A bittersweet finish

I’ve felt things to be pretty awkward this week. It’s the final week before final exports are due so stress level s are high in the air! I have found out that Gery is unhappy with the grade so has taken it upon herself to re-grade the entire film at the last minute. Aisling isn’t sure what the problem with our grade was. We did need to finalise it but I was just waiting for Aisling’s call to get straight onto that.

I was more surprised to find that she has graded over our version instead of starting a fresh one which I’m annoyed about because I needed that grade for work reference and screen grabs. We have looked through the saved vault but it only holds a few days’ worth of material and unfortunately my last input is not recoverable.

On the plus side I have been given one last stint of editorial input to the project, which I’m happy about because it went quite well. I had told them a while ago that I have an idea for the film’s title sequence. There is a shot at the start of the film in which the central couple sign a lease in an estate agent’s. The shot is a close up of the page, which I thought made it a nice canvass for titles. Gery has already done the film title so I asked if I could have a go with a pre title of ‘Coláiste Dhúlaigh/Univestiy of Wolverhampton Presents’. They liked the idea and I’ve just finshed it and I think that thankfully works really well. I say thankfully because it was very hard work. The idea was to have the above title scroll across the page in time with the signatures. They only issue is that Final Cut doesn’t have an effects function for this so I had to improvise. I made a separate text box for each letter (24 in total) and then cut them together precisely so that they when they played in the time line they perfectly synchronized with the signatures on the page. It took me hours and it has screen time of about 10 seconds. Now I know how animators feel…

Hyper link:

Animated opening credits in synch with signatures on page (begins at 00-00-12)

https://vimeo.com/128870570

Back online but not in the cut

The files are now back on the correct drive so editing should be a sight easier to get done now and time is getting short for final edits all round. The girls informed me today when I asked about getting stuck into the fine cut that they have finished picture lock which they must have only done within the last couple of days. I have to say I am disappointed that they didn’t let me know. It’s not that I want to insist on any input or anything and what ever cut they want is their choice but I do thing it’s a bit crazy to have an independent editor and not to even ask their opinion on the final cut. I certainly didn’t let my editor’s viewpoint go amiss and I would especially consider fresh eyes essential at this more pressurized stage.

Anyway, Aisling and I have begun the colour grade so that will probably be my last role on the film before it’s handed over for the sound mix. 

Some more stalling!

Trying to get editing done this week has proved to be a little frustrating. It appears the newly shot material has been accidentally saved to one of the Mac hard drives in the edit suites instead of the portable Lacey drive each film has been assigned. As a result all of the new material is offline whenever access is not possible in that particular edit suite.

I hope this problem gets corrected soon as I have lost some good editing periods I had hoped to avail of between phases in my own postproduction schedule. I’ve let Aisling know but the problem is persisting. I’ve tried to reconnect the files myself with the help of Natasha (our resident technical guru) but that proved not possible without knowing exactly where have been saved to. So until this issue is unfortunately solved there is not much editing I can do.

A little stalling

It turns out that Aisling and Gery have planned to shoot some extra footage as they feel it’s necessary to strengthen the story. Looking over the existing rough cut I feel it’s hard to progress it further without this new material, so I feel I need to wait until they come back with the footage in order to put the edit into the next gear. I was in the same boat with my own film only last week, as we also needed to get some necessary pickup shots and our edit also hit a slow patch until we got those scenes/shots filmed.

It just goes to show how important the rhythm and flow of the editing process is when progressing the narrative can slow down so much even just waiting for a few minutes worth of necessary material. 

The next phase

I feel it’s getting a lot tighter all round at the moment schedule wise and a good few of the films are entering the fine cut stage so good organisation is key, especially for those who have a collaborative role within postproduction. As a result I have approached Aisling and Gery to see if they can send me a postproduction plan. I’d be happy with even a loose plan to follow, as it would mean I could best arrange commitments to my own film whilst also ensuring that I can work on Colour Blind as an editor to full effect and not just be turning up to edit at inappropriate times for them.

They will both need to also find their own feet as post-directors/producers at this fine cutting stage anyway, or at least that’s how I like to work myself at this stage of the process.

Operation success

Well I am happy to say that I have managed to pull off a complete rough cut as agreed by last Wednesday evening. Personally I am happy with it and I think Aisling is too. Gery is currently on work experience so I will have to wait for her feedback once she returns.

There is a lot of theatrical surface drama, and even melodrama in Colour Blind so the exchanges between characters really set the baseline for the tone and feel for editing the film. The most crucial factor of all is to ensure that Paul remains the lead character. Aisling and Gery worked particularly hard in the script stages to ensure that Paul’s story arc came to the fore and it’s my job to ensure that it remains so in the edit. I’ll leave them both now to analyze as to what they want next for the film and wait for them to let m now when they are really to move on to fine cutting.

Screenshot example one of my edit sequences:

Preparing for the rough cut

Well the shoot is now wrapped and its time to switch my role on Colour Blind from Director of Photography to editor. I’m really looking forward to editing the film; I already know that the shots we got are nice and the way the story is arranged in the script will be interesting to edit too as there are a few scenes that inter cut with each other.

