DRJ#9 - Editing The Evolution of Cinematics of Video Games: An Introduction.

Introduction

This post is about the editing that I did for this project!

In DRJ#8 (Filming Day!), I had mentioned that the recorded audio levels on my recording were really low. When I was trying to boost the audio back within acceptable parameters, the audio sounded truly awful. I was distraught about this and I didn't know what to do. I ended up talking to Matt McNally and Peter Finlay who were both in my class before I went on placement and are now both post graduates and they were able to both give me advice which worked in the end. In short, I went onto audio settings on PremierPro, enabled Podcast Voice from the pre-sets, upped the DB from there and added a noise reduction filter from the effects panel onto the audio. This brought the audio up to a standard that worked, granted it could be better but it is a thousand times better than where it started.

I was so happy that the audio was able to be saved in the end. Going forward as mentioned in DRJ#8, anytime I am filming I will be using a Zoom recorder as the standard. When my team used it for our horror module to fil Out of the Woods, it was a much more straightforward process even if it did add another level of tediousness to the shoot. This was a tough lesson to learn but I am extremely happy to have learnt it.

Below are a few screenshots of the progress I had made in editing as proof of my editing process.

(Timeline progress 2).

(Timeline progress 3).

(Timeline progress 4, final timeline look).

It was during this time that I hade made a little intro that you will see in the screenshot below, I had made the intro in After Effects to create a quick little introduction and transition for my final practice piece.

(Intro that was made on After Effects).

Conclusion

This part of the project honestly scared me, as I knew going into this there were pre-existing concerns about the audio levels. Honestly, when I sat down and heard them I may have overreacted and mailed Victoria about it (sorry V), but thanks to the advice of Peter and Matt I was able to get the audio levels within acceptable parameters in the end.

This might not have been the most stunning cinematography project that has been submitted, but I feel between the filming and the editing of this practice I achieved my goal of an educational participatory documentary in the style similar to NakeyJakeys (YouTube video essay channel).

This was one of the toughest projects I have had to do, and honestly if my health wasn't so bad at the start of the year and I had more classmates I could have trusted I would have went for something more ambitious. But I decided to stick to my strengths and use the skills I had learned in my placement as I knew it would have helped me achieve a practice piece that I could be proud of.

Thanks for reading!