Blog Post 77 - Stage 3 - Editing and Compiling - Background Music

In the last few Blog Posts I have explained how and also why I went about compiling all of the different scenes of the promotional video and in theory I have a nearly completed promotional video that is a total of 1:00 minute long with a clear introductory scene, footage that I have filmed myself, footage that has been reused from previous series and also a clear ending/conclusion too.

At this point in time, though, I feel that it is important to fine tune the promotional video as for the end result to be that of as professional as possible. Back in Blog Post 61, for the promotional video research it was apparent to me that a lot of period soundtracks from the period of the 1970s and 1980s were used as to once again pass across the flavour of the series and that of the 1980s being "back" for this film.

Jean Genie

With this in mind I decided that I was going to use a couple of soundtracks within my promotional video and I chose these for a few different reasons. The first soundtrack that I chose to use was that of David Bowie's hit song of "Jene Genie". Probably the most obvious reason behind this choice was due to the name of the main character being Gene, and obviously this links in rather well to that of the song title and would give a nice context to that of the trailer with this playing in the background. Also, in the footage that I procured for that of the introductory Scene 1 for the promotional video, where I sourced this from on YouTube this was part of a fan compilation video and this particular person had overlayed the Jene Genie music too, and seeing/hearing this made me think that this was a good combination and therefore I decided to go ahead with this.

As mentioned, I decided that I would not be using the same piece of music throughout the entire promotional video as this is, I think, not a professional approach as the majority of film trailers that you see have a whole host of different music used within them. However, to begin with my source for that of the Gene Genie was here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGQo6zpVzt8) and decided that this would be perfect for the scene. Although I have yet to cover this in a Blog Post yet (although this will be covered in a future Blog Post) I was able to download this from YouTube by making use of a website called KeepVid (http://keepvid.com). As mentioned, further detailed information regarding this website and the issues surrounding that of downloading videos online will be detailed in a future blog post. Once this was downloaded I was then able to import this into Premiere in the usual way of File -> Import and then place in in the project bin called My Source Clips. 

I Fought The Law

In regards to the placing of the music of Jene Genie, towards the end of Scene 1 in the audio element there was already the start of the Jene Genie soundtrack which I had previously mentioned above. With this in mind it was lucky that I was going to make use of the track anyway as this would nicely link in. With this in mind, though, it meant that I had to make the precise selection of the parts of the soundtrack that I was going to trim and use, as to ensure that it nicely linked in. Once I had played back the song a few times I was able to work out that the exact time that I needed to trim the soundtrack clip to ensure that it linked in well. Once I was happy with this, then the clip was dragged to the timeline and into the Audio 4 timeline area, and this is because it was the underlying soundtrack I needed it to be clear that it was totally separate from all of the other audio tracks. In regards to length, I decided that due to it needed to link in and having made the selection it would start exactly after that of the Scene 1 audio had finished (at 10:19 seconds) and continue to 32:09 seconds which is at the end of the speaking scene (Scene 5). As I did not need the video element I was able to Right Click -> Unlink and then simply delete the video part, leaving just the audio element that I wanted. In a future blog post you will find information in regards to Audio Effects and Transitions that will be applied to this and the other audio elements.

Background Music Trimmed and Added

For the second piece of background music, I decided to go along the route of another play on words, and take the 1980s band "The Clash" with their song of "I Fought The Law". I felt that this was a nice play on words as to link in with the Police/the Law and would also suit the scenes too. As previously mentioned in the other editing and compilation blog posts after the talking scene of Scene 5 I decided that I wanted to up the pace of the promotional video and one part of this was in regards to the fast car chase scenes that were in place. I personally felt that a fast and rock inspired song would therefore word well with the rest of the scene. With this in mind I was once again able to make use of YouTube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR3XY6wfSBw) and decided that this would be perfect for the scene. Although I have yet to cover this in a Blog Post yet (although this will be covered in a future Blog Post) I was able to download this from YouTube by making use of a website called KeepVid (http://keepvid.com). As mentioned, further detailed information regarding this website and the issues surrounding that of downloading videos online will be detailed in a future blog post. Once this was downloaded I was then able to import this into Premiere in the usual way of File -> Import and then place in in the project bin called My Source Clips. 

