Katie and I are sharing the editing role in the project. Katie, as director of photography, will be in charge of the colour grade and because of this, we felt that it would make sense for her to complete the fine cut for the film. This left me with the rough cut which I was happy to do. As we are working together and I will be passing the edit onto her when I feel it is best to, I wanted to carry out some research in order to find out exactly how far I need to take the rough cut before passing it over. I wouldn't want to do too little and then Katie have to pick up something which should have been completed in the rough cut. To work together successfully I want to completely finish my role in the rough cut before passing it over. In addition to this, as I was initially the producer of the project, completing the rough cut will allow me to make creative choices within the edit which I may not have been able to access if I was just the producer and not a producer / editor.
Throughout my research I discovered a video with Jason Tomaric, an Emmy-winning director/cinematographer, Brad Schwartz, an Emmy-winning editor for Top Chef, and Barry Zetlin, Emmy-winning television and film editor explaining the requirements for a rough cut. They continue to explain that the assembly cut is first and then next is the rough cut.
Stages of the rough cut include:
- Logging
- Syncing audio
- Assembly cut
- Rough cut
- Directors cut
Logging is the very first stage of post-production. It involves sorting all the dailies (raw, unedited footage) so they are properly labelled. Organising all the footage will allow the editor to work more efficiently to make a cut. In a big post-production house, there will be edit assistants who do the logging for the main editor. However, as we are only a small production group, I will be logging and organising the footage as part of my rough cut role. The edit assistants, directors and cinematographers will also leave notes on takes to help give context to the editor as it's likely to be the first time the editor would have seen the film footage. I was at each shoot day, I knew the plan of shots and the structure of the story from being the script editor. As a result of this, I already knew about the film and what shots I expected to receive. Therefore, when I am logging the footage and audio, I shouldn't need to make any notes.
Jason and Brad didn't mention syncing audio so I looked further into what this consisted of. From the transitions unit, I know why I need sync the audio as we filmed the sound separately to the footage and the mouths need to match with the dialogue, however, I felt that if I researched further into this technique, I may learn something new or gain advice to keep in mind when syncing the audio. I found a video by editor, Corey Machado, and he suggested using a clapperboard or just simply clapping with hands while filming a take is ideal to peak the audio ready for the edit. It makes "it easy to see and hear the sync mark" (Machado, 2016). Fortunately, we used the clapperboard in the majority of scenes, apart from the surgery scene of the dog in the van and the night scene. As the rest of the audio should be able to be synced relatively easy with the clapperboard, these may be the only times when I may struggle. Machado also explained that the "video needs scratch audio recorded otherwise they'll be no reference to the sync mark" (Machado, 2016). The scratch audio is essentially the quieter audio track that comes from the camera. We should have this on each footage clip, and along with the clapperboard, it will help me in trying to match up the audio to the footage. The clapperboard is beneficial to have as I will able to see the footage of the board and the scene and take number, and I can hear the clap and the scene and take number from the audio. However, ideally I will be able to match up the scratch audio to the main audio in order to successfully sync the audio. In addition to this, I will be able to check the footage of the clapperboard to make sure it matches the sound of the clap, rather than solely relying on matching the audio levels. This is how I synced the audio in the Transitions Unit and it worked well.
The assembly cut is "editing the movie to the script" (Tomaric, n/d). This is the first draft of the movie edit in which the director has the opportunity to see the movie for the first time. This stage of the edit can be time-consuming, challenging and stressful, a well-crafted assembly cut lays the foundation of the film, ready for the rough cut. I imagine that I will be able to create the assembly cut after I have synced the audio and I have one complete cut of the film on the timeline.
The rough cut occurs after the assembly cut. By now there should be one cut of the film on the timeline and if there is, Jason next explains that this is the time in which you can start "changing scenes, shortening / lengthening parts of the story, addressing pacing issues, strengthening characters and improving the emotional intensity of the story" (Tomaric, n/d). As we are creating a comedy, the pacing will be very important to the humour. Quick fast-paced cuts will add to the humour whereas slower cuts and shots will prevent the humour from occurring. As a result of this, I will deal with the timing of the film in the rough cut. To do this, I will be shortening parts of the story. As comedy comes from quick cuts, I imagine that I will be shortening scenes rather than lengthening them.
