I spent a lot of time experimenting with footage from 17 West’s upcoming short film The Climb.  When we shot the film, the intention was always to try different things and evolve as an editor.  The majority of my editing experience lies in the fast paced world of live television.  As you can imagine, there are few occasions when you can spend months working on one piece.  But the experimentation can only last so long and a few weeks ago, I finally buckled down to finish the film once and for all.

During my month long break from blogging, I edited and finalized 80% of the film including…  The Scene.

I think every film has one scene that can make or break it.  In this case, The Climb has a scene that’s 9 1/2 pages long consisting of two characters under a bridge…  Talking.  We shot the scene from a variety of angles and allowed our actors to go through the entire scene each time.  These shots wound up being roughly 8-10 minutes each.  That’s pretty long considering I wanted the final film to be less than 15 minutes.  So I knew some dialogue would have to go eventually.

When we finished the masters, we went in for closeups and really focused on key moments during the scene.  By the time I finished editing the scene, it was 6 1/2 minutes long…  And it was boring.

XTRA | Click here for more editing posts.

FIXING YOUR BORING SCENE

It’s amazing how different the writing on the page can be when you are watching the results on screen.  Honestly, the scene was just too long.  Lets face it, long scenes like this are difficult to pull off.

However, I hadn’t really cut much out of it yet and that is why I love editing. 

If something isn’t working you have to step back, identify the problems and find a way to solve them creatively.

In this situation, I went through the scene and cut every line I could to tighten things up as much as possible.  While I was completing that process, I had a moment of inspiration.  I knew how to fix the scene.

I had to be careful because it was such a pivotal scene but my idea was simple.  In the film, after a long conversation, my main character spends some time at a beach considering his options.  I decided to inter cut that footage with my long scene.  Combining those two scenes was a great way to pick up the pace while allowing me options to cut out lines without worrying about continuity and such.  It also elevated the sequence visually.

It was the perfect solution and by the time I was finished, all remnants of my boring scene had vanished.

The trick was finding a way to have the film convey the same message in a more economical way.  So instead of having 2 separate scenes, I had one sequence that was infinitely more effective.  If you find yourself stuck, take a moment and really think about what you want the film to be and consider every single option you can come up with.  In fact, take it a step further and TRY every option you can come up with.  If it doesn’t work so be it.  At least you tried.  The benefit to that approach is kick starting your brain.  When that happens, anything is possible.

For me, all that stands in my way now is the ending.  I’m sure there will be more challenges and problems to solve but I can’t wait to tackle them on.

Check out The Climb’s new poster below.

XTRA | Short Film Editing: Is This Scene Boring 2

HOW LOSING SLEEP CAN LEAD TO A
CREATIVE OUTBURST

I fell a sleep the other night around eleven which is seriously early considering most days I’m in bed by 1 or 2am. At 7am, my girlfriend woke up for work and I turned on CNN like I always do.

On a normal day, CNN works like a radio as I close my eyes and fall back a sleep. However, this particular day was different. I had way too much on my mind… I felt like working.

So I got out of bed, got dressed, fired up my Mac and got to work.

SEIZE THE MOMENT

Sometimes, you just can’t help but feel inspired and truly unleash your creativity. Moments like these have to be acted on. I could have stayed in bed and slept until noon but that isn’t getting my movie edited, my blog updated or my screenplay written is it?

36 Websites I Visit Every Day

My first order of business was to eat cereal and catch up on all my blogs, sports updates and movie news. This normally takes a while but it’s important to stay up to date. Most of the time, these sites inspire new blog posts so it’s worth it.

WORDPRESS

For the first time in weeks, my daily post wasn’t ready to go. I had to write something from scratch. So I organized my thoughts and wrote Buried vs 127 Hours. A look at the different editing styles the film’s used to tell their story.

Once I finished the post, I was still feeling energized. It was time for the heavy hitters.

FINAL DRAFT

Launching Final Draft always makes me smile. Two days ago, I finished a new short screenplay called The Guardian and I spent a couple hours rewriting and editing my gritty 9 page superhero drama.

