In the film industry, there is a variety of specialists and teams to make a films look as real to life as possible. Over the past 2 years I have been learning the essential skills in or to recreate these types of shoots and how much work goes into producing them. Film editing is when you piece together certain footage, sound and animation to create a moving image that expresses a message or tells some kind of story. It is usually for entertainment purposes but it is always to appeal to a certain audience. In order to do this, the editor must feel the story and edit to that audience. The process of editing can take an exceptional amount of time and can take months if editing a lengthy project. If some shots look good on camera but not on screen, editing is a way to rectifying any mistakes to make the shots look more visually appealing than before. The editing process should flow and look seamless, making it an enjoyable experience to watch for an audience.
I have always been rather comfortable with editing and while on the course, my confidence has grown even more so. The majority of times I enjoy it, however there are times when software has crashed or one shot is out of sync so has interfered with the rest of the timeline. However, the part I find most difficult of an edit is the beginning; if I am unsure of what story/message I am trying to say, it can be difficult. But, as soon as I sequence together the first few shots, it’s pretty easy to form a rough edit thereon out. Since I vlog and edit videos for my Father’s business, the skills I have learnt have become more polished and things have become second nature when editing. I tend to sync to music well as well as match movements and imagery with the sound/music I am given. I try not to make shots too long as the audience would lose interest; I enjoy working with faster paced projects.
However, editing was not always this way. In fact, with early films it was one length of film with no editing or cutting involved; the films were one take films. This made films difficult as they were lengthy, at times boring and if any mistakes were made, you could not use editing to cut them out or edit around them. In the early days of editing, film had to be manually cut by hand with a sharp tool, frame by frame, then use heat or glue the shots back together. It was a lengthy process and took patience and skill. Compared to how long editing a film takes now, to then, the process time was much longer; with 25 frames per second and the average film time being an hour, editing frame by frame took immense time and perseverance. Nowadays, there are computer programs for editors such as Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro, so that post production takes up less time and editors have more creative freedom as they can experiment with different shots and effects as well as being more accurate with their cuts frame by frame. On my course, I have used Final Cut Pro to edit, whereas at home I use Adobe to edit my personal videos (as I have a PC). Even though Final Cut can be more user friendly, Adobe has taken over from Apple in the Media industry, as Adobe is much more reliable than Final Cut. Both of these programes allow the user to add to the edit; adjusting colours, adding images and text and effects. Also, Adobe After Effects gives the option of adding animation and graphics to the edit, adding extra creatuve flare to an edit.
The skills that are needed to edit are very straight forward and become second nature over time. Before transferring any footage, I tend to make folder for the footage, what it is, and the transcoded folder (for after transcoding) To transfer footage from the SD card to the computer, you will need a card reader, move the footage from the card into the appropriate folder. After the footage is copied, the software MPEG Streamclip will be used to transcode the footage into Apple Pro Res 422 in order for the footage to be placed into the timeline and edited smoothly. In order to do this, you would need to export to Quicktime, set the dimensions to 1920x1080 custom, 25 frames per second and select Apple Pro Res 422. The editing programme I use is Final Cut Pro 7 which is simple and easy to work with. Before editing, I tend to create bins in Final Cut where the footage is stored and name and place the footage in the appropriate bins/folders so footage is easier to find and edit to; rather than guessing where certain shots were.
These skills will help me when I create future projects for my Father or if I decide to do independent work later on. It is always a high point on my CV, expressing that I have knowledge in both editing and Photoshop programs. Apprenticeships and potential employers, always look for some kind of editing or film experience so I am not going in blind. Thankfully, I have been taught the basic fundamental ‘building blocks’ of editing in order to move up to something more advanced. Having my own camera (Canon 650D) I can practice my film and editing skills in my spare time.
I find that the easiest way to edit is to find what you are trying to project with the final product. A rough plan before editing will help with this, but an accurate plan is hardly possible as some shots may look better in other sections of the timeline or cut completely. When editing a film or a project with a lot of scenes, it’s easier to edit scene by scene so you can gage the length of how long each scene will be before starting the next; letting the sequence to tell the story fluently.
