CFA: 12:05 P.M. - 10/26

Some quick notes from Mr. Botkins session Editing and Project Selection, which has been excellent, I must say. More to come later... Lunch break is up next.

The primary emphasis of this session has been the importance of doing the bulk of your editing before filming your shots. Again, this goes back to the idea of "technological sloppiness;" we think that we can fix everything on the computer later, so we're careless and shoot a bunch of superfluous footage. We need to think through out shots before we get on the field. Just like a story should have a beginning, middle, and end, so should each individual shot. Most great films do not have a lot of bells and whistles in the form of fancy transitions or dissolves. Instead, they did a majority of their editing on the storyboard and on the field, which allows for fluid and sharp cuts, that greatly simplifies post-production work. The later you do your editing, the worse that editing will be.

Something that the Botkins advise is for filmmakers to take an excellently made film, and to take an individual scene and analyze every aspect of it. Look at the cuts and transitions, the angles and the lighting, the music and audio. Identify what makes it excellent.