Editing Techniques and Dimensions

 Now moving on to the editing techniques I'll be using. Starting from the basics, editing is about establishing and destruction of patterns while being the relation of shot to shot. 

Using information from my past blogs titled 'Sound design statements part 1(2)' and 'Storyboard- Horror (Comedy)' I know a lot about the overall composition of the sound editing and which shots we will do first.

Some research I've pulled from those is the use of music and quick-paced shots. The difference between trailers one and two will be night and day in the tone and mood it will bring the viewer; so I have to research specific editing techniques and dimensions I can apply to my films.

Starting with the horror, using this website for some extra information:  https://academic.oup.com/edinburgh-scholarship-online/book/22033/chapter-abstract/182128847?redirectedFrom=fulltext

This quote from the abstract leads me into the right direction with my research:

"The temporal movements of horror films are fractured and nonlinear. The past threatens to dominate the present and also to shape the future in its own replicated image, which brings stasis. Time loops back and refuses to progress as earlier periods insist on their equal, or superior, validity to the present era."

What I'm taking from this is how horror films are ordered in their temporal relations. The four dimensions of film editing are graphic, rhythmic, spatial, and temporal; temporal being the manipulation of time via editing. It can consist of order, frequency, and/or duration manipulation. 

When using temporal relations its really using editing to control time, which in trailers is essential due to the lack of exposition allowed in a trailer, meaning you can't tell the whole film and background of it. I'll be using a temporal dimension to edit Trailer 1 (horror). 

Moving on to the comedy,  Editing dimensions for comedy trailers often prioritize quick pacing, punchy cuts, and vibrant visuals to capture the audience's attention and evoke laughter.

The easiest dimension to use for this would be a rhythmic relation, which heavily deals with shot duration continuity and discontinuity. 

Contrasting Sound design statements

 Just to help me overall compare and differentiate the sound in both trailers I'm doing, I'm going to be making this post of comparing and contrasting the sound designs.   

Similarities:

Relevance of Sound Effects: To improve the audience's experience, sound effects are crucial in both comedic and horror trailers. In them, sound effects are employed to set the mood, arouse feelings, and mark significant events.

Use of Music: The trailer's tone and atmosphere are established by the music in both genres. Comedy trailers usually use bright, energetic music to match the lighthearted tone of the film, but horror movies frequently use dark, suspenseful music to create tension.

Timing and Pacing: Great attention to timing and pacing is given to both horror and comedic trailers. Whether a comedy trailer is providing jokes, or a horror trailer is developing suspense, quick cuts and careful editing are employed to keep the viewer interested.

Differences:

 Tone and Atmosphere: The sound design's creation of tone and atmosphere is the main area of distinction. Horror trailers use sound to create tension, jump scares, and a sense of dread in an effort to terrify and unnerve viewers. Comedy trailers, on the other hand, use sound to further the humor, deliver punchlines, and elicit laughter from viewers.

Sound Effects: Although sound effects are employed in both genres, they are used in quite different ways. Sound effects used in horror trailers frequently feature whispers, screams, and other ominous noises intended to create tension and fear. Sound effects in comedy trailers are usually more fanciful and exaggerated; examples include whistles, boings, and humorous sound cues that go along with slapstick humor and visual gags.

Different narrative purposes are served by the sound design in comedy and horror trailers. Sound is employed in horror trailers to transport viewers to a horrific setting and build tension before the jump scares in the movie. Sound is employed in comedy trailers to highlight the humor and entertainment value, making viewers laugh and get excited.

Emotional Reaction: In the end, the purpose of sound design in comedy and horror trailers is to evoke various emotional reactions in the audience. Comedy trailers are meant to make viewers laugh and smile, whereas horror trailers are meant to make viewers feel scared and uneasy. Each genre's sound design is specifically crafted to provide these unique emotional effects.

Overall, tone, mood, narrative function, and emotional response are all very different between horror and comedy trailers, despite certain similarities in the way they employ sound effects, music, pacing, and timing. 

Sound Design Statements part 1

 As its my job to do the sound design statements, I've pulled  research from multiple of my research blogs, some titled 'final horror/comedy research'. While putting all of that into a document this is what I have come up with. 

In found footage horror movies, sound design is essential since it enhances the reality and immersion of the picture. The following sound effects are frequently heard in found footage horror films:

Diegetic Sound: Sounds that originate within the story world and are perceptible to the characters are referred to as diegetic sound, and they are frequently used extensively in found footage films. This includes audio from the characters' cameras or recording equipment, as well as dialogue and background noise. Diegetic sound heightens the impression of realism and immediacy, giving viewers the impression that they are there with the characters as they go through the events.

Off screen Sounds:
sounds that happen outside of the camera's frame but are nonetheless audible to the characters. Since they allude to potential dangers or occurrences that may be lying just outside the protagonists' line of sight, these noises can be employed to build tension and suspense. To increase the discomfort, off-screen sounds are sometimes combined with unsteady camera movements or characters' reactions.

