During the pre-production unit I created a post-production schedule. This was difficult to create as I had to try and predict what would happen 4 months in advance, obviously we didn't know whether we would have to re-shoot or schedule any new filming days. I carried out research on how to create a post-production schedule as I wasn't even sure on how to lay it out or what to include in it at the time. I initially scheduled the rough cut to only take a week without taking into consideration the time it takes to sync the audio. Immediately, this made me 2 days behind the first schedule. However, at the time of creating the post-production schedule, I stated that I would start the edit a week after we wrapped filming. I did this with the intention of giving us all a weeks break, however, when it actually came to finishing filming on the 22nd February, I realised I wanted to get into the edit as soon as possible to start the post-production process. As a result of this, I started syncing the audio on the 25th February rather than the 4th March like I had scheduled. To start with, the time it took to sync the audio and then starting the edit a week early seemed to match up as I was behind but ahead. However, shortly after this we realised we needed to re-shoot and hold a voiceover day and it made sense for me to keep hold of the rough cut while organising the re-shoot. As a result of this, we were then behind schedule. The fine cut was supposed to start on the week commencing 15th March, but as it can be seen below, I had the rough cut for a while after this throughout the voiceover and re-shoot days.
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| Updated post-production schedule |
In the re-shoot we shot scenes 4 & 6, so before this I had continued working on the other scenes so after the re-shoot I would be able to work just on the new footage. Relating back to Simon's feedback on editing the film as a whole rather than in sections, means that it worked well for me to keep the rough cut until after the re-shoot and voiceover day. This prevented me from constantly passing it to Katie to do a bit of the fine cut and then getting it passed back to me to do the rough cut on the new footage. I wanted to get the film to a good standard and as close as the final film as possible before passing it on.
I also scheduled separate days to have viewings with the director, Alex. However, he attended the studios on most of the same days that I did so he was there to oversee the edit in many stages rather than setting a date for him to see it has a whole. This was beneficial for me as there were sections of the edit where I didn't know how he wanted them to look. Therefore, having him sat next to me most days meant that I could ask questions and get his advice on the edit. This also sped up the creation of the rough cut as I was able to ask as I edited, rather than spending time creating an edit for him to say a lot needed changing. We solved problems together, such as continuity or what to do due to lack of coverage, which worked really well.
I amended the audio as I went, however, any specific audio like getting atmos from online or any serious sound editing was scheduled for the fine cut. Therefore, the audio is constantly being worked on from rough to fine cut.
I finally came to a point in the edit where I felt that the footage was in the correct places and it was a case of refining some of the scenes and concentrating on audio and sound effects. I made sure to do this before our viewings with Beth and Simon on the 26th March with the intention of them agreeing that it was a case of refining and sound work. In Beth's feedback, she said that it would be beneficial for me to get someone to watch it who hasn't been staring at it for weeks so they could tell whether they are watching something that isn't that funny / doesn't add to the story. As both Simon and Beth said that it was a case of refining the edit now, I decided that it would be a good time to pass the edit onto Katie as she hasn't been involved with the rough cut and therefore, would work on it with a fresh mind. We also agreed to swap films with Aimee and Will's group to watch each others objectively. As a result of this, I handed the edit over to Katie on the 26th March with the intention of her attempting some of the sound design before we see Aimee and Will's group. I scheduled a short viewing with the other group on the following Friday 29th March.
Fine cut schedule
The schedule below starts from the first full week after the fine cut was handed over. As I did for the rough cut part of the schedule, I had included our timetabled sessions, such as edit viewings and the studio production. In the fine cut, Katie will be focusing on the audio, sound effects and after this, the colour grade. I thought I would start by scheduling just the audio and sound effects for the first full week of the fine cut, until the next viewing on the 9th April. From this viewing was a good place to start the colour grade because, ideally, the audio and sound effects would have improved for the viewing with Beth and Simon, giving Katie the opportunity to start the colour grade after this.
As a group, we decided to come into the studios to edit in the Easter break. As a result of this, I continued the edit into these two weeks. The area is covered in a shade of grey as we are not scheduled to be in over these weeks. However, I have continued the fine cut, audio, sound effects and grade into these weeks due to the fact that we have decided to come in. Although I have scheduled the fine cut throughout the whole of the Easter break, we won't be attending the studios for the duration of these two weeks, only a few days for each week. I felt it was necessary to include the bank holidays as we won't be attending the studios on these days.
Now we are in the final week of the project. Katie has amended the audio for scenes 7 and 9 (academy car park) and added in the final sound effects and music. We are on track with finishing and handing in the edit on the 10th May.
What went well?
- Creating the post-production schedule in the Pre-Production Unit was beneficial as I had something to compare the real edit process to.
- By updating the post-production schedule as we go through the project, I have been able to be more detailed for when Katie and I started specific aspects of editing. For example in the first post-production schedule I simply had a title of fine cut and that was it. However, as we've progressed through the edit stage, I have been able to add in more refined headings such as sound effects and colour grade. In addition to this, I have been able to document where each of these parts started from. This means I will be able to reflect on the schedule with the correct details on it.
