Avoiding Post-Production Purgatory

Waiting for tapes to batch is only part of what makes editing tedious.

Pre-production was long and hard, and shooting was relentless and grueling. But you got it all in the can. The hardest part is over, right? Wrong. Post-production often takes as long as shooting and can prove to be far more difficult. But nobody has to languish in post purgatory forever. Here are some tips to help you get past common editing issues and picture lock your film.

A quick note to those who have yet to film: You may want to begin working with an editor before shooting begins. In the shot-listing/story-boarding stage, especially, it helps to consult with an editor on the viability of certain tricky shots and transitions, and troubleshoot continuity and pacing issues before they arise. Some editors even attend shoots and work alongside script supervisors to keep track of good takes and suggest optimal coverage for a scene.

Once shooting wraps, the first major sequence an editor will compose is the assembly. You may be alarmed by how rough and unpolished the assembly is, but you should keep in mind that the purpose of the assembly is to create a basic ’skeleton’ around which the rest of your film will be built. When watching your assembly you should be evaluating how your script has translated to the screen. What moments worked well on the page but fall flat on screen? Did you manage to capture any unexpected or improvised gems? After watching your assembly a couple of times through with your editor, you should have a strong idea of the overall tone, and the strengths and weaknesses of your film. Your editor should take notes on your likes and dislikes and begin refining the edits.

Some time after you’ve shared your thoughts on the assembly, your editor will begin to deliver a series of rough cuts. Watching rough cuts is usually difficult because the lack of sound effects and music combined with questionable cuts might leave viewers feeling underwhelmed and disappointed with the film. Try your best to overlook these shortcomings as you watch your rough cuts, and keep in mind that good sound design and music will go a long way toward smoothing out rough transitions between shots once your picture is locked. Whenever possible, add an audio track of room tone to your timeline to avoid being distracted by jarring sound cuts. Temp ambience and music tracks also help to drown out surface concerns and focus attention on whether scenes are paced well and flow in sequence. Use the rough cuts to zero in on compelling key moments, and emphasize your script’s strangths. The question you should be asking yourself over and over is, “How can my shots be structured and sequenced to maximize the film’s impact on audiences?”

You may want to hold some test screenings as you approach a locked picture. If you decide to hold a screening, make sure to carefully select your audience; someone who has worked on the film or doesn’t want to offend your sensibilities may not be the best person to get feedback from. Think about your target audience; who did you intend the film to be seen by? Your sample audience should be as close to that target as possible.

Editing, like writing and shooting, can go on forever. No matter how much work has been done on a film, a director or editor can always find some minor tweak or adjustment to improve what’s already there. While it’s great to be able to constantly improve your film, it’s easy to get caught up in a vicious cycle of cutting, getting feedback, and re-cutting indefinitely.

So how can you decide when to stop? Expert editors, including Hollywood legend Walter Murch, suggest that making strong, artistically motivated editing decisions is one way to avoid getting bogged down in endless editing. Most professional editors swear by a carefully reasoned approach to cutting. Watch your scenes play out in master shots. Would the moment in the scene work better if focused on a particular reaction or detail? Cut to a tighter shot of it. Hold that shot for as long as it is interesting and relevant to the moment. And so on.

If you’ve thought things through, considered alternatives, and made strong, reasoned decisions, you will be more confident about making cuts and moving on to the next scene. There will always be criticisms and other possibilities, but the show must go on and the film must be completed in a time-efficient manner.

Of all the books about film editing, perhaps the most widely read and well regarded is Murch’s essential In the Blink of an Eye. Murch’s book has a simple premise: trying to discover exactly what factors determine whether an edit constitutes a “good cut.” Murch’s discussion is very clear, concise, and compelling, and he lays out some extremely useful guidelines to keep in mind while you’re cutting away.

Another notable book on the subject is Edward Dmytrk’s On Film Editing. If you get stuck and aren’t sure how to edit away pacing, performance, or other issues, definitely try out some of the tips and tricks Dmytrk outlines in his book. You’ll be surprised how easily problematic footage can be deconstructed and recombined with audio from other takes to overcome numerous editing challenges.

Have you read any other book or found any websites with solid guidelines or editing advice? Have you devised your own system to decide when to stop re-cutting a film? Any advice on how to gain objectivity or perspective when watching your own rough cuts? We’d love to hear what works for you - and your feedback may just help to save a fellow filmmaker from languishing in endless post-production agony - so please do share.

Written by: Suraj Das