Final

Editing Diary #2 - Finishing off the sound

Editing Diary #1 - The sniper scene

The Ring opening scene

In the beginning of The Ring, the first shot is a medium shot tracking the character across a room, the next shot we see is a close up shot, we can immediately tell that this girl will be the victim due to the cliches of horror films where a young teenage girl will usually be the victim at the start of the films. The audience can tell that this woman will not be around for long as they tend to die in the first few minutes of the film. As she takes a few steps, we hear a diegetic sound of a TV in the background.The girl is seen looking to her right which creates a slight bit of tension as the audience in their mind think that someone will be there in the room next to her for her to meet her death. The camera then slowly pans through past the door into the living room through the use of a POV shot, where we see a shot of a TV fuzzing, the fact there is no non diegetic sound makes the scene very real to the audience and makes us feel like we are there, this also means that the audience will not know when the suspense will climax leaving the audience on the edge of their seat not knowing when something will happen. We see our character turn the TV off and walk off, the audience will still have a feeling that something bad is going to happen. By the time the audience have thought about this, the TV has on its own, turned back on with the same screen as last time.

We then see her run back to the TV and unplug the switch which will make her think that the trouble is over - however due to the conventions of horror films, the audience know that this isn't the end as they know more will happen. We see her stare up close at the TV screen when there is a black screen leaving the audience thinking that something will jump out and scare them, however the director has teased the audience by not having anything there but a movement in the reflection of the screen that came from her kitchen, this creates a lot of tension and the audience will be holding on to their seats knowing that she does not have long left as they know something is in her house.

We see a medium-close up shot of our victim walking slowly into the kitchen, the camera then cuts to a medium shot of a fridge opening on it's own. By now the audience will be able to tell that this film will be based on the supernatural due to the mysterious and unknown happenings in our victims house. We then see a shot of her slamming the fridge shut and holding it shut, by now the audience will expect something to appear in the corridor behind her or something to jump out and kill her, however the audience have again been teased but this leads to the thrill and tension keeping the audience on the edge. We then see a high angle shot of the victim from the bottom of the stairs, the use of a high angle shot implies that she is weak and vulnerable.

The last scene shows her at the top of the stairs and water flowing from out of a room in the house, at this point the audience are certain that she is about to meet he demise however the audience do not know exactly what will happen which leads to the chilling feel. The use of a low key blue tinted lighting creates a cold effect leaving a chilling and unnerving feeling in the audience.

The Dark Knight Analysis

                                                                         (Up to 2:50)

In the beginning of The Dark Knight, we see a medium-close up shot of a man in a clown styled mask smashing a window with a certain object. The camera then proceeds to track around the small room to a high angle shot of the man shooting a wire across to another building below. The camera then cuts to a low angle shot outside the building of a man on the road with a mask in one hand and a large bag in the other, the use of a low angle shot identifies this man as important and powerful, this will also leave the audience questioning what is happening and who this man is, we don't however see this mans face as the shot is from behind him. A car soon pulls up next to him and he immediately puts the mask on and gets in the car. As we know that the clowns are likely to be the antagonists for this part of the film and the audience will think that they are planning to pull off some kind of dangerous act like a bank robbery. As the man gets inside the car, a non diegetic sound of tense fast paced music is played, this will give the sense that something big is about to happen along with the audience thinking that this man may be the leader or have a more important role in this scene.

The music continues as the camera cuts to a birds eye view tracking the two people from the earlier scene zip line across onto the other building - this indicates that they are in 2 groups. The camera then cuts to a shot from the backseat of the car which makes the audience feel like they are there with them. There are a total of 3 people wearing clown masks in the car and at no point during this part do we see any of their faces. The two people in the front of the car are talking about a certain character known as "The Joker", the two people who were originally in the car (the two in the front) are the only people speaking in this scene whereas the man in the back remains silent but is still in shot reminding the audience that is he also in the car with them. This adds to the mystery of the character as his voice is still unheard.

The group on the roof pick up where the last scene left off with the conversation about "The Joker" and this helps us learn a bit more about him. The camera then cuts back to the group in the car and they are seen exiting the car and running up the stairs to the bank. No music plays in the background for this scene which makes the audience focus more on the characters than the scene, this also helps create tension and mystery due to the diegetic sounds being heard only - the camera then proceeds to follow the group inside the bank.

Once inside the bank the camera shows the bank manager to signal that he is going to be of some importance during this scene and may have an effect on how the heist plays out. The camera tracks around the bank and rarely stays still to keep up the speed of what is happening this use of fast camera shots creates a lot of speed and suspense giving the audience a hint of excitement. The music begins to pick back up as it again cross-cuts back to the group on the roof who are checking the alarm system and then the camera cuts back to the clowns who have seized control of the bank - we then see the mysterious character going around unpinning grenades and making the hostages hold them in their hands so they don't explode, this character is still yet to speak. We then go back to the roof and after one clown deals with the alarm system, the other clown shoots him. This comes as a surprise to the audience and tell the audience that these clowns are not to be trusted and are slowly killing each other to get a bigger payday. The man then runs down the stair and enter a room to which the camera pans round to reveal a large vault, as this is a bank robbery, we know that this vault will be very important in the heist.

