again,
Durig the filming procedure we filmed our shots in random order depending on which location we were filming in first and because of that while editing we came across problems such as the time of day, as one shot would be dark because it was shot in the winter afternoon and another shot would be sunny and because of this we had to edit those shots and change the colour format to not make it seem that obvious.
One big issue that we came across once our rough copy was done and posted on youtube, was that we realised 2 shots were not in focus however it had looked focused on the software before we posted it out so now we're going to re shoot those two shots to create a successful film.
This is the original movie poster for 2014 Drama film Gone Girl. Although impressive, the poster does not disclose much information about the film and is quite ambiguous. I feel this is done intentionally, as the title of the film suggests that a female character has gone missing. This indicates a theme of mystery which may be incorporated in the film, which the film may not want to give away.
The majority of the poster visually shows a large photograph of the sky, with some landscape showing underneath. The man in the middle of the picture is presumably in his late 20's. It is hard to tell by his facial expression how he is feeling, but it is assumed that he is worried. We know that he will have some relationship with the missing girl, as he must be a main character due to his single appearance on the poster. We could assume that it would be his wife, due to his age and the slogan 'you don't know what you've got till its...' which suggests he did not appreciate his marriage before his wife's disappearance. The audience may either sympathise with the character or due to the tagline, feel that he may be responsible or involved in the disappearance.
There is a semi transparent image of a pair of eyes which can be seen in the sky. Eyes often indicate emotion which suggests the film will involve many moving and touching moments. This also adds a mysterious effect as it is unclear who's eyes they are. We can also see a bar at the lower end of the poster, which appear to be information bars which we often see along the bottom of the television when we watch the news. This indicates that the disappearance of his wife will make national (or maybe international) news. This suggests that her disappearance may involve murder or something of a serious nature. This creates empathy and distress in the audience for the missing girl.
This poster is influential when it comes to our media group considering what our poster should look like. There is a shot in our film of an extreme close up of Lola's eyes which could be incorporated in our poster in a similar way to this one. I also feel that the poster for our film should also be quite ambiguous to avoid giving away any plot twists that our film contains and also add to the mystery of the film. When our audience sees our film poster, we would like them to feel intrigued to watch the film despite not knowing the movies full contents. I feel that this poster is successful in achieving this in their target audience.
Editing describes the relationship between shots and the process by which they are combined. It is essential to the creation of narrative space and to the establishment of narrative time. The relationship between shots may be graphic, rhythmic, spatial and/or temporal.
Filmmakers and editors may work with various goals in mind. Traditionally, commercial cinema prefers the continuity system, or the creation of a logical, continuous narrative which allows the viewer to suspend disbelief easily and comfortably. Alternatively, filmmakers may use editing to solicit our intellectual participation or to call attention to their work in a reflexive manner.
Graphic Match
Graphic matches, or match cuts, are useful in relating two otherwise disconnected scenes, or in helping to establish a relationship between two scenes. By ending one shot with a frame containing the same compositional elements (shape, color, size, etc.) as the beginning frame of the next shot, a connection is drawn between the two shots with a smooth transition. The first clip below, from Hitchcock’s Psycho, takes place just after a woman is brutally stabbed to death while in the shower. As her blood washes away down the drain with the water, the camera slowly zooms in on just the drain itself. A graphic match cut is then utilized, as the center of the drain becomes the iris of the victim’s lifeless left eye.
Rhythm
Rhythm editing describes an assembling of shots and/or sequences according to a rhythmic pattern of some kind, usually dictated by music. It can be narrative, as in the clip from Woody Allen’s Bananas below, or, a music video type collage, as in the second clip from Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. In either case, dialogue is suppressed and the musical relationship between shots takes center stage. In Allen’s Bananas, the use of a vaudeville-esque tune recalls Charlie Chaplin and early cinematic comedy. Like Chaplin’s characters, Fielding Melish’s actions and adventures continually result in humorous misadventure. In the sequence below, he heroically expels two thugs from a subway car. The length of the shots is determined by the quick tempo of the piano recording: as the villains’ abuse of innocent passengers reaches a climax, the shots become shorter and shorter. The quick editing builds suspense before the hero unpredictably rises and throws them off the train.
