One of my biggest bottlenecks in the filmmaking process right now is editing. I imagine that would be greatly improved by finding an amazing editor who could work with me for the long haul. I’m working in that direction.
I need my Sally Menke, you know?
The relationship between Menke and Tarantino seems so awesome from where I’m sitting. I was sad when she passed away. Check out this annotated video that breaks down some of her work cutting together Inglorious Bastards. Beautiful.
Plus, I totally love things like this:
I’d love to have a close, trusted relationship with an editor like that. Until that happens, I’m editing my own work. Which means it’s painfully slow-going.
I like editing but it’s tough to find enough time for it. There are a lot of hats to wear as an indie filmmaker. I’d much rather work with a really talented editor so that I can focus on becoming a better producer and director. Filmmaking is a collaborative art. Much better to actually collaborate. But that’s just my take on it.
Anyway, I’ve had my Editor Hat on lately. Not literally. Although, that would totally entertain me. Especially if it were like one of Frank’s trucker hats on 30 Rock.
Last weekend I cut together some of the footage we’ve shot for the new doc. It was really good to get back to editing. With all the excitement of wrapping Abandoned Allies, getting married, and moving — it’s been a solid few months that I’ve had the energy or clarity of thought to even open FCP or Premiere. It was good to cut again.
I’m cutting the fundraising trailer for the new doc. Allies, my first feature-length, taught me that it’s much easier to show people a small part of what you’re working on rather than tell them about it. Yeah, much easier and faster to share your ideas by showing a sample. A trailer, especially a fundraising trailer, is also pretty critical. I’m learning all I can about it as quickly as I can.
Editing in Premiere has been a good challenge for me. I’ve been using FCP since 2003, so this is a switch. There’s no better way to learn how to move quickly in a program than to sit down and use it. So I’m grateful for the chance to do that. It’s a little different than FCP but there are enough similarities to keep me going. (I’d like to learn Avid, too, but that’ll have to wait a while.)
I’m really excited about what we’ve shot and how it’s coming together in the edit bay. I have a deadline of mid-July to get this fundraising trailer finished, so we can submit a proposal. I gotta hustle to get this to my team, get feedback, and the have it exported and uploaded and ready to share.
The heat is on!