Where does the edit begin?

The first step is syncing the footage. This means that an assistant editor (or you, should you be so lucky) will go through every video file and every sound file and match them up using the clapboard. When the “sticks” hit, you hear the “CLICK.” By the time the official editor on the project sits down, all of the footage should be synced and organized. In the case of The Storyteller, Director Joe Crump brought in numerous assistants to help sync the dailies.

They went through and they were ahead of me as I was editing… and they synced all the different microphones. There would be some places where we would have three or four microphones and they would sync all of them up so it would make it easier for us to work with. – Joe Crump, Director of The Storyteller

The plan helps the edit

Mad Max: Fury Road is a film that’s been mentioned several times during this series. Not only because it’s one of the best movies to come out of Hollywood in the last 20 years, but because it’s that rare combination of technical achievement mixed with fantastic storytelling. In the below clip you can hear Director of Photography John Seale discuss how his filming of every shot ultimately helped the edit and thus allowed the audience to have a smooth, albeit heart pounding, storytelling experience.

Mad Max wasn’t the only film with a plan. Director Joe Crump made sure he was well prepared when it came time to shoot The Storyteller.

I had a very extensive shot list. It was combined with the script and some maps that I drew. It was about 350 pages long and I broke it up into binders for each location. So each location had its own binder. - Joe Crump, Director of The Storyteller

Writer, Director and Editor

For Director Joe Crump there was no question that he would be the primary editor on The Storyteller. Joe is in very good company with this approach – James Cameron, Robert Rodriguez, Steven Soderbergh, and many more have all edited – or been an editor on – their own films. (Although some credit themselves with a pseudonym). And like most of these Director/Editors, he brought in a co-editor, his daughter Katie.

Katie was sitting at my side the entire time. She edited sometimes and I edited sometimes so it was a co-production. Joe Crump, Director of The Storyteller

The Storyteller was edited using the Adobe Suite on Joe’s PC. What’s interesting is that he was able to send an EDL to the Special Effects Editor who would then work on a MAC. This was all done using Google Drive (password protected of course). Additionally, Vimeo Pro was used to share cuts of the films for friends/family.

Now, if you’re reading this and thinking: “I can’t edit. I wouldn’t know where to begin. Do I have to know Avid, Premiere Pro, Final Cut? I don’t even know what those are!” My first piece of advice is to settle down; it’s okay. Choosing not to be the editor on your film doesn’t mean you’re walking away. Because let’s be clear: the Director is almost* always involved in the edit. Whether they’re there actually pushing the buttons doesn’t matter. Film is a Director’s medium and that holds true until the film is complete.

*The word almost was included because, yes, there are horror stories of directors being locked out of the editing room by the producers, or even producers forcing the director to change their edit. This is why we have several cuts of Blade Runner…

And speaking of having several people involved in the editing process – Director, do yourself a favor and screen the edit for the writer. Writers understand pacing and good writers put the story above their own vanity. They might be able to see what’s not working better than you do.

Editing is about solving problems, even brilliant ones.

Filmmaking (along with TV) has such a unique artistic journey. This is mostly due to the many forms your film inhabits before it’s completed. Think about it: Words turn into shots that turn into edits. At every one of these stages, you’re making artistic decisions. Artistic decisions that later on can cause you headaches. This doesn’t mean those decisions were wrong. On the contrary, I would argue that it’s this ironic and yet oddly appropriate, even comforting, fact that let’s you know you were doing something right.

Indeed, Director Joe Crump faced these challenges when editing.

We did a lot of longer takes and sometimes that put us up against a wall. I could have played it safer and just done coverage but I preferred to do something that was more interesting visually. So I took a chance and… there were some shots I hated but when I put them into the edit, I was happy with the way they turned out. Joe Crump, Director of The Storyteller

And Joe’s in good company…

Thelma Schoonmaker was Martin Scorsese’s editor before he was MARTIN SCORSESE. She edited his first film and has edited every one of his films since Raging Bull. In the below clip, Schoonmaker discusses the most difficult scene of her editing career. You might think it would be a violent scene from The Departed or maybe a grand scene from The Aviator but in fact it involves two brilliant actors improvising. Her challenge was taking all those brilliant moments and crafting a scene that highlights the energy of the performance while moving the story forward.

