Practical: Trailer Editing - Adding a Blinking Effect

For this blog post on editing, I decided to experiment with different camera effects to make the clips appear as though they were self filmed. I also attempted to create a blinking effect using different transitions; this was to create the illusion that we are seeing the killer from the victim's point of view. 

Adding Different effects:

For the screenshot attached below, it shows a clip of the killer gagging the victim. To coincide with the narrative of our trailer, I decided to add the 'Pixelate' effect, as shown on the right hand side of the screenshot. This made the video play as if it was of a lower quality to symbolise how the killer is recording himself torturing his victims using his own camera. To further coincide with this, I then added the Camcorder effect, which makes the video clip play like the display of a video camera would. This is to emphasise further to the audience that the killer is recording the footage himself.

Using the Effects panel on the upper right hand side, I was also able to edit the level of the Pixelate effect, in terms of how pixelated the clip appeared on screen. As the image depicts, I selected a lower level of pixilation so as not to take away from the quality too much.

The Blink Effect:

The blink effect was added to create the illusion that the footage is taken from the victim's point of view, with the blinks initially slow and then speeding up to suggest the victim is just waking up and becoming panicked. 

Firstly, I had to cut the clips using the Blade tool at each point in which I wanted the blink to occur; I then had to insert a blank space into the cut in order to create enough room to add two transitions side by side. The transition which I used to create this effect was the 'Centre Movement', which almost looks like curtains opening; for this reason, the black rectangles were in the wrong direction. In order to make it look as though someone was blinking when the footage changed, as mentioned, I had to add two of the same transitions side by side one another, as shown above. 

Using the arrow shown on the actual footage above, I was able to change the direction of the transition; I simply rotated the arrow to face northwards, until the rectangles of the transition were horizontal. Using the Effects panel on the upper right hand side, I was then able to change the direction in terms of entrance an exit (open or close). For this, I had to ensure that the first transition was set to close, as if the eye was closing, and then so that the second transition was set to open, as if the eyes were opening again. When played together, this created the effect of the eyes closing and opening again.

Repeating the Process:

I also added more breaks at different intervals throughout the snippet of footage desired to enable me to add more blink effects; this used the same process as explained above.

The screenshot above shows a close up of the killer's eye with two black rectangles on the top and bottom percentage of the clip, acting as the victim's eye lids. I added various different intervals of blinks throughout the clip to signify the fear and nervousness that the victim would experience in that example of situation.

Attached above shows the finished sequence of the blinking effect applied to the short clip. As the size of each transition (grey segment) depicts, I added a range of quick and slow blinks; this was to emphasise the disorientation of the victim as she is waking up in the strange surroundings of the killer's lair.

Evaluation:

• The continuity of the clip is still maintained despite sections being removed from the clip and the Centre Movement transition being added.
• The overall look of the effect is extremely professional and realistic, particularly since the background footage can still be seen as the 'eyelids' close before the black screen appears.
• Although it was extremely challenging to work out to begin with, once I had figured out how to create the effect, it was easy and quick to add multiple intervals.