RH - Film Edit: Lesson 4

Complementary Studies: Liam Marley

Date: 18/07/08 (R Hamilton)
Editing Time: 3hrs
Importing Time: 1hr
Documentation Time: 0mins


Editing:

Bass lesson four with Robert Hamilton was edited so that the footage could be compressed with MPEG-4, ready to be uploaded on the web log. After being imported onto the iMac, through Final Cut Pro using a DV to FireWire cable, the one-hour length clip was studied. This was to enable analysis of the footage so each lesson objective could be summarised and edited together to make a smooth coherent ten-minute film of the lesson.


Video Edit:

The footage began with the introductory title screen – stating the lesson number and with which pupil was participating. Utilising a standard text generator, over a black matte backdrop, a title was erected, which read (refer to Figure 1 below)……………..

’BASS LESSON ??

WITH ROBERT HAMILTON’

(Figure 1)


The typeface was filled white, to contrast the black backdrop and the font chosen was Bank Gothic, at font size 46. A black matte generator was then placed after the title screen so a cross dissolve transition could be placed across the two clips (refer to Figure 2) to make the title screen fade out into black.




(Figure 2 – a cross dissolve generator overlapping two separate video clips)


The date of the lesson was left out of the title screen as it would have made the title type too cluttered. The inclusion of the date in the title was also unnecessary because at the beginning of every lesson the date was recorded on the tape by the teacher.

The first scenes of the lesson involved the pupil being informed what the objectives would aim to achieve. Usually a brief explanation of each objective would follow. Each objective had to be compressed and summarised from the hour-long original footage and added to the new projects timeline for further editing. Each clip/scene had to explain and demonstrate the objective, while still displaying a smooth sense of continuity. The clips would show the pupil attempting each objective in the turn, capturing their mistakes, queries and progression. At the beginning of each objective a fade in fade out dissolve transition (refer to Figure 3) was used to represent and emphasise the end of an objective and the start of a new one.




(Figure 3)


For certain parts of the film, titles or subtitles were used either to display subject matter to the audience or depict a symbol or picture. For both of these a text generator was used, either layered over the video clip or the actual video clip was cut away, leaving only the audio and the black matte backdrop. An example of a video clip with a title layered over the top can be seen in Figure 4 below.




(Figure 4)


The footage ended with a title crawl generator, in a roll formation, for the end credits. This simply stated the end of the lesson, informing who the pupil was and who had been teaching the lesson, (refer to Figure 5). The credit usually ran for ten seconds, which was long enough for each part of the text to be read.




(Figure 5)


Audio Edit:

Not a lot of editing was done to the audio on the film footage, due to the frequency comparison between the bass guitar and the speech from the teacher and pupil. This made it very difficult in mixing one without the other being compromised.

However at the beginning a hum remover was utilised in an attempt to get rid of the low frequency hum, which seemed to be emitted from the operation of the tape deck. This was basically a low pass filter and was cut by -60 dB at 60 Hz, as anything higher than this i.e. 80 Hz, would have effected the sound if the instrument.

Cross fade (0 dB) audio transitions were layered in between clips to reduce any audio artefacts and unwanted pops, where clips were separated and re-formed with other footage. They blended the separate audio tracks together for smooth unnoticeable transition. This type of audio transition was also used to fade out an audio track at the end of a lesson objective to aid with the visual fade in fade out dissolve transition. If this did not work then automation was used to simply fade out the end of the required audio track, as shown in Figure 6.




(Figure 6 – a gain fade out)

RH - Evaluation: Lesson 4

Complementary Studies: Liam Marley

Pupil: Robert Hamilton
Date: 05/03/08
Evaluating Time: 2hr


The pupil became more relaxed and at ease with this lesson when as he was expecting to be filmed this time. As the lesson went on the camera was not even noticeable and the pupil was able to relax and be himself.

This lesson aided in refreshing two subjects from last lesson, the fingering techniques and interval notes. The former of the two was practiced and scrutinised so that the end of the lesson saw an improvement of Robert’s fingering techniques. Without good hand form, learning a new topic becomes futile.