Ambient noise and atmosphere: In found footage horror, ambient noise can assist the tone and feel of a scene. Examples of this type of audio include distant footfall, creaking floors, and howling winds. Filmmakers can evoke a feeling of dread and unease by adding layers of soft background noise, drawing viewers into the unsettling scene that the actors' cameras are capturing.

 

This clip from the Blair Witch project is the best example I could find of the three elements I mentioned above. It has diegetic sound and lots of ambience noise that help create a tone that we are in the film with them, like we are not just watching a movie of them but are seeing things through the characters perspectives. Sound helps create this special tone that this subgenre creates.

Sound design statements part 2

 As its my job to do the sound design statements, I've pulled  research from multiple of my research blogs, some titled 'final horror/comedy research'. While putting all of that into a document this is what I have come up with. 

Sound design is essential for boosting the humor, tempo, and overall comedic effect in comedy trailers. These are some essential elements of sound design that I've researched in comedic trailers:

Vibrant and cheerful Music: The trailer's tone is established and a sense of excitement and energy is created by choosing vibrant and cheerful music. Generally speaking, the soundtrack should enhance the humor and fit the lighthearted tone of the movie without overpowering the narration or the images.

Properly Timed Sound Effects: The trailer's punchlines and humorous moments are highlighted with sound effects. Sound effects can add levels of humor to the trailer, whether it's a cartoonish sound effect accompanying a pratfall, a whimsical sound cue highlighting a visual gag, or a well-timed rimshot after a joke.

Careful dialogue editing: The funniest quotes and exchanges from the movie are highlighted in comedy trailers through meticulous conversation editing. Fast-paced conversation editing makes sure that every joke is delivered with impact.

Character Voices and Delivery: A big part of the humor in the trailer comes from the voices of the characters. Character voices should be recognizable and distinctive, whether through exaggerated accents, peculiar vocal techniques, or humorous timing in delivery.

Use of Silence: In comedic trailers, silence may be just as powerful as sound. Before or after a punchline, pauses and quiet periods can heighten the suspense and let the humor really hit home. This also helps to create a humorous rhythm that heightens the effect overall.

Going back to a trailer I used in my last genre research post, I'll be using 'No Hard Feelings' as an example. 

 

This trailer features a lot of the elements listed above like the cheerful music played throughout the entire film, careful dialogue editing to frame the jokes so that they have an affective cue, and a big use of silence to heighten the suspense of humor. 

An effective element the trailer has is the careful dialogue editing and use of silence. Every time there's funny dialogue the cheerful music cuts off and is brought back again during the next scene making the sound design in the trailer effective and genre compliant. All of these are things I plan to use when editing my trailer 2. 

StoryBoard- Comedy

 My partner Kim decided since the scenes were going to be mostly the same for the horror and comedy,  and that the main difference would just be the editing we didn't have much of a separate storyboard for trailer 2. 

Although there should be shot variation I let Kim do the storyboards as that is her part of the production she wanted to focus on. 

Kim and I making Trailer 2 Storyboard

We still both did research and took notes on what to really do when creating our storyboard, I took some notes from a website that offered tips. 

Comedy storyboard tips 

Here are some takeaways I had: 

The process of creating a comedy trailer storyboard include organizing both the audio and visual components that will succinctly and captivatingly communicate the film's tone, humor, and plot.

Introduction of primary Characters: Use medium or close-up views to introduce the primary characters, emphasizing their distinct personalities and eccentricities with facial expressions and visual signals.

Include establishing shots that help to create the mood and the location of the movie. This could include exterior shots of the locales used for filming or famous sites that are important to the plot.

Funny Scenes: Assemble a list of the most amusing scenes that the trailer will highlight. Utilize a blend of clever speech, slapstick humor, and visual gags to highlight the humorous plot of the movie.

StoryBoard- Horror

 Alright with break over my partner and I decided to work on the story boards first to create a sense of direction moving forward with the rest of the documents. 

We know that we want them to be in the car explaining everything to their followers while other scenes of their location play to create some diegetic exposition. 

Page one storyboard of trailer one 

We established opening shots and character introductions- establishing the setting and introducing the main characters through close-up shots or medium shots, showing their faces and expressions as they interact with each other or the environment while briefly establishing their personalities and relationships to each other. 

We came up with many different scenes to convey the storyline without giving up the full plot, as my partner Kim did most of the work with the narrative and the shot types, I was wondering more about how I should edit them and which techniques I should do. However she said that the storyline was more of an outline of what we are going to be doing so I could not write down the exact shots and see what editing technique I will be doing, but I might be able to as the story boards come along. 

As for sound I know for both the horror and comedy trailers that sound will be a big thing to bring them together since they are trailers. As for the first couple of shots oof the horror I thought it would be best to have only a couple seconds of the first shot of them talking in the car, then the rest of the clips (mostly muted).