Establishing Shot
The Establishing Shot or sequence serves to situate the audience within a particular environment or setting and/ or to introduce an important character or characters. The establishing shot is usually the first or the first few shots in a sequence, and as such, it must be very efficient in portraying the context. Typically, establishing shots are Extreme Long Shots or Long Shots, followed by progressively closer framing. Quentin Tarantino introduces his film Inglorious Basterds, with an extreme long shot of the countryside, suggestive of rural France. It is followed by a medium shot of the dairy farmer, who will dominate the first scene. One of the man’s daughters is also shown, first in a medium shot and then in medium close-up, hanging clothes. Moreover, the sequence establishes the central conflict, with the arrival of the German motor cars, shown in POV shots from the perspective of the farmer and his daughter.
Shot/ Reverse Shot
Shot/Reverse Shot is an editing technique that defined as multiple shots edited together in a way that alternates characters, typically to show both sides of a conversation situation. There are multiple ways this can be accomplished, with common examples being over the shoulder shots, angled shots, left/right alternating shots, and often a combination of the three. In the first clip below, from Terry Zwigoff’s Bad Santa, we see a standard over the shoulder SRS. This, combined with eye-line matches between the two main negotiators shows how focused each is on the other. The over the shoulder technique allows the viewer to see the facial expressions of each character while listening or speaking. More importantly, the over the shoulder technique creates a sense of space between the characters greater than the actual distance between them. This keeps the frame from being uncomfortably cramped, and also shows the distance between the characters’ different standpoints.
Eye-line Match
In an eye-line match, a shot of a character looking at something cuts to another shot showing exactly what the character sees. Essentially, the camera temporarily becomes the character’s eyes with this editing technique. In many cases, when the sequence cuts to the eye-line, camera movement is used to imply movement of the character’s eyes. For example, a pan from left to right would imply that the character is moving his/her eyes or head from left to right. Because the audience sees exactly what the character sees in an eye-line match, this technique is used to connect the audience with that character, seeing as we practically become that character for a moment. Each of the following sequences is from No Country For Old Men, directed by the Coen Brothers. In the first clip, five eye-line matches are shown in a sequence that’s only a minute long. The first of these contains movement from left to right, mocking Llewelyn’s motion as he walks up to the dead body. We then see relatively still eye-line matches as Llewelyn looks at man’s face, and then at the gun as he picks it up. The next eye-line match is shown as Llewelyn opens the briefcase of money, which contains a slight zoom. This zoom is not necessarily used to mimic Llewelyn’s eye movement, but rather his thought and emotion, as the sight of all the money understandably “brings him in.” The Coen brothers decided to use so many eye-line matches in this sequence and in the rest of Llewelyn’s journey so that the audience would come closer to experiencing what he was experiencing.
Cut-in and Cut-away
This sequence, taken from Tarantino’s Sukiyaki Western Django (2007) provide an examples of the cut-in. Cut-out or away is the reverse, bringing the viewer from a close view to a more distant one. The sequence opens with an extreme long shot of the area’s landscape, a high-angled tracking shot (probably via helicopter) –giving us a wide panoramic view of the area. A cut suddenly transports the viewer somewhere within the landscape to a medium shot of character lying on the floor in his room.
Continuity editing: The Match on Action
Match on Action is an editing technique used in continuity editing that cuts two alternate views of the same action together at the same moment in the move in order to make it seem uninterrupted. This allows the same action to be seen from multiple angles without breaking its continuous nature. It fills out a scene without jeopardizing the reality of the time frame of the action.