As well as pacing, the characters will be a big part of the rough cut. I will need to ensure their personalities come through in the edit. VET-MAN is inspired by The Thick Of It which is why we have shot the scenes handheld and have included many zooms in the takes. The zooms will help build the characters as we have mainly used this technique when Tim and Luke say something stupid or comedic. In order to bring out Tim's arrogant and over-confident personality and Luke's naive and impressionable personality, I will make sure I include many zooms from the takes rather than cutting around them. By including the zooms I will be able to strengthen the characters for the audience to understand their different personalities.
Continuing in my research, Brad Schwartz advises asking questions while editing the film, "how can I enhance the story? Can I move scenes around? Can I restructure the elements that I already have to make this a more powerful story?" (Schwartz, n/d). These questions will be helpful to keep in mind and answer while I am creating the rough cut. Just because Alex has written the script in a certain way, doesn't mean parts of the story may look better and make more sense being moved around. I also need to keep any eye out for the structure of the story similarly to the writer of the project, for example, making sure it "move[s] from point A, to point B, to point C. Does it have a logical beginning, middle and end?" (Schwartz, n/d). Just because the script made sense and had a good structure doesn't mean the edit will look the same. With Alex, we can review the rough cut of the film to make sure the story flows as well as the script did. An early rough cut, after the assembly cut is finished, is an opportunity to view the movie on its own - divorced from the script. Here we can cut and move parts of the story around if it needs it.
Finally, the rough cut is about "smoothing it out and making it more presentable" (Zetlin, n/d), it should also start to look like the final project, in terms of footage. The sound effects will come in later in the fine cut, so this stage is primarily about the footage and how the film will look at the end. I imagine that the film will start looking like the final product by the time it's a few rough cuts in. As I found out previously, the first draft will be the assembly cut and will simply be putting the footage on the timeline with minimal tweaks, the second rough cut will include any input from Alex as the director, and by the time I am on the third draft, we should have had some viewings from our tutors. As a result of the film going through these stages, it will slowly start to resemble the final film towards the end of my part of the edit. I will aim to get it looking like the final product before I pass it onto Katie so I can be sure that the rough cut is complete.
The directors cut is when the director focuses "entirely on working with the editor to refine the cut of the film" (New York Film Academy, 2017) and helps the editor reorder, remove and change scenes and shots with extreme attention to detail. This is also a good opportunity to discover plot holes and missing shots that may require re-shoots. In my post-production schedule I have highlighted different days when I will sit down with Alex and watch through the edit so far. My aim is to get a full cut of the film ready for Alex to look at, he will then take notes and I will complete these by the next time he is scheduled to see it.
Editing comedy
I am the producer of VET-MAN as well as being co-editor. The producers main role occurs during pre-production, and as a result of that, I wanted a more important role during post-production. I aim to create the rough cut of VET-MAN, and once I have passed it onto Katie I will return to my producer role and concentrate on the marketing of VET-MAN for the rest of the Major Project Unit.
Due to being the editor of our VET-MAN mockumentary, I have previously conducted research into editing comedy. Nevertheless, we changed the genre of VET-MAN to a sitcom, rather than a mockumentary, and as my previous research was focused on editing mockumentaries, now is a good opportunity to research into sitcom editing. During my mockumentary research, I found out that as we are shooting it in a documentary style I had to include the fly-on-the-wall type shots in the edit, however, now I am editing a sitcom my initial thoughts are that I will be able to use more close ups in order to follow the action and comedy.
As we changed the genre, I now need to look into editing a sitcom. One of Alex's inspirations for VET-MAN was The Thick Of It and I knew he wanted it shot and edited in a similar way to this show. To start my research, I felt it was best to look into the editors of The Thick Of It as it's the same style that we want to follow. Initially, I found Anthony Boys, editor of Veep, Fresh Meat, as well as The Thick Of It. He had conducted an interview with Dublin Editors and he answered some of the questions I had already noted down to ask an editor if I was to contact one. Before I did this, I looked into this interview first as it may hold the answers to my questions and give additional advice into editing comedy. Boys explains that he didn't always work with comedy, he started working in entertainment TV for the first five years of his television career, and he worked on shows such as The Salon and Cash In The Attic. He then had his big break in comedy with Armando Iannucci, who was making a show called Time Trumpet. Boys was supposed to do two weeks with Iannucci, but stayed for three months and ended up cutting two episodes of Time Trumpet.
