Five Master Edits (The Principles of Editing)

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjnGvgvxHTc&feature=youtu.be

LEIT MOTIF: A leitmotif can be defined as a recurring musical theme connected to a particular character, object, place, idea. In Kiley and I's film, the camera angle switches periodically back and forth between the running water in a water fountain, and people drinking from a water bottle. In this case, the water would act as the subject, or object. The running water from the fountain acts as the recurring subject.

CONTRAST: In any case, contrast is an extreme difference between two ideas. In film, when the camera is cut between two vastly different scenes, this shows contrast. In our film, an empty, silent hallway is shown. Just moments later, after the bell is rung and students are moving from first to second period, a contrast is created as the hallway is now filled with students and noise.

SYMBOLISM: A symbolic connection is created when there is a bridge between the first and second scene in film. The camera zooms in on a Varsity letter "L" (for Lely), and when the camera zooms back out, it is focused on the "L" from the Lely Trojans ingrained in the bench outside in the courtyard. 

SIMULTANEITY: Simultaneity is useful in creating suspense for the audience. In film, a scene would cut back and forth between two events occurring at the same time to show either contrast or similarity between the two events occurring. In this case, there would be a difference in the noisy courtyard during lunch versus Mr. Alvarez's quieter, more controlled classroom setting occurring at the exact same moment.

PARALLELISM: Cutting together two unrelated scenes and drawing similarities or parallels between the two establishes a connection in film. In our case, Kiley and I focus the camera on our feet and the camera shows each of us walking across the courtyard.

Exploring the Use of Camera Angles Through the Beloved American Horror Story

In American Horror Story season three, episode one, viewers are introduced to the new season as well as new era and plotline of Coven. The setting is New Orleans, 1834. The opening scene depicts an older woman at the head of the table, and cuts from her face, to the three men that she is addressing (a point-of-view shot, nonetheless), back to her face, before eventually panning over to her daughter. The use of a point-of-view and panning shot in this scene practically gives the viewer whiplash, making them feel as though they are actively following and participating in everything that the narrator (in this case, the older woman) is doing or saying. Shortly after, in a new scene, viewers are shown the same woman now in a choker shot, where we closely follow her as she does her makeup. Oddly enough, in this case, “doing her makeup” consists solely of dipping the brush in a bowl filled of blood, before wiping it on her face. The camera pans from the brush dipping into the blood, back to her face as the audience watches her lather her face in the blood.

 In another scene, an over-the-shoulder shot is used when the same woman is hitting and yelling at her daughter. This puts the viewer in the daughter’s shoes, allowing the audience to feel the same fear that is felt by the daughter.

 The woman is shown walking down a long corridor, through a full shot, and we watch the woman as she passes through cells of abused slaves, crying out for help.

 Everything prior to this moment was solely from the opening scene, which established the setting, plot, and showed viewers what to expect from the upcoming season. Now, the story has reached present day (at least, for that story line). We follow the main character through another over-the-shoulder shot as she approaches a door. This type of filming could also be seen as a follow shot. The use of both an over-the-shoulder as well as a follow shot almost makes the viewer feel as though they are walking alongside the subject.

 A point-of-view shot is shown once again as the subject’s mom informs her that she will be attending boarding school in New Orleans due to her newfound witchcraft. This is clearly something that the main character is upset about, so we, as an audience, are able to feel that

sadness and frustration with her due to this shot. Soon after, a never-ending group of men in black suits enter the girl’s bedroom to take her away. This is done through a head-on shot, as the men one-by-one walk past the camera towards the girl, it feels as though they are about to hit the camera head-on. A close-up of a presumably irrelevant side character shows her gloved hand wrapping around the mother’s shoulder, as she shares her grief and condolences at the temporary loss of her daughter.

 The use of these multiple different types of shots creates an overall haunting yet captivating aura that surely a show titled American Horror Story would aim to create. The use of these different shots is essential to the production of this, as it truly does establish the creepy and, again, haunting mood of the setting and plot.

A Look Through My Classmate's Eyes

I reviewed Kiley’s and Lily’s storyboards, and while there were some similarities between their filming styles, overall their takes on this activity appear to be extremely different. 


Kiley’s storyboard did a solid job of evoking a sense of emotion from the viewer. Following the turbulent relationship of the subjects, the use of different angles such as extreme close up, panning shot, low and high angle shots allowed the viewers to feel for the subjects during both low and high points.

For Lily's storyboard, with the reaction shot being one of the first few shots in the storyboard, as a viewer, I was drawn in and wanted to see the rest of the storyboard. The over-the-shoulder shot shown where Erin is looking on her phone almost makes the viewer feel as though they are experiencing whatever the subject is feeling right along with them. A follow shot has a similar effect, as the viewer feels as though they are walking right in step with the subject. The head-on shot also induces a bit of fear within the audience, with the subject running straight towards the camera it almost feels as though she may knock straight into you. The explanations provided under each shot justify my thoughts in a way, as well as did a good job of explaining the filming process that occurred.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the different ways that Lily versus Kiley versus myself went about this project, and I found this project to be extremely entertaining.