Production-Now.com Media Production Mentoring

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12.31.2006

Assignment 2: The Bits of Difference

Purpose: To gain an appreciation of the "cut" and the power of editing.

Basis: It wasn't too long into film history before someone discovered that he could cut away from one time and place to another time and place to add drama. However, it was a major shift in thinking to discover that you could cut to a close up or different angle to add interest, intensity and meaning.

Directions: Take your 1 minute (or less) video from Assignment 1: One Take Wonder and shoot "pick ups" for your movie. Shoot close-ups and cut-aways. Example: Show a close up of the person fiddling with the pen in the background of your shot. Gather as much footage as you think you may want to use (easily twice as much footage as you captured for your continuous shot movie). While it is important to pay attention to continuity, for this assignment it could be very informative to purposely break some of your continuity. Change your actor's shirt, hat, prop, and possibly even location. Once cut together, if your story is compelling, most of these changes will go completely unnoticed. Once you have cut your film with the added footage, compare it to your original production. Do you like it better? Worse? Why?

Post your video link in the comments section so everyone can see your work.

Looking Forward: Now that you have discovered the power, and danger, of shooting extra material for your film, you are set to continue your experimentation on your future projects. Do not be afraid to try new, even crazy, ideas that may help your film make sense, flow better, and be a more enjoyable experience. But for now, let’s tackle controlling the look of your movie next.

What to Watch: "Tango Scene" from Take the Lead [PG-13] I'm not really into dance at all. Yet this scene dramatically shows the power of solid editing to a great musical score. While this sequence would have been rather dull in a stage production, the ability to edit to intense shots made the sequence moving and fun.

Watch Samples:


Even more Assignment 2 Samples and Student Examples

26 comments :

Lynne Diligent said...

I see that what makes the Last Tango Scene so interesting is watching all the reactions on the students' faces!

Lynne Diligent said...

Maybe I am missing something, but I followed your link in the sidebar to editing YouTube videos. I saw where we can adjust several things, and did that on my two videos.

I also have some ideas (after watching the dance scene and other people's uploads) of some shots I could intersperse into the cat video.

However, my question is that I have no idea of how to do it technically. I can shoot other videos on my camera, but how do I get them into the existing video?

Luke Holzmann said...

I thought about typing something up, but it was much easier just to show you: How to Edit Videos in YouTube.

~Luke

Anonymous said...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJKY1ndEWoM
So it is a bit late but i have been very busy lately.

Unknown said...

Hi Luke,

Here's my assignment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIKft-cjXwE

After making this video, I felt it's too many cuts.. but anyways please give me your advice anytime you can :)

Elina

Unknown said...

Just in case this assignment was missed, here is #2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPzI0vwoQIw Working on #4, almost finished.

Jean said...

I don't quite understand assignment 2. How do you cut?

Unknown said...

Jean, you can use whatever video editing program you (iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, YouTube's editor) to cut together different clips to make your video. In this case, take your footage of your smart dog and shoot new clips of, say, food hidden on the chair. This will help you cut out parts where Max looks away from the camera and your hand drifts into frame.

Hope that helps!

~Luke

Unknown said...

Here is a link to my assignment 2 video. I was going for a little Dr. Who tribute :-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPy_22e1Vyw

Unknown said...

Here is my assignment 2 video link. Thanks!

http://youtu.be/GkclTN-5-ZM

Unknown said...

Here's my take in Assignment 2: The Bits of Difference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXyd9Nv47uI

Anonymous said...

My Lesson 2 link
http://youtu.be/dhkeCGAtPmc

Unknown said...

Here is my second assignment: http://youtu.be/6pikXq_TDzM This course is great by the way

Jana said...

here is my assignment 2 :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izSJVrZ3uLw

Unknown said...

Link to my assignment 2. http://youtu.be/y8Ku5OCkGhU

Unknown said...

Here is Assignment 2
https://youtu.be/yslYEuVHP7s

Unknown said...

Luke--Here is my response to Assignment Two. Thanks!

https://youtu.be/RrLld88eFs0

Unknown said...

Luke-Here's another stab at Assignment Two. I wondered if this moved along better.
http://youtu.be/wakOMYGNCw0

Unknown said...

Assignment 2 ready to view

https://youtu.be/uRv_pE8btjo

Unknown said...

Hello! It's George from Prague again. Here is my second assignment.

https://youtu.be/erSQ5uK9Vrg

Unknown said...

Hi, it's Bethesda here (I'm in the film). I completed my second assignment. Here is the link: https://youtu.be/tQAANof5oBg

Andrew said...

Here is Assignment 2!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3v8t1ywYf4

Unknown said...

https://youtu.be/oN7YZvdHmGM

Unknown said...

Hi! My name is Luis and here's my second assignment. Thanks!

https://youtu.be/yDY5bHWSyLU

Unknown said...

Here is my second project, enjoy! : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0hLL-lnMIg&feature=youtu.be

CWW said...

project 2
https://youtu.be/swu5vVJdRqU