I’m not an editor. If I can, I usually handball that task off to someone else. I’m not terrible at editing, but I am horrendously slow. Hours and hours of work went into my six minute film at the end of last semester’s studio, and I’m still not happy with it.

Already this semester I can see that I am getting better. It helps when everything is organised, and when you take the time to actually watch and label clips. Using a sequence to do that also makes it a ton easier (thanks Paul).

This week we have edited the short pieces we shot to edit. Shooting to edit makes things a whole lot easier. Shooting things in order, and having the clap board helps.

Our script was short; only a few lines of dialogue and three characters. During the shoot process, the dialogue did not change much, probably because we acted it out as we wrote it, and were able to write  dialogue that sounded good when it was delivered.

Before shooting we also took the time to draw a quick storyboard. I can not draw for the life of me, yet storyboarding is always the most helpful plan to have during a shoot. Our storyboard allowed to shoot the shots we envisioned during the writing process quickly and without fuss. The other half of our group did not storyboard and took half an hour longer than us to shoot their scene. The were constantly referring back to the script, and more than once forgot what they had already shot. I was also able to use the storyboard while editing to keep me on track of the original plan.

Since our script was so short, in almost every shot the entirety of the script was delivered in full. This meant that when it came to editing, while the shots were long, it was easy to make sure that everything was covered. The only difficulty in caused in editing was a range of different sound mixed and volumes. This can be easily fixed with a little mixing (which I don’t know how to do but will make an effort to learn).

While this piece was shot to edit, it was not written to edit. Writing to edit would definitely save time later on, but I’m not sure it would be worth it. Wiring to edit would be taking organised planning to a whole new level, and would impact on creative freedom later on. If a piece was written to edit, those working on a shoot may feel that they cannot change the script too much, lest it impact on an organised edit later on. I like to be able to change up how a shoot is going during the process; maybe I have had a better idea, or maybe the location just does not allow for what is in the script.

When it came to this piece, a well-thought out script, along with a good storyboard, was the key to a successful shoot ad a reasonably easy edit.