When I edit, I tend to have a rough idea already in my head and will jot down notes on the go about what kind of story or emotion I want to portray in the timeline. I, personally, tend not to storyboard; I find that I produce a better edit when I am not constricted to a specific shot by shot frame. However, when editing film, I would have a storyboard to follow; as an editor, I would have to try and add my own flare to the project (almost like an editor’s signature) without straying from the director’s/producers initial vision of the moving image. I usually add in sound effects or music last, as it can distract from the story when editing. However, when editing music shows, music videos or a promo/corporate of some sort, I tend to find the perfect music that reflects the story/emotion of the project and then will edit. I do this because, in film, the story is what is most important and therefore the music adds to that story and hints at what the audience is meant to feel. For example, if an interviewee was talking about a sad moment, emotional music would be appropriate; if I chose the music beforehand, it may not have fit with the flow of the edit and distracted the audience from what the interviewee was saying. Whereas when I use the music for my base, it is usually a project that doesn’t necessarily follow a narrative structure, so I have more freedom when choosing what shots will go with the predetermined music.
Syncing sound is made easier for the editor when the assistant director uses a clapper board on set; this gives a definitive mark on where the editor should edit from as well as making syncing the audio easier. I found this very useful when working on music shows as it gave me and the editing team a place to start instead of getting footage mixed up or watching an entire shot and having to guess what take is what and whether not the audio is the same as the shot I am trying to edit to. If the audio is not the same as the one recorded, then the edit can be out of sync with other scenes and become difficult to watch for an audience.
A Rough Cut is when I put all of the shots in sequence, roughly in sync, still raw but in a story I like. It is the first part of a 3 step process called Offline Editing. It is when the sequence starts to take form and look like the final product; however, director/producer will have to give feedback in order for the project to undergo more editing. A Rough Cut is for the editor to show the framework of the final product without any effects or colour correction; something very raw. This can help inspire direction from the director/producer and give guidance on how the editor is to proceed with the story, as well as to decide whether or not to add or cut scenes. Once the Rough Cut has the seal of approval, adding diagetic and non-diagetic sound to the edit, as well as any graphics or titles, can commence.
The next process is Colour Correction. This can be one of the hardest stages when editing. Colour correction uses the ‘Looks’ effect in Final Cut to adjust things such as colour, exposure, contrast, tinting, effects etc. The colour correction can set the tone and atmosphere of the moving image and what the story is trying to portray. Colour correction has to look somewhat realistic and easy to watch. Anything with harsh colours and strange effects will be hard for an audience to watch. This process used to be done in a room called a ‘colour suite’ which used light to change the colours.
The Final Cut is when your final idea is put together and approved by not only yourself but by colleagues. It helps to go over the cut again a few times to see if anything needs changing or adding and if the story is fluent and seamless. Now that the Final Cut has been put together, audio and picture quality is heightened; this is known as Online Editing.
One the project is complete, it can then be exported. Exporting is piecing all of the footage together into one seamless file after the editor and producer/director is happy with the Final Cut. It can be exported into a number of consumer files, most common being H.264 (MP4) which most sharing sites such as YouTube, Facebook and Dailymotion. Currently, films are exported to 2K but there has been a recent development of changing to 4K, meaning higher resolution for films. Although, few monitors can handle that much data, as well as there not being enough computer storage to stock the footage.
In conclusion, editing is an essential stage in the film industry as it can create amazing imagery when done correctly. For example, you may end up with bad footage, but a good editor will find a way to adapt and create a decent edit. By using Final Cut and Sfter Effects, footage and scenes can be saved and can make for an interesting edit. Alternatively, you could have beautiful footage, but in the hands of a bad editor, can be wasted by creating a bad edit. Some can edit for half an hour and create something amazing, whereas others may take a day to create something just as good. A boring edit can have a negative effect on audiences if they become bored and lose interest; quick shots or interesting effects/angles can keep an audience’s attention. Even though in the industry time is money, an edit can never be too rushed as it may not do the film/footage justice. It is important that an editor takes care in their work to produce the best edit they can achieve in what time they have.
kianamaiart
blakekathryn
areudirty
tangentwithtanner