Lesson Objectives:


1.) To persist with working on the pupil’s correct fingering techniques with both hands, this time concentrating on the right hand (plucking hand), using exercises such as walking across the strings (as seen in lesson 3, objective 2) to aid with the pupils string crossing.

Outcome: With the left hands finger flow improving and less fret resonance (buzzing) occurring, Robert’s right hand form was analysed for improvement. First thing first, Robert needed to cut his fingernails a lot shorter on his plucking (right) hand as these kept getting caught on the strings. Robert also had a tendency to ‘kick out’ with his second plucking finger so that he manages to catch the intended string to play, before he comes back to pluck it, this can be demonstrated in Figures 1 and 2. Once this was discovered and observed, Robert was told to utilise the previous string as a rest for the inactive finger, otherwise his inactive finger just hangs in the space between the strings and causes further mistakes.




(Figure 1 – where the finger first catches the intended string)




(Figure 2 – where the finger then plays the intended string)


To improve Robert’s string crossing technique and to aid his fifth and eighth interval notes, the pupil played the root note of G. He was then instructed to cross to the next string, playing G’s fifth interval, D and then again to the next string to play the higher pitch eighth interval note of G, (refer to Figure 3).


G -|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
D -|-------------------------------------------------------5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-----------------------|
A -|-------------------------------5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-----------------------------------------------|
E -|-------3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-----------------------------------------------------------------------|

(Figure 3)


This was persisted until the pupil managed to improve his walking technique with his right plucking hand.


After this an insight in fret board notation was given. Robert advised that he had not had a chance to look over his fret board diagram as of yet. To encourage this, the notes of the E string were named to the pupil, from the open E to the E found on the twelve fret.



2.) To continue with the explanation and demonstration of fifth and eighth interval notes, so that the pupil captures a better understanding of what they are and their purpose.

Outcome: This was Roberts second attempt with interval notes and he was not expected to remember the patterns that were taught last lesson. Making the same mistake as the other pupil, Robert got the two intervals mixed up and played an eighth when asked to play a fifth interval. However at this stage the important thing was that he was able to remember the patterns, even if the two were confused.


3.) At this point it is important to give the pupil a basic understanding of music theory, so that they can progress rhythmically as well as technically. During this lesson the pupil will be taught the principles of beats and bars and the most common of timing signatures 4/4.

Outcome: With Roberts music experience as a dance DJ, he understood the concept of beats, as being a drum sound and bars, as being a grouping of beats. With it not being necessary to explain these further, the concept of time signatures was explained, as these can be a little trickier.

After mentioning the term time signature and initially neglecting to describe this, Robert queried this and asked what a time signature was. A time signature was explained as a method of describing to a musician how many beats are located in a bar, for a piece of music. The most common time signature in western music, 4/4, was used as the example in the explanation. Robert managed to grasp this fairly quickly and was able to play along to a 4/4 drumbeat with the bass to demonstrate four beats in a bar, (which was represented by the top number in time signature). Robert continued with this music theory subject and began to learn the first five note lengths that exist (these a sixteenth, eighth, quarter, half and whole note).

Robert did a lot better than it was initially expected. He was able to grasp all the music theory topics quickly and without confusion. This will hopefully continue when music theory is progressed later on in the lessons.

RH - Lesson Plan: Lesson 4

Complementary Studies: Liam Marley

Date: 05/03/08 (R Hamilton)
Planning Time: 2hrs
Lesson Time: 1hr


Lesson Footage:




(1O MINUTE VIDEO FOOTAGE OF THE HOUR LESSON)


In this fourth lesson the pupil will recap on objectives 2 (persist on correct fingering technique) and 3 (introduce 5th and 8th interval notes) from the previous lesson. This is to keep the knowledge learnt fresh in the pupil’s mind and to give them another chance to have a better understanding of the lesson material. Finally a basic knowledge of music theory will be touched on so that the pupil will understand the basics behind timings and rhythms.


