Blog Post 2: Post-Production Stage of ‘Marilyn Monroe: The Ghosts of Old Hollywood’
Post-production on ‘Marilyn Monroe: The Ghosts of Old Hollywood’ presented its own set of challenges and triumphs. Our first shoot on October 8th was mostly smooth, but it was during the second shoot on October 10th that we faced more sound recording issues as well as some lighting ones. While setting up our shots in a dark studio space, we struggled with channel audio. This required assistance from the studio staff but the team stayed patient, and we eventually managed to get the device working, fine-tuning the settings on our recording device and achieving the desired clarity by adjusting the positioning of the microphones.
One of the highlights of this phase was Chewie’s performance of Monroe’s interview. Chewie worked extensively to channel Monroe’s mannerisms, and using a teleprompter was key to nailing the long monologue. We both spent time before the shoot setting up the teleprompter so that Chewie could deliver the lines seamlessly, keeping the emotion and pacing intact. Chewie’s dedication to the role really shone through as she embodied the frustrations of Monroe, not just reciting lines but truly feeling them, especially in the improvised moments.
The editing process, from October 11th through the 17th, was a race against time. Each editing session was focused on different elements: cutting scenes for pacing, adding effects, and syncing audio with the footage. The sound issues from our shoot days meant extra work in post-production. We used tools to clean up the audio and balance it properly across scenes, but some moments still required more tweaking. The second camera we used for an alternative angle such as the storyboard went awry when we found out the camera’s auto settings for ISO self adjusted itself believing our shot was under exposed making the quality of our shot composition an overwhelming noise. Using an adjustment layer we managed to salvage some of the angled shots with colour correction. Workload-wise Caelan took the load of the work when it came to Editing, taking it upon himself to edit in his own time with the hard-drive. I did my best to drop advice in when I could, assisting with some of the more technical Premiere Pro tools and functions. I think there were some creative clashes in the team when it came to some shots, transitions and the overall makeup of scenes however it all came together at the end and that’s what was important.
Despite the sound and scheduling challenges, our team’s determination paid off. We managed to get a final cut that we’re proud of—one that captures Monroe’s legacy with a sense of reverence, while also giving voice to her personal struggles. The journey from planning to post-production has been rewarding, and we’re excited to see how the project will be received at the Media Studio Screening.