In regards to the placement of this particular soundtrack I decided that I was going to place it after that of the previously placed Gene Genie soundtrack, and have it continue up to but not including the last scene. I was very critical as to the trimming of the clip, as in Scene 11 of the promotional video this was the scene were the criminal was apprehended and caught, and I wanted to make use one of the main lines of the song "I fought the law, but the law won". This, I thought, would be a good use of the soundtrack and also a catchy way to end that scene, prior to that of Gene in Scene 12 giving he thoughts to the criminal. As I did not need the video element I was able to Right Click -> Unlink and then simply delete the video part, leaving just the audio element that I wanted. In a future blog post you will find information in regards to Audio Effects and Transitions that will be applied to this and the other audio elements.

Now that the background music soundtracks are both in place, this meant that another element of the promotional video was complete, and therefore I was able to move onto the next stage of Audio Effects.

Blog Post 76 - Stage 3 - Editing and Compiling - Trailer Conclusion (Sound Effect)

Sound Effect To Be Used

In the last blog post I documented how and also why I went about editing and compiling that of the conclusion to my video trailer, and in the last sentence I mentioned about how I would like to take this further by applying some further enhancements.

When creating the trailer conclusion I decided that after having watched a few trailers for research that a lot of them contained the same booming sound effect that created an emphasis to that particular element of the trailer. For example if there was emphasis required for a piece of text that was being displayed (could be an actors name or the released date) then when this piece of information is displayed then this would be the sound effect used. With this in mind I decided to head to YouTube to try to find a video clip of a booming sound effect that would sound in place with that of the scene and not appear too unrealistic in the situation. With this in mind I found the following video clip (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-_JmN2rUNM) - also below in this blog - and decided that this would be perfect for the scene. Although I have yet to cover this in a Blog Post yet (although this will be covered in a future Blog Post) I was able to download this from YouTube by making use of a website called KeepVid (http://keepvid.com). As mentioned, further detailed information regarding this website and the issues surrounding that of downloading videos online will be detailed in a future blog post. Once this was downloaded I was then able to import this into Premiere in the usual way of File -> Import and then place in in the project bin called My Source Clips. Viewing this in the Source Viewer I was once again able to make use of the Mark In and Mark Out points to make the selection for just the booming sound that I wanted - a small selection of just 00:03 seconds to 03:05 seconds was made and then dragged to the My Trimmed Clips project bin. 

After this had been placed onto the timeline at this point in time this meant that I also had the video as well as the audio which was not ideal. To get around this I was able to on the video Right Click -> Unlink and this meant that the video and audio were not linked together. Then I was able to select the video and simply pressing delete. This meant that I was just left with the audio element and therefore this was just what I was looking to achieve. I decided that I wanted the boom sound effect to come into action exactly when the scene changed to that of the title as to give emphasis, and by placing this on the timeline in line with that of the start of the title this worked well.

Having added the gun shot sound effect I was happy with the end result, and most importantly pleased with the end result too as this did not appear unrealistic or unprofessional which were two things that I was keen to stay away from.

Blog Post 75 - Stage 3 - Editing and Compiling - Trailer Conclusion

Trailer Conclusion Added

Reminiscing back to Blog Post 66, back then I set about starting the editing and compilation of the promotional video in Premiere with the use of the Introductory scene with that of the certification from the BBFC whereas it was declared suitable to watch for the age rating of 15 years and above.

Since that point in time I have since pulled together from a variety of sources that of footage from the previous series' of both Ashes to Ashes and Life on Mars, as well as using a lot of original footage that I have staged and filmed myself for the use in this promotional video and now it was at a point to successfully end that of the trailer.

As mentioned in the last blog post in regards to the last scene of footage that I used in the the promotional video, I decided to use it as I felt it portrayed that of a strong ending and at that point of time I had an idea for that of the Trailer conclusion that would link to this too.

My overall plan for my conclusion to the trailer was to have an image of Gene Hunt, the main character, placed behind that of the film title text and that of the film slogan "The 80s are back and it's criminal", and finally a notice of when this film would be expected to be out in cinemas. This would also be combined with a sound effect as to emphasis the ending of the trailer, and that will be explained more in the future.

Custom Title Added Over Conclusion

To begin with, it was important for me to source a fitting image of Gene Hunt to be used as the background picture. The one that you can see that I opted for I chose for number of reasons. The first is that it is the right orientation and it fits well within the screen size of the source viewer - this is important because if, for example, I chose a picture that was of the entire portrait of gene this would naturally be in portrait formation and would not fit the screen well enough. By this picture being in the format of landscape this meant that it nicely filled the entire screen. Another reason for this is that other the dark element to the background around Gene, and this was useful in regards to the Title and text element that I was going to be using in the future. To use this, I once again downloaded it and and saved this already high resolution image to my computer which meant that I would be able to then import this to Premiere. Once imported I could then drag this to the timeline with a length that took the entire length of the promotional video to exactly 1:00 minute long which was the exact time that the specification stated, so it was important to ensure that I kept to this. 

