ErinLaing.com

The Conversations

The Conversations is the best book I’ve read about film and editing. In the book, Michael Ondaatje interviews Walter Murch about the process and technique of film editing. Murch is best known for editing The Conversation, Apocalypse Now, The Godfather Part II and III, among others.

Yves Langlois

One of the greatest privileges of making this film was working with renowned editor, Yves Langlois. He taught me a lot about the various technologies that have evolved over the years and how they’ve changed the way films are seen and edited.

While in the editing room, we discussed The Conversations when we started talking about the differences between the Moviola, the Steenbeck and the Avid (which is what we are using to cut Birthday Girl).

All three systems are non linear editing systems. The Moviola and the Steenbeck are pieces of equipment. Avid Technology is software which can be purchased and used on any computer.

Working Print

Editors cut a working print (a non-colour corrected print of the negative) when they use the Moviola or the Steenbeck, which means that they can physically hold and see each frame of the film as they cut it. The process is much more laborious and intensive but it has its advantages: these machines force you to think about every cut you’re going to make before you make it.

On the Avid, you can cut the same scene twenty different ways in a very short period of time. Advantage: you have the flexibility to experiment and try things that would not have been possible on the Steenbeck or Moviola; Disadvantage: With too many options you can lose focus as to what works and what doesn’t.

Charlotte Zwerin, who gained notoriety after cutting several of the Maysles films goes by the philosophy that if you’re cutting on the computer, you should approach your film as if you were cutting it on a flatbed.

Upright Moviola (1924)

Flatbed moviola

The Moviola operates using a shutter. Film projectors operate with shutters as well, therefore what a film looked like through the Moviola is exactly what the film looked like projected onto the big screen.

Steenbeck, 1931 (looks like the moviola flatbed but…..)

The Steenbeck operates using a prism. When the film runs through the system it gives the illusion of a slight dissolve between each frame. Therefore, what you are seeing in the machine is not exactly what you would see projected.

The Avid (1989)

The Avid on the other hand, has converted the film (which runs through the camera and projector at 24 frames per second) into a digital form which runs at 29.97 frames per second on your computer. At this rate, it’s hard to judge what the film will look like once converted back to film.

The further you get from the source material the harder it is to gauge what the final product will look like.

The Conform

In this case, some editors do what is called a conform. After the film has been edited on the Avid, they will cut a work print and project it using the sound from the Avid. It’s a way of seeing whether or not the cuts being made on the Avid are right and whether or not they will work in the finished film.

It’s amazing that no matter how advanced we get with technology the oldest machines often produce the best results.

Also of interest:
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing is a great film about editing.
Final Cut Pro: Cheaper, excellent editing software for Mac users.

It was a difficult week to say the least. Making a film is like giving birth (I think) and when it comes time to cutting shots, not to mention entire characters from the film, it’s a painful process.

There are three films that you make when you set out to make a film.

1. the film you write.

2. the film you shoot.

3. the film you edit.

The film I have right now is not the film I shot, and not the film I wrote but somewhere in between, and it’s better because of it.

Yves cut a third of the film out this week. It was an exercise which we didn’t think would work but we were both wrong. We had a screening on Wednesday for people who knew nothing about the project. They loved the short, concentrated version verses the longer cut. According to them, everything was clear, to the point and slick whereas the longer cut (which I thought would be the sure bet) felt uneven, confusing and not as moving. Sure it got more laughs but the overall effect of the film got lost in the ambiguity.

There’s another saying that editing is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.

At least I’ll have a lot of extras for the DVD.

Erin and I just watched a brilliant Canadian short film called, The Saddest Boy in the World. Here’s the synopsis:

Timothy Higgins, picked last for the team, is the saddest boy in the world. Friendlessness, suburban complacency and prescription drugs have conspired against the youngster to make this his worst year yet. Musical Chairs and birthday cake can’t save him now—at his ninth birthday party, Timothy prepares for a show-stopping suicide.

Of course, Birthday Girl, is about a girl who chooses to lie in a coffin for her twelfth birthday party. We’re relieved to say that besides this element, the films have very little in common (except twins!). The tone of the two films are completely different.

Having said that - you must see The Saddest Boy in the World if you get the chance. The production design is out of control. It’s like the love child of Tim Burton and Wes Anderson and extraordinarily un-Canadian in its quality. It’s making the rounds in the festivals right now to rave reviews. Check out screening times and places here.

I’ve been in the editing room now for three weeks. Yves has cut four different versions of the film and next week we’ll be on our fifth. The film runs between 14 - 15 minutes and everyone who has screened it says the film goes by very fast. They actually find it goes by too quickly.

On Monday, however, Yves was asked (by our distributors) to make an 8 to 9 minute cut of the film (including credits). This basically means cutting a third of the film out. At this length, the film has a better chance to be shown in theatres before a feature film (in Quebec). I have no idea if the film will work at this length but it’s always worth trying. My priority, as is everybody else’s who is involved in the project, is to make the best film possible, whether it be 7, 11, 13 or 15 minutes.

The feedback so far has been extremely positive. Everyone is very impressed by the performances and of course the editing.
I’m going to try and get a couple of teaser trailers up on the site very soon.

Until then, here are a few more stills from the film.

I started editing last week. I’ve been working with Yves Langlois. At first, I was intimidated to be working with him as this is one of my first films and Yves is a veteran editor.

He liked the script so we watched the rushes and he wanted to cut the film. I was thrilled to say the least. We’ve been averaging 11 hours a day and I’m in the editing room the entire time. It’s a little unconventional but I’m learning a great deal.

There were a lot of shots that I didn’t get while filming because we didn’t have time to shoot them. I was constantly asking myself if I had the shots I needed to tell the story. I thought I had them all, but sitting in the editing room I realized that I was missing some essential moments.

There are ways of cheating while editing a film. Taking moments from one scene and placing them in front of a completely separate scene to create an association or allude to something that was never originally intended. This is great because you can create moments that were never expected. We started doing this where I was missing some shots and already the film is working much better.

The most difficult part of editing and watching the film come together, is trying to look at the film objectively and trying to see it the way an audience member would watch it for the first time, not knowing anything about the film.

Erin is buried in the editing room these days, but we are already discussing story ideas for the next film. Something that comes up over and over again is the need for conflict in every scene. We identified three types of conflict in storytelling: No conflict, dishonest conflict, and honest conflict.

No Conflict - is a scene that breezes by without any tension or story-purpose.

Dishonest Conflict - is a scene where conflict exists only to drive the story forward, but is disrespectful of the characters or irrational in the context of the story.

Honest Conflict - is conflict that is true to the characters and the story.

I think Birthday Girl has moments of all of these.