Editing Software used for my Short Film

Editing the Audio

• The audio began with me working with Craig to make sure that the entire narration was perfect for how we wanted it. This took a couple of recordings as there were certain things we both didn't like with the original; for example some parts he spoke without enough enthusiasm and it meant that the joke wasn't delivered as well as it could have been. As Craig lives right near Heathrow, this meant that we had to record the audio after midnight when the planes had stopped flying.

• Then, by using WavePad Sound Editor, I was able to remove any unwanted sounds, such as breathing, coughing, unwanted crackle etc. I then cut up the audio into a few different sections, to distinguish each scene or shot.

• After finding suitable copy-right free music, most of which came from Kevin MacLeod (The ones I used were 'The Devil Rides Tonight' (Which I used for the main title and the montage scene), 'I Knew That Guy' (Which was used for the section where Mallow was in his office alone for the beginning), and 'Black Stockings' (Which was used for Lotta's theme.)) These songs were also cut to size within the edit. I also used 'We're in the Money-The Gold Diggers Song' from the movie 'Top Hat', however I adjusted the speed and pitch to make it more comical, as well as only using a small section of it.

• I then had to find suitable sound effects. The Diagetic Sound Effects had to be sourced, edited, and slotted in to match the footage. These included a DC3 propeller plane, which had to appear to be coming closer, louder, then moving away as it circled the globe of the One Rehearsal Ident  sequence. Then there was the electrical short of the "neon sign with a nervous tick", which was a single, short spark sound effect, with I copied and arithmetically looped, to form the continuous sound throughout the office sections.  This had to rise in volume when Mallow, the camera, and the audience's ear, were closer to the window. Then there was the creaking wooden door, which similarly had to be louder when Lotta opened the door, as the camera was closer, than it was when she closed it during the two-shot. There were also various sound effects like a match being struck and the sound of Marshal's leg hitting the chest of drawers which were added in as the footage looked bare without it. Finally, there was the freight train sound, with added doppler effect, and the specific sound of a gun being fired. All of the sound effects in the entire film were added in.

• MixPad to mix the various clips and create the complete soundtrack - tracks including the Voice Over, Main Theme Music, Incidental Music, Foreground Sound Effects, Ambient Background Sound Effects, and the In-Camera Recorded Dialogue. All of these specific effects had to be precisely placed, and balanced for sound in with all of the other layers, so as to be audible, without overshadowing anything important.

• The Background Ambient Sound Effects Track was dedicated to the sound of traffic outside Mallow's office.  For this, I had to source the sounds of a variety of different car horns and engines from the era (1930s/1940s), together with police sirens, trams, bicycles, and  such like, and layer them to create a realistic soundscape.  No two vehicles are repeated, yet the sound runs throughout. Like the neon sign, the traffic ambiance has to rise in volume when Mallow is at the window, and also when his office door is open.

• Finally, the dialogue, recorded on the camera mic, had to be extracted, run through WavePad to convert it to mono and add the 'old fashioned' sound, then dropped into this soundtrack as the final track of the five, but precisely, so that the background music of Lotta's Theme exactly matched that playing was already playing as a separate track, so that the later could be faded out without any noticeable jump in the sound.

• From here, all I had to do was to match the audio file with the video. However, while editing the footage I noticed that the transition the dialogue in each shot would sound odd; and sometimes the dialogue would over lap when I was trying to make the audio continue from one clip to another; so in Adobe Premier Pro I used the 'Constant Gain' tool to make the transition a lot smoother as this made the audio fade seamlessly over each other. After this, the error was almost completely unnoticeable. 

Editing the Visuals

• Editing the visuals was a much easier process after I had the soundtrack. As the camera's mic was only needed for the dialogue scene, most of the filming was done in a music video-esque style. What I mean by this is that we played the audio out loud while filming so that the actors knew what to do at certain points. This made it incredibly easy for me to match the footage to the soundtrack as the actors were perfect in keeping in time with the soundtrack, so all I had to do was listen to the soundtrack left on the footage and put the footage inline with the actual soundtrack. Of course, this did not flow perfectly, but it did make the editing process significantly easier. 