Once this was in place, I was able to navigate to Title -> New Title -> Default Still I was able to customise my title, and it was important to bear a few things in mind. For example, it was important to ensure that that title background was going to be that of transparent with no fill as I wanted the clip below to show through, giving the appearance of the the title already being in place. Once I had a rough idea of where it would be and the title had been dragged onto the timeline, I was then able to fine tune the place where it would be by keeping an eye on the viewing window area. It was also important to ensure that the Title was put into the Video 2 area as to ensure that the Title sat on top of that of the clip and was therefore visible.

All in all I was very pleased with the trailer conclusion, however personally felt that this lacked a little something and therefore with this in mind I decided to go a step further and include that of an extra sound effect. Further details of that in the next blog post. 

Blog Post 74 - Stage 3 - Editing and Compiling - Scene 12

Scene 12 Trimmed and Added

With the majority of the scenes now added to the time line for that of the promotional video it was now time for me to add the final scene, number 12, to the timeline which would be the last scene prior to the end title credits.

In a similar fashion to that of Blog Post 67 for the first scene, I think that it is very important to not only have a strong start to a film trailer, but also that of a strong ending to the film trailer too. In a similar vain to that of the beginning of a film trailer being strong as to catch the audiences attention, I feel that the end of a trailer should be strong too as to create a long lasting impression and to sow the seed for the film too so that they will remember it. This would be in conjunction with that of the trailer end credits, which I will move onto next. 

With this in mind I decided that I was going to use one of the most well known quotes from Gene Hunt when he is arresting someone. Throughout the program of Ashes to Ashes Gene Hunt is often heard to shout "that's not how it goes!" when another officer arrests a criminal, as this is not "his" way of arresting someone. The full quote is that of "You're nicked for the murder of Delphine Parks, the rape and attempted murder of Nina Akiboa. Anything you say will be taken down, ripped up and shoved down your scrawny little throat until you're choked to death. Gene Hunt, Chapter 1, Verse 2." With this being a rather shocking statement to hear a policeman say, this was exactly the sort of thing that I was looking to use as a shocking end to the scene.

I remembered that this piece of footage I had already downloaded for the use in Scene 1, and the source of this is here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t366JGFiKNw) - this particular video was a fan compilation video. Viewing this in the Source Viewer I was once again able to make use of the Mark In and Mark Out points to make the selection that I wanted for this First Scene as the total length for this particular clip was 04:10 minutes long. The Mark In point I used was actually 04:01:19 seconds and a Mark Out point of 04:10:12 seconds giving me just over 8 seconds of footage that took into account Gene saying his statement of arrest. Once I was happy with the selection then the clip could be firstly dragged from the Source Viewer to the My Trimmed Clips project bin, and then drag this to the timeline. Once I was happy with the selection then the clip could be firstly dragged from the Source Viewer to the My Trimmed Clips project bin, and then drag this to the timeline.

With this final scene now added to the timeline this meant that I could now go about creating the end credits of the trailer.

Blog Post 73 - Stage 3 - Editing and Compiling - Scene 8 to 11 / 12

Scenes 8 to 11 Added

With both the last seven scenes in Place, this meant that I was now able to move onto the next scene of the promotional video. With the last few scenes being of that of previously released footage from that of the previous series' I decided that it was time to make use of the previously filmed original footage.

With this mind, for Scenes 2 to 5 of the promotional video I decided to include that of the part two of the original footage. As you can see in Blog Posts 64 and 65 I have already explained and discussed how and also more importantly why I went about compiling the footage in the way that I did, and as you will have noticed this was already in the timeline, however not in the position that I wanted. This wasn't a problem, though, as by making use of the Selection Tool I was simply able to drag and drop all of the clips to my chosen area on the timeline, which was obviously after the past 7 scenes.

One of my other reasons for deciding that it was time to make use of the previously filmed original footage at this point in time is because I was at just over the half way point in the promotional video, and I felt that it was the time for a total scene change, and by moving to the different original footage this was hopefully achievable. Also, I had other effects and changes in mind that I would carry out to this stage and therefore this is something that I would put into action, and this will be explained in future blog post.

