Editing the video proved to be challenging yet rewarding, and experience from preliminary activities and our AS Level work provided abilities that gave us a step ahead in our work, as well as enabling us to express our desired effects and thematic ideas to advance the quality of our work. The program we used is Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0.
This small menu gives me quick access to all major aspects of the program, such as changing the windows that are shown, opening/creating files, importing data and so on.
The project window acts as the storage for all of the imported files, including audio, pictures and videos. Here I can organise the files I wish to incorporate, and select which to edit.
The effects window contains all of the programs numerous effects, organising them into selective folders that separate different areas of editing, such as audio, video, transitions, etc.
In this window, I am able to view source files before placing them on the timeline on the 'Source' tab, on the 'Effects' tab I am able to change the settings of the clip or effects I have applied, as well as changing the degree at which the video is shown, the Opacity, how zoomed in the footage is and so on. The Audio Mixer tab allows me to change a variety of aspects of the audio. Timeline
The timeline is vital to the entire process, and it is here where you place the videos and audio you wish to edit.
The title maker can be accessed by pressing Title-->New Title-->Default Still. This opens an empty title window, and allows me to create a title from scratch.
Lastly is the Program window, in which you simply view the videos you are viewing in the timeline.
Next, here are the effects that were most notably used throughout the video, as well as descriptions as to why we used them and how they presented our desired idea:
The Echo effect forces the image to overlap itself and repeat what it had done at a desired previous time. Whilst it created an atmospheric effect that envelops the viewer's attention, I found its use in Perfect Circle was more suitable in how it effects the lighting of the shot, duplicating the brightness whilst giving the image a sleek futuristic feel for movement.
Ghosting
Ghosting, instead of repeating the movement like the Echo effect, follows the movement instead. This creates a haunting atmosphere, giving the movement an unsettling abstract quality, presenting a daze-like perspective on the image. This effect was highly useful and relevant as it created an uneven flow, which settles in the avant-garde genre.
Mirror
The Mirror effect essentially mirrors the image, and its effect window allows me to change where it appears on the screen, and to what degree it reflects the image, as well as its direction. This effect proved useful in creating imagery that would engage the interest of the viewer, as it gave life to otherwise subtle shots. Also, the dramatic angles convert the traditional shot into an artistic piece, much like avant-garde cinema.Opacity
Using the Opacity function, I found two major uses that I could incorporate into the video. Firstly, decreasing the opacity on a lone clip lowers the lighting in a moody, grainy manner-unlike lowering the Brightness settings. I found this to be useful when trying to bring out the dramatic tension of the imagery, and strongly relates to the darker aspects of my research. But, the most vital use for opacity is increasing the transparency of a video. So, by placing the 'glitter' clip above the 'sitting down' clip on the timeline, and then I lower the 'glitter' clip's opacity, as you can see above, both become visible. This proved to be very effective, as it allowed me to give the viewer more things to concentrate on, which heavily relates to the Surrealist movement of the 1920s.
Additive Dissolve
Additive dissolve is a type of transition. Unlike the cross dissolve transition, the following image simply overlaps the previous one. I found this effective because it allowed me to create a feeling of speed being elevated, as the shots slam directly into the next. I also used the effect to create a match-on-action styled transition, as you can see above-Daniella sitting down, and her face aligning with the next shot of her walking towards the camera. This creates a sense of pace, which proves to be very effective.
Cross dissolve is another transition. Unlike additive dissolve, cross dissolve makes the previous shot fade into nothing, as the next shot fades from nothing. I found this to be very effective when I intended to make a clear scene-change, as well as the seemingly dark fading adding a sense of hostility towards the following clip. This anxiousness notably attributes German Expressionist ideals.
Motion Effects (Position/Scale/Rotation)
Changing the position, scale and rotation of the video can prove to be very effective in terms of accentuating partitions of a shot, opposed to directly filming the area separately. An example is the picture above, which is taken from a long-shot, and using the scale and position tools, zooming in on the video and showing a certain area. This allowed me to express directly onto major aspects of the shot, such as the shoes, her body, her crown, her lip-syncing and so on.
Horizontal Flip
The use of the Horizontal Flip allowed us to create a consistency following the mirroring effect. The quick cuts between the original image and the horizontally flipped image (above) acted as a continuation from the previous shots that involved the Mirror effect, and is a clear reference.
Speed/Duration
The Speed/Duration effect was used several times throughout the video. This effect allows me to speed up or slow down the video to any extent I desire, as well as reversing the playback of the clip I have selected. This enabled me to experiment with the different theories and idea I had researched into.