A Good Read: Final Cut Pro Power Skills

Picked up this awesome FCP book from the library [we also have an awesome library, too - whoever is doing the purchasing knows his/her stuff when it comes to keeping updated with editing books!]:



Written by Larry Jordan, whose monthly newsletter I subscribe to [and you should, too - very informative and up to date with the latest happenings and solutions].

I'm only 11 pages into the book and am liking the simplicity and directness. Very useful nuggets of information. Highly recommended for all working editors.

Check out Larry's site here: http://www.larryjordan.biz/ and don't forget to sign up for his newsletter!

He has an online store as well and you could pick up the book from here: http://www.larryjordan.biz/app_bin/Store/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=23&products_id=146

Colorful Corporate Cuts

Latest TVC I've cut & graded is up on our YouTube channel [and being viralized + broadcasted]:



Was also on set as the EX-3 media wrangler. Between offloads, I was also the 'runner' [quite literally] plus 'waterboy' [drawing sea water using a rope & bucket to flood the ground - hardest & most awesome practical workout I've ever had]. Had a great tan, too, under the blazing sun from dawn till dusk.

Just finished a rough cut of a teen pregnancy drama this week. Good to be cutting something that's not a mish-mash of montage shots and 'archival' footage ripped from some stashed-away DVD from years gone by for a change. Well, those projects have their own place and time but it's a refreshing change to be cutting a dramatic piece with emotions... lots and LOTS of emotions.

Was quite pleasantly surprised by how quickly I got into the material. Guess my mind was happily stimulated, which makes for a nice session. Another nice change from the many mechanical post tasks I had to complete in the past weeks [lots of tiny tweaks to almost-complete cuts, .MOV & .WMV encoding and DVD authoring for final deliverables].

The drama consists of 5 vignettes & a prologue which show the possible consequences of teen pregnancy for teenage girls and will be used in facilitation sessions by our client for at-risk girls. It's not meant to be all didactic and preachy, so the message is communicated through empathy, storytelling and emotions.

By the 2nd vignette, I was feeling quite sad for our protagonist. There is a fair share of crying but this is neither a Taiwanese soap opera nor a Hong Kong soap weepie, so it's not all out flood of tears and bawling of eyes. There is much more power [and realism] in showing restraint.

At the same time, I'm cutting a 12-webisode project for a corporate client, who is using it as training material for their service staff through the entire year. Sounds boring? Not quite, since we've made them into mini sitcoms. Our protagonist in this one is quite an earnest goofball, so I find myself having my 'duh' face on when editing him.

Other things on my editing plate this month and next are a graduation video [this one requires I dig up my youthful enthusiasm], a project that has been more commonly referred to as 'sex skit' rather than its title [nothing scandalous; another facilitation video, this time done in comedy vignettes style] and an interview-led piece on teen smoking [a cause I personally support: be smoke-free, kids and adults alike].

Who said 'corporates' must be boring? ;]

I Heart Editing

Been on an editing frenzy, working on a few different videos at the same time. Was [and still am] juggling a 12-ep mini sitcom for service training, interview-based recruitment video, 4 versions of a TVC for an upcoming musical, 7-min interview-based internal sales video & a short turnaround 2.5-min launch video.

I'm lovin' it!
[Despite clocking an average of 12 hours per day this week... but the fatigue only sets in when I step out of my suite; am revvin' & ready to go once I'm back in my chair]

I always like to think through my edits - because every edit is different and needs to be approached differently, whether slightly or significantly.

There are differences in organization [had to think through how I was going to manage the 12-ep mini sitcom because the eps and scenes are being shot out of sequence, with staggered delivery], differences in grading [setting the 'look'], differences in cutting [the TVC was mainly cuts/dissolves/gradient wipes - which I like; the launch video was an exercise in patience & attention to detail - tons of keyframing] etc...

That is why I find myself actually thinking of my edits during the commute to and from work - because it means once I get my butt into my chair, I've already visualized what I'm going to try and do.

As a preditor, I almost always meet the clients and jot down notes on my edits personally. It also gives me the chance to clarify what they REALLY want, because often, comments can be vague and if passed from one person to another, the 'broken telephone effect' takes place.

I don't reckon getting editors so involved is a common phenomenon... at least we're not talking about projects of epic proportions, like editors who are committed to a big-budget feature film during pre-production itself.

But, I got to admit, sometimes the lack of distance between the 'client' and the 'editor' side of things creates much tension and struggle. There's definitely value in having a separate 'producer' to mediate and negotiate. But we're talking about a competent & experienced producer, not any random warm body you pick up and stick in front of the clients. Indeed, producing is an art, too.