It’s Always About The Story

Unlike the writer who can shape, change or even completely restructure the story with the flick of his pen (or keyboard), and unlike the director who can change blocking or direct the actors during multiple different takes, an editor must work with the footage we’re given. Unless working on a multi-million dollar studio movie, reshoots are probably not an option. The footage and the script are our only raw materials.

Bringing those raw materials together in a creative way, that’s the final rewrite and what ultimately breathes life into the picture. An editor’s job is to make sure every moment hits. That the audience feels every emotion that the story conveys. It’s a kind of manipulation, really. We pick the best takes, the best shots. Put them together in a way that’ll make you cry or laugh. A great edit is when choice and timing come together to deliver emotion.

We’re always trying to find the perfect take, the perfect expression, and the perfect reaction shot. So much of the movie is about reaction shots and how people are feeling about what other people are saying. What people are saying is rarely what they actually mean. It’s a process of finding the pieces to tell the story – Joe Crump, Director of The Storyteller

Till next time, here’s a video highlighting some great editing moments on film. Have you seen all of them?

First, a little history lesson. The term dailies simply describes the raw, unedited footage from a film shoot.

Back when filmmaking was solely done on film, the film reel (typically 35mm film stock) from a day’s shoot would be sent to a lab and processed. It would then be synced with the day’s audio and a new film print would be made. This new, synced print would be the daily for that shooting day’s work and include ALL the takes and camera positions (set-ups) from that particular day. If you have a total of 18 shooting days, you will have a total of 18 dailies.

Typically, we’d shoot an average of 2 to 6 takes per set up. We did 346 setups in 18 days of shooting – so an average of 19 setups a day. Most of our days were 10-12 hours of actual shooting. – Director Joe Crump, The Storyteller

Wanna sound like a real know-it-all? Dailies is a US term. The UK uses the term rushes, because the film reel was developed as quickly as possible, aka it was a rush.

How Are Dailies Used?

Was that critical shot in focus? Does the man in a suit actually look like a dragon? And of course for Producers/Studio: are we going to make our money back?

These are the kinds of questions that used to plague production. Because again, when film was film, the Director, DP and Producer had no idea whether or not they were getting the results they wanted, aesthetic or performance, without viewing the dailies.

Either before a new shoot day began, during lunch or even after the shoot day has ended, a select group of the crew (typically the Director, DP, Producers and/or the actors) would view the dailies in a theater or screening room, so they could assess how the film’s production was progressing.

The dailies looked great – Our DP, Dan, did a wonderful job of lighting and we were seeing some really pretty pictures. We also had wonderful performances from our entire cast – but we knew that while we were still on set. - Director Joe Crump, The Storyteller

Dailies have had a lasting impression on the movie zeitgeist.

Did you know the studio wasn’t pleased with the casting of the then unknown Al Pacino for The Godfather? They actually tried repeatedly to fire him. Francis Ford Coppola, who had total faith in Pacino, eventually moved up a very important scene in order to convince them, while watching dailies. The rest is film history.

Conversely, dailies have been responsible for causing major cast shake ups. The dailies for Back To The Future helped convince Robert Zemeckis that Eric Stoltz wasn’t the right fit for the iconic role of Marty McFly.

The Actor’s Relationship with the Dailies:

I think it might be a problem for actors to watch their dailies and get nervous about their performances – and perhaps, stop listening to their director – although this never happened on this set. There were a few times on the set when we watched a playback of a shot and I’d always invite the actor to come look at what we were seeing. But this was pretty rare simply because there wasn’t much time to do it. - Director Joe Crump, The Storyteller

Echoing Joe Crump’s sentiments, many actors actually don’t want to watch dailies, because they don’t want to influence the process. They know that watching themselves might make them self-conscious in a way that they’ll start planning the performance rather than being in the performance. Other actors don’t mind – and actually want that reassurance.

