This is the part where we let you know that we have put together the final video for our project: THE MAKING OF STREET STYLE DOCUMENTARY!
Throughout the process of making our opening sequence, we have been regularly documenting how we have been working. But this has not just been done in production diaries and regular text updates; We have also vlogged and collected behind the scenes footage to take you along the process of how we made the opening to "Street Style". This acts as summary of our journey with coursework this year and will explain everything we have blogged about in even more detail.
Watch to find out how planned and researched our idea, get a glimpse at days on set, follow along our editing process and learn what it has meant to us to make our opening sequence. You can now watch it here:
We hope you have enjoyed seeing what it has been like to work on A Level coursework for us this year and thank you for sticking with us on our foundation portfolio!
FINALLY! ALL OF OUR VIDEO IS FINISHED! NOW YOU CAN VIEW IT HERE:
That's our final piece finished but we will be back with more posts about the process of making "Street Style" and our thoughts about it. For now, enjoy!
When we finished filming, we collected all our footage together to start on post-production, This part of the making of the opening sequence required us to put together a rough cut, where we showed the general look of our opening, and then a final cut with all effects, sound, titles and more. This is a post outlining how we editing together all of the "Street Style"' opening.
Making the Rough Cut
We first started by importing all our footage into Premiere Pro. This included all the takes (including fail takes), all sound, and main music. From this, we watched back all the footage, naming it and organising into scenes, starting to choose the takes that could be used. Then came the long process of putting together everything in order on the timeline.
To organise the opening, we used the storyboard which we used to reference which shots and angles to use in all three scenes. This formed our basic timeline, and we chose to start with including all good takes on it of the scenes. We then layered them over each other so we could watch back each one and from this we chose the ones that were most fitting for a smooth scene. Once all the best footage was chosen, we arranged everything so it would flow according to the storyboard, added some music and basic titles and the basic rough cut was complete.
We wanted to make it so the rough cut focused on mapping out how eventually the final product will look so we chose to leave out colour corrections, effects, sound adjustment, titles which fitted the sequence and more visual aspects. The rough cut was put together to show to our target audience and get a sense of whether they underrated the story and if the pacing works. We at this stage already made a list of all the improvements we needed to work on after the rough cut viewing and we left it to our viewer audience to mention anything else we needed to work. Really, the rough cut was our footage in order, some music on top, and basic font to show placements of titles.
You can follow the link here to see the rough cut as well as look at the audience feedback viewing we conducted to get views on how to improve our final product: ROUGH CUT AUDIENCE FEEDBACK INTERVIEWS
Making the Final Cut
As soon as we had our class rough cut viewing, we got back into editing to finish our final product. Here is where we made use of our list of improvements to make to begin making the opening visual appealing and appropriate for story and genre. This is how we improved the rough cut(mostly in order):
made some small tweaks in order of clips and speed of scenes to make it flow better
got rid of "Working Title" leaving space to put our own institutional logo
cropped the footage from top and bottom to make it appear to have film-like format
changed some of the transitions to be smoother between scenes of the bathroom and the alleyway
added an adjustment layer where we worked on colour grading according to mood of the scene (blue/black tint in the beginning and more golden tint in the end)
neutralised some of the alleyway footage colouring which was too orange/golden
added sound effects throughout to match all motion that was on screen (footsteps, doors, water dripping etc)
improved the music placement, removing music in the bathroom and removing dialogue in after the bathroom scene to the dance scene to make both parts have more impact
changed levels of sound to make sure it was not too quite or too loud
improved lighting in parts of the alleyway scene with the "lighting effects" feature in Premiere Pro
added improvements to the security camera footage including grain and overlay of old-style tape recording with glitches to make it realistic
added drama 'boom' sound effects to key parts of the opening such as shots of: the bag, the gang members, and Elle taking money out of the bag to highlight the importance of these reveals
stabilised some of the footage which hadn't been shot on a tripod but should have been
created an institutional logo for A Work In Progress into the sequence (a post on development of the logo can be found HERE)
added lense flares to the dance scene to reflect a happier mood
created moving titles in After Effects which split to reveal institutional information thoughout the opening in place of the previously still titles of the rough cut
digitally created the title of the film "Street Style" and added it to the ending shot, masking it to create a graffiti style spray on animation in After Effects
made final tweaks in sound and footage and exported to make the Final Cut!
