Comments

PossibilityX wrote on 3/4/2005, 2:50 PM
Mark, I'm a relative beginner with a 65-minute documentary and a few ultra-short projects under my belt, with a quasi-fictional feature in the works, and a few other things on the burner. On a scale of Beginner = 0 and Walter Murch = 100, I'm probably about a 3, so take the following for what it's worth. (Which is probably LESS THAN 3% of what Walter could show you.)

Editing is like martial arts or guitar playing: you practice all the time, and there is no "stopping place" where you feel "done" with your training. You train every day (or as often as possible), resting occasionally to recharge, then jumping right back in again.

You ask as many questions as you can, and hang around as much as you can, with people who know more than you.

You play with clips over and over again. Do you cut on frame 3,125 or one frame earlier? Or one frame later? To find out, you experiment by doing all three. If none of them feel right, you try cutting somewhere else.

I like J cuts. I've seen them used for years but it was after watching the documentary COMEDIAN, with its excellent soundtrack and use of J cuts to move the viewer into the next scene, that I really got excited about experimenting with them. You'll find something in a movie you like that really appeals to you. When you do, spend a lot of time trying it for yourself.

Deliberately limit yourself from time to time. Tell yourself, for instance: "In this sequence I'm only going to use straight cuts----no dissolves or cross-fades." Or, try cutting video to different pieces of music---fast tempo, slow tempo, different genres, etc. Or tell youself: "I want this entire sequence to be less than 30 seconds."

(VAAST is sponsoring a contest where the total length of the video has to be 10 seconds. Pretty challenging!)

Rent the excellent film THE FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS. In this documentary, a filmmaker challenges his mentor to recreate the mentor's classic short film, but this time using limitations imposed by the student. The way the older director solves these very difficult problems is VERY inspiring! It's a Danish film, but there are subtitles. Rent it from Netflix or Blockbuster and watch the hell out of it.

I've been very impressed by Walter Murch's book IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE and Bryce Button's NONLINEAR EDITING: STORYTELLING, AESTHETICS, & CRAFT.

Again, I'm a newbie, so take these ideas for what they're worth.

Have fun!
mark2929 wrote on 3/4/2005, 3:22 PM
Some of the things I have learnt since first posting this !

Its funny this EDITING Busines.. it is a Journey, a path... where, I know I have made all the Familiar Mistakes like...

1) Keeping footage because you like it .
2) You should only keep what Is neccesary.
3) sequence of shots ect. Establishing first then re-establish for intro of anything new..
4)Understanding Film Language, and what you can get away with Time, Compression, ect

Then of course telling the story in an interesting way perhaps running the plots together anyway so much that is artistic here...

Pacing Music Sound FX All have an Influence..

Of course this just one aspect Having Fantastic Actors Camerawork and Footage Sound Lighting all make the job easier ..

I feel like I have gone from Confident to WWait a Mo this is Rubbish, To HAH IM Getting the Hang of this.. "Ooops" No Im not... The Guitar Playing analogy is quite good... Editing looks deceptively Simple and it possibly is to some.. Actually its quite Complicated and you have to feel its Rhytmn this comes from Practice....

Its probably best to have someone else edit your Film because they wont care about the sweat and tears only the story..OR Alternatively edit it Much later after Filming has finished...

Trouble is I know I have only just begun on this Journey of TAAOTE

Thanks Guys !
Lili wrote on 3/4/2005, 4:58 PM
Like what Filmy suggested. ie.:
"Want to do an experment? Have someone take their camera and just go out and shoot random things - doesn't matter what......"

I did something similar once - just shot about 20 minutes of video inside the house, even turning the camera on myself a couple of times.

I edited the piece to look like a spoof of an experimental film - had slow mo, various effects, and created a complimentary (also very dramatic) music track with ACID. The editing is what gave it all the impact in the end. Had some positive feedback on it from a couple of people who are in the biz.

Whenever I have some time, and the weather warms up (???), think I'll do something similar, but outdoors. Highly recommend.

lili
busterkeaton wrote on 3/4/2005, 7:02 PM
Rent a great movie. One of the true classics. One that you have seen before so you won't get engrossed in the action/story. Watch the movie and every time there is a cut or a camera move, say "Cut" or "Move".

Soon you will train yourself to notice this continually. You will start to see the bits and pieces that go into the movie.

I was watching Goodfellas the other day and during the "Am I a clown scene" at somepoint all background soundtrack, ambient noise and music have dropped away. There's probably no way to notice that the first time you see it. But it seriously heightens the tension and it works without you being aware of it.