With the scenes from 8 to 11 now added, this left me with a final scene to add not including the finale ending title scene.

Blog Post 72 - Stage 3 - Editing and Compiling - Scene 7

Scene 7 Trimmed and Added

Having just added the last scene to the promotional video timeline, I felt that I wanted to sort of the continue the last scene with that of an appropriate piece video clip from that of a previous series of Ashes to Ashes. The reason for this is that in the last scene Gene explained in his usual manner that "the world's getting tougher and the police have to match it, people want the job done, they don't want to know how", and therefore I felt that a controversial piece of footage could be well placed for the next scene. I remembered back to an episode of Ashes to Ashes whereas there was scene where Gene was seen to be apprehending a criminal on the back of a speedboat on  the Thames, which the camera then cut to him wielding a machine gun and loading this up whilst the boat was moving. 

This, I though, would be the perfect piece of footage to use as this meant that it would once again give the viewers a taste of the sort of action and footage they would be expecting to see if they were to watch the film that this promotional video was of.

With this in mind, I remembered that this piece of footage I had already downloaded for the use in Scene 1, and the source of this is here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t366JGFiKNw) - this particular video was a fan compilation video. Viewing this in the Source Viewer I was once again able to make use of the Mark In and Mark Out points to make the selection that I wanted for this First Scene as the total length for this particular clip was 04:04 minutes long. The Mark In point I used was actually 57:02 seconds and a Mark Out point of 01:01:05 seconds giving me just over 4 seconds of footage that took into account both the view of the speed boat and that of Gene too. Once I was happy with the selection then the clip could be firstly dragged from the Source Viewer to the My Trimmed Clips project bin, and then drag this to the timeline.

For this particular clip I also decided that I did not need the audio element of the clip as I was planning something else for the audio element of this part of the promotional video. With this in mind, once this was on the timeline this meant that I was able to Right Click -> Unlink and then simply delete the audio element. Not only did I have another audio element in mind, unfortunately on that particular fan video compilation where I sourced the video, there was music overdubbed over the top and this was not something that I particularly wanted in this stage of the video.

Having now added Scene 7 to the promotional video timeline, this meant that I was able to move onto the next scene which is in regards to the second part of originally footage that I recorded.

Blog Post 71 - Stage 3 - Editing and Compiling - Scene 6

With the Introduction and first five scenes already in place, the compilation of the promotional video is now at the half way stage. For the next scene, number six, I decided to go along the route of using some more footage from a previous series. The reason for this is that I felt that it was important to include footage of the main character, and also for this footage to set the scene and give the audience an idea of what the sort of the thing that the film would be about which would hopefully draw their interest into the film, and convince them to watch it in the future. 

Scene 6 / 12 Trimmed and Added

Researching around the internet and also YouTube, the video sharing website, I was able to find the piece of footage that I was looking for as a user had uploaded it as part of  fan compilation video. The link for this is here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zivbHXKlAo). Although I have yet to cover this in a Blog Post yet (although this will be covered in a future Blog Post) I was able to download this from YouTube by making use of a website called KeepVid (http://keepvid.com). As mentioned, further detailed information regarding this website and the issues surrounding that of downloading videos online will be detailed in a future blog post. Once this was downloaded I was then able to import this into Premiere in the usual way of File -> Import and then place in in the project bin called My Source Clips. Viewing this in the Source Viewer I was once again able to make use of the Mark In and Mark Out points to make the selection that I wanted for this First Scene as the total length for this particular clip was 06:37 minutes long. The Mark In point I used was actually 24:07 seconds and a Mark Out point of 29:20 seconds giving me just over 5 seconds of footage of that of Gene Hunt telling it how he sees it. In this scene Gene really does voice his opinion starting with the expression of "Cobblers" and then goes onto voice his opinion on how the Police Force should be run. I thought it good to include this as then the viewers of the trailer would then definitely know that the back story of this is in regards to the Police, and hopefully help them get a gist of the situation. Once I was happy with the selection then the clip could be firstly dragged from the Source Viewer to the My Trimmed Clips project bin, and then drag this to the timeline.

With this sixth scene now added this meant that I could then move onto the next scene of the promotional video.

