PART 7
POSTPRODUCTION
Part 7 (Chapters 38 through 44) covers the vital postproduction phase of filmmaking, when raw materials are fashioned into a seamless tale. Because of digital editing and the experimenting it encourages, and because today's editors are so familiar with screen techniques, this is a stage that is usually done rather well even by novices. Anyone who loves film can tell from the screen what needs doing next, and digital editing makes the doing easy.
My purpose in these chapters is not to discuss the merits of the different software programs because the outlook changes almost monthly. Rather, I will lay out procedural steps an discuss what to expect conceptually in terms of your work's evolution. This is an extremely important and exciting phase of the creative process. In documentary, the editor is looked on as the second director, and the fiction editor, provided there is adequate coverage, can have almost as much creative input. Film is an unbelievably malleable medium, and though a poorindividual performance is hard to mask, editors regularly perform miracles at the narrative level, where sheer momentum may cover local woes.
The cutting room is the crucible of filmmaking. The experience of being present while your work is edited will teach you more about your directing than any other exposure possibly could. Many directors in the professional world were once editors, and editing is a superb launch pad if you want to eventually direct feature films.
Be sure to look periodically at the checklist at the end of this part. Just before the heat of battle, it can save you wasted time and energy.
The Editor's Role and Responsibilities
Crew's Dailies Viewing Session
Editor's and Director's Viewing Session
The Only Film Is in the Dailies
Timecoding and Window Dub(Linear Video)
Digital Editing from Film Dailies
CHAPTER 39
Editing the First Assembly
The Physical Process for Video
Minimizing Generational Losses
Timecode: NTSC Drop Frame and Non-Drop Frame
Linear Online and Offline Editing
Resolutions After Seeing the First Assembly
Editing Mimics an Observing Consciousness
Visual and Aural Editing Rhythms: An Analogy in Music
The Problem of Achieving a Flow
Counterpoint in Practice: Unifying Material into a Flow
Drama Takes Place in the Audience's Imagination
The Audience As Active Rather Than Passive Participants
Sound Effects As Scene Elision
CHAPTER 41
Using Analysis and Feedback
Making a Diagnostic Flow Chart
Diagnosis: Using the Flow Chart Again
Surviving Your Critics and Making Use of What They Say
Hold on to Your Central Intentions
CHAPTER 42
Working with a Composer
When the Composer Comes on Board
When to Use Music, and When Not
Keys, and Diegetic and Non-diegetic Music
Conflicts and Composing to Sync Points
CHAPTER 43
Editing from Fine Cut to Sound Mix
Make a Final Check of All Source Material
The Foley Stage and Recreating Sync Sound Effects
Dialogue Tracks and the Problem of Inconsistencies
Atmospheres and Background Sound
Comparative Levels: Err on the Side of Caution
Film Mixes and TV Transmission
Make Safety Copies and Store Them in Different Locations