Boys continues by answering the question: "You obviously love what you’re doing; what do you love most about your job? And what do you love least about your job?" I was interested by this question to see if I can relate to his answer. In order to edit our sitcom well, I believe that I need to be in the same mindset of an editor, otherwise it won't be successful. Boys says that he "loves making people laugh" (Boys, n/d). He is addicted to seeing people giggling behind their hand, combined with the 'you're not supposed to say that on television" sort of reaction. I believe that I need to be enjoying my work, especially the end product when showing someone. I want them to have the same reaction as Boys as he likes people to laugh when looking at his work - the 'I can't believe you've just done that on television'. I have learnt that if I don't get that reaction then maybe I am creating the wrong sequences.
I took on some advice from the interview with Boys - "watch every single frame, especially in comedy" (Boys, n/d). Boys explains that while editing there is rarely one best take, there are usually three or four options which enhance the comedy of the scene in a particular way. As a result of this, it's beneficial to know all the takes because once you start changing the scene around, those takes will change. Also, with the amount of times that you can steal a look or a reaction from a completely different part of the scene to put somewhere else for comic effect you have to know where those are, they have to be stuck in your mind somewhere. Otherwise you can’t make the best scene possible, because of this Boys advices to watch every single second. I was able to put this piece of advice into practice quite early on into the edit as Katie put together the first two days of footage we got from the Owl Academy. She did this to determine whether or not we would need to re-shoot. On these shoot days, I had Katie's shot list and made sure we had each shot that was listed, however, by editing it together Katie was able to see whether they needed other shots entirely that Alex and herself hadn't thought about while creating the shot lists, storyboards and blocking. I sat with Katie during the majority of the time she was creating the rough cut for just this set of footage. As I will be taking on the rest of the rough cut, I wanted to see what takes we had from the Owl Academy, as Boys advised previously, in order to know which take was better than the others - I need to know each take really well. If I revised the takes now before I take on the rough cut, then I am a step ahead than looking over the footage that has already been put into the edit timeline. In addition to this, I will be working around Katie's edit to save time for myself than re-doing what is already done. I was very happy with what Katie put together, therefore, it would have been silly to re-do it. As I will be working around this sequence, I will need to know each take from the Owl Academy well in order to develop what Katie has already edited together.
I also felt it was best to see how she edited, so I could use the same method. This is because after the rough cut I will be passing the edit back to Katie, therefore, I want her to be able to understand it from what she gave to me. Furthermore, I wanted to be reminded about syncing the audio because apart from researching into the technique earlier in this blog post, I haven't actually put it into practice since the Transition Unit.
During the initial syncing of the audio, we came across a couple of problems and I made a few notes:
- Katie didn't have the sound on the camera while filming so the footage and the scratch audio was silent. Having the sound on the camera would have helped sync the audio as Katie, and myself when I come to edit it, would have been able to match up the audio peaks on the timeline from the scratch audio and main audio. As we didn't realise that the sound wasn't coming through the camera as well as the boom, she said that it was difficult to sync the audio with just the clapperboard, making this a longer process than it should be.
- In relation to the clapperboard, during this initial edit I realised how important it was to use the board at the beginning of each take. Matching the scratch and main audio would have been ideal but as we didn't have this, the clapperboard was the next option, which was easier than matching people's mouths to the dialogue would have been. Using the clapperboard meant that we were able to write the scene and take number on it to be shown on each footage clip, however, I found that this was pointless if the number wasn't said out loud as well. Unfortunately, none of us realised this until the initial edit. There were a couple of times during the first shoot day where I had to use the clapperboard, I asked Alex if I had to call out the scene and take number and he said I didn't have to, so I didn't. While Katie was editing the first set of footage, we realised actually how important it was to read out the scene and take number. By doing this in the upcoming shoot week when it comes to creating the rough cut, I will be able to listen to the scene and take number, while looking for the same numbers on the footage. This will allow me to know which footage clip matches which audio clip. Not having the numbers spoken aloud, meant that Katie had to match the dialogue to the correct footage, and due to the lack of sound on the camera, it was difficult to do this.