Blog Post 70 - Stage 3 - Editing and Compiling - Scene 5 (Gene's Exclamation)

Although I had filmed the original footage for this part of the promotional video, in a similar vain to that of the gun shot sound effect that I previously added in Blog Post 64, I decided that I would also like to add another sound element to this part too. When I was carrying out research and taking inspiration from previous video clips of Gene Hunt I stumbled across a video clip of Gene Hunt expressing his sincere dislike to a criminal that had shot his car. When I saw this I decided that as I had the gun shot in place this was something that I would really like to include within this part of the promotional video. This particular clip that I found is on this link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-RusMyVIKk) and also on below on the blog:

Within this video clip for this scene it shows Gene Hunt arriving in his fabled Audio Quattro, however once he and Alex are out of the car a criminal shoots his door window causing it to obviously smash. This this in mind the team gather behind the back of the cars however Gene is not happy at all and proceeds to shout at the criminal "You shot my car your b*****d" in the style to which he is known for. Although this line does contain swearing I felt that as my DVD was rated as a 15 age rating then this would be OK. Although I have yet to cover this in a Blog Post yet (although this will be covered in a future Blog Post) I was able to download this from YouTube by making use of a website called KeepVid (http://keepvid.com). As mentioned, further detailed information regarding this website and the issues surrounding that of downloading videos online will be detailed in a future blog post. 

Gene's Exclamation Trimmed and Added

Once this was downloaded I was then able to import this into Premiere in the usual way of File -> Import and then place in in the project bin called My Source Clips. Viewing this in the Source Viewer I was once again able to make use of the Mark In and Mark Out points to make the selection for just the exclamation from Gene that I wanted - I only needed the one gun shot so a small selection of just 12:15 seconds to 14:17 seconds was made and then dragged to the My Trimmed Clips project bin. To remove the video element I was able to on the video Right Click -> Unlink and this meant that the video and audio were not linked together. Then I was able to select the video and simply press delete. This meant that I was just left with the audio element and therefore this was just what I was looking to achieve. Regarding placement I decided to put it where it is so that the gunshot sound is just before and to try and make the appearance as realistic as possible. Once again it was placed in the Audio 2 section of the timeline and this was because the main audio footage from the original clips was in Audio 1 and this audio was that of an extra.

Having added in this further enhancement to this original footage for this part of the scene this meant that I was able to move onto the next scenes of the promotional video.

Blog Post 69 - Stage 3 - Editing and Compiling - Scene 5 (Gun Shot)

Having talked through and explained the editing and compilation of the original footage that I filmed for this first part of the original footage, this meant that I could apply some further enhancements to this collection of scenes.

Sound Effect To Be Used

When compiling the footage I was thinking about what I could add to make this particular chase scene appear a little more dramatic, and for this I decided that it would be good to add a gunshot sound effect to the scene when the robber learns out of the window. In the first place I got my willing volunteer to make it like look he was pointing to where the theoretical Gene would have been off camera shot, however since then I have decided that this would be the ideal opportunity for that of a gunshot to be placed. With this in mind I decided to head to YouTube to try to find a video clip of a gun being shot that would sound in place with that of the scene and not appear too unrealistic in the situation. With this in mind I found the following video clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdT3YZzUtbY) - also below in this blog - and decided that this would be perfect for the scene. Although I have yet to cover this in a Blog Post yet (although this will be covered in a future Blog Post) I was able to download this from YouTube by making use of a website called KeepVid (http://keepvid.com). As mentioned, further detailed information regarding this website and the issues surrounding that of downloading videos online will be detailed in a future blog post. Once this was downloaded I was then able to import this into Premiere in the usual way of File -> Import and then place in in the project bin called My Source Clips. Viewing this in the Source Viewer I was once again able to make use of the Mark In and Mark Out points to make the selection for just the gun shot that I wanted - I only needed the one gun shot so a small selection of just 00:04 seconds to 01:12 seconds was made and then dragged to the My Trimmed Clips project bin. 

Gun Shot Added

This time, though, when dragging this selection to the timeline this was placed in the Video 2 and Audio 2 section and the reason for this was that the main audio was of the original clips and that was in the Audio 1 section, and therefore this overlayed audio of the gunshot is extra and is in the Audio 2 section. However, at this point in time this meant that I also had the video as well as the audio which was not ideal. To get around this I was able to on the video Right Click -> Unlink and this meant that the video and audio were not linked together. Then I was able to select the video and simply pressing delete. This meant that I was just left with the audio element and therefore this was just what I was looking to achieve. Regarding placement I decided to put it where it is so that the gunshot sound is just where the arm has been extended out of the car as to try and make the appearance as realistic as possible.

