This assignment allowed me to get used to Premiere Pro, the editing software, which I admit was quite a challenge initially. I am not very sensitive to technical devices and platforms, so watching many tutorials online was my way of gaining knowledge and skills in editing.
After acquiring a general amount of information on how to use the app, I began editing.
1. WHITE NOISE ISSUE
Of all the editing stages, audio caused me the most trouble. Due to my inexperience with the provided camera equipment, the videos where Quang is inside the restroom picked up lots of disturbed white noise from the background as the actor was moving at a rapid pace. This caused me three attempts at cropping them out to achieve the version I was willing to settle for finally.
(The three attempts)
(great amount of fluctuation in the sound which may lead to discomfort while watching)
However, there are still some parts with the disturbance that I purposely kept to keep the context of the story clear, and along with the general background noise, the entire sequence didn’t seem cinematic and out-of-touch. To resolve this, I added the Denoise sound effect:
( set it to 40% effective, preventing the effect from overwhelming the original audio)
In some specific shots, I also inserted the Dereverb sound effect on top: This effect was useful in reducing the echo of the footsteps of the actor against the walls, as well as heightening the sound of the character’s heavy breathing.
Together, these audio effects helped remove any distractions that may cause the viewers to neglect the narrative: reducing the reverberation in recorded audio and eliminating unwanted broadband noise.
2. SOUND EFFECTS
For additional sounds, I downloaded effects from Pixabay:
Originally, due to all the noises in the background, I was going to remove the entirety of the raw audio and replace everything with sound effects (which would have taken more time and effort). Here I was testing this method by muting the original sounds and including sound effects of footsteps and water running from a sink. However, I thought this made the sequence seem less engaging and unnatural, so I decided to only add certain sounds where they needed to be highlighted and keep the raw audio.
(This was me testing out using only additional sounds of footsteps and water running from a basin)
To sustain the idea of a school as the setting, I attached a diegetic sound of children playing and set it into the distance at the establishing shot, encoding that Quang is away from the crowd of people and is trying to be discreet about his actions.
By adding this, I also created a juxtaposition by the difference in the amount of noise: once Quang is inside the restroom, it immediately becomes more silent and isolated (as he is alone); the quietness also connotes the state of Quang’s mind as he is bewildered and spacey.
An ominous soundtrack reflecting the character’s emotions begins to build up, gradually becoming more and more intense and forceful as Quang’s violentness evolves, encoding his strong desire to take in more drugs.
Subsequently, I included more sounds, aligning them to the exact timing in the sequence:
- The sound of a wooden door squeaking as Quang enters the bathroom stall
- Heavy breathing in point-of-view shots (encoding that he continues to be anxious throughout the sequence)
3. TRANSITIONS
In addition to the continuous ambient atmosphere, I also included a rising sound effect at the end of the scene where Quang enters the bathroom stall - here at the playhead is the rising sound coming in at the end of a scene, which creates an abrupt cut to a high-angle shot of the bathroom stall, looking down at the character
By utilizing the sound of a door opening, I was able to sustain continuity between two shots: medium shot of an anonymous drug seller stepping into the stall beside Quang and his point-of-view shot. After cropping the sound effect into 2 different parts, I set the latter one (which would be playing over Quang’s “POV”) to come from the right - since the dealer was walking into the right side of Quang’s position.
To set up a menacing atmosphere, at the beginning of the sequence, I decided to insert a Gaussian blur effect which fades coordinatingly to the entrance of the character into the frame. This helps connote a hostile feeling to the character, raising enigma codes of whether the protagonist - Quang - is the kind of main character that should be trusted or relied on.
(By adding a keyframe, I was able to command when the Gaussian blur disappears completely)
I added a camera blur effect to amplify the juxtaposition between shots of the exchange and Point-of-View shots of Quang.
Only setting it to a low figure of 5 helps give the impression that Quang’s visions are compromised due to the withdrawal, further sustaining the idea that he is not entirely thinking through his actions; this encodes for a lack of physical awareness.
5. COLOR-GRADING
Inspired by the color work done on a scene from the movie “Leave No Trace” (2018), the color palette I chose involves colder tones, purposely leaving out the addition of warmer hues encoding a sense of isolation and loneliness.
Source: Pinterest
From the color palette, we could observe some greenish hues along with darkened shadows, highlighting the lighter areas which provided a sense of depth; can be decoded as emptiness, reflecting the mental status of the character.
Psychologically, the hint of green may also connote sickness and nausea: pale, greenish skin when suffering from a draining illness in humans; also commonly associated to the idea of poison and toxicity, which would be reasonable since Quang is an addict taking in harmful substances.
(Before adjustment in colors)
(After adjustment in colors)
With the same idea of providing contrasts in point-of-view shots and the exchange itself, I decided to mediate those two things differently in terms of colors and tints. After installing an adjustment layer covering the entire sequence, I separated those point-of-view shots and modified the shades:
- Lowered the temperature scale
- Lowered the exposure to -2 (in comparison to the adjustment layer)
(POV)
(General shot)
- THE END -
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