Filmmaking Filter: Editing a short film.
November 8, 2022 6:20 PM Subscribe
My buddy and I have finished shooting a short 7 minute film for a film festival. Now we are going to edit it using DaVinci Resolve. We both want to learn editing. What would be the most effective and efficient way of having the two of us edit the film? We have about ten days.
Also what are the best books and resources on film editing? (I have already read Murch's In the Blink of an Eye. And I have "The Eye is Quicker"). Murch's book is too high-level, what we need is brass tacks stuff. What hacks are there to make editing as efficient and easy as possible? We are newbies!
We are going to go through the DaVinci's website tutorials as a start.
Also what are the best books and resources on film editing? (I have already read Murch's In the Blink of an Eye. And I have "The Eye is Quicker"). Murch's book is too high-level, what we need is brass tacks stuff. What hacks are there to make editing as efficient and easy as possible? We are newbies!
We are going to go through the DaVinci's website tutorials as a start.
A slightly different answer, but I would say, first just do a straight assembly edit, the shots in order with no serious cuts. Every shot you want in there, just drop it in the timeline. Say you end up with 15 minutes of footage.
Watch the whole thing. Then commit to cutting out the obvious fat - "we don't even need the part where he walks to the door, right?" "Yeah and I didn't realize it but the conversation at the coffee shop takes forever!"
You could edit simultaneously but it would be annoying. Just take turns talking about and making cuts until you get it down to 10 minutes.
This is your rough cut. Watch it again, twice in a row. First time you see it, second time you know what's coming and you see it better. Now you're not looking for obvious "the actor is waiting for their cue" or "waiting for the car to enter the frame" stuff. You're looking for moments where you feel like something goes too long or happens too quickly.
Commit to cutting out one full minute. Watch it again. Then watch it again and stop after every scene and ask each other where you could lose a few seconds. Lose them. Get yourself down another minute... down to 8 now.
Watch again, and now stop after every shot and ask yourself if you need every second or even every frame of this shot. Work your way through like this and you can get it down to 7.
In fact, your real goal is to get it down below 7, to say 6:30 or lower. If you can make a whole movie at that length, you now have the luxury of going back through and adding in a second or two here and there on shots or looks that you think could use it. You'll feel every second you add but they'll feel so valuable!
Anyway that's how I would do it, though I'd probably go straight to rough.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 9:52 PM on November 8, 2022
Watch the whole thing. Then commit to cutting out the obvious fat - "we don't even need the part where he walks to the door, right?" "Yeah and I didn't realize it but the conversation at the coffee shop takes forever!"
You could edit simultaneously but it would be annoying. Just take turns talking about and making cuts until you get it down to 10 minutes.
This is your rough cut. Watch it again, twice in a row. First time you see it, second time you know what's coming and you see it better. Now you're not looking for obvious "the actor is waiting for their cue" or "waiting for the car to enter the frame" stuff. You're looking for moments where you feel like something goes too long or happens too quickly.
Commit to cutting out one full minute. Watch it again. Then watch it again and stop after every scene and ask each other where you could lose a few seconds. Lose them. Get yourself down another minute... down to 8 now.
Watch again, and now stop after every shot and ask yourself if you need every second or even every frame of this shot. Work your way through like this and you can get it down to 7.
In fact, your real goal is to get it down below 7, to say 6:30 or lower. If you can make a whole movie at that length, you now have the luxury of going back through and adding in a second or two here and there on shots or looks that you think could use it. You'll feel every second you add but they'll feel so valuable!
Anyway that's how I would do it, though I'd probably go straight to rough.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 9:52 PM on November 8, 2022
Response by poster: I'm a little confused because we have multiple over-the-shoulder shots and close-up shots of the same scene. So what's the process we would follow to identify the pieces of the shots we want?
posted by storybored at 10:00 PM on November 8, 2022
posted by storybored at 10:00 PM on November 8, 2022
When the footage from A Cam gets visually boring, you switch to B Cam basically. That should usually happen at a break in the dialogue (if the scene is dialogue), when emotions shift on the face so you want to get a better look at the face from whichever angle is better.
This usually happens at least every couple seconds. The modern viewer's brain gets bored of looking at the same thing for any longer, unless it's a cinematic masterpiece or the viewer is incredibly invested.
posted by greta simone at 6:46 AM on November 9, 2022
This usually happens at least every couple seconds. The modern viewer's brain gets bored of looking at the same thing for any longer, unless it's a cinematic masterpiece or the viewer is incredibly invested.
posted by greta simone at 6:46 AM on November 9, 2022
How much footage have you actually shot? BlackLeotardFront above surmises your first rough cut at about 15 minutes, I think it would be useful for you to state just how much footage you have to look through because that affects what people will recommend you do.
With regards to your second question you kind of need a "grammar of filmmaking" crib sheet of things not to do in editing to make sure the narrative is clear, ie the infamous "Don't cross the line!" Sorry I don't have any up-to-date resources at hand but it's the sort of handout usually given at the beginning of filmmaking short workshops (2-3 days) and maybe someone on here can recommend a nifty one? Something quick and dirty, because now is not the time to get intimidated by more knowledge.