Having added the gun shot sound effect I was happy with the end result, and most importantly pleased with the end result too as this did not appear unrealistic or unprofessional which were two things that I was keen to stay away from. The next blog post will be in regards to another further enhancement made to this original footage in relation to an exclamation from Gene.

Blog Post 68 - Stage 3 - Editing and Compiling - Scene 2 to 5 / 12

Scenes 2 to 5 / 12 Added

With both the Introduction and First Scene in Place, this meant that I was now able to move onto the next scene of the promotional video. As previously mentioned in the last blog post I decided to use the balaclava wearing criminal gang not only for that as a good action packed opening to the video trailer, but also because this was going to closely link into the first part of original footage that I filming and compiled, which further information can be found in both Blog Posts 62 and 63. 

With this mind, for Scenes 2 to 5 of the promotional video I decided to include that of the part one of the original footage. As you can see in Blog Posts 62 and 63 I have already explained and discussed how and also more importantly why I went about compiling the footage in the way that I did, and as you will have noticed this was already in the timeline, however not in the position that I wanted. This wasn't a problem, though, as my making use of the Selection Tool I was simply able to drag and drop all of the clips to my chosen area on the timeline, which was obviously after the Introductory Title and the first scene.

Although I had previously explained how and why I had edited and compiled this original footage, I still felt like I wanted to add some further effect and details to them, which will follow this blog post. 

Blog Post 67 - Stage 3 - Editing and Compiling - Scene 1 / 12

Having now started the compilation stage of my promotional video and with the first introductory element having been included in the previous Blog Post, this meant that I was able to move onto the next stage being that of the First Scene, number 1 / 12.

I personally think that it is important to have a strong start in a film trailer as this is obviously the first thing that a potential audience and/or view is going to see of your film. With this in mind I decided that I wanted to set the scene of the entire film of the sort of thing that could be expected when viewing the film. For this I decided that I would revert not to a previous series' of Ashes to Ashes, but to a previous series of Life On Mars where a rather good scene was used to start of one of their programs. Obviously if I was professional doing this then the footage of the main character would be of that from the actual film, however of course this was something that was not at all going to be possible and therefore this is something that I had to work with. 

First Scene Trimmed and Added

Researching around the internet and also YouTube, the video sharing website, I was able to find the piece of footage that I was looking for as a user had uploaded it as part of  fan compilation video. The link for this is here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t366JGFiKNw). Although I have yet to cover this in a Blog Post yet (although this will be covered in a future Blog Post) I was able to download this from YouTube by making use of a website called KeepVid (http://keepvid.com). As mentioned, further detailed information regarding this website and the issues surrounding that of downloading videos online will be detailed in a future blog post. Once this was downloaded I was then able to import this into Premiere in the usual way of File -> Import and then place in in the project bin called My Source Clips. Viewing this in the Source Viewer I was once again able to make use of the Mark In and Mark Out points to make the selection that I wanted for this First Scene as the total length for this particular clip was 04:04 minutes long. The Mark In point I used was actually 0:00 seconds and a Mark Out point of 10:04 seconds giving me just over 10 seconds of action packed footage of that of Gene Hunt. Personally I feel that this scene really does "set the scene", for use of the expression, and gives an insight to the rest of the film too. The combination of a "Put down your weapons, you're surrounded by armed b******s" with a load of gun shots and a shout of "Up yours" in retaliation from the criminal gang sets the pace for that of the rest of the film too. I also decided to use this particular piece of footage due to the criminal gang clearly wearing balaclava's and this will tie in nicely with the next planned scene of that of original footage that I filmed myself. 

With the first scene in place, this meant that I could now move onto the second scene which is in regards to using part one of my original footage.

Blog Post 66 - Stage 3 - Editing and Compiling - Trailer Introduction

Commonly seen American Introduction

Now that I have successfully filmed and edited the original footage that I have decided to use in my promotional video this means that I am now in a position to think about the promotional video as a whole and rest of the different aspects that when brought together will form that of the finished product.

When carrying out different research it was apparent that for the first element that I was going to include was of that of a trailer introduction. Looking back to Blog Post 61 - Promotional Video Research this was not something that I had picked up on and there is a simple explanation for this however. When I was reviewing that of the previously released trailers for the different series' for that of Ashes to Ashes none of them include any trailer introductions as...they're not trailers...! For a series' that is going to be aired on the television there is no need for a trailer however in my case I was designing a DVD Video which was going to be that of a film, and therefore it's very important to take this into consideration as to ensure that a professional-as-possible promotional trailer is produced.