Lesson Objectives:

1.) To persist with working on the pupil’s correct fingering techniques with both hands, this time concentrating on the right hand (plucking hand), using exercises such as walking across the strings (as seen in lesson 3, objective 2) to aid with the pupils string crossing.

2.) To continue with the explanation and demonstration of fifth and eighth interval notes, so that the pupil captures a better understanding of what they are and their purpose.

3.) At this point it is important to give the pupil a basic understanding of music theory, so that they can progress rhythmically as well as technically. During this lesson the pupil will be taught the principles of beats and bars and the most common of timing signatures 4/4.


Introduction:

The pupil will be asked how he/she thought the previous lesson had gone and whether they are anxious about anything during this week’s lesson. After this the lesson ahead will be explained with some aims set so that the pupil has specific goals to reach.


Lesson Material:


1.) With a close eye being kept on the pupil’s left hand form, the right or plucking hand will be focused on during this lesson to progress the pupil’s string crossing technique in an attempt to prevent the pupil from catching non-intended strings. The same walking exercise utilised in lesson 3 will be used again in this present lesson (refer to the diagram below).





To help with the pupil’s awareness of the strings, their position and distance between each other, they will take part in the exercise below. This will be done at the pupil’s own pace, at a steady rhythm, first by themselves and then next played along to a drum beat.


G -|-----------------------------------------------------------------------5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5------------------|
D -|-------------------------------------------------5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5----------------------------------------|
A -|---------------------------3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3--------------------------------------------------------------|
E -|-----3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|


G -|----5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
D -|---------------------------5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5--------------------------------------------------------------|
A -|-------------------------------------------------3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3----------------------------------------|
E -|-----------------------------------------------------------------------3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3------------------|


This exercise will not only improve the pupil’s string crossing but also their hand co-ordination and rhythm.


2.) Last lessons interval notes will be gone over again to concrete the knowledge and understanding of this in the pupil’s mind.

To begin with the fifth and eighth interval notes were demonstrated again in C major like in lesson 3 just to familiarise the pupil with the subject again. Then the fifth and eighth interval notes of the scale G major were demonstrated.


-------------------------------------1st ----2nd---3rd---4th---5th---6th---7th----8th
Scale of G major----------------G-------A-----B-----C-----D---- E-----F#-----G

This scale has one sharp in it, F#, which isn’t relevant at this point to explain why this is as it would just complicate matters. As shown above the fifth note in this scale is D and the eighth note is obviously G.

The pupil will then demonstrate these intervals on the fret board, as in the tablature below.

G -|---------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|
D -|---------------------------------------------|-------5------5--------5-5----------5-5----------------|
A -|---------5------5--------5-5--------5-5--|-----------------------------------------------------------|
E -|-----3------3------3-3--------3-3--------|---3------3------3-3---------3-3-----------------------|

Fifths Eighths (octaves)


3.) The pupil will finally have a crash course in music theory. This will begin with the explanation of rhythms, as this is an integral part of both music and the bass guitar.

Using the most common time signature in Western music, 4/4, bars and beats will be explained. This is demonstrated in the simplest terms, with a bar being a section of music containing a certain number of beats, in the case of 4/4, four beats. While a beat is explained as a foot tap or one drum beat, refer to the example below where there are four beats contained in one bar.






The 4/4 time signature can be broken up into two parts, the top number describing how many beats in a bar (4/4 having 4), while the lower number describes the value of the beats and in the case of 4/4 they are quarter-notes or crotchets. During this early lesson the value of beats, such as quarter-notes, will not be concentrated on due to the level on content this subject can carry, as there are ten beat values to learn (five notes and five rests).