After Post-Production was Finished
Having exported our final product, we were left to upload and continue working on all other portfolio content of documenting the process.
One of the final task which we need to complete for this portfolio is an evaluation. This will be individual work completed on our personal blogs. Therefore, from now we will be working on this part of the portfolio.
After showing our target audience our rough cut, we needed to start on improving the footage for the final cut. We chose to start by looking into making a logo for "A Work in Progress". In our opening sequence, we needed the institutional logo to reflect our production company. For this, we researched some similar independent and mainstream films to help inspire design of our own.
These were some of the logos that we particularly thought would be helpful for us:
Having looked at these companies logos, we noticed similarities in their styles that we thought would be appropriate to replicate in our logo:
colour scheme of black, white and some blue
simplistic, linear design related to the company name
a link to the film industry via a design related to production
From this, we started sketching possible logo ideas, keeping the above similarities in mind. We knew we definitely wanted to incorporate the idea of a film project/production in the design as it links to our company being about film being in constant development and improvement.
One of our first sketches took the idea of a camera but we felt this was too similar to Hand Made films and also it was difficult to read the company name:
We then took ideas of other objects that indicate a sense of being in production that were also dynamic and eye catching. This is where we came up with the idea of a clapperboard displaying the name "A Work in Progress" as we ourselves had been writing it constantly during production of the opening sequence. This was one of the first sketches:
This sketch then turned into a photo logo we have used and continue to use on this group blog:
But we knew we needed a new logo for the full opening sequence. During the editing process, we thought about ways to make it dynamic and creative during the opening so it wouldn't just be an image that fades in and out on screen. This is where we decided to use an animated clapperboard with our "A Work In Progress" name on it. This was then taken into After Effects to use the 3D motion tracking feature which allowed us to put the title on the clapper board. We chose to also animate a piece of chalk along with masking the writing so the title would appear to be written on the clapper board. We rendered this complete animation and put it into our Premiere Pro Final Cut project along with a clapperboard being clicked sound effect and our final institutional "A Work in Progress" logo was complete:
On Friday, we got a chance to show our rough cut to the class audiences to get feedback on how to improve our opening sequence. For this, we also decided to conduct interviews with some of our audience members to get their reactions and comments as well. Below we have summarised what we have learned.
You can view our rough cut of the "Street Style" opening here:
Class Rough Cut Viewing
Our class comments overall seemed positive and showed that with improvements our opening could be very effective. In the ratings, our highest scores were for our transitions and camerawork which is very promising as those were a huge focus to get across in the opening. We even got some positive feedback on our acting so looks like Erika's 2 years of a theatre here and there wasn't for nothing! (Even if I did say 'stacing out' out instead of 'spacing out' but let's not point that out...).
Some other positive areas outlined included SFX, narrative, camera angles, use of equipment, lighting effects in the bathroom scene and alleyway, music choice, CCTV effect, and a lot of people agreed they would want to watch it again as it was engaging!
To improve it was suggested that we remove the flashing at the begging of the opening as it was confusing and too jarring for an audience. Sound levels also need adjusting as they at times were too high or too low. Some of the lighting in the alleyway seemed to be too dark for people and the suggestion was to try out different lighting adjustments to make it more bright. A suggestion was to remove all the music from the bathroom scene to the final dance scene to make the dialogue more impactful and to remove sound effects in that place. A lot of people also suggested we needed more work on our colouring and visual effects, as expected, as we did leave that aspect out of the rough cut and have worked on it for the final cut.
Overall, the comments from the class were very helpful in pointing out things to tweak and develop and we have started work on many of those areas.
Audience Reaction and Feedback
We also showed this to our target audience and asked them some guided questions to get back some helpful ideas on what is missing to make the opening better. Here you can watch the video of their reaction and comments:
From this, we picked up some of these ideas on how to improve according to each questions asked.