After this we see a medium shot of one of the clowns who is shouting telling everyone to "stay down", we then almost immediately see the clown get shot in the back and we see the banks manager sat there with a shotgun. This links back to the first shot we see of him when the clowns enter the bank, this will leave the audience will a feeling like they knew he would have some sort of importance and would cause a halt to the heist. We then see the other clowns run in panic and are seen hiding behind a desk, to which one of the two asks "He's out right?" and in response the other clown nods, still not using any dialogue. The clown who asked the question then proceeds to stand up and fire, only to be shot by the bank manager - the other clown rises up and shoots the bank manager. The camera then slowly tracks in to the clown to then possibly suggest that he is in fact the leader of the group. The music becomes gradually silent and then kicks in with the tone used previously to suggest that there is no more danger for the robbers.

Harry Potter Opening Scene

In the beginning of The Deathly Hallows Part 2, we see a long shot and the camera running above water while tracking up which then fades back into a black screen, the camera then fades into another shot which this time is a medium long shot of a mysterious moving white structure, by the time the audience are trying to work out what this is, the camera cuts to a close up of the films antagonist, Voldemort. This antagonist would likely be recognised by everyone in the audience as he is the iconic villain in every Harry Potter film. The camera then cuts to another close up but of Voldemort's hand which is seen holding a wand. We then see a high angle shot of him holding up the wand aiming at the sky and using it which creates a lightning effect which goes up into the sky. The camera then cleverly uses the light from the clouds to fade into the production company logo (Warner Brothers).

The camera then continues to zoom through the company logo leading to another location, we then see an establishing shot of Hogwarts which with the use of a misty effect makes the audience question what has happened. The camera soon cuts to a medium shot of the back of a man in all black to which the camera cuts to a low angle shot from the front revealing the identity of this man. The use of a low angle shot resembles power and authority. This shot also reveals that this character is another iconic figure in the Harry Potter franchise (Professor Snape). This will leave the audience questioning why he is standing out on the edge of Hogwarts on his own and why the place looks abandoned.

The camera then cuts to the title of the film "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2". After this title sequence, we see a close up of a gravestone with the writing "Here lies Dobby a free elf", this links back to the previous film in the franchise where a very well known and loved character had died. This will take the audience back to the last film leaving them grieving his death - this creates an emotional impact on the big fans of this franchise.

The camera next cuts to a high angle long shot showing where Harry Potter is sat. As we can see it is not located in Hogwarts this time which indicated that something bad has happened forcing him to leave - the camera also cuts to a medium shot from inside the house on the bottom of the hill showing the other two main protagonists in the film. By their facial expressions the audience can tell that an unfortunate event has occurred leaving the audience questioning what has happened.

Godfather Opening Scene Analysis

(Up to 3:55)

At the beginning of 'The Godfather' the pace is very slow and the movie stays on a black screen whilst music is playing in the background, the title of the film then slowly fades in with puppet strings above the 'father', this gives the impression of someone pulling strings and being very deceiving, which may give the audience an idea already of what events may occur. The colours used in this section are only black and white which goes well with the slow pace of the opening unlike a brighter more lively colour would.

As the title fades away gradually, the music stops and we hear a voice saying the words "I believe in America", this gives an idea of where the film is set in and what the plot of the movie may have something to do with, the black screen slowly fades into a close up shot of a man in formal wear, the use of low key lighting at this point helps create mystery and tension in the scene. For the next few minutes, the camera stays at a relatively close up shot of the man who is talking, however the camera is very slowly zooming out from a close up shot to an over the shoulder shot of the man he is talking to. The mans identity is not yet revealed but subliminally tells the audience that he is of importance and may be of high authority.

The man is heard telling a story about his daughter being mistreated which indicated that he requires help from this mysterious man - this gives the audience the idea that this mysterious man is in fact 'The Godfather', he also stays in the shadows for this part which adds to the mystery of his identity. The audience can tell that he is of high power as people seem to be begging for his help. No music is heard in this entire scene either which creates a mysterious and unnerving feel to the scene.

The man then walks out of shot and back into shot next to the godfather and whispers in his ear. A close up shot of the godfather reveals his face for the first time, the dialogue also shifts to him and the scene then is focussed primarily on him. The camera then cuts to a long shot of the room with a man seen standing with his hands down on the desk opposite the godfather saying "i'll give you anything you ask" this indicates that the godfather has a lot of power and people will do anything for his help.