All language subtitles for 129 - Editing Part 2

I can't emphasize enough how valuable it is to

to show your

your your project

to audiences who don't know anything about it

they don't all have to be test audiences

in a multiplex with

with the preview cards to fill out and questionnaires

although I believe in that process

but just as valuable is that screening with 10 friends

if they're willing to really talk to you

who have not seen the project before

and you run

run at start to finish

you don't stop

and afterwards you

you know you

you make yourself vulnerable to

tell me about my movie

let's you know

what did you get out of it

uh it's sometimes you have to read between the lines

because of course

they're gonna be polite and kind to you

so don't be too fooled by that

uh you know

anything other than a rave means that

they have a little hint of criticism under there

but what you need to begin to understand is

what is this story communicating really how

how are people feeling about it

I know how they were supposed to feel well

where is that consistent

where is that being achieved

where is it different

if it's different

is it better or not as good as I'd hoped it would be

or is it some other idea altogether

audiences receive these images and sounds

in ways that are often very surprising

sometimes some

somebody will say something

you know some piece of exposition

pretty much flat out

and it's clear it's there

but for some reason

the audience isn't even hearing it

so that creates a moment of confusion

if that's happening

you have to understand it and find another way to

you know to say it again and

or clear out the sound and make sure people get it

and it's you want to get to a very

you wanna go kind of macro and micro

on your analysis of your project during the

during the post production period

and be creative about the solutions

because sometimes

the concerns that an audience has

really provokes you to look at the scene

once and for all

in a very original way

and it sometimes suggests that you edit it um

and approach it in a way that that is

um you know

sort of better than you ever would have dreamed of

and more interesting

and a more surprising approach

less conventional um

and and often the the

the most unconventional ideas

come out of a need to try to

either eliminate some problem

get it out of the movie

or reinforce some idea

or some feeling that isn't quite being conveyed

editing is a very personal thing on the one hand

but it's also a period where

some objectivity from outsiders can really benefit you

so there's a kind of a

you know an intersection here between um

feedback that you're getting not only from the editors

um but but you know

the people who are watching what it is you're

you know you've put together and

and giving you some information

some reaction um

it's vitally important that you were

continue to understand

the themes the ideas

the story that you're trying to tell

the thing that you believed in from the beginning

and yet not cling to it

what you want to begin to discover is well what

what else it

it either you know

succeeds in saying or doesn't

and yet possibly could say

editing is a is a

is a process um

of whittling down

you know I mean I

the Michelangelo quote that

you know the sculpture is always inside the marble you

you you just have to phoning it well

the the movie or the TV show is there

you've one added advantage

and that is that if you can identify a big

big new ideas or little tiny ideas um

that you never thought of before

you have a chance of going back and reshooting

or re editing and adding voices

adding dialogue and things like that to help support uh

or even reinvent the

you know the

the the nature of a scene

and the impact that it has on the audience

and the end the story

the editing process is another period where

going to movies and television shows that you like

and watching them with the sound off

um is very inspiring sometimes

and really helps you um

begin to understand

where your scene or sequence or entire story maybe um

selling itself short

letting itself down or where's

and where's

where somebody else has done a thing that is uh

is you know

is very powerful and compelling

it may be pace

it may be rhythm

it may be the length of the cuts

holding for a long time

or going for a lot of very shortcuts

these these

these two things are

these two ideas are very different

and they both speak to the audience in in

in unique ways

these are all things

choices that we've all experienced as viewers

and we've all had a reaction to

and the question is again

what's gonna work best for this story

this story that I love

the story I wanna tell

and you know

it's not not that

it's not that daunting

if you are willing to ask the question

and if the answer is not clear to you

you know seek an answer

it can be very

very discouraging

even heartbreaking

when you look at that first cut of of the

of the film or the television show um

it's usually very long

because the editors

um whether you're editing yourself

or somebody has come in to

to edit with you or be the editor

as you know

is probably included

everything that was interesting at all

and what you shot and um

99.9 times out of 100

uh you know

that's not gonna be ready to put into the theaters or

or or put on air yet uh

you you're gonna have to make some decisions about it

and often it's far

far too long

um that's okay

although it's it's

it's very difficult

to watch something that's overly long

and so you know

on a gut level

all any director really wants

is just to put it together and have everybody say

oh my God it's genius

it's never happened to me

I don't know anyone yet who has had that happen

uh but you know maybe

maybe you're the one

maybe you're the one

editing is the place where you

you have to be brutally honest to yourself

about what your film is and what it says

um now you're never gonna make that film that everybody

100% agrees uh

works in every way

so again you're gonna have to weigh options

and make some choices

but when you discern that there's a weakness and

and that weakness is not fundamentally wired into

baked into the thematics of the story it's it

it just has to do with something that you could address

editorially

it's important to go ahead

toss and turn

talk to your editor

talk to your producers

talk to your friends

and drill down on that

and see if there's a way to open it up

and rethink it and

and perhaps solve the problem

and that is very unsettling work sometimes

it undermines your confidence in certain ways

but I've come to not despair

but instead

know that this is part of the process

and um and and

and that there is a great reason

to overcome that despair and pursue these solutions

because you can sometimes wind up with

the moments that you're absolutely the proudest of

it's unexpected

it's not the way you planned it

but the discovery is thrilling

and you're very happy to have it in your film

in this new

um improved way