Thursday 12 January 2017

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Hello again to the executive team at Lionsgate. Thank you for viewing my blog and for viewing the video and text posts, I hope they up to the industry standard and show you my passion and wide knowledge of film & TV production. Thanks again for this wonderful opportunity. Hope to hear good news from you soon.
-Michael Messina

Wednesday 11 January 2017

Oscar Film Editing (Mad Max: Fury Road) Analysis




This scene is one of the many scenes in the movie that showcases Sixel's editing decision of choosing shots that were in the centre of frame. In the film most of the action stays steady and in the centre of the screen. This was done to make sure that the audience could easily concentrate on what the director and editor want them to concentrate on. This technique is a much better approach at showing action in a film than most fast action films which action is shaky and all over the place making the action way more complex to follow than it should be, Mad Max does the exact opposite of this making its edit much more smoother and successful than the average action flick. This technique also show that action films can be an well made art and more than mindless entertainment.

The film also contains other great techniques in other scenes such as jump cut speeded up visuals when guns are reloaded and fade outs





This scene is one of the final scenes in Mad Max and it is the one with the most meaning and strength created by Sixel's strong editing talent. This scene shows one of the main characters, Nux sacrificing
himself to save the lives of his new found companions. The way that Sixel edited it highlighted the deep meaning of Nux's sacrifice to the whole character arc of Nux. She did this by choosing to use cuts close up of his face to showcase his growing realization of what he has to do and then using slow motion to show his full realization and the real nobility of his choice uttering his final line "witness me". crescendoing into the twisted beauty of the crash and his death on top of the beautiful score.






This is yet another great scene in the film that shows Sixel's expertly well crafted edit. This opening scene sole purpose is too introduce us to our protagonist and the world he lives in. They start giving us this intro by giving us audio context over the opening credits making us know why this world is how it is. This introduction also showcases who our main character is perfectly using voiceover from the protagonist over the starting action allowing us to know his past and what his torments/issues are. They also show us quick flashbacks (cutaways) to his past while also showing us his current predicament giving us a even closer incite into him. There is also a quick use of jump cut in this scene when he is getting his car showing that he moving quickly to try to get away faster. The fade out in the middle of the scene is used to show that we are moving location from out in the wastes to Immortal Joe's Fortress.


Live TV Editing



what are the challenges faced by live TV editors?

the challenges faced by live TV editors include having to make sure the right audio and video appear on the live feed on the fly. They also have to make sure that any harder edits are done quickly and effectively, edits like green screen effects have to be pre-prepared before the broadcast and then they have to make sure they are shown at the right time. Live TV editors need to make sure that every fact or stat they use is correct or believable having to accurately update stats as the broadcast goes on.

How and what is the meaning created through the editing example? 

The successful edit that i showcase in this video shows a slow motion highlight/replay this edit is done to show that the event that is replayed has importance and is re-shown slowly to create effect and significance to make sure the audience remember these moments the most and to make sure that the important moment isn't forgotten.




Monday 7 November 2016

Film examples of editing techniques sequence + Analysis of the techniques




Harry Potter (Establishing Shots) - These shots establish the location that the film is set in.

Ferris Bueller's day off (Cutaway Shots) -  A Cutaway shot is used here to show what the character is looking at and to show the item he is using.

District B13 (Seamless Edit/Continuity) - This is used to show the fluidity of his movement and to show where he goes.

Requiem for a dream (Jump Cuts) - To show the passage of time and to show the drug taking and selling without going into gory detail and to show a lot of things quickly to the audience.

Mission Impossible 4 (30 Degree Shots) - By changing to a upwards angle we see Ethan hunt hanging on by one hand showing the drop below him adding more tension to the scene.

The Big Lebowski (Shot Reverse Shot) - This shows us only the character who is speaking allowing us to focus on them, it also is from the middle of them unlike the more common over shoulder shot reverse shot, a staple of Coen brothers films that is meant to make the audience more immersed into the scene.

The Big Lebowski (Eyeline Matching) - By keeping the camera on one side (180 degree rule) the eyelines match which makes the conversation make logical sense and makes it easier to follow

The Dark Knight (180 degree rule) - By keeping the camera on one side the audience can easily follow the conversation without getting disoriented by 360 degree random shots.

Pirates of the Carribean (Match Cuts) - a clean effective transition of 2 very similar shots. in this case we go from young elizabeths eyes to adult elizabeths eyes, strongly hinting that this the same character.

Rocky IV (Montage) - This classic training montage showcases the two boxer (Rocky and Drago) training for their match, the montage cuts from shot to shot of them training this is done to show a lot of things in a quick concise way and to show the passage of time and progress as they get more intense throughout and we see the time change frequently from day to night.

The Matrix (Cut In) - This Cut-in on Morpheus's face makes the audience focus on him and not the rest of the room. It is also done to show the importance of him in the film and make a strong introduction to one of the main characters

The Godfather (Juxtapostion) - This scene cuts back and forth from a christening to assassinations of various mob members. showing two polar opposite moments in one scene to show meaning.

The Godfather(Cross-Cutting) -Cross Cutting is the act of cutting from one scene to another, back and forth the scenes can be at different time or at the same. this cut is done to build suspense.

The Godfather(Parallel Editing) -Parallel Editing is like Cross Cutting except it is always with 2 scenes that are happening simultaneously to each other to create tension. it also creates dramatic irony between the fathers words at the baptism to the murders.

Goodfellas (Freeze-Frames) -This freeze frame allows us to know what the character (harry) remembers and thinks about important moments in his life. Giving us further incites into him and attempts to make us agree with his point of view.

Dredd 3D (Slow Motion) - This beautifully shot and lit slow motion scene portrays the effects of a drug (slo-mo). The end of the scene when Ma-ma hits the ground is a perfect crescendo to the 2 minutes slow decent.

Requiem for a dream (Split-Screen) -The use of split screen in this scene is to show the intimacy between Harry and Marion in a unique clever way. The way how this scene is edited shows the audience how much the 2 love each other at this point making their tragic break and downfall in the end all together more sad and depressing.

Star Wars VI (Wipes) -This iconic wipe is a simple yet effective transition to show the changing of one scene and location to another.

The Shawshank Redemption (Dissolve) - The Dissolves in this scene go perfectly with the classical music that is playing slowly dissolving from different parts of the prison showing all of the characters in unison listening to the music having a few minutes of bliss away from the hardships of prison life.

Requiem for a dream (Fade In) - This Fade in goes from Harry blacking out after the last intense scene fading into his dream state to escape the horrors of reality.

Requiem for a dream (Fade Out) -This Fade out shows Harry falling out of his dream and fading back into reality.



Welcome Message

Hello to the executive team at Lionsgate. Welcome to this blog where you can see video and text posts made by me to show you my expert level knowledge of techniques in film & TV production. Thank you for giving me this opportunity and considering my application, Im very happy to have  this chance of being able to show my talents to you.
Thank you- Michael Messina