- The post-production schedule has been beneficial in terms of seeing where we are in our project. About 3 weeks away from the hand in, I knew the deadline was approaching but I didn't realise actually how close it was. I informed Katie and Alex of the limited amount of time we had left and we all become more focused on the edit to try to make it the best it can be before the hand in. If I didn't keep referring back to the schedule or hadn't made one at all, then I may not have realised how close we were to the deadline, and we may have fallen behind with the edit and then possibly struggled to finish it on time.
What didn't go so well?
- At the time of creating the post-production schedule, I didn't take into consideration every part of the process which meant we weren't on schedule during the rough cut. In particular I didn't consider the syncing the audio and how long this would take. However, with the fine cut being finished when we hand in the project in May, meant that we didn't have a third section of the edit to keep on schedule with. As a result of this, as soon as I handed over the edit to Katie we were back on schedule with the fine cut.
What have I learnt?
- I have learnt to research thoroughly into something which is going to be done in the future. If I had researched at the time of making the schedule every single thing which needed to be done in the post-production stage, such as syncing the audio and planning for re-shoots, then we may have been on schedule more than what we were.
I also scheduled separate days to have viewings with the director, Alex. However, he attended the studios on most of the same days that I did so he was there to oversee the edit in many stages rather than setting a date for him to see it has a whole. This was beneficial for me as there were sections of the edit where I didn't know how he wanted them to look. Therefore, having him sat next to me most days meant that I could ask questions and get his advice on the edit. This also sped up the creation of the rough cut as I was able to ask as I edited, rather than spending time creating an edit for him to say a lot needed changing. We solved problems together, such as continuity or what to do due to lack of coverage, which worked really well.
I amended the audio as I went, however, any specific audio like getting atmos from online or any serious sound editing was scheduled for the fine cut. Therefore, the audio is constantly being worked on from rough to fine cut.
I finally came to a point in the edit where I felt that the footage was in the correct places and it was a case of refining some of the scenes and concentrating on audio and sound effects. I made sure to do this before our viewings with Beth and Simon on the 26th March with the intention of them agreeing that it was a case of refining and sound work. In Beth's feedback, she said that it would be beneficial for me to get someone to watch it who hasn't been staring at it for weeks so they could tell whether they are watching something that isn't that funny / doesn't add to the story. As both Simon and Beth said that it was a case of refining the edit now, I decided that it would be a good time to pass the edit onto Katie as she hasn't been involved with the rough cut and therefore, would work on it with a fresh mind. We also agreed to swap films with Aimee and Will's group to watch each others objectively. As a result of this, I handed the edit over to Katie on the 26th March with the intention of her attempting some of the sound design before we see Aimee and Will's group. I scheduled a short viewing with the other group on the following Friday 29th March.
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| From rough cut to fine cut |
Fine cut schedule
The schedule below starts from the first full week after the fine cut was handed over. As I did for the rough cut part of the schedule, I had included our timetabled sessions, such as edit viewings and the studio production. In the fine cut, Katie will be focusing on the audio, sound effects and after this, the colour grade. I thought I would start by scheduling just the audio and sound effects for the first full week of the fine cut, until the next viewing on the 9th April. From this viewing was a good place to start the colour grade because, ideally, the audio and sound effects would have improved for the viewing with Beth and Simon, giving Katie the opportunity to start the colour grade after this.
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| First full 2 weeks of fine cut |
As a group, we decided to come into the studios to edit in the Easter break. As a result of this, I continued the edit into these two weeks. The area is covered in a shade of grey as we are not scheduled to be in over these weeks. However, I have continued the fine cut, audio, sound effects and grade into these weeks due to the fact that we have decided to come in. Although I have scheduled the fine cut throughout the whole of the Easter break, we won't be attending the studios for the duration of these two weeks, only a few days for each week. I felt it was necessary to include the bank holidays as we won't be attending the studios on these days.
- Creating the post-production schedule in the Pre-Production Unit was beneficial as I had something to compare the real edit process to.
- By updating the post-production schedule as we go through the project, I have been able to be more detailed for when Katie and I started specific aspects of editing. For example in the first post-production schedule I simply had a title of fine cut and that was it. However, as we've progressed through the edit stage, I have been able to add in more refined headings such as sound effects and colour grade. In addition to this, I have been able to document where each of these parts started from. This means I will be able to reflect on the schedule with the correct details on it.
- The post-production schedule has been beneficial in terms of seeing where we are in our project. About 3 weeks away from the hand in, I knew the deadline was approaching but I didn't realise actually how close it was. I informed Katie and Alex of the limited amount of time we had left and we all become more focused on the edit to try to make it the best it can be before the hand in. If I didn't keep referring back to the schedule or hadn't made one at all, then I may not have realised how close we were to the deadline, and we may have fallen behind with the edit and then possibly struggled to finish it on time.
What didn't go so well?
- At the time of creating the post-production schedule, I didn't take into consideration every part of the process which meant we weren't on schedule during the rough cut. In particular I didn't consider the syncing the audio and how long this would take. However, with the fine cut being finished when we hand in the project in May, meant that we didn't have a third section of the edit to keep on schedule with. As a result of this, as soon as I handed over the edit to Katie we were back on schedule with the fine cut.
What have I learnt?
- I have learnt to research thoroughly into something which is going to be done in the future. If I had researched at the time of making the schedule every single thing which needed to be done in the post-production stage, such as syncing the audio and planning for re-shoots, then we may have been on schedule more than what we were.
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