JK - Film Edit: Lesson 11

Complementary Studies: Liam Marley

Date: 13/06/08 (J Kosminsky)
Editing Time: 3hrs
Importing Time: 1hr
Documentation Time: 0mins


Editing:

Bass lesson eleven with Joseph Kosminsky was edited so that the footage could be compressed with MPEG-4, ready to be uploaded on the web log. After being imported onto the iMac, through Final Cut Pro using a DV to FireWire cable, the one-hour length clip was studied. This was to enable analysis of the footage so each lesson objective could be summarised and edited together to make a smooth coherent ten-minute film of the lesson.


Video Edit:

The footage began with the introductory title screen – stating the lesson number and with which pupil was participating. Utilising a standard text generator, over a black matte backdrop, a title was erected, which read (refer to Figure 1 below)……………..

’BASS LESSON ??

WITH JOSEPH KOSMINSKY’

(Figure 1)

The typeface was filled white, to contrast the black backdrop and the font chosen was Bank Gothic, at font size 46. A black matte generator was then placed after the title screen so a cross dissolve transition could be placed across the two clips (refer to Figure 2) to make the title screen fade out into black.




(Figure 2 – a cross dissolve generator overlapping two separate video clips)


The date of the lesson was left out of the title screen as it would have made the title type too cluttered. The inclusion of the date in the title was also unnecessary because at the beginning of every lesson the date was recorded on the tape by the teacher.

The first scenes of the lesson involved the pupil being informed what the objectives would aim to achieve. Usually a brief explanation of each objective would follow. Each objective had to be compressed and summarised from the hour-long original footage and added to the new projects timeline for further editing. Each clip/scene had to explain and demonstrate the objective, while still displaying a smooth sense of continuity. The clips would show the pupil attempting each objective in the turn, capturing their mistakes, queries and progression. At the beginning of each objective a fade in fade out dissolve transition (refer to Figure 3) was used to represent and emphasise the end of an objective and the start of a new one.




(Figure 3)


For certain parts of the film, titles or subtitles were used either to display subject matter to the audience or depict a symbol or picture. For both of these a text generator was used, either layered over the video clip or the actual video clip was cut away, leaving only the audio and the black matte backdrop. An example of a video clip with a title layered over the top can be seen in Figure 4 below.




(Figure 4)


The footage ended with a title crawl generator, in a roll formation, for the end credits. This simply stated the end of the lesson, informing who the pupil was and who had been teaching the lesson, (refer to Figure 5). The credit usually ran for ten seconds, which was long enough for each part of the text to be read.




(Figure 5)

Audio Edit:

Not a lot of editing was done to the audio on the film footage, due to the frequency comparison between the bass guitar and the speech from the teacher and pupil. This made it very difficult in mixing one without the other being compromised.

However at the beginning a hum remover was utilised in an attempt to get rid of the low frequency hum, which seemed to be emitted from the operation of the tape deck. This was basically a low pass filter and was cut by -60 dB at 60 Hz, as anything higher than this i.e. 80 Hz, would have effected the sound if the instrument.

Cross fade (0 dB) audio transitions were layered in between clips to reduce any audio artefacts and unwanted pops, where clips were separated and re-formed with other footage. They blended the separate audio tracks together for smooth unnoticeable transition. This type of audio transition was also used to fade out an audio track at the end of a lesson objective to aid with the visual fade in fade out dissolve transition. If this did not work then automation was used to simply fade out the end of the required audio track, as shown in Figure 6.




(Figure 6 – a gain fade out)

JK - Evaluation: Lesson 11

Complementary Studies: Liam Marley

Pupil: Joe Kosminsky
Date: 03/03/08
Evaluating Time: 2hrs


All objectives were completed to a satisfactory level during this lesson. Joseph did not seem to struggle with any task, if he did it was to be expected with the amount of new material that he has taken on. However Joseph was a little apprehensive with the music theory, this is not because of the difficulty of the content, but due to the stigmata of any theory based learning, it is perceived as a chore and a bore, however it is essential when progressing with an instrument.


Lesson Objectives:

1.) To initiate the pupil into the ten-minute practice routine, however this time utilising the scale of C major in the chromatic finger per fret form.