1. How would you interpreter the narrative of the opening? Were you able to follow and understand what happened?
All of the people we asked understand the premise of the film. They were able to follow the characters to understand what happened with the gang and then the dance team. Those we asked clearly seemed interested in the rest of the story, making guesses at what could happen next. This is good for us to know as it means we have structured the opening well and our script was effective in getting across the beginning of the film.
2. Would you want to watch rest of this film?
Most of them noted that the beginning created enough mystery, especially surrounding what part the bag has to play in the story, meaning we managed to put a big enough focus on it as key prop to the story. This also means the beginning was engaging to the audience and fulfilled its purpose of grabbing attention and inviting them into watching the rest. We therefore once again succeed in clip structure and scripting the story.
3. What genre would you think of film this is?
This gave a mixed response. People noted it was a crime, mystery, dance, thriller, and action film. However, we did bring up to them we aimed for it to be a drama and most of them agreed it was the most accurate way in describing the film. This means that we brought in sub-genres of drama themes that people noticed, such as the gang involvement for a crime-drama, which means we managed to make our opening more original, as it incorporated different types of drama.
4. What themes did you pick up from the opening?
During this question, the themes mentioned included conflict, aspirations, truth and lies, and friendship. This was very positive for us to hear as these are all themes we tried to incorporate into the story. It shows to us that our story and characters really helped give across the right message and that our opening was realistic and true to the drama genre, as these are common conventions of that genre.
5. Were the main characters memorable to you? Could you describe them and say what part they planned in the beginning of the story?
From what was said, it is clearly that our characters came across as the driving part of the story as everyone was able to describe them well and say what part they played. Eleanor's character was described as the protagonist, strong, focused on survival, happy when at dance and struggling with the choice between dance and gang involvement. This is all accurate to her character and people clearly understand enough about her from a very short period which means our opening was effective in making people attached to her. Camilla and Jack where also clear to people and were described as the leaders of the gang and main antagonists, and many noted that Camilla being the more powerful out of the two - seeming more aggressive and scary - was a good change of roles for men and women that made our opening original. People also noted Tory's character to be a main character, recognising her as the supportive best friend but a note was made that she seemed too nice and a little patronizing and that the viewers were intrigued in finding out what happens to her characters with the rest of the story. This was good to hear for us as that means that they got hooked onto her character and would watch the rest of the film to find out the truth behind her. Overall, they thought the characters were quite stereotypical, which means we achieved genre conventions, but interesting enough to follow in the story.
6. Was the pacing appropriate? Did it feel too fast or too slow in any parts?
This was a mostly positive response. Some people noted that they had time to react to each scene and the music and transitions helped with this, meaning we had equally split the scenes for people. It was also not too slow as people noted they did not get bored throughout it meaning we managed to hook them on the story from the opening. However, many people felt the beginning scene with Eleanor running down the stairs and into the bathroom was too fast and this was a problem with the flashing and length of each shot, which means we need to consider how to extend this scene a little to make things a bit clearer. Problems with the pacing of the gang scene came mainly from the hard to understand audio so some bits seemed too difficult to follow, which means we will need to work on volume.
7. Was the audio clear in all parts? Anything too loud or too quiet?
As mentioned in the previous question, the audio problems came in the alleyway scene. It was most noted that it was hard to understand what Jack and Camilla were saying which means we need to equalise the audio of the music and dialogue in the scene. Everyone agreed however that the bathroom scene was clear and easy to understand.
8. Were the scenes visually clear or were some bits too dark? Did you also feel the scenes needed different colouring to fit the atmosphere?
Most of the people liked the look of the alleyway scene saying the night time fit the atmosphere, as well as it being a flashback, and that it was a good contrast to the happier atmosphere of the dance scene. They could see what happened and even wanted the bathroom scene to be darker to match the still tense atmosphere which we can work on in colour correction and lighting effects. The colouring of the scene they agreed was appropriate and so we would only need to make minor neutralising changes and darken some parts.
