Pointers/FAQ/Tuts on STYLE?

[bferrell]

Here's a question for you.

I'm an average user of editing tools and directing my shorts, etc. but I don't have any style. If fact, I couldn't properly identify a style, and when I do cuts and pans, fades, overlays, time-warp, montage, whatever, it's a total shot in the dark. Maybe it drives my story, and maybe it's a rotten egg. Is there a decent overview of how these types of editing devices drive a reaction, without going to film school? I've been looking at maybe getting some books (like the eye is quicker, on film editing, and Cinematic storytelling) but haven't pulled the trigger because I'm not sure they meet my need.

B

[nooneimportant77]

so you're looking for something like a video to help understand video styles and cinematography ?

[Jason Endurance]

When you watch movies...watch them! Don't pay attention to the story, just look at what the camera is doing.

Some of my favorite cuts are "hidden"

For example, one scene could end with someone slamming down a glass onto a table, then you cut to a scene elsewhere with someone slamming a glass down on a table.

Another example would be someone looking at a picture, then you cut to have someone else looking at that same picture.

The end result is seamless and adds a bit of style.

[nooneimportant77]

^^^^^^^^ good point, now that i think of it the best thing you can do is watch good movies and see how there cut, and what the action the actors are doing is and how it fits with the editing...if that made sense. but i think you'll get it.

[WesScog]

Here, i'll give you some pointers about style, and transitions.

Fades are kind of a "curtain call" for that scene, it's the end of one scene, and the beginning of a new scene.

Like, if you see your hero gets shot, it'll fade out, and then fade in to his partners crying as they bury him.

It's the end of one important scene, and the opening of another part of the story.

A dissolve on the otherhand, combines visual elements that are connected in some way, either visually, or symbolically.

Your beautiful honorable heroine's face dissolving to an image of a disgusting pig doesn't make any sense.

Your isolated hero's silhouetted head dissolving to am image of the moon, good decision.

Your hero's face getting ready to go on a journey, dissolving to a moving wheel, good dissolve.

Your hero's morning breakfast plate, dissolving to his car's wheel as he goes to work, that's nice.

A wipe is rarely used anymore, but can suggest jumps from very different places, or different storylines, like the turning pages of a book. Lucas used them a lot in Star Wars, whenever he cut between storylines of the different characters. (Iris shots, where the scene focuses down into a pinpoint of light and closes are uses similarly to wipes, but they can bring attention to a certain place in the shot that they want your eye to focus on, The Illusionist and Babe are two films that come to mind when I think of Iris shots)


Now some random camera tricks... Filming a person from a low angle makes them look bigger, stronger, more dominant.

Filming a person from a high angle can make them look smaller and weaker.

Filming a person from a very high place, combined with shot composition can be used either for an establishing shot, or to suggest isolation or insignificance.

Filming a intense close up, can show a contraction of space, it's more intimate, but it can also be more claustrophobic.

Think of what your film is going to be printed on, if its going to be on YouTube or DVD, you want more close ups, so the audience can ssee what is happening.

A lot of very wide, very high shots, and the audience might have trouble seeing what is happening on such a small screen.

[KenOchalek]

Personally, I would never worry about style until you've MASTERED that ability to effectively communicate a story. In learning how to tell a story, and how to control the audience's emotions and attentions, your own personal STORYTELLING style will emerge on its own.

I think the best way to develop your personal editing style is to constantly ask yourself "Why am I making a cut AT THIS EXACT MOMENT." At the very least, you should be cutting to maintain continuity and to control the audience's interest in your video. Sometimes you'll be cutting around a poor performance, or some technical issue. Other times, you'll cut to fit the music or the rhythm of the dialogue. For shooting, ask "What new information does this shot give my viewer?" and "What shot composition would best convey that information?" Shooting this way will probably make it easier to edit, too, since all your shots will have specific purposes.

Here's an activity you and your video friends could do (or if someone wanted to organize this in the forums). Shoot a scene or a whole short, getting a master shot and plenty of coverage. Then have different people edit it. You'll see how different editors can approach the same material, what kinds of shots you gravitate towards, the pacing, etc. You can also mixed it up by having two different people direct the scene with the same actors and crew, each one unaware of what the other director did.

I did this in an advanced video production class and it was a lot of fun and really lets you see how YOU approach directing and editing.

[bferrell]

Yea, that was actually more my point to be honest, how to shoot to help tell the real story. Like, how to make a scene more dramatic by using only spot lighting, or shoot from the floor up to make the actor seem more imposing, or use camera shake in a chase scene to make it ssem more frenetic. Tips like this to take what the actor gives you while also setting the tone. I'm sure there are lots of standard techinques like this that may not be obvious to the novice.

Brett

Brett

[futuresphere]

Personally, I would never worry about style until you've MASTERED that ability to effectively communicate a story. In learning how to tell a story, and how to control the audience's emotions and attentions, your own personal STORYTELLING style will emerge on its own.


well said!