When researching into editing techniques that I could use on my film I came across an interesting article written by Oliver Peters, an independent film editor and colourist, who explains his top twelve tips for film editing. This article is huge and really well written, so I shall post a link to it below, whilst quote a few tips that I feel that I will use the most.
“Moving camera shots – Moving the camera around is a staple of action sequences. This might be a camera on a dolly, crane, Steadicam or just handheld. In an action scene, this is designed to create a level of tension. When I cut these shots together, I prefer to cut on movement, so that the camera is in constant motion from one shot to the next. Many directors and DP will disagree, preferring instead to start and stop each camera move before making the cut. Both approaches work under the right situations, but my tendency is to cut tighter and not let the audience’s eye rest on the set or a shot or a scene for too long, unless there is a reason to do so.”
This technique is something that I have decided to storyboard into my storyboard mainly for the woods scene when the action is mainly following the child playing in the woods and discovering the dead rabbit. From this, I have also decided to use short and sharp cuts on the childs hands and expression in the lead up to discovering the rabbit, with eventually a long slow zoom into the dead animal.
“Pull the air out of actors’ performances – Going back to Item 1 – I like to cut tight. Recognize that many actors will overact. They will milk a scene for more than is appropriate. They will accentuate pauses, add more stumbles and stammers (where scripted) and give lengthy glances. Sometimes this works, but your job as the editor is to dial these back as you cut. Take these pauses out by cutting away and then back. Cut out redundant actions and line deliveries. Make it real, so it doesn’t feel like ACTING.”
This is undoubtedly something that I will have to do as an editor for this film, as when I first auditioned the cast for my film I could evidently tell that they over acted. I knew this would be something I would get with any actor, as the screenplay is very dramatic, even myself as an actor would struggle to give a convincing screen performance.
Useful research into editing Hal.
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