Editing experiment

We decided that we needed to make sure one of our edits would work well in our film, so Nigel and Stephen went to a quiet part of the college. We then shot some example shots of Stephen performing one of the shots we wanted for our final project; just to see if it was actually possible and we wouldn't waste time on the shot during a critical period. We used a tripod to make sure the shots were steady enough: as if there was a slight difference in the composition of the shots the effect of the two different (yet the same) characters would be broken. To make sure we didn't ruin the shots we set up a centre line that the character could not cross; in the first example it is the door handle- a focus point. We also placed a line on the floor to make it even more obvious on where not to cross.

In the editing suite we used two different techniques to crop the films together. An 8 point Garbage Matte and a simple crop. The Crop involved overlaying both videos on top of each other. Then cropping the one on top from the opposite side of the subject. This reveals the subject on the other video clip. The disadvantage of this is that the crop line is perfectly straight, and unless the lighting stays the same (as it would on a studio sets)
The Garbage Matte works on a similar basis, cropping into one video to reveal the one beneath. The Garbage Matte has the advantage of being more manipulative than the crop with 8 points of articulation. Furthermore, the feathering option allows the borders of the two videos to fade into each other seamlessly. An issue that needs to be resolved is the feathering giving a transparent edge to the frame. This in turn has made the subject transparent at his edges. This may be solved through further manipulation of the points and feathering, or during Production, altering shot composition so that the actress is not on the edge of the frame.

Crop placed on the door hinge line.

Garbage Matte's feathering can have the points placed nearly anywhere

Inspiration for this idea originated as a natural progression from having a character hallucinating herself in front of her. However it may have also stemmed from the BBC America TV show 'Orphan Black'. Much like this short film, the lead actres, Tatiana Maslany, plays several characters in the show, many of which interact with each other. One of the more ambitious shots of this type, includes a long shot of 4 of Maslany's characters dancing together with a supporting actor. The camera is moving in all directions during this and it was clearly well thought out. What was used was a blue screen, draped onto the set to allow the editors the ability to collate all the dancing together. We have neither the equipment nor the skill for this, therefore, we shall need to keep the camera perfectly still and time the acting very carefully so as not to have a reaction too late or too early. Below is a breakdown posted by BBC America of the shot I am referring of.