Outcome: Great improvement was demonstrated during the lesson with Joseph’s hand techniques, his finger flow was better, with good chromatic form between his first three fingers. Even the fourth finger on Josephs left hand had began be used more frequently, although the third finger is utilised as a support for it. This will lead to bad habits in the future where the pupil will begin to stop using their third finger all together.

When a practice run of the C major scale was done during the warm up session, Joseph kept making the mistake of playing C, D, E, F, G, A, B♭, C instead of C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. This is an easy mistake to make, as the pupil is just mimicking the patterns for the root note C and the fourth interval note F, where they are both played with the second finger, where the B♭ is played with the third. As this is the dominant of the two, it will feel more natural keep fretting in this manner.


2.) To go through the scale of C major with the pupil in more detail, verifying that they understand the subject.

Outcome: As this was only the second lesson to involve the scale of C major, it was beneficial for Joseph to keep practicing the major pattern so that each fret was played with a specific finger in the correct chromatic fashion. Once Joseph had grasped the pattern and understood that there were no sharp or flat accidentals present in the scale, a little exercise was put into practice. This involved learning both the C major scale and the notes on the fret board, as Joseph was asked to see if he could play the scale else where on the bass.

This was a hard exercise to undertake, considering Josephs fret board knowledge was not that great. It was probably too early to be carrying out exercises such as this, however it was implemented to get the pupil thinking about notes elsewhere than first seven frets.


3.) To persist learning ‘The Ballad Of John and Yoko’ by The Beatles.

Outcome: Joseph was becoming more confident with each new bass line and pattern that was learnt. However sometimes he became too adventurous for his ability and would always speed up, which led to his timing and rhythm being lost. This would also occur with the ‘The Ballad Of John and Yoko’, which is not surprising as it is an upbeat song and it is enjoyable to play along to. However Joseph could not quite manage the chord changes across the fret board, which is why a pre programmed beat was utilised. This way the tempo could be decreased while Joseph practices the arrangement and chord changes at his own pace, while still having something to aim for - keeping in time and rhythm with the beat. When Joseph became comfortable with this tempo it was increased. The pupil was comfortable with this for the first eight bars then problems with his fret crossing occurred from the B major to the E major. The tempo had to be decreased once more so this transition could be practiced.

To aid with Josephs fret crossing problem, the walking blues bass line was played, initially with quarter notes (refer to Figure 1) and then with eighth notes (refer to Figure 2). Unfortunately Joseph kept neglecting his fourth finger and reverting back to using just his three fingers and therefore straying from the chromatic finger form. This had to be pointed out every time, as not to let the pupil persist with this form and eventually be stuck with a bad habit that will be difficult to break out of.


G -|---------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|
D -|---------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|
A -|---------------2--------5--------2---------|--------------2--------5--------2--------|
E -|-----3---------------------------------------|-----3------------------------------------|

(Figure 1 – quarter note lengths)

G -|---------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|
D -|---------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|
A -|--------------2-2------5-5------2-2------|-------------2-2------5-5------2-2-----|
E -|-----3-3------------------------------------|----3-3-----------------------------------|

(Figure 2 – eighth note lengths)



4.) To give a more thorough explanation of music theory, in terms of beats and bars, rhythm (note lengths), the music staff and the bass clef.

Outcome: With Josephs background as a music producer and a beginner acoustic guitarist, he was already familiar with beats and bars. Joseph knew that there were four beats in a bar and from his GCSE music lessons he was able to remember a crochet (quarter) note. However after going over the rest of the note lengths and demonstrating them on the bass, they too became clear. It was decided that Joseph would prefer to use the American terms for note lengths rather than British terms, such as a whole for a semibreve, a half note for a minim, etc, as it obvious what was meant.

Joseph did awfully well in this objective, considering there was quite a lot to take in, he struggled a little when it came to introducing rests and the music stave but these will be recapped again later on.

