Coming away from the screening with mostly positive feedback, we were eager to get into another editing session. The feedback may have been positive, but it was still a rough cut, and there was aspects that were jarringly obvious that needed fixing.

The one thing we were definitely glad about, though, was that we departed from the original scripted opening. Moving away from the script had allowed us to use the best footage to direct the narrative, rather than trying to salvage the footage that had been compromised on during the shoot. Using the stronger footage was definitely worth it, as the new opening was much more engaging and had a much better pace, and was stronger at setting up the narrative and characters.

I think that it’s a really important lesson, and one I’m glad we learned so early on – sometimes, the footage doesn’t cut together as well as you thought it would, and there’s an alternative that works better. There’s nothing wrong with changing the action (especially when it doesn’t change the beat of the story) and if the alternative is stronger, then that’s absolutely the sequence you should use.

We did decide that the first thing we needed to do was finalize on the visual, because there’s no point in syncing sound or colour grading if it’s going to be deleted. For this part, we uploaded the project to two laptops and had them both going, which gave us the ability to test out alternatives faster. Most of what we had done we were happy with, but we neatened everything up and changed a few shots for various reasons. There was also a Doc transition that we were struggling with, and were all rapidly trying out different effects – eventually, we decided on having Doc inverted as he flashes in and out.

There was also another shot where Matt had toothpaste on his face despite having not brushed his teeth – this shot was from one of the takes we did during the fight sequence where we had to cut early – but it’s a close up and you can’t see the background, so it fit perfectly.

We were then onto the non-linear/fight sequence, and as we were starting to run out of time, we decided to have one computer going on one and one on the other, which allowed us to move between and ask opinions as we went. This was effective, though it did meant that at the end, there was some pacing issues, but with the footage already in order and present on the timeline, it didn’t take long to adjust.

Then we were onto sound. The first thing – as it still involved manipulating some footage – was getting everything in time with the ticks (if applicable). Luckily, it wasn’t that hard to do, because Matt was mostly in time, and, if he wasn’t, it was only by a frame or two. It was then easy to shift the clip across to match back up.

In one shot, we had Matt lift up his wrist and the watch fade into focus. He’d been matching the metronome as he lined his feet up, but the ticking of the watch was out of time with the metronome, so we removed a couple of frames while it was blurry and a couple of split seconds in the audio between the ticks so it would fit. It wasn’t noticeable, so worked well.

Next we wanted to get the sound effects right, and that was a huge collaborative effort. Between the three of us, we would discuss potential options (lots of very bad humming and questioning glances were involved) and then trying to find what we wanted, then actually testing it, deciding if it was right and then adding/reducing volume and adding effects – one of the re-occurring favourites being lowpass, as it made them seem more like they were in the room and more like a diegetic sound.

We also changed the sound track idea for the non-linear sequence from being percussive and consisting of sounds that Sid probably hears, to combining high and low pitches. We thought this was effective as, at this point, Sid has basically broken down. If he’s being chocked, it’s also viable that he is no longer able to hear normally.

We were between using a ‘nicer’ (lower-pitched) sound and one that was almost painful – and decided on the painful one. It’s fine if the audience feels Sid’s pain. We want them too.

When it came to syncing sound… we’d used a shotgun mic, and because this is unidirectional, only one channel had sound. I didn’t know how to change this, but luckily Ramsay is a master…

At this point, we’d been going for eight hours and it was past ten, so we all had to get home. Ramsay was to continue with the sync sound and colour grade.

The whole project was a really positive experience – our group was passionate but really connected, and our actor and crew also worked really well together. We had to make compromises during filming, but they were all able to be dealt with and, in the case of the opening, actually ended up being better than the initial plan. This flexibility is definitely an essential part of being a creative,  because there’s going to be unexpected complications all the time, and knowing that it can actually end up being better is very encouraging (I refer to these as ‘happy accidents’).

I am ultimately glad that we filmed in 4K, even if that meant that editing took longer than it otherwise might have (though, this is a reflection of our computers moreso than the actual footage), and filming almost everything on the night (even rehearsals) ended up saving us more than once.

Our research into German Expressionism and watching David Lynch’s ‘Lady Blue Shanghai’ was also essential in saving the non-linear sequence – Expressionism because it helped us with the dramatic lighting, and ‘Lady Blue Shanghai’ because the non-linear sequence in that was by far the most intriguing, and made us appreciate how effective it can be. ‘Eaux D’artiface’ was also great as the shots were joined together in such a fantastic way – there’s a moment in the non-linear sequence is used (almost) in this way, as Matt’s shirt is used to join two takes of him together.

Finally, I’m really appreciative that we ended up in a group together, and thanks to James for being such a great sounding board throughout the project.

Final product…

(Watch in 4K)