Editing IDENTITY: The processes

Lots of choices were made in our editing process that required lots of pre-planning (including plans that had to be solidified before we had even begun filming). As a group, we knew we wanted to have a 'at home' style to our film, but the cost of doing this through editing software meant that in order to contain the effects we wanted to add, we needed to be very thoughtful about how we were filming. Editing and roughing up a high quality video was going to be a lot easier than trying to edit a low quality video in a way that would be perceived in the way we wanted it to be. Adding lots of visual effects and filters over an already low quality video wasn't going to look as good as roughing up a high quality video to exactly where we wanted it to.

Step 1: Rough Edit

Consisting of the main storyboard moments and a rough shot layout, this cut had spaces for titles and credits, transitions, scene and body changes, and general key points in our short film. The aspect ratio on the film was also changed to 4:3 as this matched with our music, which dated back to 1978, as this aspect ratio was used significantly used in celluloid film and early cinema and TV screens.

Step 2: Add noise ( 50mm film camera imitation)

Once we had the overall layout of our film figured out, it was time for our (extremely talented) editor, Akari Yonekura, to begin the finalisation and tweaking of our film. Beginning with reducing the quality of our film, as we had planned, to match the music that Iris had recommended. Identity, by a 70's punk rock band "X-ray Spex".

Step 3: Add fish eye filming effect

Next, a fish eye camera effect was added to our film, purely for aesthetic reasons, and bringing a unique perspective, skewing the once high quality camera footage into a more, home-film style movie.

Step 4: Add brown overlay and Vignetting

Vignetting helped two soften the fish eye effect in certain scenes and shaped the framing of our shots, and a brown overlay helped to saturate the shots filmed, creating a highly saturated, vivid shot. This also compliments the graininess added in the first pass of the film.

Step 5: Reduce resolution to a lower pixel count

Not particularly visible from this blog, or a phone screen, once our film was blown up onto the big screen (the part our group was most excited for, as up until this moment we hadn't truly seen our film) there is a noticeable difference in the resolution from the starting point. Filming in cinematic 4k video footage, a quick google search shows that we were originally filming at around an 8 million pixel count. This was then lowered to 300,000 (roughly), which sits in line with analog TV's, keeping on track to match our audio choices.

Step 6: Title/Credit screens

Once all these details were done and everyone was happy with the final edit, I drew out title and credit screens to Akari's request, drawn in a sketchy had written way, and we were finished!

Step 7: Submit.