Studio Production: Opening Titles Editing & Result
When editing the opening titles, I found that a lot of the original script needed to be downsized due to time limitations. However I was still able to have the initial theme of the titles remain. The process of editing consisted of...
Placing each clip in chronological order in the Final Cut timeline, but found that the script would be approximately 2 minutes long, instead of the 30 seconds required.
I then cut out large parts of the script that I felt were the least necessary and kept the clips with the most entertainment value and provided the most content. This meant removing the student appearing bored and looking up at the clock, the student taking out a lolly from her pocket and having to hand it to her teacher, and having the student do the same to the teacher with a Werther's Original toffee.
Original clips / sequences that were removed
Then I added the Teach 'Em A Lesson theme soundtrack to the timeline to allow me to cut the titles in time and in pace with the music for a sleeker appearance.
In a decisive manner, I cut down areas of each clip along with speeding clips up to allow the opening titles to be 30 seconds long.
Once the clips were in the correct order with an entertaining pace, I cut the soundtrack in the timeline to also be 30 seconds by cutting the music short, and then mixing in the end of the soundtrack.
I then decided on my approach to the appearance of the titles. Due to the hostile atmosphere of the classroom in the beginning of the titles along with the Victorian-dressed teacher, I decided that this part of the titles is extremely old fashioned, and that it would look effective to heighten this. So I added a vignette effect over the clips along with a retro movie effect that added grain and lines to the clips. Giving it a vintage film appearance.
I also brought down the contrast and saturation in these clips to give it a flat and dull look, to give the viewer the impression of how dull the class is.
Original clip
Clip after lowering contrast & saturation and adding vignette and film grain effects
Following this, I made the following 'daydream' clips of a role reversal imagined by the student contrast to the dull and vintage clips that proceed them. I did this by intensifying the brightness & contrast and saturation, recolouring them to be 'sunnier' with a yellow hue, adding a spotlight-styled filter - all for a more positive appearance, and lastly added a slight blur to the edges of the frame to remind the viewer that this is a daydream.
Original clip
Clip after intensifying brightness & contrast and saturation, recolouring and adding spotlight and blur effects
The last effect I added was to the transitional clip of the student daydreaming by using a wave-styled effect to blur clip and transition into the role-reversal clip of the teacher being sat in the students place.
I then added individual sound effects from Freesound.org to the edit to give a higher sound production value. These sounds consisted of character noises that weren't originally made by the actors, such as a "hmm" and giggle from the student and a huff from the teacher. The other sound effects consisted of a cane being whipped through the air, a dream-like sound effect and chalk being used on a board. I feel that these sound effects add to the comical affect of the opening titles and bring the audience into the scene.
A separate task in Adobe After Effects was manipulating the green screen clip with the student to place the Teach 'Em A Lesson logo behind her. This involved replacing the green with the logo image, cropping the clip, and fine tuning the edges of the character and recolouring her to appear slightly less green (due to reflections onto her skin during filming).
I then added this clip to the edit and used a transitional effect to move from this clip to the final image in the titles - the Teach 'Em A Lesson logo standing alone.
Original clip
Clip after being edited in After Effects
While the editing process required a lot of detail and many adjustments and changes to both the script and the original clips, I faced no large problems. I found that the most challenging part was creating the green screen to logo clip and having look as high quality as possible. The end result was very effective and entertaining to those that viewed it, along with fitting in with the Victorian style and overall theme of the show.
HERE is the final script for the Teach 'Em A Lesson opening titles.
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