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!