In the first scene above, Peter Jackson uses matches on action to give the chase a sense of dynamism. The viewer can never assume what is going to happen next, as the scene is constantly shifting. He uses a very complex version of match on action, jumping from close ups to far away helicopter shots and back without a pause. It is almost dizzying, yet thrilling at the same time. Be sure to keep your eye on the white horse; this is the character we are following and although hard to see at times it is present in every part of the clip.
Parallel Editing
Parallel editing is a technique used to portray multiple lines of action, occurring in different places, simultaneously. In most but not all cases of this technique, these lines of action are occurring at the same time. These different sequences of events are shown simultaneously because there is usually some type of connection between them. This connection is either understood by the audience throughout the sequence, or will be revealed later on in the movie. The first clip is from No Country For Old Men directed by the Coen Brothers, and the second is from Batman: The Dark Knight directed by Christopher Nolan.
In this first clip, we see parallel editing used primarily to add suspense to the situation. At first, the intervals between showing Lewelyn and Anton are relatively long, but as they shorten later on in the sequence, additional suspense is added. Just as we see in the previous clips from the film, there are many eye-line matches shown for both of the characters. This combination of parallel editing and eye-line matches for each line of action allows the viewer to practically experience both sides of the event first-hand.
Alternative transitions
Superimposition
Th following sequence is an example of superimposition. Superimposition refers to the process by which frames are overlapped, either mechanically or digitally, in order to achieve a layered transition. Japanese cinema sometimes uses traditional “kanji” calligraphy superimposed over standard film in several ways; the first of these being to illustrate a famous quotation or religious koan (a phrase chanted to bring about enlightenment), such as this example in which Tarantino says the Japanese proverb, “life is all about goodbyes” (サヨナラだけが人生だ) with the same words superimposed over the screen.
Fade -in
In this sequence from Sukiyaki Western Django, the calligraphic message provides an example of the fade-in. The style used in “Sukiyaki Western Django” is reminiscent of filmmakers such as Kurosawa, who used this archaic writing technique to embed a sort of traditionalism into his media. All in all, this effect has the added value of reminding us that though we are watching a Western, there is a Japanese component that underlies all the events of the film, and we cannot forget this in sight of the lush mise en scène that encompasses the entirety of the piece.
ALTERNATIVES TO THE CONTINUITY SYSTEM
In-Camera Editing
Long Take
Long takes are simply shots that extend for a long period of time before cutting to the next shot. Generally, any take greater than a minute in length is considered a long take. Usually done with a moving camera, long takes are often used to build suspense or capture the attention of audience of without breaking their concentration by cutting the film.
The opening scene from Robert Zemeckis’ Forrest Gump follows a feather blowing carefree in the wind, eventually landing on the foot of the protagonist who proceeds to pick it up and place it in his suitcase. This scene acts as a metaphor for the whole movie, as the feather represents Forrest. Just as the feather blows around for what seems like forever, just going where the wind takes it until it eventually lands in a safe place, Forrest seems to just blow aimlessly through life, going wherever life and fate may take him with out too much consideration of his own, until he eventually lands in a happy place.
Jump-Cut
A Jump-Cut is an example of the elliptical style of editing where one shot seems to be abruptly interrupted. Typically the background will change while the individuals stay the same, or vice versa. Jump-cuts stray from the more contemporary style of continuity editing where the plot flows seamlessly to a more ambiguous story line. An example of this editing style can be found in the following clips from Capote (2005).
Associative Editing or “Montage”
The following clip is taken from Sergei Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin. This unique combination of shots shows a marble lion reacting to the sailors’ rebellion in the harbor. In the context of the story, the ship opens fire on Cossack reinforcements sent to quell its revolt. Eisenstein integrates lions sculpted in various postures to suggest that all of Moscow is awakening to the people’s cause. The sequence requires the viewer to interpret, to “read” the metaphor inherent in the statues and to derive a meaning from their presence in the diegesis.
