....And Onto the Screen

….And Onto the Screen

            Editing a film is hard. It is strenuous, tedious, backbreaking labor that I dread every time I make a film. It doesn’t help that as my films get more sophisticated and as I use better software, editing becomes more and more complicated as well. Before I get too far into my process, let me establish the four basic reasons for editing a movie: to combine, to trim, to correct, and to build (Jones and Patmore 103). I primarily edit with the “to build” in mind. This way of editing is to “take many shots, which are taken out of sequence, picking the best takes, and placing them in the desired sequence. It is a long, involved process but ultimately the most rewarding” (Jones and Patmore 103).

            When editing a film, there are 10 steps that should be followed in order to make editing go as smoothly as possible. Those are: importing all of your videos, importing all of the audio, syncing the audio with the video, organizing the clips, making basic cut of the scene, working in the basic cut of the scene into the rough cut of the film, adding necessary music and sound effects, adjusting the audio levels, viewing the rough cut of the film, and finally, assembling the film together (Jones and Patmore 107-110). Being my rushed and unorganized self, I skipped, or at least reordered, many of these steps. For example, I didn’t sync up my audio with my video until after I had assembled the rough cut of the film.

            As I argued in my previous post, I believe that sound is the most vital part of a film. While editing, it’s important to ensure that the sound is the best it can be. Jones and Patmore state: “the original sound is examined for flaws, and then it is cleaned up or manipulate to create the final soundtrack” (122). For my film, all of the audio was flawless except for in the park. Wind interfered with the recording, making the levels go too high. I fixed it, however because of how far gone the audio was, the final result suffered. When recording, it’s imperative that the best sound possible is captured during production.

            Furthering my point of audio being important, I believe that the score of a movie is the highest priority of audio. “Music in film helps establish themes or to create mood. The style of the music will depend on the type of film and the idea you are trying to convey” (Jones and Patmore 126). The score of a movie essentially creates the entire tone of a movie. You could play two clips side-by-side, each with a different score playing, and each would convey drastically different tones and moods. During the making of this film, I create some music of my own and found some free to use for a project, as long as it’s accredited. Using this music, I was able to create the tone I wanted in each of the scenes.

Here's a link to the video if you would like to watch it: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whyg9CqH9Nc

            While making this film, I was able to understand how to cope with a significant amount of stress and responsibly manage multiple tasks that all need to be completed. I was able to accomplish all the things that needed to be done in a manner that I can be proud of. Directing a film is a tremendous task, but it’s one that I incredibly enjoy. As I finish this last post, I have two questions: what is your favorite film genre, and how much significance do you think a soundtrack holds in a film?

Works Cited

Jones, Ted, and Chris Patmore. Movie Making Course. 2nd ed., Barron's, 2012.