JK - Lesson Plan: Lesson 11

Complementary Studies: Liam Marley

Date: 03/03/08 (J Kosminsky)
Planning Time: 2hrs
Lesson Time: 1hr


Lesson Footage:




(1O MINUTE VIDEO FOOTAGE OF THE HOUR LESSON)


This lesson would act as a recap on multiple subjects, taught over the period of the bass tutorials. The major scale section that was introduced in the last lesson will be studied and played again by the pupil, while ‘The Ballad of John and Yoko’ will this time be played to a beat. Finally the pupil will be given a more in depth explanation of music theory, which will fresh the pupil’s knowledge if they have forgotten the theory taught in lessons four and five.


Lesson Objectives:

1.) To initiate the pupil into the ten-minute practice routine, however this time utilising the scale of C major in the chromatic finger per fret form.

2.) To go through the scale of C major with the pupil in more detail, verifying that they understand the subject.

3.) To persist learning ‘The Ballad Of John and Yoko’ by The Beatles.

4.) To give a more thorough explanation of music theory, in terms of beats and bars, rhythm (note lengths), the music staff and the bass clef.


Introduction:

The pupil will be asked how he/she thought the previous lesson had gone and whether they are anxious about anything during this week’s lesson. After this the lesson ahead will be explained with some aims set so that the pupil has specific goals to reach.


Lesson Material:

1.) Instead of the usual practice piece, where the pupil would use the chromatic finger form to play the bass, fretting no specific notes, the pupil will use the scale of C major as a practice exercise. To be played as in Figure 1 below, the pupil will utilise all four fingers in a finger per fret manner, which will improve their finger technique, their knowledge of C major (scale), while helping them to warm up for the lesson ahead.


G -|---------------------------2--4--5------5--4--2----------------------------------------|
D -|----------------2--3--5----------------------------5--3--2-----------------------------|
A -|---------3--5--------------------------------------------------5--3----------------------|
E -|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
--------------2--4--1--2--4--1--3--4------4--3--1--4--2--1--4--2----------------------
------------------------------Fingers used to fret notes-----------------------------------

(Figure 1)



2.) Once the pupil has finished with the warm up exercise they will concentrate on the theory of the scale of C major. The pupil will be instructed to play the scale so that each interval note can be explained in simple terms.


Interval notes: (as stated by Clayton, p. 72, 2005)

C – D-----major second
C – E-----major third
C – F-----perfect fourth
C – G-----perfect fifth
C – A-----major sixth
C – B-----major seventh
C – C-----octave


The pupil is not expected to remember that from C to G the interval is a ‘perfect’ fifth, as long as they remember that it is the fifth interval note due to it being the fifth note from C in the scale. It is imperative that the pupil begins to learn major and minor scales, as these will help them to create and compose bass lines. The scale of C major is the starting point and will ease the pupil into the other scales.

Not only will the pupil play the major scale of C in the common form, (refer to Figure 1 above), but the pupil will be instructed to pay the scales using other notes. This is demonstrated in Figure 2, where C major scale is played primarily on the A string. This will get the pupil to discover new ways to play scales and will ultimately improve their fret board knowledge.


G -|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
D -|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A -|---------3--5--7--8--10--12--14--15------15--14--12--10--8--7--5--3---------|
E -|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

(Figure 2)



3.) The pupil will persist practicing ’The Ballad Of John and Yoko’ by The Beatles, however this time the pupil will play in time to a pre-programmed basic drumbeat. This drumbeat will be set at a comfortable tempo and will improve the pupil’s rhythm and timing.


**’The Ballad Of John and Yoko’ tablature**



4.) With the involvement of music theory increasing with each lesson it was important to refresh the pupil with the notions of this subject. This is why it was explored once again in this objective so that the pupil can conceive as much information on this topic as possible.
Beats and bars will be briefly explained, as the pupil seemed to grasp this concept with ease, while the pupil will been given an in depth explanation on rhythm or note lengths, as this is the basis in which notes are played and music is written.