One thing I was aware of approaching the editing stage was that both Aisling and Gery came to the degree year from the Liberties media course, which uses Adobe’s Premiere Pro editing software. Coláiste Dhúlaigh uses Apple’s Final Cut Pro 7, which is the package I learned to edit on over the last two years during my HND course. The college has installed the Adobe suite this year to suit all students but I am not very familiar with it and would be reluctant to use it for the first time on a major creative project with a deadline without first having time to play around with it on practice material. Fortunately the girls understood this and they are happy to go with Final Cut for their film, especially since they are both keen to advance their postproduction skills anyway. At the end of all this however I would like to be a professional editor so I will endeavor to expand my own skills to include Premiere Pro as well as the ubiquitous AVID as soon as I graduate.

Viewing the shots

Aisling and Gery have uploaded all of the footage I shot and I’ve managed to have a look at most of it. From what I see I think it’s all good work so I can rest assured I did my job well. Funnily enough my next step now is to switch my collaborative role to editor in this very project so I will be working with my own shots now in postproduction.

Relevant hyper links:

Original shot of wind chime moving into black screen wipe edit point

https://vimeo.com/129067491

Fully edited wind chime sequence as it appears in the final film (begins at 00-06-24)

https://vimeo.com/128870570

Problems problem!

Last Thursday we were scheduled to shoot Sai’s remaining scenes but we had to cancel on the last day’s shoot but it is apparently proving difficult to get her on set. I’ve just gotten official word that the scenes have to be re shot tomorrow. Wednesday is the one day of the week that I can’t work because I need to look after my young daughter. I’ve asked the girls if there is any chance we can do a different day but it appears it’s not an option. This means I will not get to shoot the remaining scenes of the film, which I’m not at all pleased about. However c’est la vie, and I at least feel I performed well in my role to date as cinematographer on this film. I just hope the material they will shoot themselves tomorrow matches the style and look of the shots I have filmed up to now well.

The Shoot - Day 3

Today was due to be the last day of shooting but Sai, the actress playing Anita, is unfortunately unwell so we had to omit her scenes from the shooting schedule which will need to be rescheduled for a later date.

We were shooting in Aisling’s family home, which acted as the Mittel household. With Sai’s scenes postponed the scenes we filmed today were - Paul’s arrival at the house to pick up Anita’s remaining things; the awkward moment in the kitchen when Manoj makes tea for him; Paul making his decision to go and speak his mind to Manoj; and the scene in Anita’s empty bedroom where both men meet before coming to an understanding.

We shot the bedroom scene first which from a cinematography perspective, I found to be both a satisfying and rewarding experience. For the shots in which Paul and Manoj acknowledge each other’s presence we utilized a full-length mirror. We filmed full and mid shots of each actor’s reflection in the mirror as well as corresponding direct shots of them. This way we can alternate each shot to best effect in the edit. Creatively I thought the result worked really well and I am generally interested in the inventive use of mirror reflections in shots because it can create a whole new visual perspective in terms of depth of field and the use of hard/soft focus. We also filmed my wind chime passing trick shot, which seemed to work fine.  All will now depend on how well it connects with the impending corresponding shot.

The remaining shots in the kitchen went well and were relatively straight forward to film. I arranged for the primary establishment shot of both Paul and Manoj at the kitchen table to be shot from a good distance back by placing the camera in the adjacent dining room and shooting through the adjoining doors. I based this decision on how they shot the family dinner scenes in the film American Beauty (1999). In that film the effect is that the audience feels almost voyeuristic watching a dysfunctional family unit from a certain vantage point and I thought that effect would work well in enhancing both men’s discomfort in each other’s presence.

The last shots of the day covered Paul sitting at the table drinking tea before deciding to man up to Manoj. We got a lot of coverage of this scene because it’s all action and no dialogue and we’ll want a few different options to make it work well. All in all a good day’s shooting.

The Shoot - Day 2

I have to say I found today’s shoot very enjoyable. We spent the whole day shooting in a converted attic that acted as Paul’s bedroom. The three scenes in the script that take place in this location are when Paul and Anita cuddle on the bed following the first row with her father, when Paul eats alone watching TV and when he is packing his things to move out before Anita calls over in tears.

Each of the scenes take place at night so we needed to black out a skylight using bin bags and I then bounced the light from a low positioned tungsten light off a wall to mimic the glow from a television set. This worked very well and the camera was happy (I’ve learnt this year that the Sony NEX–EA50 shows its like and dislike of certain scene lighting rather starkly!). The effect was complete when Colm, our soundman, had the rather clever idea of flicking a torch on and off to mimic the flickering light of a TV screen. I have to say I was pretty impressed with how well the overall result looked.

Here are some pictures of me in action!

We finished the day by shooting a very precisely choreographed tracking shot and an interesting shot of Paul packing clothes into a box, which I film from within the box looking out as the actors Cillein threw clothes on top of me. All in a day’s work! 