Rewriting is my favorite step. I’m the type of writer that completes the first draft without stopping much. I just want to get the story and the major plot points on to the page.

I usually leave the script for a day or two and then I edit and refine every single word until I’m 100% happy that I’ve told a unique and entertaining story. Sometimes, I finish a short and it doesn’t feel unique at all. These moments are unfortunate but every screenplay you write is an evolution of the writer you wish to become.

Once I finished my first pass at the rewrite I printed it out for my ‘red pen’ stage. I basically leave my office and read the script free from distraction with nothing but my thoughts and a pen. This step is followed up by typing it AGAIN from page one using my rewritten copy and my notes as guides.

It’s going to be a fun week but my day didn’t end there.

FINAL CUT PRO

I’ve been making sure to leave myself at least a few hours every possible day I can to make progress on 17 West’s latest short film The Climb.

It helps that I’ve been writing more and more about the editing process over the last week or so.

XTRA: Click here to check out the editing archives.

I fired up the most recent cut of The Climb and completed a scene from start to finish. In what felt like an instant, I put together a pretty great little 1 minute scene full of dialogue. It helped that I already had a good idea of how I wanted to pace the scene but I was amazed at how easily it came together.

In the end, I edited for a couple hours and even found time to go back and refine a few moments I wasn’t happy with earlier in the film.

It’s really starting to come along!

DONKEY KONG?

Every brain needs a break now and then and my escape when I can’t play sports is video games. Currently, I’m right in the middle of Donkey Kong Country Returns and I just dominated the fifth world.

It’s a really hard game so I’m quite proud to be almost done!

Break over.  Still completely inspired to work.

WORDPRESS RETURNS

I felt fantastic. I had already accomplished so much with my extended morning but I still felt inspired to work. So I continued my quest to go back and update old posts. I literally started with post number 1 and managed to get through about 20 or so before I called it quits.

These old posts are now updated with better SEO keywords, titles and graphics. I also wanted to include relevant links to posts I’ve created since those articles were published. This process is probably going to take months considering I’ve written nearly 600 posts.

Still, it’s important work and I’m happy I was able to get a few done just in time to get ready for work.

CELTX FOR IPHONE

XTRA: Read my review of Celtx here.

It takes about 20 minutes to get to the studio where I work. Still feeling extremely creative, I used that time to start a 1 page screenplay we may shoot for a competition towards the end of March.

It may never get filmed but at least I can create a script and find out if it’s worth it or not. So I fired up my Celtx for iPhone app and nearly got the first draft finished before I got to work.

The script is extremely rough and needs work but the basic outline of the story is out there and I think it may have some use down the road even if we don’t make the quickly approaching deadline.

EDITING PROFESSIONAL SPORTS

From there, I got to work and prepared for a busy night filled with big hockey games and a ton of live shows. 11 hours of editing stood between me and what was definitely a good night sleep!

It was a fantastic day!

SEIZE THE MOMENT!

My shift started at 2:30. I’m really happy I didn’t sleep until 11 and waste what ultimately became an incredibly productive afternoon.

Seizing these moments is crucial if you want to succeed in a creative medium. Even if it’s just a hobby and you aren’t aspiring to be a professional.  You have to constantly think about your projects and how you can make them better.  You have to dedicate yourself and get the work done.  Not because it’s work but because it’s what you love to do.

Yet every so often, something clicks and you end up with mornings like I just had.  Moments when you can’t seem to keep up with the ideas bursting from your imagination.

If only every morning was like that.

FIND A JOB YOU LOVE
NEVER WORK A DAY IN YOUR LIFE

I spent the last few days working with Producer/Director Eric on a pitch package for our newest short film project.

For now, I’m keeping details on the film a secret but with Eric’s demo reel complete, a thousand pages of paperwork ready to go and research nearing completion we are about to officially start producing this thing.

We now turn our attention to budgets and funding with a goal of filming sometime in 2011.

I love the early stages of production when a film’s style starts to reveal itself and you start anticipating the magical first take on set.  I can’t wait to get going on this and our other projects!