Anyhow, as someone who likes variety [like dim sum & buffets - yum!], I'm enjoying tackling the different projects which are, in essence, communication tools. That's something we work a lot on: how to deliver an effective message through video. Oftentimes, we get approached by clients who want to 'make a video' and it's up to us to really dig deep to find out what they want the video to do for them. Some clients are more savvy with their communication objectives while others need more advising or digging. There's always this through-line we need to keep to, from the types of words we use in the script down to the kinds of shots selected [the shot sizes, the emotions, the colors, the music, the rhythm of cuts...]

You can have the fanciest graphics [which I will admit: we don't] or snazziest gimmicks - but without a sound communication concept, you're basically gonna end up with a glorified high-tech picture flipbook.

Guess I'm putting my Communications degree to work here :P Not all "corporate videos" are made equal!

It's Tiger Time!

2009 segued into 2010 without much of a fanfare. I was fairly busy back in December *quickly clicks through iCal to refresh my memory* We had some shoots to settle before everyone disappeared for the year-end holidays and we were on the lookout for an AP to join us since we were booked for more than a few projects due in first quarter of 2010.

We also had two launch videos for the same client, both with short but hard deadlines to meet. Project was awarded mid-December and delivery was January - right after we crossed over the calendar. Which meant the X'mas season was a terrible inconvenience!

Quite a fair bit of prep was needed. Casting was the main task during prep as it was a simple concept which hinged heavily on performance. Both videos required effects finishing as well. Here's an excerpt from one of the videos:



That said, the project went rather smoothly and I managed to spend some time indulging in the festive spirit with some friends - late night suppers, hotpot, BBQ and karaoke!

Once we entered the new year, we had a TVC shoot for Toy Factory, a local theater company. One of our long-term clients, since we also produced the TVCs for their previous annual productions. We were blessed with amazingly bright and sunny weather, which was exceptionally helpful since it was an entirely outdoor shoot and we didn't have the luxury of postponing it to any other day since we were working with a bunch of very busy actors. What if it had rained? Well... we would've had to work out something.

*One lesson learnt during the shoot: If you're shooting with the Letus adaptor, bring enough spare AA batteries! Better yet, always change into a fresh pair of AAs at the start of the shoot, especially if it's rental gear.*

The TVC was shot on a Sony EX3, with a Letus adaptor. Shots came out really nice. Love the colors. I was doing SxS card wrangling on the set. Compared to my previous wrangling experience with Panasonic P2 cards, I find the workflow for ingesting SxS cards much more intuitive and straightforward. Bonus was that the SxS cards plug right into the Expresscard slot in my MacBook Pro. Secure and fast transfer.

Fast forwarding from then on, my iCal has been packed with edits, edits and more edits. Guess my wish is finally coming true! A lot of shifting of schedules, since I plan my own edit schedules around shifting delivery deadlines and various other factors. As always, as a preditor, there is never enough time to edit when the producing minutiae swarms around you.

Had a fairly productive session today, though. It's only the day after the long Chinese New Year break and if not for my backed up edit schedule, I'd have taken it easy [or the day off!]. But duty beckoned and I went in for an overdue color grading. It was also the first project I've fully color graded using http://www.redgiantsoftware.com/products/categories/product-suites/magic-bullet-suite/ - we bought it at an awesome deal during X'mas [50% off, if I remember correctly].

We've previously used Magic Bullet Editors but I find Colorista and Looks much faster and easier to use. The only thing I wish I had was a 3-knob control panel of some sort for Colorista. But alas, I am by no means a professional colorist and the clientele we service do not demand such level of color precision. But nonetheless, color grading is such a value-adding step, that as much as possible [budget and schedule permitting], I'll do it.

Managed to finish the 6-min video in about 4 hours - with the help of absolute silence, minimum disturbances [or breaks] and intense concentration. Since the theme & tone for the video was pink, everything else in real-life looked too blue once I got my eyes off the monitor!

The next video to get the Magic Bullet Looks treatment would be the musical TVC. The footage that came out of the EX3 is already quite close to the look we're going for, so it's more a matter of enhancing and bringing out some of the colors.

Preditor Alert

Not much on the editing front as I've been busy with the producing side of things. Ahh, such is the life of a Preditor. Though with each project we pitch for and get, it means a few months down the road, there will be an edit waiting to happen.

We've currently got a few interesting projects in the scripting stage. A few even more interesting ones that are pending. Even though our main business has been in the corporate video realm, looking at our reel, we don't exactly stick to the 'corporate' corporate style. Our USP has always been in communication and storytelling.