Congratulations, you've done a very tough thing and now you're about to face something much tougher! But the whole project is absolutely an amazing way to learn such a practical skill.
posted by glasseyes at 7:32 AM on November 9, 2022
With regards to your second question you kind of need a "grammar of filmmaking" crib sheet of things not to do in editing to make sure the narrative is clear, ie the infamous "Don't cross the line!" Sorry I don't have any up-to-date resources at hand but it's the sort of handout usually given at the beginning of filmmaking short workshops (2-3 days) and maybe someone on here can recommend a nifty one? Something quick and dirty, because now is not the time to get intimidated by more knowledge.
Congratulations, you've done a very tough thing and now you're about to face something much tougher! But the whole project is absolutely an amazing way to learn such a practical skill.
posted by glasseyes at 7:32 AM on November 9, 2022
Response by poster: Thanks glasseyes!
We have about 70 minutes of footage. We were careful not to cross the axis so hopefully that's not an issue. Looking forward to the tougher thing!
posted by storybored at 8:34 AM on November 9, 2022
We have about 70 minutes of footage. We were careful not to cross the axis so hopefully that's not an issue. Looking forward to the tougher thing!
posted by storybored at 8:34 AM on November 9, 2022
With that much footage, it's worth logging it as you rewatch all of it, making notes about which takes you like best, etc. That will give you a basis for fairly quickly assembling the rough cut, and also a record of where to find other bits of footage you might find yourself needing (a reaction shot, etc.).
posted by unreadyhero at 2:36 PM on November 9, 2022
posted by unreadyhero at 2:36 PM on November 9, 2022
Also, study up on J and L cuts. Sometimes you want the audio from one cut but the video from another cut or vice versa. Helps to make it more interesting.
posted by perhapses at 7:24 PM on November 9, 2022
posted by perhapses at 7:24 PM on November 9, 2022
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The answer? Edit on paper, as close to the second as you can manage. Put a big piece of paper on a wall and start by putting in what you know should be there and aprox where/when, then build around that.
You'll need to tweak it, but that will get you to a rough-rough ASAP. Agree on what you know together, if there are obvious places to split up the work (you directed that section, they had the strongest vision for that scene, etc), pencil those in and handle them later.
Split up the work - start learning to edit at the end (ie start at the end), grind until you can't see, wake the other person up, they start learning where it's convenient (not the beginning, not something with quick edits or complex audio, etc, not the first scene - do all those last).
You check the wall and adjust and add detail if you have the focus for it. Eat (a real hot meal) and bed. If insomnia, edit on the wall.
Rinse, repeat. Teach each other whatever you didn't pick up at the handoff.
No driving.
NO DRIVING.
Ideally you're in the same place and have healthy, delicious, and high calorie meals ready to nuke (ie lasagna, a bake with vegis and cheese, HB eggs with rice, cooked greens, and peanut sauce or heavy oil and tamari on the greens, etc). That will help knock you out.
You'll also need something lighter for breakfast (pb on toast, beans on toast w cheese, etc), bonus if you can incorporate lots of water (congee with soybeans or diced chicken, etc).
You wake up, eat, hydrate aggressively, when you have a brain, edit. You aren't doing anything else, and you'll regret trying so clear your schedule and if you can, turn off your phone.
By round 2 or 3 of this you'll have developed specializations - whatever is easier for you becomes something you do, whatever is easier for them, they do. Ideally you do that first in whatever section they're working on or will work on next so they can drop it in when theyre back on.
Figure out who is doing the hard parts and prep whatever you can to make that easier.
2-3d before the deadline, you'll have set an alarm. That's your rough cut deadline, and you're going to sleep for a few hours after that alarm, but it will mostly be adrenaline at that point.
As much as possible avoid sugar, coffee, and anything diuretic (no alcohol, if you're prone to insomnia, get a script from your doc). Drink as much water as possible - more than you think you can or need, it helps with everything, especially dry gritty eyeballs.
You'll have figured out if it's faster to work together or separately on a first final cut and will have a top 3 scenes that need the most attention (individually, but hopefully there's overlap). Hopefully you're talking to each other at this point, but if not, commit to the best work you can do by the deadline and you'll worry about everything else later.
After successful submission and 24h of sleep, whatever the issue was won't look so dire. (Even if you have to re-shoot your central interview because someone messed up the audio and Didn't. Notice. :ahem:).
We had access to one machine w the required software, so working simultaneously on different sections wasn't possible. The benefit to that was it was always a cohesive whole - either you're staring at the wall and editing or you're in the room and can review how what you're working on fits into the whole easily.
Good luck, you'll be amazed you got it done :)
Youll still have 20 things you want to change after you submit, and hopefully whatever screaming fight you have 5d in ends up a bizarre memory from a wild trip.
Enjoy :)
posted by esoteric things at 7:34 PM on November 8, 2022 [5 favorites]