9. What effects did you notice and were there any bits you felt needed them?
A lot of people noted our CCTV effect was very effective! This gave people a sense of danger and added to the illegal atmosphere which means it fulfilled its purpose. It was noted that it could be good to have it for a bit longer as it felt a little too brief. Transitions were also praised and people felt they helped get through scenes smoothly and most agreed that the opening did not need any more effects as they felt it was more realistic that way and fitting for the genre.
10. Overall, what would you rate it out of 10, knowing it is just a rough cut?
As a rough cut people agreed it was a 7-9 rough cut which was positive for us to hear! The story was clear for people and they think that once we make some improvements it could be a very good opening sequence.
Overall, these interviews with some of our audience were very helpful in picking up ideas of what to improve in our opening. Main points we have taken from this include fixing some of the audio problems, working on the colouring and lighting for a darker atmosphere, and some pacing problems with the beginning bathroom scene. We will be prioritising this as we start to edit together our final cut!
On this day, we managed to shoot reshoot all of the bathroom scenes. This was partly because the footage before could have been improved but also beacsue Erika completely forgot to bring her costume (she prefusly apoligised, no bad blood obviously). These scenes ended up looking a lot better and now we have to replace the old footage we've started post-production work on with this quality footage.
The main reason we needed this extra day of filming was to have more time to both improve and finish the dance scene at the end of our opening sequence. Just before we filmed, we got more time to practise with the dancers and I went over the routine with them before we filmed so shots took less takes. We also ran through any acting involved points, such as having to interact with Elle's character, letting them know what they needed to do. When shooting, we made sure the dancers continued a conversation in the background to fit the atmosphere of the dance studio.
Also, we had to shoot the connecting scenes from the bathroom to the dance studio to help introduce the dance scene. This was an addition we made when we moved Elle's and Tory's scenes to the bathroom as we needed it to make sense chronologically. To film this, we had to change the shutter speed of the camera in preparation of the dance scene, to focus on motion and remove blur.
The dance scene itself was our biggest technical challenge, especially considering the fact that we couldn't have a steadicam this time or when we originally planned to film the dance. Overall though, we got a lot more dance shots than anticipated, as we tried to vary all angles and shot types for choice in edit. Very proud of us for getting on with this task despite the difficulties!
We still had a limited amount of time to film due to scheduling with actors and dancers. However, this time felt most relaxed because we had rehearsal and a shot list that Erika made right before filming that we could follow for this day.
So, now that we FINALLY have all the footage, it is time to put full focus on editing and putting together a rough cut. We've already got pretty half of the basic scenes together, so we will work from there to finish and starting adding music, effects, titles and more.
This has been our last production diary and we look forward to updating you with the rest of the process soon - possibly in video form.
So it turns out the third day wasn't exactly the last day of filming. Nor was it on the date planned...
Funny story: the college at which we organised to film dance studio shots WAS CLOSED. Apparently, filming during the holidays means there is always a chance of facilities being unavailable. So, long story short, the filming was moved to 18 days later.
Finally, on the 4th of January we tried to film the dance scenes as well as some shots of Tory and Elle walking into the dance studio. Really, we only got about 4 usable shots. Problems on this day included:
1. The studio we needed to film in was occupied until the very last 20 minutes of our filming schedule
2. We tried to reshoot some scenes in the bathroom but the college was busy at this time, so people were going in and out and around the area constantly, interrupting the filming
3. I (Vicky) had very little time to teach the dancers the routine which cut into filming time
4. The lighting in the studio to which we temporarily switched to had terrible lighting that made footage unusable
5. The dance scenes were filmed with very low shutter speed, making the footage look unprofessional as it was difficult to make out motion
6. We didn’t have a Steadicam, as it was unavailable, so a lot of the shots turned out too shaky
So… overall pretty terrible.
The footage we have is usable so we will keep it in case we need back up. And at least the dancers got some good practice in for the routine! We have rescheduled to re-shoot next Wednesday, 11th of January. Let’s hope things going smoother this time and we actually manage to finish!