Hollywood-style Montage
Montage also describes the approach used in commercial cinema to piece together fragments of different yet related images, sounds/music, often in the style of a music video. The following sequence, from Pretty Woman (1991), is an example of the hollywood style montage. The film, starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, shows the main character Vivienne as she transitions from a scantily-clad, unrefined hooker, into Edward’s elegant, poised and well-dressed companion. The soundtrack plays over the background as snippets of various clothing and body parts are shown. In the concluding frame of sequence, the final product, the “new Vivienne”, approaches the camera in a white, tailored outfit and a ladylike hat.
On the Internet, viral marketing is any marketing technique that induces Web sites or users to pass on a marketing message to other sites or users, creating a potentially exponential growth in the message's visibility and effect. Viral ad's are good ways of promoting and advertising messages in a unique way which will appeal to the target audience, also, if a large number of participants exchange clips of the viral message it will generate a wide range response which is why viral ads are so popular amongst different companies.
What makes a good viral ad? Some viral marketing strategies work better than others. Few work as well as the simple Hotmail.com strategy. But below are the six basic elements you hope to include in your strategy. A viral marketing strategy need not contain ALL these elements, but the more elements it embraces, the more powerful the results are likely to be. An effective viral marketing strategy:
Gives away products or services;
Provides for effortless transfer to others;
Scales easily from small to very large;
Exploits common motivations and behaviour's;
Utilizes existing communication networks;
Takes advantage of others’ resources.
Advantages of viral marketing
A viral campaign can be used to build or enhance brand awareness, reputation and image. They can also communicate a specific message in a way that is easy to understand as well as being enjoyable. This encourages users to send the campaign to their friends. Due to the huge amount of visitors a viral campaign can receive, advertisers can generate massive publicity for new product releases and it also helps to gather data and contact details of potential customers.
Undoubtedly, the combinations of different marketing strategies whose objectives are focused on achieving engagement with our audience have their most convincing proof of efficiency in increasing traffic. Viral marketing is one of the most efficient strategies to raise awareness our brand and attract customers.
Other advantages are; better visibility and eventually it cuts down your promotional costs as the publicity of the viral ad will gain more credibility than using a variety of advertising methods.
Disadvantages of viral ads
However, there can be downsides to viral marketing. Some of these are; Negative buzz-Sometimes, instead of creating a positive buzz about your business, viral marketing works in the opposite way. Human nature being what it is, people are more likely to talk about something they don't like with their friends, family members, and co-workers than to share something positive, Greater awareness of your business can lead to more spam, You don't control what people say about your business in social sites.
Examples of viral advertising
Above I have attached 3 unique viral ad examples of films. Chucky, James Bond Skyfall and Carrie.
On Friday the 14th of November 2014 we began filming our title sequence. It took in total about 1 hour to produce all the shots. It wasn't necessary to re-film any of our title sequence because we were all very happy with the outcome and feel that it looked good. Below, I have attached a rough copy of our title sequence which we produced and edited by December 2nd 2014. The title sequence itself will be using in our film, however, the shots used in the opening scene will not be used as we have re-filmed the whole scene with better shots.
We first began shooting the film on the 21st of November 2014 in the Health and Social room on the 2nd floor in Barnsley college. This scene was used to film the 'hospital scene' in which Lola first wakes up and sneaks out with Hannah. The room is set out with two hospital beds and a bedside table, however, we brought our own props to make it look more like hospital to add a sense of realism to our film and ensure it looks quite professional. However, after we filmed this and watched the footage back when editing it on Final cut express, we all decided as a group that although some of the shots were really good, for example the extreme close up of the eyes, we felt that we needed to re-film the scene again to ensure that we were happy with it. We began to re-film the same scene on the 3rd of December 2014 however, we did not have enough time to complete the whole scene so we finished off the filming on Friday 12th of December 2014, we also managed to film the stairs scene on this day which took us approximately 30minutes to film. I then took the camera equipment back to my house so we could film of the home scenes over the Christmas period.