• I used Adobe Premier Pro to edit the visuals for my video. As I filmed my movie in 'mono' and created the effects myself by lowering the amount of light the camera picked up on the actual Canon EOS 550D, I did not have to add any effects to make the film look Film Noir in post-production. 

• I used the 'Cross Dissolve' effect to fade the 'One Rehearsal Pictures' Ident in and out at the beginning from black, to black again. This helped to replicate and parody the 30's 'Universal Pictures' Ident. I also used this to fade between shot 3.1 and shot 3.2; the shot of Marshal Mallow lighting the cigarette and the shot of him knocking his knee against the chest of drawers. I did this for two reasons. 1) Fading is a very conventional method used in Film Noir so I felt that it was necessary for me to use it at least one during the actual footage rather than just the film's ident, and 2) shot 3.1 is significantly darker than shot 3.2 so to have it immediately cut from one to the other didn't look right, and was, to me, a clear movie error. 

• I used the 'Luma Waveform' to make the sure that the black surrounding the Globe in the 'One Rehearsal Pictures' ident was completely black as before the background was ever so slightly noticeable. I also did this to make the parts of the walls of the alley that, Lotta was walking down, that the light didn't touch darker, and the parts that the light did touch lighter. This made the contrast of light and dark greater, and conventionally Film Noir. This also lit up the rain more and made it more clear; light shining on the rain is also very conventionally Film Noir. 

• I used the 'Brightness and Contrast' tool to make the opening sequence darker, as before hand it was noticeable that I filmed a screen. I also did this to make the shot of Mallow running through the tunnel, in the Montage sequence, darker as this made emphasised the shadows greatly, making it a lot more conventionally Film Noir. 

• Finally, there were many shots where I had to change the speed of the footage. The obvious one is the sped up shot of Mallow tidying his office, but I also had to change the speed of footage at various other points. For example, in the scene where Mallow is describing the way Lotta's looks, the camera zooms into her eyes when the narrator (Mallow) says "Her eyes were the kind of green that would make envy jealous..." the actress looks up towards the camera as the word "eyes" are said, as well as lifting up her eyebrows when the word "money" is mentioned. However despite the timing of this matching perfectly with the audio, the actress reacts by opening her mouth in shock before the narrator says "As for her breasts". I got around this issue by cutting the footage into two halves, the first half was from the beginning of Mallow's description of Lotta's appearance up until the description of her lips, and the second was from the end of the descriptions of her lips up until the end of the description of her breasts. For the latter, I slowed down the frame rate ever so slightly so that the actress reaction was in time with the audio, but not too much so that it is noticeably slower. The result was unnoticeable as the footage looked the same speed as before, despite the timing now being a few seconds slower.

Audience Feedback on my Final Draft

How would you describe the relationship between the visuals and the sound?

A good match. Enjoyed emphasis of neon light sound at point character was discussing it.

The mood of the film is carried by both the music, and the camera effect, they work well together to create a noir-esque feel to the film

They were a good match, though the VO was a little too 'radio-y' for a movie.

There was one part that I didn't fully understand due to missing something at the beginning, other than that, they fill very well.

They compliment each other well, suiting the time period and mood of the scenes

The relationship between visual and sound is good

The sound impacts the visuals, they both compliment each other.

The relationship is good and the sounds and visuals work well.

worked well for the most part

I think that they work really well, the type of music adapted to the scene shown, especially with the first scene with the female in walking to the office

Excellent. The music seems to be perfectly in time with the action, and the ambient sound are brilliant.

really effective at enhancing the themes and ambiance of the era it was set in

They are great, and give a clear idea of the protagonists thoughts

Perfect, fits the film noir theme

I think they go rally well as they all link and can understand why you have done it

I think the visuals work really well with the sound as they make sense with the theme that the sound gives.

At times the traffic noises made the dialogue difficult to hear but effects were otherwise good.

The slow music in the background suits the old-fashioned feel. The odd sound effect in the background suited perfectly.