- I discovered a continuity error of the colour of Ed's vest changing over the two shoot days. I agreed the costume with the actors at the end of the first shoot day at the Owl Academy, however, I didn't realise the finer detail of parts of the clothing, such as his vest until I saw the change of colour in the edit. As the vest is barely noticeable, I believe that it won't be obvious and we'll be able to get away with it. I liaised with Alex about this and he agreed and said it wasn't worth a re-shoot.
Continuing with Boys' advice when editing comedy, he says that the comic timing is "100% instinctive" (Boys, n/d). When editing comedy, the timing should just come naturally, within the humour you should know when to cut the take. For example, if there is a reaction shot to something comedic, it is obvious that the reaction shot should be held to give the audience have time to laugh at the reaction, however, it will be instinctive to know how long for, this will be easier when focusing on the film and into the swing of the tone of the film. A possible way in which to do this well could be to hold it for as long as I think it should be and then ask someone else, either the director or someone with a fresh mind to see when they think it has been held enough for the comedy to come across.
It is possible that not all the scenes or performances are going to work well once it comes to the edit, even if they sound funny in the script or during filming. Boys advises that if a scene isn't working well to have a look at it and if it's not obvious as to why it's not working then ask if it's needed. If it's an essential part of the story then it needs work done to it. If it wasn't quite right during the script, and filming and it's still not right in the edit, then maybe the scene is not meant to be in the film. I cannot be afraid to cut something if it's not working in the story. If it has to be there to help the story flow, moving the lines around slightly or reassembling it may work. Boys advises to start again on the scene that doesn't work, but to not re-use lines and takes that you've already tried, try to use new lines to see if that works or if it at least gives a spark of inspiration of how to fix it. This piece of advice may come in handy in the edit. As we are creating a comedy, it has to work to be funny for the audience, and because of this, there is a chance of it not working. I will keep this in mind when taking on the rough cut. The script has gone well and the filming we have already done has gone well, but this doesn't mean it will all work together in the edit.
As The Thick Of It is our main inspiration, I watched a couple of episodes to focus on the editing. I have seen the show before due to VET-MAN being based on it, but I haven't looked at it in terms of the editing. I made a few notes that may help me when I start the post-production process:
- Emphasise the zooms and pans
- Uses shaky handheld footage to it's advantage
- Hold the shots for a certain amount of time before zooming, although this isn't massively obvious because of the shaky footage
- Not all quick and choppy shots, if something interesting is happening or sat on a reaction, they hold it for however long it needs
I have taken these points away with me and I will aim to use them in the edit. As I am creating the rough cut, the visuals are my responsibility and I would like them complete by the time I pass the edit onto Katie. This means they need to look how Alex has visioned the film, which is in the same style as The Thick Of It.
Relationship with the director
Continuing with Anthony's interview, I wanted to learn about the relationship between an editor and director. As I am the producer of VET-MAN as well as co-editor, I felt it made most sense to separate the roles as throughout my research I found that producer/editors aren't common job roles, producers are simply likely to just take on a bit of the edit.
In the interview by Dublin Editors, Boys was asked if he gets involved in the production process with the director, he first explains that "getting involved during the production side entirely depends on the job" (Boys, n/d). Fortunately for me, as I am primarily the producer of the project, I have been able to be very involved in the production side as I have been organising it all and helping Alex during the shoot days with additional ideas. As a result of this, according to Boys I have had more access than an editor would usually get. He continues by saying especially when it comes to comedy and when the production is more reliant on the script, it's difficult for him to come in and say that he knows better than the production team. However, he has had input into the production side on many films that he's been involved with. Boys believes that this is "one of the areas where films differ from TV" (Boys, n/d), they like to get editors in and ask them on ways to save money, especially on films which are trying to bring the budget down. When this happens, he is able to give his advice and say ‘well if you shot it like this, then you don’t need that, you don’t need to build 2 walls of the set, so that will save you cash’. He continues by saying that the production team are really looking for you to help save the budget, which you then make sure they put into editing to give you more time. As I am in charge of the budget, I am constantly thinking of ways to bring the outgoings down. Reading Boys' examples made me realise the benefit I have of being both producer and editor of the project. If I was primarily the editor then I would have had less creative input into the production of the project, it would mainly be down to the directors say.