So what do you do?

It really comes down to the actor and their process. As a filmmaker, it’s your job to help the actor do their best work. If that means letting them watch dailies, then let them. If it doesn’t… keep them away.

Dailies In A Digital Age:

Digital filmmaking has turned everyone into a filmmaker. Your dailies are suddenly at your fingertips. This has changed not only the purpose of dailies, but how they are delivered and used.

When dailies were film, they had to be screened in a theater. The onset of tape, and later DVDs, allowed the dailies to be given separately to key crew members. This also meant you didn’t have to sit through each and every take. You could fast forward; skim to make sure you’re getting what you wanted and move on.

Today, dailies can be uploaded to the cloud, a (secure) ftp, or a dropbox. Directors don’t even have to wait until the end of a film day. Footage can be downloaded and viewed almost in real time. So how did The Storyteller view their dailies?

Usually at night after the day of shooting while Katie Crump (our DIT) was transferring the footage to the redundant hard drives. We also watched them on Sunday’s, which was the only non-shoot day in our schedule. – Director Joe Crump, The Storyteller

The digital age has also affected the length of dailies. Back in 2012, the senior veep of Deluxe Television, Bill Romeo, told Variety that previously a typical show would deliver “something like an hour a night… now we’re looking at around four hours of material.”

Whereas dailies used to be the only way for the filmmakers to view their film pre-edit, today we have the camera playback and monitors that allow for so much more information.

I had a teradek (handheld) monitor with me all the time, so I was able to see in real time what was going to the camera. Nothing I saw in the dailies surprised me since I’d seen it all as it happened. Dan was also keeping an eye on the waveform monitors so we knew we were within the tolerances of our camera (Alexa Mini) and that we weren’t losing image in the hot spots or shadows. – Director Joe Crump, The Storyteller

This instantaneous feedback is great for an independant film that can’t afford to wait even one day to find out they didn’t get that critical shot. However, it also costs you perspective. How many times have you written something, edited something, walked away thinking one thing, only to return with a new perspective? Yes, the traditional viewing of dailies made you sift through footage, but that allowed you to find unexpected surprises! So while there have been great gains, you also have to be aware of the potential losses and missed opportunities when you choose not to view dailies.

As technology progressed, dailies have adapted and some would say struggled to find their place. But they still offer filmmakers a very important commodity: reassurance.

I think I could have done this entire film without watching the dailies at all. But with that said, it’s a source of comfort to watch what you have done and know that you are getting what you set out to get. – Director Joe Crump, The Storyteller

It All Comes Down To The Edit.

Most of the takes we circled are the ones in the movie, but sometimes we discovered the tone or mood of a scene was leaning too heavily one way or the other and we found different takes where the performance changed and we were able to tweak the feel of the entire movie because we did those extra takes with a different tone to the performance. – Director Joe Crump, The Storyteller

George Miller described his masterpiece Mad Max: Fury Road as a mosaic; each shot creating a grander image. Dailies are what the editor uses to assemble this picture. It’s the editor’s job to create the best version of your film and that won’t always mean it’s the exact image you had in your head. Sometimes it might be even better!

h/t Variety for the Bill Romeo quote.

Here are three ways you can simplify your foray into the cinematic arts.

#1. Ditch the cinema cameras and use your DSLR.

Using the DSLR you’ve already familiarized yourself with will give you many advantages on set. It will be more intuitive for you to adapt your shots. It will be easier – and less costly – to equip yourself with a suitable range of lenses. You will be able to film in places where a cinema camera would stick out like a sore thumb. The list goes on.

#2. Light with a single light source.

Like everything else, this will take some practice to master, but trust me, it’s a lot easier to practice with one light source than it is to practice with three (or five or ten or a hundred). Also, it’s cheaper, you’re more mobile and there’s less that can go wrong.

#3. Color Grade like a boss. Yourself. In Final Cut Pro.