Good

Perfect just too perfect

Very good - works very well

The sounds are extremely well done, better than the visuals. There's still something missing in the visuals, perhaps more contrast or special effects which makes the film more "old."

It works perfectly, you've clearly thought about it a lot and made sure everything fits in which it does.

Overall very good, they both followed the theme.

Mostly the sound supported the visuals; however, the comedic sound effects were a bit too out of place.

I thought it worked excellently

I think the relationship is really good. The music is very conventional of film noir and therefore works well with what the audience are seeing on screen.

Complimented each other very well in each section.

It's great, the narrative is very umm film noir / b movie / detective circa 1940's it's great! And funny

It was narrated well and everything was described to you clearly

Extremely important, especially in cases where there is action relating to the visuals, where sound is needed.

The sounds created an atmosphere that coincided with the visuals

Does my short film look like it was made in the 1940's? Please explain your answer.

Title sequence consistent with period. Costume and setting appropriate. Monologue evocative of film noir style. Insufficient experience with the medium to comment further in terms of "made in"; certainly tone and approach consistent with "set in".

Yes AND no, the only reason it doesn't look 1940's is because you would have needed to add an effect to make the camera appear to use film and be of a poorer quality than the obvious digital camera.

The style matched. The lighting and credits layout especially. Only the grain of the film itself seemed a bit too clean and modern.

It I didn't know the person that made it, I would presume that it was from the period.

Film noir style with the use of props, costumes, music and accents. The black and white filming obviously reinforces this.

Yes because of elements such as the lighting and the costumes

Yes; props, costumes, settings and sounds make it feel very authentic.

Yes, it has an authentic feel about it.

yeah, it had an authentic look to it

Yes to a large extent because of the use of props enhancing the era of the 1940's the film could be a bit more grainy to make the quality look older as if the camera was from the 1940's rather than the good quality we have today

Mostly looks set in the 1940s, there are a few bits which don't look totally authentic (there was a light switch which, I think, looked out of place). I think the thing that most sticks out as not made in the 1940s is the aspect ratio, it seems too wide. (1940s would typically be 1.37:1, rather than 1.77:1)

yes, very much so. The extreme highlights and contrast to the imagery, which is not always really clear, is actually a good and deliberate effect which makes it more believable.

Yes, due to the black and white picture and also the costume and props

yes, with the pure black and whites, it really feels as if it was recorded in film.

Yes because of the lighting, sound and way it was filmed

Yes it does due to all the effective effects you have used. I think it is very successful.

Yes - costumes and photography were in keeping with era.

It does VERY much so. It's so believable. The costumes were perfect, especially the male's with the suit and the way his hair was done. Obviously the black and white was a big factor to this too. Also, you even paid attention to even things like the way the voice-over sounds - it's muffled-sounding and sounds completely like it's from the 1940s.

Yes, content, atmosphere , music .

it looks perfect, it is beautifully shot and looks real, looks like a tv show something professional

Yes, black and white theme, colouring, sounds and actors props

Could have. But still missing the special effects in overall, make the frames more "damaged", a filter could've been cool.

Yes, mise-en-scene is spot on, to make it look even further you could create some effects such as a crackling screen if that makes sense?

Yes. Both costumes and props help this allot. And the lighting does feel like something from the 1940s.

I am not an expert in film periods, but while watching it, I felt it had a 1950s vibe.

Yes, the music the lighting and the acting all came together brilliantly to make it look very authentic

Yes definately, the black and white, the muffled sound when the actors are talking and even the simplicity of the camera shots all add to the 1940's feel, as well as the obvious mise-en-scene.

It fits the 1940s movie style brilliantly. Very accurate.

Yes However some of the filming ideas are more modern so looks like a spoof. Which is great!

Yes, the black and white effect and the various props made it clear it was from the 1940's

It has the 1940's feel, but the shots seem too clean, maybe using an overlay to add a little grain

The filming style, lighting and dialogue are similar to those in other "Film Noir" films I've seen

What improvements would you want to see made? Please explain your answer.

Lip syncing in female character main speech was slightly off. Street scene introducing female character approach, whilst atmospheric, was a little too dark - was almost impossible to make out character (rather than "difficult", which would have been fine).