British Trailer Introduction

To ensure that I was fully informed in regards to the introductory element of a promotional video or trailer, I decided to carry out some research. With this in mind after seeing the words of "Motion Picture Association of America, Inc" being used on these trailer introductions I found their website (www.mpaa.org). Reading on their website it was apparent that the MPAA are infact a global organisation that work to protect the film industry around the world. However, at this point in time I was slightly unsure as to use this sort of trailer introduction in my promotional video as I certainly did not have anything to do with America within this production. I think that the majority of film production companies are understandably based in America and therefore this is the most common of introductions that I have seen.

With this in mind I thought back to the first stage of this assignment whereas I was creating the DVD Amaray Case, and I remembered sourcing the 15 age certification graphics from the BBFC - The British Board of Film Classification. Carrying out some further research I was able find (http://kidsforkidsuk.org/1417/bbfc-certification-image-1/) the trailer introduction that the BBFC use, which I personally feel it a sincerely better use of introduction for my video trailer.

I also feel that in this case the British have done a better job than that of the Americans as this introduction is more personalised with their being a space for that of putting the film title into the introduction which can be also done in Premiere.

Introduction and Custom Title

With this in mind decided to go ahead with using this in my promotional video. First thing first was to download and save this already high resolution image to my computer which meant that I would be able to then import this to Premiere. Once imported I could then drag this to the timeline and I decided to have an introduction scene of 2:00 seconds which would leave enough time for it to be adequately seen and be able to be understood by anybody watching the trailer. Once this was in place on the timeline I was able to trim the selection back to 2:00 by clicking on the very right of the "clip" and dragging it so that it snapped to 2:00. Once this was in place I was ready to add a customised Title so that I could add the "Mirror Man" title text to that of the trailer introduction. By navigating to Title -> New Title -> Default Still I was able to customise my title, and it was important to bear a few things in mind. For example, it was important to ensure that that title background was going to be that of transparent with no fill as I wanted the clip below to show through, giving the appearance of the the title already being in place. Once I had a rough idea of where it would be and the title had been dragged onto the timeline, I was then able to fine tune the place where it would be by keeping an eye on the viewing window area. It was also important to ensure that the Title was put into the Video 2 area as to ensure that the Title sat on top of that of the clip and was therefore visible.

All in all I was very pleased that I decided to carry out some further research into the trailer introduction as I think that it is important to ensure that the details for this are correct, and most importantly as this is a British Film then it should have the correct film classification. 

Blog Post 65 - Stage 3 - Editing and Compiling - Original Footage Part 2

In the last blog post I talked about how I went about the design and also the filming stage of getting the footage that I needed for the second part of the promotional video whereas original footage was going to be used. Now that I have explained how I went about getting this footage I am now in a position to edit and compile the footage that I took to get it to a stage of being able to be used in my promotional video trailer.

The first stage before editing and compiling was to import all of the video clips that I had taken and then ensure that they had been correctly stored and placed in the previously created Project Bins. A Project Bin is something very similar to that of a Layer Group found in both Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere, and I decided to use different Project Bins as by using these this would mean that it would be much easier for me to organise all of my clips that I would be using. To begin with, once I had transferred the video clips from the camera to the computer I was able to import the clips and place them in the My Source Clips project Bin.

For this second part of the original footage as previously mentioned I broke this down into five different stages/scenes, and therefore the explanation of editing and compilation will follow that same order too:

Scene 1 / 5 - Car Chase Begins

Scene 1 / 5 - Trimmed and Added

For this first scene after I had finished filming I knew that a fair amount of trimming of the clip was going to be needed and this was certainly the case. To begin with, the total length of this clip was 18:10 seconds long and I decided to start recording early as to capture the entire sequence of the Mercedes accelerating towards where the Capri was staged, and then also a panning effect for the Capri driving past and also a short feature of the Capri accelerating off into the distance chasing after the Mercedes. Once again I decided to make use of both the Mark In and Mark Out points in Premiere which meant that I was able to choose the exact selection that I wanted for this first scene. I wanted to ensure that the pace of this collection of scenes was not slow, and therefore I decided on a tight selection of the key action, as to not waste unnecessary time in the trailer and also ensure that the appearance of a car chase was given across. With this in mind the clip was trimmed to a Mark In point of 09:28 seconds and a Mark Out point of 16:16 seconds therefore giving me a total of 6:88 seconds for this clip. Once I was happy with the selection then the clip could be firstly dragged from the Source Viewer to the My Trimmed Clips project bin, and then drag this to the timeline into the Video 1 and Audio 1 timeline areas. 