The shoot - Day 1

The first day of shooting went well. The schedule was relatively straightforward in terms of the shot list and it was a nice for me to finally see and get a feel for the production design, which right from the early stages of preproduction was such an integral part of this film.  I also met with the actors for the first time. I enjoy meeting and making a rapport with the cast at the beginning of a project as I always find it makes for a much more beneficial and rewarding process for all involved.

We shot in Gery’s family home, which acted as the location for Anita and Paul’s new house in the story. We shot the final scenes of the film first and then worked back towards the remaining two scenes that also take place at that same location. The shooting plan for today consisted mainly of shots to establish that the couple is moving into a new home as well as a key conversation and the film’s denouement when Anita and her father are reconciled.

Overall I am happy with how things went. I am a little concerned about how well a focus pull shot will prove to have worked out when viewed on a bigger monitor. It was the very first shot of the day and I would have liked to have a bit more time to practice it before going for a take. Such are the teething problems of the first day of shooting though I guess! 

Shot list, storyboards and attempting a tricky shot!

I met with Aisling and Gery today to discuss the shot list and storyboards. I had some ideas for shots myself and I knew Aisling would too, as she was pretty well organized in that department on the last film.

Whilst I was on location shooting my own film over the past week, Gery had drawn storyboards for the first act of the film, which was a great help on two fronts – (a) storyboards are a very clear, illustrated way to help understand the shot grammar and (b) I simply can’t draw them!

I had an idea recently for a particular pair of shots that would involve some camera trickery and I was looking forward to putting it out there to the girls at the meeting to see what they thought. I saw a little known modern western from the 1990s about a year ago called Lone Star (1996). It used an interesting device to take the story into flashbacks that relied on camera movement and hidden cuts instead of the usual ‘narrated cut’ or ‘dissolves’. In one scene for example, part of a wall in a bar is used to block the frame so it appears that an unbroken panning shot takes the audience into a flashback that happened at the same location 30 years previously. In another scene the camera tilts up from a character’s face to a night sky, which then acts as an edit point to begin a new shot that tilts down to the same character when she was much younger. Again, the effect is that one continuous shot takes us into the past.

There is a scene in Colour Blind in which the father in the story takes down a wind chime from a hook that belongs to his daughter and it pains him because she is moving out. My idea is to film the wind chime moving downwards and then continue the shot passed it, stopping at a black object that completely fills the frame. Then at a later stage we would film the reverse shot, starting in black, and then tracking the same wind chime passing into a young girl’s hand. The desired effect in the edit will be to give the impression that the wind chime passes directly from its hook into a memory of when he first gave her the chime in one continuous fluid movement. I just hope Aisling and Gery like the idea and that it works.

First official production meeting

We had our first full crew production meeting today in class with Frank. Most of the meeting was taken up with the production design plans, which as I mentioned before, will prove an integral part of this film. We also had a talk about the shooting style and I was impressed that Aisling and Gery had put a decent bit of thought into this already, which makes it easier for me to come on board with my input.

They have a specific plan for framing the central couple of the story by filming them through windows. Frank spoke to us about ‘forming the language’ of our film’s shooting style and he thought this was a good start for the visual approach of the film. So I’m going to work on my own take on this idea and then the next step will be to meet the girls to discuss and arrange the shot list.

23/01/15 - In the Editor’s Chair

A bit of luck has come my way in regards to acquiring an editing position for my second collaborative role. During the primary production meeting for Colour Blind Aisling and Gery informed me that the editor of their previous short film in the first term has also opted to change role for this term and so they offered me the editor job for Colour Blind, which I happily took.

I consider it to be an added bonus that I will be working both my collaborative roles on the one production. It means that I can work exclusively on my own Major film for a number of weeks because there is a three-week gap between both films in the shooting schedule. Conversely, it also means that by the time Colour Blind gets into postproduction I will have done a good bit of work on my film, which will hopefully allow me to prioritise my editing role with the girls for a few weeks. All going to plan of course!!

A Blind Choice

So today we began the process of deciding what projects we would like to work on in a collaborative capacity. Frank has opted for an ‘open meeting’ structure to select which films and which collaborators will go together. This means that we simply turn up to the primary production meetings of any (or all) of the projects that interest us and that we’d potentially like to work on.

I chose to attend the meeting for a drama called Colour Blind. I worked with Aisling and Gery, the Director/Producer partnership on the project, as DOP on their minor film, Just One, in the first term. We worked well together and they wanted me to stay with them for the major film, which I’m happy to do. The project looks promising from a visuals perspective and during the production meeting some nice ideas for shots were discussed, as was an overall visual style.

I am also looking to see if I can get a role as an editor on one of the projects this term as I regretted not seeking an editor role during last term’s selection process for the minor films. I did want to get more experience on camera and I also took a role as a sound recordist, as sound recording/sound design is a key area of interest. However editing has always been my favorite part of the overall production process during my three years of study and I think would like to work as an editor professionally. So I have put the feelers out so to speak to see if there are any vacancies or to see if anyone who edited one of last term’s films wants a change of role this time around.