R&P post 19: Our rough cut

Our rough cut was a good guideline for our final opening sequence. We were able to identify sequences or shots that went well and play around with different editing techniques so that we could use the perfect one in our final cut. As well as cutting down shots and ordering them, we also graded the shots of the sun on the lake and added motion titles over the b-roll. Whilst editing our sequence, we kept in mind continuity theories such as the 30 degree rule, varying shot types and match on action.

The rough cut also allowed us to view how the visuals correlated with the voiceover and the music. Since the animatic was only comprised of still photos, we could not judge how the action would appear. The rough cut was extremely useful for this and we were able to discard the shots that did not go with the voice over as well as identifying some of the improvised shots on the day.

This is our rough cut:

A problem that we identified was that the confrontation scene was not quite right as we hadn't followed the script and this lead to continuity issues. For the main shoot, we resolved to stick to the new script that Olamide made and to film the scene all the way from different angles so that we could edit them together seamlessly.

I made a list of things that we should improve on for our next shoot and any changes that we made to the storyline.

Feedback from our rough cut

Our target audience were not keen on the voice over which they pointed out was very monotonous and that the person sounded depressed or even suicidal. This was not the portrayal of David that we wanted. Although he was introverted, we wanted him to sound sarcastic and talk in a more light-hearted manner.

One thing that our target audience liked was the shots of the lake and the 180 degree arc around Craig.

We learnt a lot from editing the rough cut. I am quite proud of the work that we have done as a group. Overall, I think that it was very successful and we did well despite the problems during the shoot.