Editing the Short Film...
The (Very) Basic Stages of Editing
Rewriting in the Editing Room
Editing the Short Film: The (Very) Basic Stages of Editing
Two things generally happen in the editing process: you see problems you didn't
know you had, and you figure out ways to fix them. But working through this
process is difficult and requires many stages. While it's beyond the scope of
this Web site to offer you a real "how-to" guide for editing, we outline the
basic stages here:
Choose your shots. Even before your film comes back from the lab, you'll have
a rough idea of which shots you'll want to use. On set, your script supervisor
will have made detailed shooting notes that will mark the takes you think are
best. Still, when the film is processed you'll look over all your takes to see
which ones you want to use.
Create a "bin" for each scene. A"bin" is a folder in which you place the shots
you think are necessary or effective for each scene of your film. Most editors
do their work on Avid, using software like Final Cut Pro. This technology allows
you to store several versions of a scene, if you like. But we suggest being as
decisive as you can be when creating your bins. Decisions you make now are
decisions you won't have to make later.
Create a rough assembly. Once your bins are created, you'll assemble each
scene, working viscerally (at first) to see how your scene should be constructed.
It's important not to get bogged down here; just get a visual "draft" together.
You'll find that what you have is merely the "shape" of a film, a sketch in which
the finer elements have not yet been realized.
Critique the rough assembly. You'll find plenty to criticize in your rough
assembly. For example, you might find that a shot that looks beautiful all by
itself just doesn't work organically within the scene - it calls too much
attention to itself, and throws the scene off-balance. As you watch the film
again and again, you'll take note of your film's problems, and you'll begin to
strategize solutions. (Note: most filmmakers realize at this stage that their
film and their screenplay have parted ways in moments. Be flexible: though
you'll find that your scenes are evolving in ways different from what you
originally intended, you may find that what you have "in the can" is actually
better than what you had on the page. We'll give you a powerful example of this
in a moment.)
Start shaping scenes. Some scenes will require minor changes to make them
work. You might need to trim a shot at one end or the other, use a cutaway, or
change a shot sequence, and the problem is solved. But other scenes pose more
serious problems. Sometimes, in fact, you'll discover that the scene you have
doesn't make sense visually, and you don't have the shot or shots you need to fix
it. At this point you need to be inventive and tireless. To tweak your scenes
effectively, you'll need to be able to have one eye obsessively focused on the
small details, and the other eye firmly locked on the "Big Picture." It takes
time to develop this skill, so be patient.
Keep tweaking scenes. But know when enough is enough. Editing a film
generally takes as long, or longer, than shooting a film. Theoretically, you can
edit ad infinitum: a film is never really finished, and there's always going to
be a cut, or a shot choice, that bothers you. Still, you need to know when to
stop. Ask yourself four questions: Is the storyline clear? Is the structure
coherent? Are the scenes effective? Are you satisfied? If you can answer "yes"
to these questions, you're finished with your film.