Sometimes it's a little demoralizing when fancy graphics easily overshadow what should be achieved with solid scripting and editing. I reckon it's not easy to pimp something that works most beautifully when it's somewhat invisible and subtle. In fact, it gets tiring trying to WRITE about how you could achieve so much with strong scripting and editing in proposals because it's so hard to convey something so abstract at that stage. In contrast, a jazzy comp/storyboard is just pure bling that excites people more easily.

But at the same time, I have much respect for motion graphics artists and their craft. They produce such visually stunning visuals that I frankly can't achieve. That is definitely something I should brush up on along the way [like how I need to find that window of opportunity to break open the AVID Media Composer free trial and have a crash course familiarization with it].

With that, here are some more interesting writing to share. Have a read!

Production Jobs and Responsibilities of Crew
Just realized this is a 2-year old article but it's still relevant. Depending on the scale of the project and budget, you could add or minus the number of people and roles involved. This is something we have to explain to clients often: because production costs can indeed vary quite a bit. Yes, there will always be the one-man-shows who charge a package rate from pre to post for the cost of 2-3 days of filming that others might charge.

A very common question over at the Creative Cow forums: How much should I charge? Here are some answers. Not exact-figure answers but guiding questions to help one along:
Typical Hourly Rate For Production & Editing?

Someone else also wrote about the same issue on their blog:
How much should I charge to edit this video?

Last but definitely not least, I've uploaded some of our recent works on our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/intuitivefilms. New works include a docu-drama for the Singapore Sports Council [quite extensive grading on the footage], a short TVC for Skin Inc [working with a 3D graphics and animation company] and a two-TVC campaign for the Tote Board [which I've not been able to catch on TV even though it's supposed to screen alongside quite a few sponsored programs].

Auteurs vs Collaboration

Thoughtful essays on the auteur theory and the role of collaboration & discussion between directors and editors:

http://normanhollyn.com/2009/08/21/real-collaboration-–-editors-and-directors-editors-and-editors/

http://filmindustrybloggers.com/theeditor/2009/08/21/collaboration-and-why-the-auteur-theory-is-bull/

Personally, I enjoy the to-and-fro that does on during editing sessions. In fact, I find that once I've had enough time to go through the material on my own and managed to make a first cut [but only after a fairly thorough briefing/Q&A with the director about the direction, style and messaging], it's beneficial to have the director sit down with me to hone the next cut. It's more efficient, as well, since I spend less time second-guessing certain edit decisions I would've made.

The need for a certain amount of time to experiment, discuss & explore during the edit is something we sometimes find difficult to explain to clients. Yes, it's indeed possible to give a cut 2 days after we wrap BUT it will not be the best cut possible. As I recall a quote "A film is never 'complete', it just gets abandoned (due to the arrival of deadline)", it also doesn't necessarily mean more time = 'perfect' film.

That one time when I freelanced on a kids' reality/infotainment TV program edit, it was quite appalling that there wasn't any log, script or director involvement in the edit process. I was given a whole bunch of tapes, told we needed to cover these 3 activities... and that's that. Being a young upstart then and happy to have snagged such an opportunity [considering I had never edited any TV program by then... though it seemed they were so stretched, they had only one director-producer-writer and was willing to use me on the project... possibly because I was, ah, 'not very expensive'], I poured a lot of effort into the edit. Apart from my day job as a producer-writer on a corporate video project, I was working graveyard shifts on the kids' program.

It was fulfilling to see that most of my edits made it to air but it was unsatisfying that there was no 'process' involved. It felt like a factory assembly line. Which possibly is not an isolated incident, considering that TV budgets here are extremely stretched.

As for the 'auteur theory is bull' idea... it seems like 'auteur theory' is very much alive here. More often than not, in the local filmmaking realm, directors are also writers. And producers, sometimes DPs and maybe editors, too. However, it might be partly attributed to the whole 'lack of budget' issue, again. In addition, there might also be the idea that there is a lack of good screenwriters, which is why directors take it upon themselves to write material they would like to produce. Which is kind of sad, as the film would not be able to benefit from the collaborative process, especially in the editing stage.

Though judging from the way the media/film authorities have been formulating their policies/funding, they seem to prefer the 'auteur theory': hype up a few high-profile directors and send them for overseas film festivals/markets. And films are often marketed with 'a film by so-and-so-known-name'. Through these years, it just doesn't feel like there's much attention or importance placed in developing the other film professionals like DPs and editors.