(VIII) Task Eight: Transition and Effects

Transition and Effects

A transition effect is a special effect used to introduce a scene during a film. For example, you can play a sound when the slide appears, or you can make the slide fade in from the black. Apply a transition effect to a single slide to add emphasis, or add the transition to every slide.

In the transition effect, there are a few ways to make an effect in the film. Transition, Straight Cut, Dissolves, Fades, Wipes, Graphic Match, Following the Action, Multiple Point of View, Shot Variation and Manipulation of Time and Space. These are used to make the film more effective and more interesting when a scenes needs to change to the next scene.

Transition: The movement from one shot to another.

Straight Cut: Most common and "invisible" form of transition. One shot moves istantaneously to the next without attracting the audience's attention. Straight cuts help retain reality. They do not break the viewers suspension of disbelief.

Dissolves: Fading one shot off the screen while another shot is fading in. The audience will be able to see both shots on the screen at mid-point of the dissolve. Used by the film maker who wants to show a connection between characters, places or objects.

Fades: A gradual darkening or lightening of a an image until it becomes black or white. One shot will fade until only a black or white screen can be seen. Used to indicate the end of a particular section of time within the narrative. Can show the passing of time.

Wipes: One image is pushed off the screen by another. Images can be pushed left or right. It is more common for the image to be pushed off the left-hand side as this movement is more consistent with sense of time moving forward. Used to signal a movement between different locations that are experiencing the same time. Fore example, wipes has been extensively used in Star Wars films.

Graphic Match: In Psycho, matching the circular image of the plug hole with the next image of Marion's eye.

Following the Action:"Following the Action is when there is movement, or in an action scene, the camera would follow the event/action that is taking place. In the extract from "Mr & Mrs Smith the camera rotates around the gun battle to show more of the action instead of saying at one angle.

Multiple Points of View: This where the characters/actors are showing each side of particular point of view. Where one character will show what he/she is seeing and then it will change to the secondary character and do the same.

Shot Variation: Shot Variation is when a shot is uninterrupted by editing and the shot distance changes. The shot can be either static or mobile but it must be a continuous motion. For example, the shot begins as long or wide shot and ends in close-up. In following example from The Matrix, it begins in long shot, the camera moves in a circular motion and ends in a mid-shot.

Manipulation of Time and Space: Manipulation of Time of Space is when a film uses effects to show an age or time change. Either a person, an object or even an environment is shown either getting younger or getting older. It can be something as simple as using a colour filter or the desaturation of an image to show a different point in time. There are many films which uses this technique but an example is The Time machine. The time traveller enters the time machine and the environment change as he travels through time.

A more modern version of this effect is seen in the third of the Harry Potter films: Harry Potter Time Turner. (Harry Potter is my favourite film and books)

Detention BERTU

Detention BERTU is our 2014 latest film editing about three boys who are in after school detention with their Math Teacher, Mr. Shokeye who kept them behind for failing to do their homework. During detention, Mr Shokeye ask them question about their learning abilities and then leaves the classroom to sort out some business. While alone in the classroom with no teachers, the three boys begin to remember the times with Mr. Shokeye which was caused by mischief and laughter. In this film editing, we use a method known as flashbacks for the characters remembering their time with their math teacher and their previous detention. We added in the all those secrets to Transition and effects into each scenes and then put them together to create  film with all those effects in them. The film then became a fourteen minute film with added in bloopers at the end with the ending credit.

Task VIII: COMPLETED

(VII) Task Seven: Engaging the Viewers/Creating Pace

Creating Pace

Creating Pace is when editing is used to speed up or slow down a film. The pace of an edit can alter the way the audiences views the film. For example action films are usually fast paced, this is done editing shots so they are short and then quickly cut to another shot. Drama films normally use slower shots, this is to allow the audience to see and understand a scene, and to understand the character. This is done by having longer shots in a scene.

There are some techniques used to create a pace and they are:

Speed of Editing, Speed of Editing - Creating Pace, Cross Cutting, Developing Drama and Cutaway.

Speed of Editing

In a film each scene may last a matter of seconds, or it could continue for minutes but the length of each sequence establishes the pace of the film moving the action along. The speed of editing will help determine the mood of what is taking place on screen.

Speed of Editing - Creating Pace

If the audience is to feel anxiety and suspense the editing will be quick - the scenes/shots changing frequently. For example, in an action sequence. If a relaxed mood is desired, the scenes last longer and chance less frequently. For example, in a romantic comedy. Nevertheless, a film doesn't need to have any editing. The film, Russian Ark was filmed in an take using a Steadicam and a digital camera. A trailer for a film needs to pack in detail from throughout the film. Therefore, the editing will be very fast.

Cross Cutting

To cross cut is to edit together two sequences that the audience need to know are connected in some way. Something is happening at the same time in different location. A character reliving a memory. 

Developing Drama

Cross cutting can be used to very effectively develop a sense of drama.

Cutaway

A cutaway is used to reveal details to the audience without detracting from the narrative or the action.

With this video that we made, we used the six editing process into our video to make the creating pace effect to the point where it can be called the creating pace video. Here in the film, we have different scenes to show that this character is moving from different places and appearances and disappearance of the other characters in the film. We combined the scenes to form a video that shows the scenes of the films. Once we did that is done, then add in music to make the film more interesting in the scenes of the film and we completed it by calling the "Creating Pace" on Youtube.

That is Engaging the Viewers/ Creating Pace done.