Development of editing- video

During editing we had to develop our basic skills with the simple tools like blade, trim and zoom. We had used these previously when editing our AS prelim task and I have used the Final Cut Pro when editing last year in GCSE Media. 
There are several other editing techniques we have became more advanced on when editing the video. Some of the editing we did was: 

Changed lighting Saturation and exposure.
In some shots we did this to make the footage clearer and others we did it to create a purpose effect. For example we wanted the white/high key lighting in the scene of the mother as it shows how she is blind to reality and lives in her own 'perfect' world and shuts any problems out. Hence how her daughter is always shown outside, emphasising the problems within their relationship. We decided to use high key lighting in the main scene of the mother and low key lighting in the main scene of the daughter to show the divide between the two characters.

Added transitions.
In the screen shot on the left we decided to added transitions such as the 'cross fade' to create a link between the two locations. Using transitions also makes the extract more interesting and allows us to develop our editing skills.

Changed speed.

Changing the speed is useful to make the extracts quality better and to create meaning. It helps reduce the sequence if it is too long/boring but doesn't break the continuity of the footage like it would if you used the blade or trim tool to cut it out. We also used the speed tool to make the camera movement smoother, to minimise any unsteadiness in the footage.
During the ident we decided to speed up the clip to create meaning, by making the clip below faster we could create disorientation in the audience supporting the thriller genre and how they often portray mystery and confusion.

Added effects and filters.
This changed the mood of the thriller opening sequence and again allowed us to develop upon our editing skills. In the shot on the left we used lighting effects such as 'Numerik' to create a negative tone and to show the difference in time and location. Other effect's such as the use of flashes created confusion in audience which is a stereotypical feature used in thriller genres.



Changed opacity levels.
We changed the opacity to make the shot of the teddy bear more dramatic, it highlights the child repetitive and strange behaviour as she walk around the garden dragging the teddy behind her. We have used opacity levels in other areas of the opening sequence to help integrate shots to link meaning- for example we show a shot with the mothers necklace in her hand integrated with a shot of the daughter unhooking her necklace from the tree. In editing we changed the opacity levels so the two shots were overlapping each other making it appear that the child took the necklace out of the mothers hand showing emphasising their broken and distant relationship. 


Added titles.
It is important to have titles in a opening sequence as all opening/title sequences include the name of the extract, names of the producers and they are often used in an ident. In our extract we used titles for our names, the extract name and for extra information such as the date to clearly show the difference in time. There are several different type of font and colours you can use, to get the effect that you want to represent in your extract.

Changed the scale.
This can be used for several reasons: For example if the shot is wrong. If you had a close-up and wanted an extreme close-up you could change the scale and zoom into the shot. 
If there was something unwanted in the shot e.g. a piece of filming equipment. Using the scale or crop tool you could remove some of the shot.

Many of the techniques and alterations you make in editing should be correct when filming the footage for example the shot type. But, editing ensures the footage can be perfected and you don't have to film it again.
Editing also allows you to add effects that would be possible in filming.
From editing the footage my skills on Final Cut Pro and the Mackintosh computers have developed and I am much more confident with the software.