On the 2nd of January we began filming the home scenes. We planned of filming these earlier however we had some setbacks which made us unable to do so, e.g.; snow on the ground, some members of the group ill and some members of the group at work. On the 2nd we managed to film the scene at Lola's house, the scene outside Tom's house, the scene when Lola goes to Hannah's house and the flashback scenes. Due to all the unfortunate circumstances of not being able to film on any other day, we were put under pressure to get all the scenes filmed with Demi on that 1 day. This is because Demi was dying her hair from blonde to brown on the 3rd of January. Unfortunately, the wind was really bad therefore we were unable to film much outside, this is why we slightly changed the storyline so instead of Lola and Hannah arguing outside Toms, We changed it so Lola went to Toms alone and then went to Hannah's house so the confrontation between both girls could take place indoors where the sound was a lot clearer. Putting aside all the set-backs, we were able to successfully complete all the shots on that day and when watching them back, we were all very pleased.
This picture was taken whilst filming the 'home scene' at Lola's.
On Wednesday 14th January 2015, we filmed the final scene with Tom and the psychiatrist and also we used a zoom recorder to record Tom's voice over and got all the scenes with Tom in done on that day. However, another setback occurred when filming. Demi's sister, Jade Cash who was supposed to be playing the psychiatrist was unable to participate in the film making so we was an actress short. However, at the last minute, my sister, Amy Shutt volunteered to play the psychiatrist and we managed to get it filmed that day.
On Friday 16th January 2015, we filmed the 'accident scene' where Lola walks past the accident scene on her way to Toms and also the scene where the accident took place when Hannah pushes Lola into the road and she gets hit by a car. It took us about 1 hour to film these two scenes as it began to rain so we had to take the camera somewhere sheltered until it stopped.
This a picture to show the resources we took out to film on that particular day. We have the camera and the tripod. I looked at the weather forecast and it was forecast to rain that day so we were aware therefore I brought a large golfing umbrella to protect the camera and also a UV torch to flash into Lola's face to make it look like a headlight was hitting it.
On Friday 23rd of January 2015 we completed our final bit of filming which was in the same hospital scene we filmed for the beginning of the film. We also did some extra shots in which Lola is stumbling down the corridor making her way to the hospital room, including some point of view shots. In total, it took us approximately 4 hours to complete this scene.
This week, we are focusing on editing all our shots and creating a 'rough copy' of the film by the latest Friday 30th of January 2015. Therefore, we can then share a copy of this to friends/family and ask them to suggest improvements in which we can add to our final draft.
We have a deadline to complete a rough copy of our short film by Friday 30th January. We have filmed all the scenes we needed to so far and this week we will focus on editing it all. Throughout the filming, we have taken varies pictures/videos to show what it has been like making the film and how our teamwork has enabled us to work together and successfully complete all tasks at hand.
Makeup
To achieve a 'unwell' look for the character Lola, Selen applied red, brown and grey eye shadow under my eyes to make them look drained and hollow. She also applied brown blusher to my cheekbones in order to exaggerate my facial shape and by enhancing the cheekbones it implied that Lola is fragile.
Using the Camera
We have all helped to film, taking turns using the camera and consoling with each other after each shot in order to ensure we were all happy with what we had filmed. We felt confident enough to use the bigger A2 cameras last year when filing our AS video therefore we felt a lot more confident using them again this year allowing us to experiment more.
Rehearsing the shots
Due to me and Demi being in most of the shots, we didn't have to
opportunity to see how each shot would look when filming, therefore we took it in turns to act out in each frame so we all had an idea of how the shot would look when filming it for real.
When creating a film, you want it to look professional and of good quality, which is why I decided to do some research into how we can achieve this in order to reflect what I have learnt and found out and apply it to our film.
1) Trim it
The first thing I found out is that unnecessary shots make the audience less interested and makes the film seem slightly tedious, so the best thing to do is trim the shot down to only what is needed. Any basic editing software has a trim tool and as we are using Final Cut Express to edit our film, we are all perfectly aware of where the 'cut' tool is. We became familiar with this software as we used it last year when creating a 2 minute introduction to a film therefore we feel a lot more confident using it this year.