The nature of the film is obviously a comical noir-esque piece, but i think more subtle punchlines would have helped, and maybe the woman needed to be a little less aware of the come ons of the detective, replying to punch lines sort of takes away the comical value.

I think there needed to be more action. Due to the length of the VO, a lot of the start involved the characters standing still with nothing going on to occupy the eye.

I really can't think of anything.

none

As I do not know the genre too well I am not a very reliable person to judge it if you catch my drift

Some shots appear a little grainy and could be sorted with a little fiddling.

adjustments to the sound during the conversation, levels too high

Perhaps try and make the office scene slightly more grainy to give it more of the effect of an old film, but without reducing the quality (experiment with grain)

None (other than those mentioned above), this is excellent!

I would want to see more!

I dont feel that there is any improvements needed

Nothing.

I don't have any.

N/A

Dialogue louder than background noise.

Perhaps make the start a bit shorter, but apart from that nothing. It's really great, well done

Better sync . Needed bit more content, I.e. Expanded storyline

nothing its perfect

Maybe some of the shots could be stabalised

Improvement of the camera angles (more of them, close-ups, slow movements etc.)

More of an effect on the overall video to make it seem more authentic

For a short film it is a little bit long. Also, more variety in your shots would do.

At one point it appeared a word was missed out in the editing.

Not really the most qualified to answer this, but from a laymans point of view I thought it worked wonderfully. Keep up the work mate, I wish I could create something as wonderful as this

Maybe try a range of different camera shots. Also, some shots are quite long, such as the close up of the actress when she first walks into the office.

I can't think of any. Well done.

Less procrastinating .... Get on with the story the jokes are the salt and pepper! 

No improvements, excellent short film

None. Really good short, maybe some additional story instead of the "trailer" of future events at the end, leave it as a cliffhanger for the audience to demand more

I would like it to feature more characters to further accentuate the costumes and dialogue

Overcoming Any Criticisms:

•  The majority of answers to this question were positive, in terms of people saying that titles, music, costumes, props etc. made the film appear very authentic in terms of trying to look as if it was from the cinematic era in which Film Noir was most popular, however a few people commented on the fact that the quality looked too high for it to appear as if it was from the 1940s. I decided not to change this when editing my film as I disagree. Firstly, at some points in my film, such as the external shots, due to filming at night the quality was lower than that of the internal shots (This change in quality between scenes is normal of classic cinema) and secondly, in the 1940's people were using film to record films and when I was viewing Film Noir movies from the 40's, the quality of the footage wasn't particularly grainy. I assume that peoples reasoning for that criticism was due to the modern generalisation that if a film is old it should be grainy, but that is not necessarily true. If I were to have added in a grainy effect than it would have made the quality of the external shots looks poor and would have ruined some of the styalistic shots that I had captured where the crispness of the shots was key. 

•  A few people said that some of my shots, such as the shot of Lotta standing in the doorway that is narrated by Marshal Mallows as he comments on her beauty, went on for too long. Now, the issue with me asking people to give me feedback on a classic cinema genre such as Film Noir is that the people who were telling me what I should improve had little to no knowledge of the genre and were used to seeing quick cuts every few seconds, as well as a variety of different shots. However, during the 1940's cinema hasn't advanced greatly and it was only till the films of Hitchcock that the way in which films were shot changed drastically in terms of the number of new shots that were discovered; although Hitchcock was directing before and contemporary with this genre, he was much more recognised in the 50's. It is a conventional Film Noir trait to have shots that go on for a while as at these points the audience is supposed to be concentrating more so on the narration than the visuals; and also this shot in particular is supposed to represent Marshal Mallow's POV so, as he is describing the way in which Lotta looks, it would make no logical sense for him to then look away at something else. Even to this day it is not a fundamental rule of film making that one cannot have shots that do not cut for a while; Stanley Kubrick and Alfonso Cuaron, two directors that I admire the styles of, are both well known for their use of unchanging shots. 

