Editing A Short Film | The Athletic Nerd

The Climb: The Journey Ends

LOOKING BACK. LOOKING AHEAD

When I first decided to make The Climb, it was always meant to be an editing experiment. I just realized that’s a lot of pressure to put on myself as I took over a year and a half to get it done. It should be flawless right? I’m not the person to judge such a thing.

We produced The Climb with about 300 bucks and a lot of help from our talented cast and crew. We made it because it’s fun to be on a film set. It’s fun to make movies.

I’m a professional editor but my experience is almost entirely in a live television environment. Having footage to work with at home has been amazing… But as I exported the final film a few weeks ago, I found myself a little saddened. What footage am I going to work with now?

The obvious answer is to shoot another film but I’m getting married this year! 2012 is also a year I’ve dedicated to screenwriting in between planning the massive event this fall. And so I realized I probably won’t cut another short film for at least a year and half and potentially longer… It’s a little sad.

Having said that, I do plan on shooting some footage when I can in creative ways. I always like to have a couple active projects in After Effects to pick at. It’s addicting.

In the end, I think I cut The Climb using a variety of styles just to experiment and I had a blast. But a film is meant to be completed so I’m happy to have it done. I’m going to miss cutting footage for the next little while but, thankfully, developing new projects is just as fun.

A New Poster For THE CLIMB Has Arrived! | Independent Short Film Toronto

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Deleting My Short Film’s Old Files… Was Tough…

December 8th, 2011 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in 17 West | Featured Posts | Playing Through - (1 Comments)

SAYING GOODBYE TO FOOTAGE YOU LOVED

I was busy putting the finishing touches on a new short film called The Climb and I realized that space was running low on my main hard drive. So I turned my attention to the original files for my last short film Playing Through.

Almost 4 years ago to the day, we decided to make the golfing drama about a cancer scare and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I had so much fun working on that movie. Everything was equal parts excitement and sheer terror. Just about every task I tackled was something I had never attempted before including working with a professional crew for the first time.

When it came time to edit the film, I went out and got myself a sweet iMac with a brand new copy of Final Cut Pro Studio 2. I’m sure any editor out there remembers the day they got their first real ‘setup’. Until that point, I always worked with an ancient version of Premiere Pro left over from my college days.

LEARNING THE ROPES

By the time I started editing Playing Through, I had begun my career as a professional television editor. It was a blast to balance cutting fast paced pieces at work with the slower style of a short narrative. Not too mention at that point, my Final Cut knowledge wasn’t all that extensive.

Every day I would wake up and edit the film for 3-4 hours and then head off to work to edit sports for 8-10 hours. Anyone in a creative medium thrives on projects they look forward to working on. I look back at that time fondly because it solidified my love of editing.

OLD ‘DUSTY’ FILES

Most editors are perfectionists. You have to be. I add my own unique blend of anxiety to my quest for perfection. So I have every file associated with Playing Through backed up on 2 separate hard drives stored in separate areas of my house.

That’s why it was finally ‘time’ to delete all traces of the film from my computer. Of course, I had to load up that finalized timeline one last time and watch the movie again. I scrolled through a lot of unused footage and laughed at the outtakes and moments I had long since forgotten. Going back and watching the raw footage again reminded me of how much I love to make movies and what Playing Through meant to me.

Then I selected the main directories and hit delete. Officially closing the bin on that chapter of my life. In a certain way, it symbolized a step forward as well. I created space for new projects and endless possibilities.

So long old footage. Hello new ideas.

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The Climb Trailer!

NEW SHORT FILM FROM 17 WEST PRODUCTIONS

Last week, I finished the rough cut of The Climb and while a few final tweaks are being made, I decided it was finally time to release a trailer for the drama.

The Climb is the story of Cameron and Destiny and their struggles living on the streets. Each of them must face their terrible pasts in order to move on. While Destiny lost all hope long ago, Cameron holds to his belief that he will find a way to change things one day.

Expect more on the trailer soon!

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Follow the project with regular updates posted here.