In addition to this, being involved with the production throughout all stages means that I have been able to work with Alex throughout the whole project, building a good work relationship with him. This will be beneficial in the edit as I will be more likely to want to take his advice on and make the edit fulfil his vision. I aim to follow Alex's advice anyway, but it is possible that if we didn't have a good work relationship that I might have wanted to create the edit to my own vision rather than his. Fortunately, we have had a good relationship throughout the project, and I am ready to carry the relationship on into the edit stage.
Having a good work relationship with Alex leads onto Boys' next piece of advice, he explains that "you need to establish trust right away" (Boys, n/d). Reassurance is ideal in making sure the director trusts what you're going to do with the edit. Alex and I have already worked together in terms of director and editor in the Transitions Unit and that went well. Alex trusted that I would do my best to bring his vision to the screen, and I believe I did this successfully. I have also scheduled a variety of viewings with Alex in the post-production schedule, which shows that I want Alex to be a big part of the edit, rather than me editing it all and not letting him see it. I want Alex's input into the edit from the start so I can bring his vision across appropriately the first time, rather than editing the whole film for Alex to dislike it. Boys advises to make people laugh, the editor sits with the director for the next few months of the edit, so becoming friends with them is a good way to build trust. As I have known Alex for the past 3 years at University, I can say we have a good friendship. As I said previously, we have worked together before so we have already experienced a successful working relationship. Boys advises to be open with the director, the editor may have an idea but if they think it's not going to work, the director may be able to add to the idea to make it work. Even though it's the editor running the room, ensure that the director feels as if it's their room and their show. As the producer of the project, I should have some creative input into the edit, however, as it is Alex's vision I will allow him to make the last decision as long as it's something that we have both discussed.
Another question Boys was asked was about how to work with different editors on the same show, as they would all inevitably have different styles and edit methods. This piece of advice will be beneficial for me as I am sharing the editing role with Katie, and we need to make sure the piece flows smoothly between us. Boys explains that they had conversations about it at the beginning but once they started working together they were very "aware of what the house style is" (Boys, n/d), it comes to you quickly, sometimes it just takes on scene and then you understand the tone and style they're expecting. My initial thought was that as I am starting the edit, it will be Katie who would have to follow my style, however, as she edited together a section of the first two days filming and I said previously that I am going to continue on top off and develop her work, it will be me who needs to make sure I am following the style of her editing. When sitting with her to start the edit for the first two shoot days, I could understand where she was holding reaction shots and when she was combining the camera zooms into the edit to build the comedy. We are shooting the film with the intention to show camera movements as we are filming handheld instead of obtaining static shots. Katie did her research into the camera style and from that could possibly understand how the edit was going to look. As I didn't take part in this section of research, I didn't quite have that visual look towards the edit, until I watched the shoot days and re-watched the footage she had captured. As a result of this, I found it beneficial to watch Katie's style when editing together the first two shoot days, as I would be continuing the edit on the same timeline as this, it would need to flow smoothly together. Katie only put together the footage from these days to see if we needed to re-shoot, however, I didn't want to waste time in re-doing what Katie had already done and as it currently fits with our tone and the style we want VET-MAN to have, there was no need to re-do it. Due to this, I aim to take on her style to the film and continue this. Subsequently, once I pass the film back to her for the fine cut she should follow the tone and style of the edit as a whole. By doing this, the edit should run smoothly even though it would have been passed back and fourth 3 times.