The cut button is located in the tool pallet which has been highlighted in a black oval shape.
2) Attach a logo
The second tip I found to making your film look more professional was to add a stamp/logo. As a group, we created a Logo for our film, however, in our rough draft of our film, we did not attach the logo to it. Therefore, as a result of this research in our final copy of our film, we will include our logo amongst the title sequence which will help the audience to identify with our film.
Here I have included our logo which will be featured in our film. This was created on Photoshop and we used a drawing pad free-handed to transfer it onto the computer.
3) Colour correction Colour correction is a very important when ensuring your film looks of a professional quality.While many see colour correction as a simple way to fix problems with the original footage, there’s a lot more to it than that. Colour correction can perform real magic on any project, no matter what the final output is. From broadcast shows and independent movies, to DVDs and streaming videos, colour correction is the perfect technique to not only make the final video look outstanding but also to give new meaning to certain scenes. Adopting colour correction as one of the necessary steps in your postproduction sessions can make such a difference in the final results that you may soon find your productions rising to a whole new level, taking you several steps ahead of the competition. Already, we have used this technique in our rough copy of our film. In one of the shots, the lighting outside was slightly darker which created a blue filter on the frame which we did not want. Using the colour corrector, we was able to match it to the next frame which allowed us to edit continuously thus enabling us to achieve e a more professional looking scene.
Here we can see what a difference colour correction can actually make and how many different effects it can achieve.
4) Depth of focus
The final thing I concluded as part of my research is the importance of the depth of field. At first, I didn't quite understand what this was, however, after looking more into it I found that it is the amount of distance between the nearest and farthest objects that appear in acceptably sharp focus in a photograph. A preferred selection Depth of field in a focused subject in an image can be quite subjective. So, why is this so important? Using this method you can direct the focus of your audience toward whatever element you desire to showcase. Thus subconsciously telling them “this is important.” It is also important to ensure the DOF does not create a 'muddy' effect in which someone shoots wide open and part of the subject is out of focus.
Here I have attached a good example of a muddy shot which was taken from the them 'abortion'.
When you really think about it, DOF is just another framing edge. Just like left, right, top, and bottom of the frame can be used to isolate the scene; DOF can be used to control how deep a scene is. This gives the cinematographer the option to limit space. Take for example a car park. In reality it may be a large space, using shallow depth of field one can create a very small, intimate scene with a character.
Here I have attached an Image which displays a good depth of focus which we will try to re-create in our film in order to achieve a more professional feel.
5) Youtube links on how to use editing software
I have also attached some links to some Youtube videos which show how to create a more professional look when editing with popular editing software which has also proven useful when editing our short film 'Lola'.
Many new filmmakers think that having a shallow Depth Of Field (DOF) is the single most important element in achieving a film look, hence the popularity of DSLR’s and other interchangeable lens cameras. For those of you that are new to this, DOF refers to the amount of the image that is in focus. Traditionally, feature films have made use of a shallow depth of field to selectively focus the attention on a person or object. Take a look at the photo below and note the areas in focus and those that are out of focus, drawing your eye in to the important part of the frame -
While I do agree that being able to achieve shallow DOF is necessary, it’s not by any means the most important variable on this list. In fact, since the early days of cinema there have been many films that used deep depth of field to their advantage as well. One of these films is arguably the best film of all time, Citizen Kane, which has some of the deepest DOF shots I have seen to date -
Ultimately DOF is a stylistic choice that you have to make based on the look you want to achieve with your film. With that said, the majority of feature films today utilize a shallow DOF on many shots, and if you want to get that look you’re going to need a camera and lens that can achieve it. For starters, DSLR’s or any other interchangeable lens cameras are typically quite good at achieving this look. The larger your sensor, the shallower your DOF will be, so a Canon 5D for instance would have a shallower DOF than a Lumix GH3 as the sensor on the 5D is larger. The other variable to consider is your lens choice. Longer lenses will always give you a shallower DOF than wider lenses. And fast lenses (for example lenses that are F2.8 or lower) will also help out with achieving this look. The more wide open you are on your lens, the shallower the DOF. So for instance if you are shooting on a 50mm lens at f1.4, your image will have a more selective focus than the same lens at f8. Be careful not to overdo this though, because one of the giveaways of DSLR footage today is footage that has too much of a shallow DOF. You want to find just the right balance.
