I have always seen that an editor's work begins when they are in the editing suite. However, after reading the post production chapter of Digital Film-Making I have realised that an editor's role does in fact starts from the first day of shooting. An editor on set is responsible for making sure that all of the footage is correct and is taken off of the memory cards and imported onto a device correctly. They are also responsible for looking through the rushes of the footage and making sure that there are no problems with it, so that if there are any they can be resolved or re-shot while on set there and then. This makes the process a lot easier when realising these problems on set rather than when in the editing suite and it is too late. It also the role of the editor to make sure that all of the footage is organised and that when it is imported onto a device that it is separated into different folders of video, audio and external audio. Then for it to be organised into different folders that represent each camera so that it will be completely clear to someone who were to look at the footage for the first time and for them to be able to know what footage is what and what camera or marantz it has been recorded from. So from this i have found that a key skill for an editor is that they need to be organised in order to be successful and to make the entirety of the process of post-production as smooth as possible. It is getting into the routine of checking rushes, importing footage, organising files and then backing them up that is key to becoming successful.
Friday, 30 November 2012
Mike Figgis - Editing
The editor should be the person on set - or the editor's assistant, certainly someone from the editing department - who makes sure that the footage is being issued and catalogued in a way that they understand. Also, the tapes should be viewed on a a daily basis, in the way that 35mm used to be viewed. So that when a tape gets put into a box they have some idea of what has been shot. Digital Film-Making, pg.113, Mike Figgis
Thursday, 22 November 2012
Scene 34 & 37 Edit
As part of a task we were given a series of different clips and a script in which we were to edit too. I enjoyed doing this task as i had not had any previous experience of editing to an actual script so it was interesting to see how everything fitted together when looking at both the script and the footage. It was also interesting to look at how the script had been interpreted during filming and to see that the script had been transformed into an actual physical form.
When i had downloaded both the script and the footage onto my mac i started to read through the script so that i had an understanding of the story and what was happening within the scene. As i needed to know the feel and the mood of the scene before i began editing it. Once i had done this i then looked at the rushes and then shortened the clips taking out any unnecessary dialogue that wasn't in the script and in which i didn't need. I then started to create a rough edit of the conversation between the two characters, making sure that i was following the script correctly. I then started on my second edit and trimmed down each of the clips in order to create a pace and a mood to the sequence. However, while doing my edit i found that there were a few problems in which i needed to correct.
SOUND
I found that there was a major problem with the sound in the footage, especially when the two characters dialogue are compared and when they are next to each other on the edit. These were some of the main problems in which i found -
- Dialogue was too quiet and could hardly be heard at points
- Background noise such as the waves were overpowering the actor's dialogue
- Sound dipped in various areas
To solve this problem i looked at using a wild track to disguise these problems with the sound in the hope that the problem would not be recognised by the audience. For example, in areas in which the dialogue was too quite i looked at making the dialogue from the actress louder and then placing wild track before and after the dialogue and making the wild track at the same level as the dialogue. At this point i realised that trying to disguise problems with sound in post production is a hard task to do and is very time consuming. This also made me realise the importance of making sure that when i am filming i record the sound correctly on set so that i don't cause more problems for myself during the edit. As trying to correct the sound on set is far easier than recording bad sound and then trying to re-correct it in post.
COLOUR CORRECTING
Once i had completed my final edit i looked at colour correcting my sequence. The original colour of the sequence had no problems other than the fact that when each of the actor's clips were placed next to each other on the edit you can tell that there is a difference in colour. However, as individual clips the colouring of the shot had no problems. So i looked at colour correcting the entire sequence so that it all matched, however i also looked into how colour correcting could effect the feel and the mood of the sequence. Did i want the sequence to look gritty by making it darker? Did i want to make the sequence seem cheerful by making it lighter? This is what i looked into next and i made the decision of that i wanted the colouring to be of bright and non-contrasting colours. The reason for this being that the dialogue that is taking place is of a neutral tone and i wanted this to be reflected in the sequence.
I liked doing this task as it made me realise how much of a personal effect an editor can have on a film, even when they are working from a script. When looking at other people's edits of the same footage they were all different to my own, however they still told the same story and followed the same script in which i was. It was interesting to see how different edit's showed a different pace and a different mood through the way in which they had put their own personal stamp on the edit.
Ghostbusters Edit
We were given the task of re-creating a scene from Ghostbusters and we were to try and get it shot for shot for the sequence. The scene in which we were given was the opening scene of the movie which involved the character of Dr. Peter Venkman doing tests on two students. We were to create storyboards so that we knew exactly what we needed to film and so that we had a plan of what we were doing. Once we had finished filming we were to import the footage and to edit the sequence using Final Cut Pro X.
When going through the rushes it was clear that some of the shots that we had were a bit shaky. However, we knew that this was going to be a problem as we made the mistake of not booking out a tripod for the day of shooting. So everything in which we shot was handheld. All though this was apparent in a few shots it was not a major problem as looking at the footage as a whole you could not tell as the camera had been held quite steady. Luckily, the shots that were shaky were not vital to our edit so we were able to cut them out and use other shots that weren't so bad.