Creativity
Relating back to the article by Maria Johnsen in blog post Preparation for Shoot Day 1 & 2, in her opinion, "to produce is to create" (Johnsen, 2018). Obviously, the producers responsibility includes controlling the budget, planning and organising, but Maria believes that the producer must also be "willing to give creative input to get the final result that is desired" (Johnsen, 2018). This creative input could be from many things such as casting, writing or re-writing scripts and editing. Individually, to produce means to make or generate, while to create means to put into existence, therefore, I have interpreted Maria's opinion as I needed to make the shoot happen to gain the footage, in order to put the film into existence. I believe I worked well within the organisational side of producing to make the shoot happen, and because of this I will be able to put the film into existence by creating the rough cut. In post-production, editing is my way of being a bigger part of the creative side to making a film. As a result of this, editing was highlighted to me the most when I read this part of the article. As I have said previously, I have been involved with casting by organising and attending the auditions and script read through, and I have been involved with the script, not by writing or re-writing, but by becoming the script editor and suggesting changes and improvements. However, editing the film will be the only part I will able to do on my own. Both casting and script editing meant that I was relying on Alex, however, I will be able to take charge of the edit as part of the creative side of producing.
Reflection
- For the remaining shoot week, I will ensure that the camera is recording sound to make syncing the audio an easier task. By recording sound I will be able to follow my research and sync the audio with the same method that Machado advised, on top of double checking this by watching the clapperboard footage to make sure the audio is successfully synced.
- Sitting with Katie while she roughly put together the footage of the first two shoot days was beneficial because I was able to see the style in which she edited, which will help me when it comes to creating the rough cut.
- I am eager to put my creative side forward during the edit. Although I am responsible for other creative aspects of production, such as making sure the props and costumes were correct before shooting, I think after production I would have come to a stop on what to do next to benefit the film. I will aim to regularly update Alex on the edit and I hope to bring across new ideas. If we need to re-shoot I will think in the mind set of a editor in order to improve the initial shots for the edit.
- As Alex and I have had a good work relationship I have all confidence that the rough cut will be successful and I will aim to take on his advice in order to get his vision across on the screen.
- For the remaining shoot week, I will ensure that the camera is recording sound to make syncing the audio an easier task. By recording sound I will be able to follow my research and sync the audio with the same method that Machado advised, on top of double checking this by watching the clapperboard footage to make sure the audio is successfully synced.
- Sitting with Katie while she roughly put together the footage of the first two shoot days was beneficial because I was able to see the style in which she edited, which will help me when it comes to creating the rough cut.
- I am eager to put my creative side forward during the edit. Although I am responsible for other creative aspects of production, such as making sure the props and costumes were correct before shooting, I think after production I would have come to a stop on what to do next to benefit the film. I will aim to regularly update Alex on the edit and I hope to bring across new ideas. If we need to re-shoot I will think in the mind set of a editor in order to improve the initial shots for the edit.
- As Alex and I have had a good work relationship I have all confidence that the rough cut will be successful and I will aim to take on his advice in order to get his vision across on the screen.
References:
- Boys, A. (n/d) Interviewed by Dublin Editors. Available at: https://dublineditors.com/paper-cuts/anthony-boys/. Accessed 5th March 2019
- Tomaric, J & Schwartz, B & Zetlin, B. (n/d). Available at: https://www.filmskills.com/the-rough-cut. Accessed 5th March 2019
- Machado, C. (2016). How to Sync Audio to Video in Premiere Pro. [Online Video]. Available at: https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/quickly-sync-audio-and-footage-in-premiere-pro/. Accessed 4th March 2019
- New York Film Academy (2017) Available at: https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/from-rough-cut-to-directors-cut-to-final-cut-how-a-film-transforms-over-time/. Accessed 5th March 2019
- Tomaric, J & Schwartz, B & Zetlin, B. (n/d). Available at: https://www.filmskills.com/the-rough-cut. Accessed 5th March 2019
- Machado, C. (2016). How to Sync Audio to Video in Premiere Pro. [Online Video]. Available at: https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/quickly-sync-audio-and-footage-in-premiere-pro/. Accessed 4th March 2019
- New York Film Academy (2017) Available at: https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/from-rough-cut-to-directors-cut-to-final-cut-how-a-film-transforms-over-time/. Accessed 5th March 2019
- Johnsen, M. (2018). Being A Creative Film Producer. Available: https://medium.com/@mariajohnsen/being-a-creative-film-producer-f1264ab6a05b. Last accessed 3rd Feb 2019.
- WikiDiff. (n/d). Available at: https://wikidiff.com/produce/create. Accessed 5th March 2019
- WikiDiff. (n/d). Available at: https://wikidiff.com/produce/create. Accessed 5th March 2019
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