Many things will set your film apart from the multitude of independent projects out there. Good sound, yes. Good story, yes. Good actors, yes. These things will all set you off down the right path, but don’t think that the professional look you’re going for is out of your reach. Add “good color grading” to the list of things that will make your film a winner. Color grading always stood out to me as something you would only bother with if you had the budget and the time to employ a professional. It sounded daunting. But it’s actually a whole lot simpler than you might think. As long as you keep it simple, stupid. Color grade right in the software you’re familiar with editing in. Don’t use tech add-ons or install gigabytes of filters you’re not gonna learn how to use. Just make it look good.

Now that you know to keep all of the above stupid simple, why not pour your creativity into the story itself?

Now, when you’re shooting for editing, you can do so to various degrees. A prime example that’s often brought up when shooting for editing is mentioned, is Robert Rodriguez’ El Mariachi. Hear the director explain how he planned his shots with the final edit in mind.

This is obviously taking it to the extremes. With digital cameras, laptop workstations and powerful editing software, your options are plentiful, even on a budget. So let’s take a look at how director and co-writer of The Storyteller, Joe Crump, approached the shoot – knowing that he would also be editing the footage. Here’s our conversation.

Why did you decide to edit the film yourself? Pros and cons to this approach?

 

In filmmaking, the story is told three times, 1. by the screenwriters, 2. by the director and 3. by the editors. I wanted to be involved in all three parts of this process. I also love to edit and my co-editor was my daughter, Katie Crump – who sat by my side and helped me craft the story.

 

So the pros of doing it myself is that it’s a hell of a lot of fun and I got to spend a lot of time with Katie. I also had help syncing the dailies from Nick Andrews, Saxony Wynecoop and Emelie Flower… which made our job a lot easier since they had to be done manually.

 

The cons – I couldn’t blame anyone else for my mistakes as a director or not getting coverage. I was told by several people that I should let someone else edit it – that I was too close to it – and I suppose that may turn out to be the case, but I don’t think it has. In fact, I think being close to it might have helped.

 

Knowing you would be editing yourself, how did you plan ahead? Did you organize the footage in a certain way?

 

We had a wonderful script supervisor, Michael Blomquist. He kept amazing notes and handed us a very detailed log when all was said and done. We also had a sound log that was very helpful from our sound mixer Bud Osborne. We kept all the camera file names so it was easy to cross reference.

 

After that, we kept track of everything by the day we shot it. We then created sequences that were about 5 minutes in length – we’d break them up by shot.

 

We then nested each of these sequences into one long master sequence. Using nested sequences speeds everything up and makes it much easier to find the shots you are looking for on your timeline.

 

We used an Alexa Mini and our camera original files were ProRes 4444, which won’t play on a PC – so we ended up making proxies to edit picture. While we were editing, (we used Premiere Pro CC), Adobe upgraded Premiere and now we can play the camera original on the PC – we still can’t open those files on a PC in Quicktime without hacking the metadata – and that caused the software to crash… you gotta love Apple and their proprietary codec.

Did the fact that you knew how you would be editing the film inspire any of your choices while shooting? Shot compositions? Long takes vs short takes? Blocking and actions?

 

Yes, absolutely. I spent a lot of time creating a shot list before I started directing. This is my first narrative feature film, so I had a good deal of fear and trepidation going into it – thinking that somehow, when I got on the set, everything would go to hell and I’d forget all the important things I needed to include or watch out for in the film. My shot list was 100 pages of notes, 100 pages of location pictures and diagrams and 90 pages of script. I broke up my shotlist into binders that we broke up by location. That way I wouldn’t have to carry all 300 pages, just the pages I needed for that particular location. Yes, this was probably overkill, but it makes things a lot more relaxing when you are prepared and it made it possible for me to work with my Director of Photography, Dan Clarke to come up with some additional shots that were better than I had planned on my own. As the shoot went on, my expectations of what our shots should look like and do got higher and higher. I didn’t just want to tell the story, I wanted to do it elegantly – and sometimes, you have to be there on the set to see something, an angle, a space, a camera move, the right angle of daylight… and take advantage of it when it appears. This takes a calm set and an fully engaged crew.

