Editing and Editing Struggles

My favorite part of the whole process is post production. While being on set and filming is fun, I find that editing is the place where I can really do my part. Editing can take a bunch of random footage and make it into a fluid piece, using cuts, and sound elements. The most exciting part for me on this project is color grading. I'm going to try my best to make the beginning look like it's from the late 50's, while still keeping color, and making it have warmer tones. But, I think I'll discuss color correction more on a later post.

The first thing I did when I got the clips on Tuesday, was figure out which to use and which to leave. I wasn't there the first day of filming, so I was really curious to see what shots Kristen and Ash got. It turns out they provided me with plenty of inserts and interesting angles; however, I ran into a little problem. When they shot, they didn't know how much time exactly they had to fill, so they got extra footage of things that work with the plot. I could tell while editing in hindsight, that they were unnecessary, but in fairness there was no way for Kristen and Ash to know that. Unfortunately, cutting these clips leaves me with continuity issues that I have to constantly correct for. For example, there's a shot where Bernie's character takes a bunch of groceries out of a bag, then she takes a knife out of a drawer. I need to cut the part where she takes the groceries out of the bag, which means I have to be really creative in the way that I hide the groceries that just appear on the counter. This issue makes this piece one of the most challenging things I've ever edited. Plus, I have a time limit, but I want to control the pacing of the piece. This makes it even harder, because I have a lot to fit into two minutes, and I still need moments where the audience can think and figure out what is going on.

This is my Final Cut Pro X timeline as of now. I've already added in the foley I recorded on set, (of Nate screaming, of Bernie's shoes on the garage floor, of Nate shuffling in his chair, etc.), and the song we are using (which I'll probably discuss more in a later post).

I had to cut out a lot of things that we loved, but didn't make the piece better as a whole. In my opinion that is one of the worst parts of editing. My favorite part of editing, however, is getting to see the piece evolve with every new draft. Let me just say, I can't wait to be done.