Editing task 3

This is an extract from an episode of Eastenders, for this task I am going to analyse the editing of this sequence. The sequence starts off in a bedroom and there is an example of continuity editing as in one frame the male character starts to sit up and the camera quickly cuts to a mid shot that shows him pulling the covers off of him and sitting on the edge of his bed. The male character then looks at his phone and walks out of the room.
The camera then cuts to a wider angle as a baby starts crying, this wider angle means that the audience can see the female character in bed as well as the crib at the end of the bed.
The scene then cuts to show a bouquet of roses having their petals ripped off as the camera tracks along the table and up to the female character (Kat) on her phone in a heated discussion. this scene creates an enigma within the audience as to who sent the character the flowers. The character then finishes her call and the camera stays focussed on her face as she continues to rip off the flower heads, this is done to show the audience her emotion.
The camera then cuts to another house and pans across the room to reveal a man in his dressing gown looking at his phone, The camera tracks down from the troubled look on his face to his phone as it breaks and quickly cuts to a frontal shot as he slams his broken phone onto the table and holds his head with his hands.
The camera then cuts again to show a hallway with another male character in his dressing gown who looks at a bag and potted plant at the bottom of a set of stairs, then up the stairs, then back down at the front door behind the camera. The camera is slowly zooming in on the characters face as he looks angrily at his own front door. The camera then cuts again to show yet another male character collecting the milk from his front door, there is a quick cut to show the character from a wider angle as he leans against his door frame and looks pensively past the camera (which is up a tree).
This sequence of quick cuts and angry or pensive looks on the male characters is done to create the enigma to who sent Kat the flowers and to who she was on the phone to as most of the male characters shown are holding their phones. The edits show the similarities with the male characters as most of them are looking in the direction of one house (no doubt Kat's). The camera holds each scene on the characters face to show their emotion and make it clear to the audience what they are feeling.

Narrative

Narrative is the bare bones of a story and can commonly be found in fairy tales. Narrative patterns are even used today and can be found in most conventional films.

Tzvetan Todorov and Vladimir Prop proposed that the narrative pattern works like:
Equilibrium -> Disruption -> resolution -> restored order -> New equilibrium

The narritive pattern can be applied to the film Finding Nemo, where the film starts with the equilibrium of Nemo living with his dad in the reef community then that is disrupted when Nemo is taken by the diver and resolved when he is found by his dad leading to restored order and a new equilibrium for the characters back on the reef.

Levi-Strauss said a story will typically have these binary opposites:
Hero/Villain, Rich/Poor, Male/Female and Fear/Happiness.
or in a typical western film:
Cowboys/Indians/Native Americans, Sheriff/Outlaws, Nature/The railroad, Wilderness/Cultivation

Vladimir Propp also proposed that there were 8 character roles.
1. The villain
2. The hero
3. The donor (who provides the hero with an object)
4. The helper (who aids the hero)
5. The princess (the sought after person)
6. Her father (who rewards the hero)
7. The dispatcher (who sends the hero on his way)
8. The false hero

spooks sequence 2 analysis

Sequence order for action A - In the office
1.What is happening?
In the sequence order for action A we can see the MI5 agents in an old building encrypting multiple files on a laptop with the help of a mac. They then shut the laptop away in a stainless steel briefcase with a fingerprint lock on it, and one character takes the briefcase and walks briskly away with it.

2.What information are you given?
we aren't given much information in this sequence as the case is used to create an enigma for the audience. All that the audience is really shown is that there is a case with a lapton in it that has some secret encrypted files on it and is obviously of some importance as it is very securely locked away.

3.What information is witheld?
There is a lot of information witheld in this sequence such as, what is the significance of the laptop and its files?, Why is it so closely guarded? And where is it being transported to?

4.why is the sequence important?
In my opinion this sequence is important as it sets the scene right at the beginning of the episode of spooks and instantly creates an enigma for the audience with regards to the briefcase, which is likely to become a big part of the episode.

5.why do we need to see the other scenes in between these scenes?
We need to see the other sequence as it instantly creates another enigma with the audience as to who these people are and what significance they hold to the main storyline. The showing of the other sequence in concordance with the main office sequence adds to the general atmosphere and tension of the overall sequence as the audience know that both of these parties of people (the agents and thieves) are going to come into contact with each other at some point and this adds to the interest of the episode.

Sequence order for action B - The thieves get ready
6.Why do you think we cut to see this action in between the scenes at MI5?
In my opinion we cut to see this sequence in between the scenes at MI5 as it creates tension for the audience and creates the enigma as to who they are and what they are getting ready to do.

7.what do you think they are doing when we first see them?
When we first see them we probably dont know what they are doing, it just looks like they are getting ready for something and as they put valuables into boxes (shots I&K) when getting ready, they might not be planning to come back.

8.What clues do you use to make sense of their inclusion?
The only clues to their inclusion that I saw was that the two sequences were intwined with each other but other than that there is no sign that the two sequences are in any way related.

9.why do we see less of the thieves?
In my opinion we see less of the thieves as it adds to their mystery and if too much was given away about the thieves then it might cause the audience to lose interest and jump to conclusions about the storyline.

10. How soon do we know what they are doing? Why does it take so long?
When I was putting the scene into order using just the screen shots in class I thought that the thieves were taking things out of the boxes rather than putting their valuables in as seen in the sequence but when I saw thesequence in full it made more sense to me than when I was working on the screen shots in the lesson. I think it takes so long for the audience to work out what the thieves are doing as it helps to prolong the enigma for the audience.

Harry Potter - Evaluation

The style of music I used for my Harry Potter opening sequence was mainly parallel. The style of music I used for the credit sequence was very dark at the beginning for the Warner Brothers logo with a sharp and loud thunder clap to start the sequence off. In my opinion the thunder clap would definitely get the attention of the audience at the beginning and really match the mood with the cloudy, dark background to the titles. On effectiveness I would give my title sequence an 7/10 as it was parallel to the mood of the credits. However some loops of sound were disjointed and very noticeable.

For the playground sequence we used a combination of birdsong and a guitar loop to reflect the tranquility of the mid-summer surroundings. we faded the music out as Dudley appeared and added in the hip-hop loop to show how the mood had changed upon Dudley's arrival. The music then changed again to a more serious orchestral tone to reflect how the mood had changed. As soon as the sky darkened I added some storm sounds such as more thunderclaps to signify the darkness and whats to come. For the running sequence I used a fast paced guitar and drums loop to signify the fast pace and hastiness of the scene. For this sequence I would give it 8/10 for effect as it was parallel to what was happening within the scenes.

For the sequence when the Dementors appear I used another guitar and drums loop that built up and set the atmosphere for the fight, I was particularly pleased with how the loop ended with Dudley slipping and sliding on the ice, and this was reflected in the loop with a long sustained note which really did fit in really well in my opinion. For the rest of the scene I used a lot of wind loops to give the Dementors a sort of voice and add to the dark atmosphere that they created. At the very end of the sequence I added another thunderclap so that it looked like it made Mrs. Figg flinch, I think this was a really good way to end the sequence as it was just how I had started it in the first place. For this sequence I would give it 8/10.

I am very pleased with the final sequence overall and I would give it 8/10 for the whole sequence as there were a few noticeable problems but overall it was very good.