2 – Frame Rate
This is an easy one – Shoot at 24 frames per second. Or at 24p on your camera. Since the earliest days of film, movies were shot and projected at 24 frames per second, and viewers have grown accustomed to this frame rate. Make sure that your camera is always set to this mode, unless you need to shoot at a higher frame rate to achieve slow motion. For example you may want to shoot at 60 frames a second so you could later slow it down to 24 frames a second while editing, and your footage will then play at 40% of the speed.
The main giveaway that your film was not shot at 24p is the lack of motion blur. Video footage is very clinical and sterile looking, and can be almost too perfect at times. Older video camcorders only shot at 59.94i (which is about 30 frames a second) and it created a look that was very realistic looking, but not cinematic. If someone were to walk through the frame for instance, every last frame of the footage would be perfectly clear. This sounds like it would be ideal, but it’s actually not. Real film exhibits motion blur when an object is moving through the screen, and in order to get that organic motion blur on your footage, be sure to shoot at the right frame rate. The film “The Hobbit” was shot at 48 frames per second and as a result many viewers did not enjoy watching the film. It looked too much like video and not enough like the surreal world of film. Here is a shot from “Pirates Of The Caribbean” exhibiting some normal motion blur:
3 – Shutter Speed
Make sure that you use the 180 degree rule when setting your shutter speed. This means when you set the shutter speed on your camera, set it to exactly double that of your frame rate. So if you are shooting 24p, make sure your frame rate is at 1/48 or as close as possible. Many DSLR’s only have a 1/40 or 1/50 setting, so experiment with those two options and see what looks best to you. Most cameras will work better with 1/50, but some (The Lumix GH3 for example) actually seem to work better at 1/40.
Having the wrong shutter speed can be pretty detrimental to your footage. If it’s too slow (1/20 for instance), your footage will look like it is strobing and ghosting as images trail off throughout the screen. And if your shutter is too high (1/100) your image will look like it’s been speed up, almost as if it’s in fast forward. It’s important to note that there are times that you do want to set the shutter speed at an unusually high or low setting, and even when shooting on film, this is a technique that is sometimes used to get a desired stylistic effect. But for 95% of what you shoot, the chances are you’ll want to stick with the 180 degree rule. This also means that if you shoot at a higher frame rate for slow motion (60p let’s say), than you will need to set your shutter accordingly. In that example it would be set at 1/120.
4 – Camera Movement
Not enough filmmakers seem to pay attention to this, but camera movement is definitely one of the most important aspects of getting a film look. Camera movement can include everything from sticking your camera on a tripod and deciding to have no movement at all, to going handheld, to putting your camera on a jib and getting a crane shot. There isn’t a specific movement that will make your film look more cinematic, but the more importance you place on camera movement, the more cinematic your film will feel. Some indie films suffer from very poor camera movement and may contain scenes that are partially shot handheld and partially on a tripod. This will make your film very difficult for your viewers to watch.
Also, make sure that you choose the right type of camera movement for each scene. If your scene doesn’t call for handheld work, than don’t shoot it that way. It will only cheapen the look of your final product and make the audience feel less connected to your piece as the visual elements are not properly tied together with the narrative storyline and flow.
