it’s snowing, again, and i wanted to send an update before heading to another editing session with miky. we’ve been working long, enjoyable, focused hours over the last few months, and we’re getting closer and closer to a final cut.
the film has gone from 108 minutes with tons of music to 88 minutes of virtual silence, and now we’ve arrived at a happy medium.
a lot of people have expressed interest in the editing process, and i realize to the outside eye it can seem rather abstract. we shot over 20 hours of footage last june, everything from traditional scenes to static nature shots. within each scene we shot a variety of angles: a wide shot that covers all the action, a close-up of each actor in the scene, an insert of an actor scooping up a bite of cereal, etc.
we’ve been taking all of these moments and piecing them together, very much like a puzzle, to create a cohesive whole. as you can imagine, there are infinite possibilities when it comes to constructing a scene. our job is to find the most effective, clear, compelling structure for each moment in the movie, and at the end of the day that is an entirely subjective pursuit.
once we have a cut of the film that makes sense to us, miky & i invite friends and colleagues to watch it. they let us know what isn’t working, what could be clearer, and offer potential solutions. for instance, one friend suggested that we take a moment that was written to happen fifteen minutes in and shift it to the opening shot of the film. that simple edit, something i would have never considered, suddenly improved the entire film.
this process could go on, honestly, forever. a musician can rewrite a lyric or a chord progression; a painter can go over and over the same section of canvas, adding and taking away; a writer can compose an entire paragraph, and then delete it. at some point you have to sign off and release the work into the world, accepting that it will never be “finished” and, in fact, the work continues to grow and change through the interplay between object and spectator.
okay, so when are you gonna see this movie?? well, my goal is to complete the film (which entails finishing the edit, the score, the sound mix and color correction) in time for 2011 festival submissions. at that point we’ll see which festivals accept us, and that will determine when & where the film will screen. so, in short, i dunno, but you’ll be the first to know!
it’s a long road, but i’ve enjoyed every moment. i think the film is going to be really good, and i look forward to sharing it with all of you. keep sending the good vibes.
j.