Last time the pupil was introduce to three note lengths - a whole note (which lasts the whole length of the bar), a half note (which consists of two notes to fit in a bar) and a quarter note (which contains a note for each beat of the bar). During this lesson two additional note lengths will be introduced, the eighth note, which consisted of two notes to each beat, meaning there were eight notes in a bar and finally sixteenth notes, which had four notes to a beat and therefore sixteen notes in a full bar. The additional note lengths can be quite difficult to play, especially at fast tempos. These will all be demonstrated on the bass so the pupil can hear how the note lengths work.

The music staff will also be explained to the pupil, describing the five staves and the bass clef, which is necessary to depict the bass notes.

JK - Film Edit: Lesson 10

Complementary Studies: Liam Marley

Date: 12/06/08 (J Kosminsky)
Editing Time: 3hrs
Importing Time: 1hr
Documentation Time: 0 mins


Editing:

Bass lesson ten with Joseph Kosminsky was edited so that the footage could be compressed with MPEG-4, ready to be uploaded on the web log. After being imported onto the iMac, through Final Cut Pro using a DV to FireWire cable, the one-hour length clip was studied. This was to enable analysis of the footage so each lesson objective could be summarised and edited together to make a smooth coherent ten-minute film of the lesson.


Video Edit:

The footage began with the introductory title screen – stating the lesson number and with which pupil was participating. Utilising a standard text generator, over a black matte backdrop, a title was erected, which read (refer to Figure 1 below)……………..

’BASS LESSON ??

WITH JOSEPH KOSMINSKY’

(Figure 1)

The typeface was filled white, to contrast the black backdrop and the font chosen was Bank Gothic, at font size 46. A black matte generator was then placed after the title screen so a cross dissolve transition could be placed across the two clips (refer to Figure 2) to make the title screen fade out into black.




(Figure 2 – a cross dissolve generator overlapping two separate video clips)


The date of the lesson was left out of the title screen as it would have made the title type too cluttered. The inclusion of the date in the title was also unnecessary because at the beginning of every lesson the date was recorded on the tape by the teacher.

The first scenes of the lesson involved the pupil being informed what the objectives would aim to achieve. Usually a brief explanation of each objective would follow. Each objective had to be compressed and summarised from the hour-long original footage and added to the new projects timeline for further editing. Each clip/scene had to explain and demonstrate the objective, while still displaying a smooth sense of continuity. The clips would show the pupil attempting each objective in the turn, capturing their mistakes, queries and progression. At the beginning of each objective a fade in fade out dissolve transition (refer to Figure 3) was used to represent and emphasise the end of an objective and the start of a new one.




(Figure 3)


For certain parts of the film, titles or subtitles were used either to display subject matter to the audience or depict a symbol or picture. For both of these a text generator was used, either layered over the video clip or the actual video clip was cut away, leaving only the audio and the black matte backdrop. An example of a video clip with a title layered over the top can be seen in Figure 4 below.




(Figure 4)


The footage ended with a title crawl generator, in a roll formation, for the end credits. This simply stated the end of the lesson, informing who the pupil was and who had been teaching the lesson, (refer to Figure 5). The credit usually ran for ten seconds, which was long enough for each part of the text to be read.




(Figure 5)

Audio Edit:

Not a lot of editing was done to the audio on the film footage, due to the frequency comparison between the bass guitar and the speech from the teacher and pupil. This made it very difficult in mixing one without the other being compromised.

However at the beginning a hum remover was utilised in an attempt to get rid of the low frequency hum, which seemed to be emitted from the operation of the tape deck. This was basically a low pass filter and was cut by -60 dB at 60 Hz, as anything higher than this i.e. 80 Hz, would have effected the sound if the instrument.

Cross fade (0 dB) audio transitions were layered in between clips to reduce any audio artefacts and unwanted pops, where clips were separated and re-formed with other footage. They blended the separate audio tracks together for smooth unnoticeable transition. This type of audio transition was also used to fade out an audio track at the end of a lesson objective to aid with the visual fade in fade out dissolve transition. If this did not work then automation was used to simply fade out the end of the required audio track, as shown in Figure 6.




(Figure 6 – a gain fade out)