A month or so ago, I gave you a little sneak peek into my movie editing process, and now I’m here to give you a little more. I’ve been editing and post-producing films for the past few years, so I thought I’d share a little more of what I do in my day-to-day life. I’m not a professional editor, and there are still parts of my process that I don’t absolutely love, but I’ve learned a few things along the way, and I hope that I can help you improve your filmmaking skills in the process.
My name is James and I make movies. I like movies. I also like to make movies. “Making movies” is a lot like “making babies.” You have to do the work to get to the point where they are born. Then you have to take care of them, make them perform, and when they grow up, you have to keep them happy. Same thing. Although, I don’t have any babies, and I don’t make movies, so the analogy is a little off. Anyway, the important thing is that it takes a lot of effort to make a movie, but if you are committed to the process, it’s worth it.
I didn’t create INTERLUDE simply to make an AXANAR Universe fan film. Sure, that was one of the goals, but it wasn’t the MAIN goal. As a blogger focussing on numerous Star Trek fan productions, I wanted to better understand how these projects came together. But more than that, I wanted to SHARE my experiences with my readers—especially those interested in creating fan films of their own—to “pull back the curtain” on every aspect of development from writing a script to budgeting, crowd-funding, pre-production, production, and ultimately post-production.
Of course, the post-production blogs needed to wait until AFTER Interlude was released (didn’t want it spoiled!). But it’s now been out for more than two months (and closing in on 100K views on YouTube for the final version…watch it here), and so I can finally start talking about what went into the last phase of development…
…starting with EDITING!
In many ways, editing a film is one of, if not the most important part of the entire filmmaking process. Don’t just take my word for it! Countless articles on the Internet like this one highlight the critical role proper editing plays in the creation of a successful film project. Quoting the article…
What most people not in the film or video industry don’t realize is that film and video editing is an art form. Editing is arguably the most important element of film or video production. It is in the editing, the art of arranging pictures and dialog and sounds, that a finished film product is able to communicate a story first envisioned by its writer, and subsequently by a director and producer to its intended audience. Days, weeks, even months of shots captured on film or video must be studied, interpreted, analyzed, and finally distilled into a story lasting a fraction of the time it took to capture it all.
People outside the film making industry have little or no idea about “post production” and the crucial part it plays in the production of a film or video work. It is because of the significant importance of this phase of film and video production that the process takes an extended amount of time to complete.
Indeed! And in fact, it took JOSHUA IRWIN (our editor), VICTORIA FOX (our director), and me (the producer) four full months of working together to get Interlude from its first rough cut to its final picture lock version that was sent along to music composer KEVIN CROXTON for scoring. Those four months were filled with intense hard work, painstaking attention to detail, and some passionate “discussions,” as three very creative and talented people didn’t always agree 100% of the time.
But as I’ve said in multiple interviews, I would much rather work with creative people who care enough about the project to passionately disagree with me—and don’t hesitate to tell me so!—than to work with people who really don’t give a darn and just say, “Yeah, sure, whatever…” to everything. In the end, the three of us emerged from our editing odyssey with what I truly believe was the best, strongest, and most effective fan film that Interlude could be.
Today, I am going to keep the written blog short as I present a special VIDEO blog! I guarantee that you’ve never seen a fan film presented in quite this way before as I take you, shot by shot, through every change that we made during those four months of editing. You’ll see alternate takes and footage that wound up on the cutting room floor, and I’ll point out some subtle nuances that you might not have noticed before (but now you’ll never be able to NOT notice them again!).
You’ll see the skill and attention to detail that Josh put in as editor along with the director’s eye of Victoria and the persistent perfectionism of producer Jonathan.
For those of you are are fan film editors or want to be, this video is hopefully going to be very informative. And for the rest of you, it will be a truly unique look into an incredibly vital aspect of filmmaking that you probably never thought much about before now. This is where you get to watch the magic (or is it the sausage?) being made. Enjoy, my friends…
Quick reminder: Josh Irwin has just launched a crowd-funding campaign for a series of brand new fan films set in the AVALON UNIVERSE. These upcoming releases will include WARREN HAWK reprising his role of Jakande, but in an alternate timeline where the character survived the Four Years War.
The GoFundMe went live earlier this week and is already an impressive 10% of the way to its $20K goal. Please consider supporting Josh and his awesome fan filmmaking team by clicking here…
https://www.gofundme.com/f/zdn4p-AvalonUniverse2021
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