 

I was expecting to have a lot more emergencies than we ended up having. I was fortunate to have a great production team keeping things moving, headed up by our Producer, Rachel Noll.

 

We have a lot of live music in the movie, but we don’t just stay on people singing, we tell the story while the music is being played – so Rachel Noll (co-writer) and I designed a lot of the montage sequences around these songs. We freely played with time, location, memory – all that stuff during the songs. We also had to estimate how long it would take for certain images and sequences to play – how much screen time they would take – and I designed the shots so that we only had to shoot the parts of the song that we would actually show. I would like to have had more time to shoot more coverage, but it all ended up working pretty well when we got into the cut.

 

How did the intended use of visual effects in certain scenes affect how they were shot – and how does this play into how you are now editing those scenes?

 

We tried to use practical effects whenever we could. Dan put an LED light on the end of a wand and we floated it into the scene for the fairy effect. Some of the shots we don’t have that effect and you can tell because the light being cast from the LED gives a wonderful look on any object or person near the fairy – when we didn’t use it (usually because of time constraints), we had to fake the glow on their faces in After Effects. That worked too, but it was time consuming in post and never looked quite as nice.

 

We also shot a lot of Day for Night. Our main actor was a 10 year old girl (Brooklyn Rae Silzer) and because we shot under SAG Ultra Low Budget rules, we had to limit the times and hours we could use her. Most of the work we did in the woods was day for night – same with the work we did outside on the Fairy Bridge. Dan Clarke, our DP, also did most of the VFX work on the film… some of the effects have 35 or 40 layers in 3D space.

35-40 layers of effects in 3D space is a far cry from the simplicity of the shots described by Robert Rodriguez in the video at the top, but both approaches share a common goal: Making the best film you can with the means available to you.

For more on shooting day-for-night, check out our article on the subject here. And if you would like to take a peek behind the scenes of The Storyteller and see how some of the VFX shots were created, here’s a video of an early visual FX test.

Make yourself a cup of coffee, whip out a notepad, sit up straight and listen carefully. Enjoy.

Watch and learn, friends. The take-away? Even in the fightiest of fight scenes, the importance should not be on bloodshed, but on story.

Academy Originals is a treasure trove of film knowledge presented documentary-style through interviews with directors, cinematographers, producers, master craftsmen, set designers, consultants, actors – anyone playing a part in creating movie magic. The videos are grouped into categories like ‘Moments That Changed Movies’ or ‘Credited As’ – each exploring the movie-making process from a different perspective.

This is truly a rabbit hole to get lost in, if you have any interest in getting behind the scenes of some of the most groundbreaking films in modern history.

Here are some of my personal favorites.

Stock footage archive Filmsupply have partnered with music licensing service MusicBed for a contest where the objective is to use video and audio clips from their respective services to create either a spec ad, a trailer or a title sequence. And hey, even if you don’t win, it’ll still be good practice, right?

Find the complete set of rules and get your starter kit here.

He brings up several good points in his effort to explain ‘how an editor thinks and feels’ – the point that most resonated with me, was that editing is about rhythm. If you give it time, the scene will tell you when you cut. If you’re going for a certain feeling, you may interrupt the rhythm by cutting early or late. And that timing – the rhythm – is instinctual.

For me personally, editing is not a science. It’s not something you can just do by the numbers. Rather, it’s something deeply personal; a process of trial and error, eventually ending up with an edit that just feels right. Sure, there are certain rules – or suggestions – to follow that will make your final cut a pleasant viewing experience, but think of these rules as the framework within which you experiment. My point is this: Don’t get caught up in how other people edit, and instead focus your energy on developing good editing habits that will allow you to effortlessly try out all the many crazy things you can think of. And that’s really my take-away from Simon’s video. Develop good habits in terms of organizing your footage and your projects. Get creative from there.

Take a look and give it a try.