Editing - Drama

In terms of my post production for the drama, I found the edit very challenging. Editing is something I would like to improve on in general as I find Adobe Premiere quite difficult to use, having not used it before being at UCA. The biggest challenge with the edit was the element of a split screen which is where my personal directorial style is most prominent in the scene.   The way I have shot the interviews is quite

standard with lots of over the shoulder shots to create a sense of depth and intimacy for the scene, however, by adding the aspect of a split screen this allowed me to have both interviews on screen at the same time to create a new dimension. The actual set up of this is impossible as there is no way we can watch two people in two different rooms at the same time in real life. Even so, I thought this would tie the interviews

together and emphasise the relationship between Nigel and Susan as we begin to find out more about their past and how they are related to each other. When I had my rough cut viewing with Simon he said to keep the shots between the interviewer and interviewee consist so if I had just used an over the shoulder showing Ellie Miller, I would then reverse this to show Susan Wright. This helps to create a more even balance of shots which is pleasing for the eye and makes the edit seem more seamless. As the scene intensified, I included some closer shots which emphasise the characters' facial expressions and emotions. I felt this was important to give drama to the scene as there is not much else going on in terms of action. Another element that I found particularly difficult to tackle during the edit was the lighting. I used a lighting kit which meant that the lighting was very hard. This was ideal as I wanted to the space to seem very clinical and uninviting. However, getting every shot to match up as we moved the camera was very challenging. When looking at my clips, I noticed that the lighting on Nigel Carter was a lot darker than on Alec Hardy. The lighting on Hardy was also more yellow. Therefore I used the colouring tools on Adobe Premiere, changing the exposure and tinting to give the overall look a more balanced appearance. I decided to take out any yellow tones at all as this was giving the clips a warm appearance and reflected a slightly warmer atmosphere which is something I wanted to remove from the scene completely. Overall, I am pleased with the edit and feel like I have learnt more about some of the tools, including some new ones that I hadn't used before whilst I was editing the split screen.