OUAN503 - Collaborative, Editing

All of the editing and sequencing was done for this project was done in Premiere Pro because it has the most simplified interface when trying to sequence clips and sound, as well as adding transitions and effects to transition scenes - which add another element to the animation piece as a whole. I have experience with Premiere Pro, and although I'm not the most knowledgeable using it, I have used it to sequence together virtually all of the animations and pieces I've done over the past couple of years. Premiere Pro as a program is really good to work in and I personally find it refreshing in contrast to using something like After Effects or Photoshop because it feels like it's more of a speciality program rather than an all rounder. It feels cleaner and less over whelming in that there are less options available, fewer menus and in summary is a lot simpler to use. In the case of this particular project I did all of the animation in After Effects and once the scene was rendered and complete, Premiere Pro was then used to sequence scenes together, include transitions between the scenes and finally, join sounds up to the video clips. This is one of my favourite parts of a project, not that it's the easiest but it's essentially applying the final touches to all of the work that's been put into a project up to this point and I find it quite enjoyable.

The screenshot below depicts an example of the type of straight forward sequencing that was involved during the post-production and editing process. Something I've tried to hone as I've done more of this type of work is finding the balance between over use and using the correct amount of transitions between scenes. I think it's a difficult but also intuitive skill to be able to determine the correct places to put interesting transitions between scenes, and with the correct timing too. I noticed through watching David Fincher's work, he seems to use a 'dip to black' transition semi frequently, at least compared to other directors. I've become a fan of this particular transition and feel like it adds a lot of drama to a scene, so I've tried to use it where it works - trying not to use it for the sake of using it at the same time. As you can see from the sequence of scenes I've only used around two or three transition effects throughout the whole sequence and they come right at the end to string together the last few scenes where the narrative comes to a climax. I played it relatively safe for this project when it came to experimenting with the editing and different types of effects that could be applied. The list of dissolve transitions is relatively long and contains a lot of similar but equally effective transitions - I'm yet to look into them properly and I am only familiar with a few at this stage that I tend to go back to, but I'm sure they all have a particular use and plan to look into them further in the future. Looking back on the work I put in to this project now when it came to the editing I wish I had the opportunity to experiment further, but at the pace we were going I perhaps played it too safe and didn't take chances with the sequencing and effects. I definitely feel like this could have been expanded and worked on further, so I will make sure not to make this mistake next time. Usually I'm quite good at pushing myself to try new things in scenarios like this, but I believe the fact I was working with three other people towards a looming deadline played a part in the decisions I made regarding experimentation not just with the editing but the project as a whole. I've mentioned the deadline quite a few times through the documentation of the collaborative brief, but I do feel like the short project time and the need to consistently turn out work ready for another member of the group was the story of the project.

In reflection I didn't do as much experimentation with the scenes and the editing process as I would have liked, and given the time frame I stuck to what I knew and the types of approached I thought would be effective in completing the brief to a reliable and solid standard. Equally, perhaps the animations would not have benefited from overly complex effects and transitions due to their short running time, and simplicity was the most effective route to take given the context and situation we were in.