Finishing the Editing Process

 Last time, I dealt with the most complex editing part when it came to the opening sequence. That was the heartbeat audio part. That means this time around, editing would be easy. Since that was the biggest thing, the rest of the diting was relatively easy to do. Even though it was simple, I still made a to-do list.

     I first went over the transitions between each scene. One of my members made the transitions, so I thought I'd go over them. I noticed they just used the automatic fade transition between all the normal scenes. The fade-ins weernt the problem. it's how long it took to transition. Luckily, IMovie allows you to edit, speed up, and slow down transitions. I took advantage of this and sped up some of the fade-ins. This way it gave the opening sequence more of a faster flow.

     After that, I watched the entire opening sequence and it seemed basically finished. I just gave it some final touch-ups, like speeding up the transitions between tense scenes. I added the music one of my members created to add more atmosphere. Following that, it seemed like the opening sequence was complete.

Starting the Editing Process

 I wanted to start the editing process immediately after filming. I wanted to make sure I'd have some time for some mock trial activities I had soon. I knew that I wanted to edit it on iMovie because it had worked for me before. Before I started editing, I made a list of things that I wanted to do. This to-do list would keep me on track. One of the most important parts of editing comes after the interrogation scene. Here I wanted to display the investigator going insane. I first questioned how I would do that? I took some inspiration from past opening sequences that I watched before. They generally use a lot of non-diegetic sounds, but they are extremely specific. Most of these sounds have connotations with, of course, going insane. Cuckoo clocks, loud sounds, heartbeats, and inaudible whispering, are all examples. I chose to go with heart beating because I believe that suited the scene the most. It wasn't too outlandish, like a cuckoo clock, but added just the right amount of tension. It fit well, the heartbeat would make the scene feel tense, then the outburst from the detective would be a release. I screen recorded a royalty-free sound of a heartbeat, then cut it down to the same amount of time as the clip. Then I inserted the video as an audio file only so it would play over the movie. This took a couple of tries as it kept going in as a video and not as an audio file. Eventually, I got sick of it and used a video to mp3 converter. Imovie is compatible with mp3 files so it allowed it to go over the movie. I then sent it to my groupmates to review.

Wrapping Up Filming (Hopefully)

      This filming day was planned for the 27th and 11:45 AM. I suggested 11;45 AM just so my group would have extra time to change into costume and do makeup. More specifically my makeup, as the scenes we needed were all mine. I wanted to make sure we had enough time considering our time constraints. That time constraint was 5 PM as one of my groupmates had to go to work. I arrived at the filming location with my costume already on and had my makeup done immediately. This time I asked for my makeup to be simpler, not as complex as the last filming day. I thought it would be useless as any close-up shots, or the mugshot of myself was done. The audience wouldn't notice the intricate makeup anyway. So, I settled for one simple black eye. I ended up wearing a sweater over it because we needed to drive to the park to reshoot a couple of scenes. Of course wearing a bloodied shirt, fake or not, in public is asking for trouble. I filmed the scene that needed reshooting, since I wrote the script I had an idea of what I wanted this final scene to convey. Then it came time for my scenes, all I really had to do was bawl and respond to the investigators. I probably could have gotten more into character beyond that, but most scenes focused on the investigator's reaction anyway. After filming all my scenes, I checked the final results and they got my stamp of approval. Be
fore leaving I agreed that I'd help in the editing process.

Beginning to Film My Scenes

      When my group arrived back from the park, I suggested we start working on my costume. I went into the bathroom and changed from my mock trial clothes into the ones I planned to wear. My costume was a plain white tee-shirt and sweatpants. I chose this because I wanted it to seem like I was woken up, unexpectedly, from sleep. Basically, I thought the pajamas would add an interesting element to whether I was guilty or not. After changing into my costume, I went outside to where my groupmates were waiting for me. The plan was to cover me in fake blood, not completely, but a believable amount. I stood in a T-pose while spinning as my members flicked fake blood onto me. I started to have fun with it and suggested they put bloody handprints on my shirt as well. Finally, I put some on my face and arms and I was ready to go. Before filming my scenes, I got my photo taken in a dark room with a flash on while holding a piece of paper. This was to mimic a mugshot, and I think it came out really well.

     Since we were running out of time to film we decided to just do my first couple of scenes. This was comprised of me sitting at an investigation table while crying. The detectives would walk in, and show some of the opening sequence words on the files they gave to me. It was a little awkward for me since I had to fake cry for 30 minutes straight, I decided I would have to deal with this so the scene had diegetic sound. After we were done filming for our first time, and our next date filming would be the 27th.

     

The First Day of Filming

 I awoke on Saturday, the 12th, and knew it would be the first filming day. Although, I did have some scheduling issues with that day. I had a mock trial practice (a full-on dress rehearsal) from 9:30 am to 12:30 am. The issue was, my group all planned to meet at 12:30 am. I conversed will all of them, and they were all fine that I would be a little late. I told them it would be a good idea to film the scenes that didn't have me in them. This was they wouldn't completely be wasting time waiting for me to arrive. I was a little nervous as mock trial practices have a tendency to run overtime, by a lot.

     My anxiety was right, the meeting had run late and I showed up at 2:30, way later than planned. However, upon arrival, everything seemed to be running just fine. I was told that they had just finished filming the scenes without me, so I came just on time. My group all got in the car and drove to the park to film the final scenes. I noticed it was about to rain so I ushered everyone to hurry up. I recorded the two final scenes as the storm started to roll in. Just as I hit the 'stop' button, it started pouring all over us. I decided that next time I film a media project, I should look at the weather forecast. My group arrived back at one of my members' house, and I knew it was finally time to record my scenes.

Creating Our Own Soundtrack

      I realized that the music for this opening sequence is vital. As the first filming day got pushed back, I had a lot of time to think. Most of that was spent on what music would be used. I first thought there were a lot of options music wise. As time went on, that became less apparent. I ultimately knew two ways to include music within the opening sequence. The first was by far the easiest and most accessible option. I could find a royalty free track, so I wouldn't have to deal with copyright. Issue was, most royalty free tracks were not high quality. Even the "scary" or "mysterious" ones did not live up to the name. They were so low quality, they were almost comedic. Those sounds would for sure not fit the tone of the opening sequence. The second option was to find a song, and send emails asking permission to use the song. However, that would be a very long process and I wouldn't be sure they would get back to me on time. I decided before I did that, I should ask my group mates. Turns out, most of the research was void. Of course other than they few sound effects I found that could be used. One of my groupmates' had already been working on making music for the opening sequence. I clicked on the audio file and was immediately satisfied. This is definitively what I going to use in the opening sequence.

A Change of Plans

      My group originally decided to have our first filming day on the 27th of Sunday. At least, that was the original plan. Before, it looked so obvious to me this would be the perfect day to film. The filming location would be completely empty. That filming location was one of my groupmates' houses. The reason why that's relevant is that their parents would not be home. Therefore, It would make it easier, at least for me, to film. Especially considering some scenes can get really loud and intense. Additionally, it originally fit within all of our schedules. All four of my groupmates' could make it, but some factors got in the way for all of us. The prior week was especially busy for all of us. Tons of homework, tons of studying, and a lot more where that came from. It became increasingly more and more obvious that all of us would be booked for the weekend. However, what needed to be settled is, what would I do about it. I decided to ask everyone if they really think they could make it. The answer, including mine, was unanimous; no. I was not stressed, I went into this project wanting to learn how to roll with the punches. This was a good opportunity to do so. I asked everyone when they would want to reschedule. My group came to the decision that we should reschedule for next Saturday.