5 – Don’t Blow Out The Highlights
A big giveaway of digital footage are blown out highlights. Since most digital cameras have much less dynamic range than film, the are prone to clipping or blowing out the bright areas of the frame. On film, when this happens, it’s actually fairly pleasant to look at, and many directors, like Stephen Spielberg for example, actually intentionally will blow out some shots to get a stylized effect -
Unfortunately on video, blown out highlights look really bad. The light doesn’t bloom or roll off the same way that it does on film, and your image starts to look very harsh and synthetic. To deal with this, just make sure that you aren’t overexposing anything in your frame – unless it is something so bright (like the sun or a lightbulb) that it has to be blown out. Bring your exposure down far enough that the bright areas of the frame still have detail in them, and that will already put you in a better place. What may happen then though, is your subject or foreground may be too dark in some areas. You then have the choice of either leaving it as is, and allowing your subject to be in silhouette, or alternatively you could bring in more light to fill out the scene and lift up the shadowy, darker areas.
6 – Framing
I can’t stress enough how important proper framing is to a cinematic image. So many of the things on this list (which are all equally important) get completely thrown out the window with bad framing. If you have a well lit shot with a nice shallow DOF, but the subject isn’t framed right, than everything else you’ve done gets diminished. Great framing not only will make your video feel more filmic, but it will make your film better as a whole. The framing of an image can tell a story in itself. Just take a look at this frame from The Kings Speech, where a very unusual framing was utilized to create a sense of emptiness in the characters life -
7 – Lighting
Great lighting can make or break your shot, no matter what medium you’re shooting on. That said, certain formats – especially film, are much more forgiving with poor lighting than digital. Some low budget filmmakers are tempted to just pick up a digital camera and start shooting without thinking enough about the lighting of their scenes. Doing this can be another huge giveaway of a very low budget and amateur production. You by no means need to spend a huge amount of your budget on lighting if you don’t have the money for it, but you need to pay as much attention to proper lighting as possible. Whether you’re shooting with a large lighting setup or just using bounce boards and practical lights, it’s the attention to detail that counts. No amount of color grading will ever be able to save a shot that is just poorly lit, so make sure that your shots are not only exposed properly, but also lit in a way that sets the mood and tone of your scene.
I’m not going to delve too deeply into specific lighting techniques as there are too many to address here, but check back soon as in the coming weeks I will be doing a lighting tutorial that will go into more detail on this.
8 – Color Correction
In post-production and specifically while color grading, you can do a lot to make your video look more filmic. Ideally you’ll want to decide on a look before hand and then bring your footage into some grading software (I recommend DaVinci Resolve, but anything will do really) and start to tweak your settings accordingly. A big mistake that I see often is amateur filmmakers will over-do the color on their film. They will go in and apply a heavily stylized look to every shot in the film, making it look more like a music video than a feature. A good starting point when coloring is to make your footage look as natural as possible. Once you’ve gotten your white balance and exposure to the right spot, you’re already most of the way there. Most films (action and horror genres aside) are actually not that stylized. They usually have very accurate colors and aren’t covered in a wash that makes them feel unnatural. With that said, feel free to add warmth or cool down your footage as needed to suit the mood of the film, just don’t go overboard.
You’ll also want to consider your black levels and contrast. Film can be noticeably lower contrast than video, and you can do a lot in post to achieve this look. First off you could try to simply reduce your contrast setting (but don’t go too far with it), and then lift your black levels just a touch. Make sure that your blacks aren’t too “crushed” (or dark) in the wrong areas, and you will be well on your way to finishing your film look. Take a look at this shot from Upstream Color which was graded quite well to look more filmic, and has some lighter black levels -
9 – Film Emulation
This is not a necessary step, but one that I feel can really put the icing on the cake after you’ve followed everything else on this list. Film emulation is a technique that literally allows you to apply the look of a specific film stock to your footage, adjusting the colors and grain to match that of your chosen film stock. Like color correction, you don’t want to go overboard with this technique, but when used tastefully it can make a world of difference. Right now the best software out there for emulating film stocks is FilmConvert. I’ve used it on many projects and it’s really quite good. It gives you full control over the film stock you would like to apply, as well as the amount of grain and even the film size (8mm, 16mm, 35mm, etc), amongst many other features.
Here is a quick before/after sample from a shot I ran through the software -
