Video Editing
The only video editing software I have is Windows Movie Maker but I am familiar with many file converters so if that becomes an issue I shouldn’t have any problems. I’ve used it semi-frequently the past couple ye
ars, most recently with my GIF assignment, where I used it to trim the desired clip down to size. I have just downloaded MPEG Streamclip, so I’d categorize my familiarity under “none,” but I’ll play with it over the weekend to get up to speed.
3 Time Review
The scene I picked:
First: Until 1:34 into the film, it is frequent cuts, occurring each time there is a change in the speaking character, with the actor being centered (roughly) and being shot from across the table (with a small, unfocused part of the character nearest the cameras location in the shot, i.e. a blurred shoulder or part of their head). After 1:34, when Harvey Keitel (Mr. White) interjects, the shots he is present in are different than those previous. He is still roughly centered in the shot, but Tim Roth (Mr. Orange) is present in the scene to his right (inferring, a Robert Ebert said, a “positive” nature to this shot). This also differentiates Mr. White and gives the viewer the notion that he is inherently in charge or in some way different from the other characters.
Second: The dialogue seems very evenly paced and up tempo, there is very little time between responses. You can hear the rustling of bills at the beginning of the clip as people take out their cash, but beyond that to focus is primarily on the dialogue, with very little background noise, other than occasional diner sounds.
Third: I didn’t notice a while lot more with the third “viewing” but I will say that the pacing between the audio and the video cuts is very fluid. It was interesting that the cuts of Mr. White had him more in the background, whereas the other cuts were primarily in the foreground. Although they are not in the same shot together, this does seem to make Steve Buscemi (Mr. Pink) a more central and “stronger” figure in this scene.
The Making of…
On the IMDB Reservoir Dogs Trivia Page, I found the following interesting facts about the making of the movie:
“Armed with $30,000 and a 16mm camera, Quentin Tarantino was all set to make the film with a bunch of friends, including his producing partner Lawrence Bender who was going to play Nice Guy Eddie. It was then that Tarantino received an answerphone message from Harvey Keitel, asking if he could not only be in the film but help produce it. Keitel had gotten involved via the wife of Bender’s acting class teacher, who had managed to get a copy of the script to him. Keitel’s involvement helped raise the budget to $1.5 million.”
“WILHELM SCREAM: The famous scream is heard when Mr. Pink pushes a pedestrian on the sidewalk while being pursued by cops during his escape from the failed jewel heist.”
“Directly prior to the scene showing the colored bottles of soap, you see two shirts hanging on the wall, and a rag in the distance on the floor. These are appropriately in sync with the surnames of the characters in their present states. Mr. White and Mr. Pink are upright and close to each other, corresponding to the two shirt colors, while the orange rag laying in the distance would be the position of Mr. Orange in the next room.”
As listed on IMBD, I think this film is a “Crime/Thriller.”
Here are the two clips I edited together:
You will notice that the same “frequent” cuts occur, but Tarantino also incorporates horizontal panning in the first scene. In the second, it is “quick fire” cuts down the line of actors.
Video Assignments
I think I’ll do the following:
Charlie Chaplin’s Foley Artist
The link associated with the assignment linked to a now defunct youtube account, so I took the liberty of searching youtube for the short film of my choice, “Police” and identified a few key scenes where my “improved” techniques will enhance the film. I don’t think I’ll do the entire 9 or so minutes, I will probably take a smaller clip and focus my efforts there.
This assignment sounds like a lot of fun, I am going to do this scene from the Matrix, and make it black and white with a classical sounding score, something along these lines.
Daily Creates
TDC298: “Forced perspective – make something small look big, or big look small.”
I saw another student cleverly use perspective to make it look as though their stuffed animal was sitting in a chair, so I decided to do something similar with my owl and my unmade bed. This assignment reminds me of the obligatory leaning tower of Pisa pose:
TDC299: “Take a photo of an object hat represents how old you feel.”
I think of how long its been since this came out and how revolutionary it was. I feel old. I think this exercise has the added benefit of making other people feel old, as in: “seriously? THAT makes you feel old?”
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