More details to come.

In the mean time, here is a teaser poster for the film!

PS: Check out the poster for The Climb here.

Playing Through recently picked up a distributor and while Producer Eric got a package of materials ready for them, I was given one assignment:

Dialogue Breakdown

I’m not even entirely sure that’s what you call it but I wasn’t thrilled.  It’s tedious work.

Basically, I needed to produce a spread sheet containing each line of dialogue, who said it and include in and out cues for each.

Gross.

In the end, I’m thankful Playing Through is only 19 minutes long so it only really took a couple hours.

Now, should our short film get picked up in another country, subtitles will be ready to go.

It’s an assignment I didn’t think I’d ever have to do but if it helps us sell our movie, I’m happy to do it.

I’ve been making movies since high school.  Back then we were winging it.  We shot our films with a camcorder and filmed every scene in order.

We didn’t have screenplays and barely worked out the stories.  We simply made it up as we went along.

You learn by trying.

I consider Playing Through my first official short film.

It was based on a screenplay I wrote and absolutely adored.  I couldn’t wait to see the finished film.  Screenwriting has always been my passion.  I’ve never considered myself a director and truthfully, I don’t know if my ultimate goal would be to direct for a living.  I want to write.  I love writing.

However, I also enjoy challenging myself in new creative environments. 

Why not give directing a serious shot?  I had nothing to lose.

When we shot that movie, I didn’t know how to carry myself on a professional film set.  That was the biggest hurdle I had to leap in order to communicate with my crew effectively.  I had spent countless hours shot listing and story boarding in the week’s leading up to the shoot.  I did this for two reasons:

• I wanted to make sure I had a clear idea of what I wanted the movie to be.
• I wanted the crew to take me seriously.

Our first day of shooting was hard on me.  We had fallen behind and I had to adapt my vision accordingly.  When you are dealing with a golf course that remained open as well as the constant threat of rain, you really have no choice but to push forward as efficiently as possible.

We had to make sure that by the end of the shoot, we had enough footage to make a movie.

I learned early on that certain complicated shots had to be sacrificed in order to make sure the story was told.

In the end, I got everything I needed to tell my story and I’m extremely proud of the final film.

So far, Playing Through has won 3 awards and been an official selection in two film festivals.

I suppose the one thing I learned was that you can’t rely on story boards and shot lists when you are in the moment.  You have to let your instincts take over at some point.  I don’t think I did that enough.

It may have been nerves but I definitely wish I let loose a little more with my imagination while I was on the set.

We made The Climb nearly 4 years after I wrote the original draft of the screenplay.  That script went on to place 4th out of over 1200 scripts in the American Gem Screenplay Competition.

Since that time, I’ve rewritten and simplified the script several times.  When it came time to decide what I wanted to do next, it was an easy decision.

I went into the shoot with the same amount of preparation as Playing Through.  I had my shot lists and drawings finished and I was confident we would get it all done.

With the exception of the weather, this shoot was actually pretty smooth.

The major difference?

I left my notes at home.

All I had on me was a miniature copy of the script which I rarely opened while we were shooting.  I had general approaches to each scene but because of the weather, I was forced to come up with new and interesting ways to get the work done.

From a visual standpoint, The Climb has many more varied locations and settings.  I did my best to keep things as new and interesting as possible as the entire script is essentially one long conversation.

Much like Playing Through, the weight of the script is in the dialogue.  When we were making Playing Through, I had golf to rely on during the longer conversations.

The Climb deals with two people who live on the street.  I had to find a way to keep things moving even though my main characters do not.

So I tried to use the locations to my advantage and create as much depth as possible.

We’ll see how it all turns out but I’m definitely more comfortable on set.  What’s important to me is to always keep improving.

I’m not sure if I’ll direct again any time soon as I’m now firm on my goal of writing some new shorts and a couple feature scripts.

Writing will always be my first priority.  When I’m directing, I miss it.

So while I’m finishing post-production on The Climb, expect a lot more posts about screenwriting.