In class 5.1 we had a screening of everyone’s Lenny edits, while this became very repetitive it was really interesting to see how different groups had a) filmed the scene and b) edited the scene. Despite many people using the same group’s footage each edit was slightly different depending on where someone had chosen to cut, what shots to use during the dialogue exchange, the speed of shots and the use of reverse shots.
One of the main points I learnt from this exercise was to make sure to follow the 180-degree rule whilst shooting as it can become confusing where the actors are within the space whilst editing. Another thing is ensuring the actor’s eye line is directed where it’s meant to, especially when shooting directly in front of the actor, make sure that they are looking straight into the camera. This is specifically important when low and high angles are incorporated with close-ups. One of group’s footage featured Lenny sitting down and Sharon standing above them across a table. The actors eyeline’s within this scene didn’t align and when a close-up was used the eyeline changed completely as Sharon looked directly down when she had previously been looking straight. When editing this together it can be hard to alter so it is important to ensure it is correct whilst shooting. Some students incorporated music into their edits which allowed for a more dramatic or funny mood to be created, it is something that I will try to incorporate in my future edits. Something that is always brought up but always forgotten is to check for sound levels, it becomes really clear when the edit is played on the big screen connected to speakers as to whether the sound is balanced. This can be corrected whilst editing by using noise cancelling headphones on and turning the sound up as loud as what feels comfortable and then letting the scene play out.