Scene 2 / 5 - Mercedes Drive-By

Scene 2 / 5 Trimmed and Added

For this second scene of the original footage, unlike that of Scene 1, not as much trimming was going to be needed as of that of the first scene however some trimming was going to be needed anyway. As this was also a driving shot and this involved the Mercedes being driven past at speed it was important to keep the scene short and snappy to ensure that the fast appearance of the car chase was kept in place. With this in mind, the total length of the original footage was only 02:09 seconds long and I decided to use the Mark In and Mark Out points in Premiere to choose the exact selection that I wanted for this second scene. In regards to the Mark In point this was decided at 00:17 seconds and with a Mark In point of 01:22 seconds. Not very long at all however as explained this was just a quick scene and therefore would be fine and give the intended effect. Once I was happy with the selection then the clip could be firstly dragged from the Source Viewer to the My Trimmed Clips project bin, and then drag this to the timeline into the Video 1 and Audio 1 timeline areas. 

Scene 3 / 5 - Capri Drive-By

Scene 3 / 5 Trimmed and Added

For this third scene of original footage, this was actually going to be rather a similar scene to that of Scene 2, however instead of the Mercedes being driven past at speed, the Capri was being driven past at speed which I was going to capture on video. This was to highlight the effect of the car chase element with the Mercedes first going past with a panning effect, and then the Capri then going past with a panning effect too. Once again  as this was a driving shot and this involved the Capri being driven past at speed it was important to keep the scene short and snappy to ensure that the fast appearance of the car chase was kept in place. With this in mind, the total length of the original footage was 06:01 seconds long, so a little longer than that of Scene 2, however I once again decided to use the Mark In and Mark Out points in Premiere to choose the exact selection that I wanted for this second scene. In regards to the Mark In point this was decided at 02:12 seconds and with a Mark In point of 03:21 seconds. Not very long at all however as explained this was just a quick scene and therefore would be fine and give the intended effect. Once I was happy with the selection then the clip could be firstly dragged from the Source Viewer to the My Trimmed Clips project bin, and then drag this to the timeline into the Video 1 and Audio 1 timeline areas.

Scene 4 / 5 - Car Chase Corner Drive-By

Scene 4 / 5 Trimmed and Added

This this fourth scene of the original footage, I decided to include this scene as an alternative angle for the car chase, with the element of speed hopefully coming across due to the two cars following closely and driving around the corner at speed. The total length of this clip was slightly longer than that of the others being 09:06 seconds as I want to ensure that I had sufficient space for movement of trimming when it came to editing. It was also convenient that another car went the other way on the road which made it all really more realistic, even if that member of the public did not know what was happening...! I once again decided to trim the clip down so that it was short and snappy as to emulate that of the quick chase scene. With this in mind the Mark In point was 5:00 seconds and the Mark Out point was 06:20 seconds - so just over a second long however all adds to the swiftness of the chase effect. Once I was happy with the selection then the clip could be firstly dragged from the Source Viewer to the My Trimmed Clips project bin, and then drag this to the timeline into the Video 1 and Audio 1 timeline areas.

Scene 5 / 5 - Car Chase Ending

Scene 5 / 5 Trimmed and Added

With this being the fifth and final scene to this part of the original footage, and also the last piece of footage that I would be using in the promotional video, as mentioned previously I wanted to end with simulating that of capturing the criminal. By standing on top of a stack of hay bales this meant that I had a good aerial view of the area to be filmed, and for the ease and flexibility of production I decided that I would record the enitre scene and not just the small selection that I intended to use. With this in mind the total length of this clip was 05:19 seconds and the Mark In point that I chose was that of 03:01 seconds and a Mark Out point of 05:12. I decided on this as by choosing the Mark In point of 03:01 this meant that the Capri was seen to be accelerating, but also this mean that you could not see the hay bales stack that I was standing on which I felt would of detracted from the overall appearance of the scene and not produced a professional finish. Once I was happy with the selection then the clip could be firstly dragged from the Source Viewer to the My Trimmed Clips project bin, and then drag this to the timeline into the Video 1 and Audio 1 timeline areas.

With all five scenes now successfully trimmed down, added to the appropriate project bins, added to the timeline and playing back in the order that I wanted, this meant that for this particular part of the Original Footage this was finished and ready to be used in my promotional video along with the other footage and details.