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Editing Short Films

A few weeks ago, I wrote about getting stuck editing our latest short film, The Climb.

Since then, I’ve been picking at the opening scene in between trips, shifts, weddings, writing, design and other 17 West related responsibilities.

Finally, I decided it was time to edit a few shorter scenes to get the momentum going.  The trick is to find the overall style and pacing.  Once you’ve found it, it becomes easier to make decisions and everything begins to fall into place.

Things fell into place for The Climb last week.   I’ve officially locked my first scene and we are off to the races.  It may sound minor but getting ONE scene right is crucial in the beginning stages of an edit.

I think it’s important to nail down and really fall in love with that first scene so you can carry that style throughout the film.

I’ve found a pace that works for the movie and I couldn’t be happier.

The scene in question involves the main character waking up on a park bench in pain.  I took my time and really made sure people will understand the night he had and the struggles ahead.  I’m loving it because it’s a quiet scene with only facial expressions to tell the story.

The Climb is beginning to take shape.

I enjoy being productive.

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Editing Short Films

I know I’m not the only editor on the planet that edits on different systems.

How many editors out there can’t jump out of Final Cut and into Avid, Premiere or any other software without feeling somewhat at home right away?

Once you know how to edit, you just need to learn the short cuts in different software packages.

When I’m at work, I edit using Quantel’s Qedit and Qedit+.  At home, I’m all over Final Cut Studio 2.

These two systems are very different even though the fundamental editing functions remain the same.

I have to tell you, switching back and forth takes a little time to get used to.  Features that I love in each aren’t present in both.

That kind of sucks.

I can adjust edit and adjust audio levels in Quantel with blinding speed. (We’re paid to be fast editors.  It’s live television after all.)

I wish I was just as fast with Final Cut but I’m not.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing as I’m cutting a film at home.  It requires more time and careful shot selection and pacing.

I suppose I’m just complaining about nothing.

I love both systems.

Actually, I don’t really have complaints.  I’m just enjoying the ins and outs of editing.

PS: That lame joke is there on purpose and I don’t feel bad at all.

Editing Video With Different Systems | Editing Blog

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Editing A Short Films

Logging and capturing footage can be extremely long and tedious but it’s important work.

Trying to edit a ton of unorganized footage is a huge pain so you may as well do it right.

It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of capturing footage. It’s fairly time consuming especially when all I want to do is edit!

I knew going in that I would have to capture all the footage we shot for The Climb myself.

Normally, I would put it off as much as possible before starting but this time, I had a deadline.

It turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Our camera was borrowed and had to be returned first thing Monday morning.  This meant that all of the footage we shot had to be captured before we lost the camera.

We shot about roughly 6 hours of footage in total.

At the end of each day of shooting, I sat down, captured and watched each tape one by one.  It’s a lot easier to do when you have a deadline.  It was actually quite fun because most of the time, the crew was still around so I wasn’t by myself.

It also helps that Final Cut Pro makes ingesting footage relatively pain free.

I had a late night on Sunday but it was an amazing feeling knowing all the footage was digitized and ready to be organized and ultimately edited.

I woke up Monday morning with a smile on my face.

Click here for more editing posts.

The Climb Short Film Toronto

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The Athletic Nerd by Jason McKinnon

The Athletic Nerd is nearly 8 months old now and I’m still having just as much fun as day 1.

Since the site began, I’ve introduced a variety of regular features including:

Rainy Sundays

10 Flicks

All Time Best

What!?

Today, I’d like to introduce 2 NEW features to the site!

Editing A Short Films

Editing Short Films is going to feature regular posts about the ins and outs of editing.  Forgive the pun…  Actually I don’t feel bad.

I’ve been a professional editor in the television world for 5 years now but editing films requires a much different approach.  I’m definitely not a pro yet which is why I must rely on a number of resources I’ll be discussing here in the near future!

Producing Short Films

Getting a short film ready is challenging work.  Producing is something I admittedly know little about as I focus mainly on screenwriting and post production.  However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t resources out there to write about.  You have to start somewhere.

I’m lucky enough to work with Eric Gamache who is an awesome producer.  Between the two of us, we hope to continue to build 17 West Productions using every resource possible.

Both of these new features will begin appearing within the next few weeks so keep checking back daily!

Tell your friends!

Most importantly, if you have any insight, tips or resources that you’d like to feature on this site send me an email jason@17west.ca

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