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Editing A Short Film: Little Moments

September 29th, 2011 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in Editing | Featured Posts | The Climb - (3 Comments)

THERE’S NOTHING LIKE EDITING THAT FINAL SHOT

Taking a moment to watch a complete short film for the first time is such a gratifying experience. As you watch you think about all the creative choices you made and how everything came together…

… And then you start catching tiny frames you can’t wait to tweak. You notice a shot that should be a half second longer. You notice moments that need more care.

It sounds daunting but I absolutely adore that stage of the process. You’re never going to finish that last shot and watch a perfect film right away. As an addicted screenwriter I know that writing is rewriting and editing is no different. You have to examine each and every shot again.

For example, towards the end of the The Climb, a character hands a very important item over to another. It’s a big decision to make in the film but my original edit rushed that moment. Revising that scene was crucial because I added more reaction shots and the moment had more of an impact. I also noticed one scene where a characters emotions shifted from sad to angry a little too quickly. A couple additions and subtractions later and the moment is much more believable.

There were at least twelve million tweaks like that in my new short film before I locked the edit. To be fair, there will probably be a few hundred thousand more when I show it to my producer Eric. That’s the point. You have to examine everything and never discard a possible change. Always try it and see if it works. If it means reworking the entire scene or sequence so be it. Each and every moment counts.

I know it’s probably not perfect but all you can do is leave it all on the field. (the editing field?)

Now that the cut is locked, I have a ton of sound design, mixing, music and color corrections to figure out. The best way to do dive in?

The Trailer…

XTRA | We Have Picture Lock!

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The Climb Short Film: We Have Picture Lock!

If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you are no doubt aware that The Climb took a very long time to edit. It wasn’t because it was riddled with problems or a serious case of procrastination. I just wanted to try different things with the footage.

I restarted from scratch on three separate occasions to experiment with different editing styles and techniques. You see, at work, I edit for live television every day in a fast paced environment. Slowing things down by editing a film every once in a while is a treat.

That’s actually what started the whole thing. I had just finished Playing Through and I wanted some new footage to work with. Except I wanted the project to be free of deadlines and schedules. I just wanted to edit.

I just realized that by making that statement, I’ve put some pressure on myself to deliver at the very least a well edited short. I can say I’m extremely proud of the final cut. Its exactly what I never intended it to be! The story evolved, the cut evolved and the movie got better.

XTRA | Short Film Editing: Is This Scene Boring

A few weeks ago I set a goal that the final cut would be finished by the beginning of September. Obviously that wasn’t the case. The reason behind that delay pretty much sums up the entire editing process.

I had finished the big scene and it was too long and dragged… So I put some thought into it and came up with a way to combine two scenes creatively. This allowed me the opportunity to shorten the big scene but increase the tension. However, that meant a complete deconstruction of the final 5 or 6 minutes of the film.

Lines had to be cut while others were moved. New takes were selected and others were left behind. In the end, I took what was going to be a 20 minute short and turned it into a 12 minute film I’m happy to declare FINISHED!

XTRA | Follow The Climb’s production here.

What’s next? Sound!

When I first took on this project I wanted to upgrade my mixing skills and used the wonderful tutorials over at LYNDA.COM to teach myself Soundtrack Pro.

It’s time to dust off that software and get to work.

Stay tuned for more on the editing process and complete coverage as I finish up the sound mix and color correction.

[UPDATE: Since some minor tweaks are being made I suppose I can't actually call it a picture lock but it sounds cool.]

Holy crap I love making movies!

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The Climb: The Journey Ends

LOOKING BACK. LOOKING AHEAD

Deleting My Short Film’s Old Files… Was Tough…

SAYING GOODBYE TO FOOTAGE YOU LOVED

LEARNING THE ROPES

OLD ‘DUSTY’ FILES

The Climb Trailer!

NEW SHORT FILM FROM 17 WEST PRODUCTIONS

Editing A Short Film: Little Moments

THERE’S NOTHING LIKE EDITING THAT FINAL SHOT

The Climb Short Film: We Have Picture Lock!

What’s next? Sound!

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