Videos and Photographs of My Work

Rough Cuts

Screenshots of Construction Process

This is a screenshot of me working on my soundtrack for my film 'In The Focus', the thing i enjoy about the program i worked from 'Garageband' is the variety sounds and the novelty of music offered to attend to the visuals you're producing. Also how you can and i did is slow the music down in 'Final Cut Express' to give the feeling of enigma and the disposition of distortion. Here had taken the actual sound and vision from 'Final Cut Express' and adapted the layering sound and rhythm to capture the edge suspenseful feel of my final trailer.

These images are of me working on my film poster, I learnt a lot from the program 'Adobe Photoshop' and was relatively impressed with the liberation of creativity it allows. I discovered the capability of layering image over image, and applying the same color scheme to fit the whole look of the poster. I cropped each image from my actual trailer by using the helpful program 'Grab' in my desktop, then cutting around the image in final cut pro and over layering the images. Also how font text has great effect to a poster by carefully choosing each font to look professional and producing a deep shadow to create the jumping off the page effect to capture the audiences attention.

Below are screenshots of my editing my trailer in the program "Final Cut Express' having already used the program and compared it others that have previously used like 'Ulead Studio', I understood that this was a big leap in technology and comprehension. I discovered its difference to 'Final Cut Pro' and how it offered more of a range. I Began my trailer with a shot of my production logo that crossfaded into the opening shot of a gun with non-diegetic soundtrack that i had imported from garage band.

The thing i found the most effective is that freedom of speed because in especially projects like the time is of the essence, the things i found of significance were how you could use the keyboard to cut, play and frame skip through the footage as opposed to using the mouse the you have to slowly drag across the screen. Also the liberty the take and whole selection of clip highlight them all drag them aside and include another scene before. I really enjoyed this experience of making this film trailer because i love the feeling of watching images, visuals and sound coming together and performing you predetermined imagination of the screen.

After editing this film trailer i enjoyed and realized how much of curtail and unsung part of the filmmaking industry this is so I looking into the history of editing and encountered an interesting documentary that reinforces my belief how every second of a frame counts...

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Shooting Scheduales

Photoshoot images on Set

These are pictures of me shooting the opening of my film, I taped a replica lighter gun to the left hand side of the camcoder. Then i got protagonist\central actor Ryan burt to run with the device into the nearest woods and burry it.

Skills Development

This video above is my media studies editing development, it was a media studies promotion advert that each student in the class had to edit. This was one of a few of my first documentary editing projects. It allowed me further time on Final Cut, it let me develop skills further on Garageband also as i created the sound track without comparison to the footage i just had to note down when i timed opposed to having the footage in garageband and editing to music to the visuals. I approached jump funky base to be timed with the jump cuts the create the feel and flow of continuity. Also including singular shots of items that are timed with what each things the media teachers are saying. By creating this video it demonstrated my capability with both programs Garageband and Final Cut but also how documentary footage allows you to be creative when opposed to a clear scripted narrative like a concept film.

This video called 'The Part' was part of my skill development corse for AS media studies, i filmed it during a trip to Teeside University trip with my class. We were give a camera during the morning that creative capability to go a shoot our own short film, so me and my friend Tom Pugh took into the streets of Middlesbrough and filmed this product. The narrative a basic idea of the protagonist finding a mobile phone i began with a Scorsese influenced three industrial shots, then i straight cut to the protagonist walking. This was extremely helpful because it allowed my to adjust to roving focus which was a particular favorite development. Another was being able to use a boom mike, which give the film a professional sound. I took this to advantage and recorded a working drill hammer of construction workers near by and included it on a connotation level to reinforce the danger when the protagonist discovers the phone. Also placing a boom in tight industrial places like a phone-booth and also surprisingly inside a production studio that allowed my to be extremely creative. I acted in this also so i allowed my friend to develop his camera skills and let the film have more character depth. This was an extremely helpful day as it allowed me to be introduced into Final Cut here i played with match cuts and the overlaying of sound. Not only introducing me into University life it showed me the professionalism of film making and the creative ambition it holds for me.

A young 13 year old teen gets kidnapped by Thomas Hewitt aka leatherface and gets tourtured a pice filmed in 2006.Staring Ryan Burt and Sean Usher. From this film I really developed my editing skills, when I was thirteen years old I was a huge fan of director Tobe Hooper and his work like ‘The Texas Chain Saw of Massacre’ and it was basically my first attempt at filming a short film. I comprehended that montage works to huge effect, so I edited a disturbing and fast paced opening monologue to grab the audience’s attention. Then when the film actually starts I learn the most curtail lesson when filming, framing and shot duration. My intention was to film it fast and leave the audience shocked, but when in editing I decided to create the impression of an old exploitation horror film. I wanted to make the audiences hang with the protagonist and watch him hang in a uncomforting pain, so they’re disgusted at the antagonist. This was a horror so i learned to have confidence to leave the audience with a sense of disbelief.

A gripping story/music video of a teenager fixated by horror films. He then proceeds to an act of premeditated murder. Filmed during 24th of September 2007. Staring Ryan Burt, Scott Carter, Tom Pugh, John Newton and Reece Richardson. Written, directed and edited by Sean Usher

From this film i gained knowledge of how much effect using a non linear narrative has on an audience becuase it makes them use their minds and engage more in the story, as the anonymousness of the narrative creates engima. This was another film where i got to personal and polotically represent a issue or culture. This was about knife crime and how films when misrepresented can warp misunderstanding people and can phsycologically distort and disturb them. I learned the most basic and orginal imagery and ideas work to must sucessful effect. Additionally i found that communication skills come to a abundant advantage when filming, (especially with large groups) I found it hard try to keep the cast and crews moral and sprit up, occasionally humour is the most optimistic technique. When listening to the song ‘If You Were There Beware’ by ‘Arctic Monkeys’ I got the imagery of a circus, that is where the clown came from and I thought it could be a good idea to use to imagery of a clown when breaking the 4th dimension to get the audience more evolved with the horror, therefore they question this characters state of mind. I learnt that contrast is the greatest technique when dealing with an audience, making them feel a number of opposing emotions at once, to make them feel as if they’re being played with. As a director I used contrasting credits to lighten the mood, show characters alive and well and comical out takes.

RESPONSE VIDEO TO MAKING THE INTERTWINNING REFLECTION...


THE UNFINISHED INTERTWINNING...