I/V With Editor

I/V With Editor

In continuation from my previous blog post Editing Thriller, I mentioned our class would be asking questions to an editor named Michael Harrowes, who is well known editor currently working on a British Horror Drama. 

Our class wrote down a series of questions which we then asked Michael during a Skype Conference Call we hosted during one of our media lessons. We asked him multiple questions, but the majority of them revolved around what we could improve on/add to our Opening Sequences, which we are currently in the process of filming at this moment. He responded to the questions with some very useful feedback which our class, and our group in particular, will be taking into account. We had already accomplished some of the things he explained to us, however the majority of information he told us was new and therefore very beneficial to us.


The questions our class asked him were as follows:

• Can you name 3 keys things we should aim to achieve when creating our thriller Opening Sequences.
• Do you have any useful tips about what we could add to our Opening Sequences to improve the overall quality?
• What would you consider the most challenging aspect of editing?
• How would you say the way editing differs from when you go from editing a comedy to editing a thriller.
• How has the use of Foley enhanced the quality of your films in the past?
• How, using editing alone, can you increase the intensity of a film/opening sequence.
• Can you tell us about the importance of pace and rhythm within a film?
• How closely do you work with the Director in a film?
• In terms of editing, how would you describe the thriller genre itself and how it should be portrayed through editing.
• What element of the editing process do you yourself enjoy the most? 

Michael Harrowes - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0366037/

Editing Thriller

Editing Thriller

A Skype call with Michael Harrowes has been organised in a few weeks time. Michael Harrowes is quite a well known editor who is currently working on a British Horror Drama. He has also most recently worked on other TV series such as Mr Selfridge and Agatha Christie: Poirot which are two popular dramas both aired on ITV 1.

Questions I Will Ask Him:

 

1). What were your inspirations for going into the media industry?

2). What do you enjoy about your editing job, and are there parts of the job which you don't like?

3). Do you have any useful tips on what we can add to our Opening Title Sequences?

 

Michael Harrowes - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0366037/

Prop List

Prop List

Mug of Coffee - This mug of coffee will be one similar to the one seen in the picture. It looks like it was a gift and the audience are presumed to assume that it was a gift from his son, this reinforces the bond between the son and his father to the audience. This particular part where the mug is seen will be in the shot where he is playing with his son - the father will be playing with his son, perhaps playing with some of his toys, and then the camera switches focus to behind the father and son where his mug on the table will be sitting. A title may possibly be spanning around the mug, perhaps the Producer or Editor, something like that.

Newspaper - The newspaper is another possible prop which could be used in the same scene just before the son comes up to his father to ask him to play with his toys with him. Alternatively, it could be used in one of the first scenes where the father discovers there has been a series of mysterious deaths, but he knows they're murders. This could be an important part of the plot because its when the father starts getting dragged into the story.

Toys - The kid will be playing with them during one of the scenes. As mentioned previously, the kid will come up to his dad in one of the opening scenes and asks him to play with him; the father has a conversation with him and then he goes on to play with him, and this is when the shot of the mug takes place. The toys are not particularly significant but they are a prop, and therefore required on the Prop List.

Phone - As mentioned in my Treatment post, the phone will be used when the father is out away from his son and his phone rings, only to be confronted with a mysterious voice on the other end telling him things about his son which he wouldn't otherwise have known without actually being near him, e.g. the clothes he is wearing. The point at which the phone is used is an important turning point in the story as it is when the father realises the true intent of what's happening, and the seriousness of it all.

Letter - This is yet again another prop which may or may not be used in the opening sequence. The father will be posting the letter in a post box and this is where the mysterious phone call takes place, after he posts the letter. The letter won't be significant at all, it could just be something like a Birthday Card the father is posting, but essentially it the letter is what would lead up to the phone call it is not a major prop in the story.
Car - The car hasn't been decided on, however we're not obviously going to be driving it, there will only be shots of us getting in and out of the car and possibly some interior shots of us actually in the car. The car will sort of act as a transition shot so when we get in the car the audience knows we're about to switch scene.

Knives - The knives probably won't even be used apart from in the shot where the father secretively opens the case to reveal the knives. The knives are there to create the effect of violence, and there might be a little montage clip of the father (Jack's Character) observing and cleaning the knives all thoroughly to give the audience the sense that the father is serious, especially when it comes to situations about his 'past life' which also involves his son.

Dusty Box - The dusty box is going to be the box in which the knives are kept, and it's going to be dusty because the father hasn't used them for years since he quit his shady job as an assassin. Because the box is dusty it creates the effect that he's going back to something he hasn't done for a while, and its sort of an "emotional" time in the story for the father as he quit his job long ago and now he is being dragged back into it all.

Booklet/Diary - I mentioned in my treatment that a booklet or diary will be present in the scene with the father and his best friend. This is still a possibility obviously, but the best friend (Daniel's Character) will hand the father a diary containing a page with a name/(s) and the father will rip out the page while looking over his shoulder to check if any body is watching, then he continues to put the ripped page in his pocket.

Gun - Not mentioned in my treatment as this was an idea which our group came up with and developed, but a gun will be used in a scene which will take place within an abandoned barn where the Antagonist (Connor's/My Character) will be holding the father's son at gun point. This is basically right at the end of the opening sequence so the chances are it won't be a very long scene, but it will be a tense moment as it is where everything in the opening sequence has led to.

Timeline for a Film

Timeline for a Film

 Below is a timeline me and my group produced within 20 minutes from the Opening Sequence of the film Zombie Land. It essentially consisted of watching the opening sequence and writing down on the timeline key parts, such as Main Actors, Producers, etc.; and we also had to note down the time at which each of these titles came up, hence why we used a Timeline. 

 

Through doing the timeline, it gives us an idea of how long each title should be on screen for, so we can then channel this is into our opening sequence and make it as realistic as we can.