If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you are no doubt aware that The Climb took a very long time to edit. It wasn’t because it was riddled with problems or a serious case of procrastination. I just wanted to try different things with the footage.

I restarted from scratch on three separate occasions to experiment with different editing styles and techniques. You see, at work, I edit for live television every day in a fast paced environment. Slowing things down by editing a film every once in a while is a treat.

That’s actually what started the whole thing. I had just finished Playing Through and I wanted some new footage to work with. Except I wanted the project to be free of deadlines and schedules. I just wanted to edit.

I just realized that by making that statement, I’ve put some pressure on myself to deliver at the very least a well edited short. I can say I’m extremely proud of the final cut. Its exactly what I never intended it to be! The story evolved, the cut evolved and the movie got better.

XTRA | Short Film Editing: Is This Scene Boring

A few weeks ago I set a goal that the final cut would be finished by the beginning of September. Obviously that wasn’t the case. The reason behind that delay pretty much sums up the entire editing process.

I had finished the big scene and it was too long and dragged… So I put some thought into it and came up with a way to combine two scenes creatively. This allowed me the opportunity to shorten the big scene but increase the tension. However, that meant a complete deconstruction of the final 5 or 6 minutes of the film.

Lines had to be cut while others were moved. New takes were selected and others were left behind. In the end, I took what was going to be a 20 minute short and turned it into a 12 minute film I’m happy to declare FINISHED!

XTRA | Follow The Climb’s production here.

What’s next? Sound!

When I first took on this project I wanted to upgrade my mixing skills and used the wonderful tutorials over at LYNDA.COM to teach myself Soundtrack Pro.

It’s time to dust off that software and get to work.

Stay tuned for more on the editing process and complete coverage as I finish up the sound mix and color correction.

[UPDATE: Since some minor tweaks are being made I suppose I can't actually call it a picture lock but it sounds cool.]

Holy crap I love making movies!

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