One problem that we found when editing was making sure that the sound was correct throughout the whole edit. There were points within some of the clips where the sound was too quiet or muffled in some places. This meant that we had a few sound problems that we needed to sort out. However, we had recorded a wild track on location which made this problem a lot easier to solve as we could disguise the bad sound with this.
Another problem in which we faced when editing was that when filming the white balance had not been set correctly and this caused us a few problems as the room in which we were filming was white. So this was a problem in which we had to sort out during post-production. We looked at colour grading the sequence and doing all that we could in order to restore the footage. The end result was that it did look a lot better than the original footage did, however it is something that we will have to remember when we film again.
One thing that i found difficult while editing was working as a group on one edit. I find that it is hard to work as a group while editing sometimes because everyone has their own opinion to what they think is right and how something should look. There is also the problem of that only one person can actually edit at one time and this left other people not having much participation in the edit. This also made it hard for when we wanted to take it in turns for editing as it was looking at the edit and wanting to change what someone else had done to how you would like it to be. However, as a whole i think that we worked well as a team to get the edit finished and to be happy with the finished product.
Post Production: Sound
Post Production sound is the underlying art of post-production that is always never fully appreciated. It is one of the most important elements in order to create a successful film, all though it is rarely considered, especially within student films. It is the sound that creates emotional response and subliminally pushes the audience to feel exactly how the film maker wants them to feel. An image is an image but without sound it will not convey an emotional link that will effect the audience.
Lecture: Method of Editing
In today's lecture we looked at the method of editing and file workflow. This was very useful to me as i find that when i am editing i never have a method in which i stick too, i normally edit as i go along and sometimes just hope for the best. I know that this something that i need to improve on as i need to have a method in which i will stick too and in which i will use repeatedly for every edit i do so that there is some system and so that i know exactly what i am doing. I also tend to sometimes have problems when i am organising my files and placing them into different folders, i tend to forget where i have saved files and this causes major problems when i come to do my edit.
The key things in which i took from this lecture -
The key things in which i took from this lecture -
- I need to label all of my SD cards when i am on location to avoid confusion
- If a card is accidentally formatted in the camera - leave it and don't record onto it
- Don't edit straight off the memory card - import it onto the computer first.
- Make sure that there are at least two copies of the footage - eg. one on a computer and one on a hard drive
- When importing footage, split each of the memory cards into separate folders and label them
- Have a separate folder for external audio and label it as this
I learnt that by doing all of these things then i will have a faster and more efficient workflow which will allow me to work at my best for the production.
Video Tutorials: lynda.com
To further improve my knowledge of the Final Cut Pro X software i have been watching some of the tutorials from the website lynda.com. I find that this website is very useful for looking at everything you would possibly want to know about using the software. As there are hundreds of tutorials, i have been focusing on the tutorials in the section that is "Final Cut Pro X Essential Training". Within this section it covers -
- Introduction
- Preparing your machine and the program
- Importing, Capturing, and Analysing Media
- Getting Organised and Preparing to Edit
- Beginning the Edit
- Working with Sound
- Advanced Editing Techniques
- Effects, Transitions and Generators
- Colour Correction
- Exporting and Sharing
- Managing Project and Media Files
- Customising
I plan on watching as many of these tutorials as i can as i know that it will help me to improve with my editing skills. The videos that i have watched so far have been helpful as it introduces you to the new interface, but it also compares and shows the differences between Final Cut Pro 7 and Final Cut Pro X. I find this helpful as i am used to editing in Final Cut Pro 7 so to be shown the differences between them and to know the changes that have been made is helpful to me. I also find that the way in which the tutorials are presented helps me to learn about the software easily because they are very visual and clear and i am a visual learner so this is the best way for me to learn.
Final Cut X Tutorials
One of the key things that i found useful in these tutorials was going through all of the different menus and buttons properly and looking at what they did. For example, we looked at the keyword editor where you can name each section as a keyword and these will then appear in the event library. We looked at menus and tools that i wouldn't normally pay much attention to as i wouldn't know how to use them and what they were used for. So i found it helpful to go through these as it meant that i had a more broader knowledge of the software, rather than just knowing the basic menus and tools.
It was also useful to learn about the different keyboard shortcuts as this helps greatly to speed up the editing process. For example -
- E - will place selected clip at the end of the sequence
- W - will place the clip where the playhead is on the timeline
- Q - will place the clip above on a separate track
- S - will turn video and audio skimming on/off
- J - Forward
- K - Pause
- L - Reverse
- F - mark as favourite clip
During the tutorials we used footage of flowers in order to practice editing using the software. I found it a lot easier and quicker to edit using X than i usually would as we were taken through each stage of the editing process as we went along and this helped a lot. By doing so i learnt a lot more about what the best way was to use the software when doing things such as selecting the correct settings before editing and importing footage.
I now feel that i have a far better understanding of how to use the Final Cut Pro X software than i did previously and i know that i would feel more confident in using it. However, i know that i need to practice using this software in order to develop my understanding and knowledge of the software further.
"Practice makes perfect".
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