• A few people commented on the fact that some shots were too dark, even for a genre like Film Noir, such as the shot of Lotta walking through the alleyway, so I corrected this by using the 'Luma Waveform' in Adobe Premier Pro to make the parts of the walls of the alley that, Lotta was walking down, that the light didn't touch darker, and the parts that the light did touch lighter. This made the contrast of light and dark greater, which is conventional of Film Noir; Film Noir isn't just standard black and white, it's extreme black and extreme white. The contrast between the two is much greater than that of a standard black and white movie as the genre is greatly influenced by German Expressionist cinema that used the same style to create a contrast. Changing this was beneficial as not only did it make it so Lotta was seen more clearly, but it also lit up the rain more and made it more clear; light shining on the rain is also very conventionally Film Noir.

Alterations Made Along the Way

Planning for my Article

Structure of my Short Film

Props List

As my film is dependent on the way it looks more than anything, as I am trying to replicate Film Noir and make my film look as if it was made in the 1930's or 1940's, props were very much needed to make sure that the gumshoe's office (of which the majority of my film takes place inside) needed to look the part. The props that I requires to achieve this were:

• Venetian Lattice Blinds
• Lamps
• Door
• Desk
• Cluedo Board
• Cigarettes
• Matches
• Blank Firing Gun
• Vintage Radio
• Vintage Books
• Vintage Stapler
• Vintage File Case
• Vintage Pens/Pencils
• Globe

Luckily for me, as my father is a collector of things that are vintage or antique, he had many of these things already so it wasn't too much of an issue to create the office; we only needed a few minor props to complete the look. 

Actor Release Forms

Location Recce

Production Details: The Huge Snooze: A short Film Noir.

Producer: Ciaran Davis

Details of Location: A foot tunnel in London used to represent a foot tunnel in 1930’s New York. In this scene, the films main protagonist, PI Marshal Mallows runs down the tunnel towards the camera, and his hat comes flying off behind him.

Address: Greenwich Foot Tunnel, Greenwich, London.

Advantages of location: The main advantages of using the Greenwich Tunnel was that it is an old fashioned tunnel so fitted in with the 1930’s era; and also there isn’t any graffiti on the walls or signs that will make it clearly modern. There is nothing about this location that makes it obvious that it is not really a foot tunnel in 1930’s New York. As the ceiling lights are the only form of light in the entire tunnel, as no sunlight gets in due to it being so far underground, the lights create an interesting shadow effect on the ceiling. This is perfect for Film Noir as the genre heavily focuses on light and shadow play.

Location Considerations (problems, timings, permission etc): The only problems I faced while filming in this location was the amount of ordinary members of the public walking through the Tunnel while we were filming. This meant that we had to time the tunnel sequence perfectly, to not capture anybody in modern clothing or with modern objects, i.e. a ruck sake or a bike.

Details of Location: This flat was used as the interior of the main protagonist, PI Marshall Mallows, office.

Address: 37 Vicarage Way, Colnbrook, Slough, London

Advantages of location: The main advantage of this location was that it is my father’s flat, who played the main protagonist Marshall Mallows, so we did not have to hire out a suitable venue to film in, and it didn’t matter how long it took us to film the scenes. Also, my father collects antiques which were perfect for bringing the set to life when I built the set to look like a stereotypical 1930’s New York detective’s office as conventionally seen in Film Noir.

Location Considerations (problems, timings, permission etc):  There were no real issues with filming in this location, apart from the fact that the flat is so small; so the set and the filming equipment took up a lot of space.

Visual Progression and Image System in my Short Film

The visual progression that I will be using will be that the short film begins with the detective, Marshal Mallow, alone in his room; bored and poor as he hasn't had a case in ages. When looking out the window he noticed a woman, the fem fatale Lotta Clivage, walking towards his office...

...But than end with the dame entering the room, therefore their will be shot-reverse shots of the detective and the dame in conversation.

The image systems which I will be using will be be composed of 30's- 40's props, such as an old fashioned stereo, aluminium Venetian blinds etc. As well as old fashioned costumes. Hopefully, due to the Private Investigator stereotypical costume, the audience will gather that he is a detective.