Cuy by Cut 2nd Edition... Sample PDF
Cuy by Cut 2nd Edition... Sample PDF
Cuy by Cut 2nd Edition... Sample PDF
CUT CUT
Editing Your Film or Video 2ND EDITION
M I C H A E L W I E S E P R O D U C T I O N S
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Contents
List of Tables 2nd Edition Foreword 1st Edition Foreword Preface: The Practical Alchemy of Editing Acknowledgments Permissions Introduction: Stepping Aboard and Navigating the Book
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Appendix BDIY Postproduction Schedule 4. Preparing Dailies Appendix CStage One: Budget Form for Dailies
STAGE II EDITING
Introduction
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CONTENTS
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List Of Tables
1.1. Coding and Measuring 1.2. Determine Your Finishing Format 1.3. Film and Video Formats: How Shows are Shot, Input, and Finished 2.1. Digital vs. Analog Video 2.2. Worldwide Tape and Television Signal Standards 2.3. Drop and Non-Drop Time Code 2.4. NTSC Frame Size, fps, and Scanning Types 2.5. Retrofitting a 16:9 to a 4:3 Aspect Ratio 3.1. Typical Postproduction Schedules 4.1. Reel Labeling Methods 4.2. TV Series and Multi-cam Show Labeling Methods 4.3. Daily Database from Telecine 4.4. Database File for Telecined Negative 4.5. How Data Typically Enters the Editing System 4.6. Telecined Negative Database File Entry 5.1. Smooth Cutting Angles 5.2. Mismatched Shots and How to Fix Them 5.3. Editing Styles: Classic vs. Modern 6.1. Parallel Action and Cross Cutting 6.2. Examples of Montage Types 6.3. Scenarios for Cutting Picture and Music 8.1. Insert and Overwrite Edits 8.2. Types of VFX 9.1. Three Methods to Play Out to Tape 9.2. Sample Change List 10.1. Translating Story to Sound and Music 10.2. Scene Beats, Sound, and the Wizard of Oz 10.3. Types of SFX and Viewer Perception 11.1. ADR Cue Sheet 11.2. Sound Effects Mix Cue Sheet 12.1. Disk Sides and Layers 12.2. EDL vs. Project Files 13.1. Fixes for Cutback Frames and Frame Re-use 13.2. Sample Cutlist with Key Code
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Stage I
Introduction
Stage I lays the foundation for every project. It is the critical stage where you set up and organize your show so it passes smoothly through the cutting room and emerges as a well-edited film or video. Part One informs you about the important editorial decisions you must make at the start of every project and helps you make them. In Part Two dailies arrive in the cutting room and you learn how to organize them and the cutting room for the next stage in the postproduction process: editing. Stage I, as well as Stages II and III, contains a number of appendices which consist of charts and forms. You can photocopy them and use them on your projects or download them from www.joyoffilmediting. com by clicking on the Free tab.
1. A.C.E., American Cinema Editors, is an honorary society of editors who are voted into membership based on their professional achievements, dedication to the education of others, and commitment to the craft of editing. A.C.E. always follows their names on screen. A.C.E. hosts its own editing awards ceremony after every year for which winners receive a Golden Eddie award. It also runs an editing internship program.
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Part One
Introduction
In Part One you will find out how to make the critical decisions necessary to set up your project properly for editing. Chapter 1 provides you a thorough overview of the editorial process and supplies you with a checklist for setting down your decisions and do-it-yourself flowcharts for plotting your projects path through postproduction. You can also download the checklist at www.joyoffilmediting.com by clicking on the Free tab. Chapter 2 of Part One takes you on an introductory tour of the two types of cutting rooms digital and film to help you choose which system youre going to edit on. After Part One youll be ready to step into the cutting room and learn how to prepare it for the task of editing in Part Two.
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CHAPTER 1
Decisions, Decisions
Getting Started on the Right Path through Postproduction
A film is like a boat; its just waiting to be sunk. Francois Truffaut, director
Overview
n order to stay afloat and on course, you must put your project on a proper path through postproduction. To do this, you need to make critical decisions right at the start: Its best to know where youre going before you set out! Consequently, this chapter begins by summarizing the six phases of film and video projects. Next, a substantial section advises you on shooting correctly to achieve an efficient postproduction process and create the best footage possible for editing. The chapter then lays down some key cutting room terms and acquaints you with how and why shows are measured and coded. This leads to the last part of the chapter which details the formats that projects shoot, edit and finish on. Youll then be ready to determine your projects format(s) in Appendix A, which follows thechapter. Lets begin!
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There are six phases to any film or video project. Understanding what goes on before and after editing will give you more insight into the filmmaking process and make you a better participant in the process. It will help you communicate more effectively with those whose work overlaps yours, primarily the script supervisor and cinematographer (from the production phase) and promo producer and publicist (from the distribution phase). More importantly, current workflows are converging postproduction with production and even preproduction, especially in animated shows and those with lots of VFX (visual effects). The lines between filmmaking phases are less distinct today and will get even fuzzier in the future. The following list describes each phase.
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DECISIONS, DECISIONS
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documentary piece. Then clap it if youre shooting double system (sound and picture captured on separate mediums) before whisking it out of frame. Clearly slating each take consumes but a few seconds in the field and saves valuable time and temperaments in the cutting room. Voice slating is essential because dialogue editors will need to find the original takes for the audio tracks used in the show. We cant see the slate, explains dialogue editor Victoria Rose Sampson. We locate takes by the voice slate.
Get Coverage
To cover a scene means to shoot angles in addition to the master shot such as close-ups and two-shots. Directors usually plan coverage for every scene. Why? Because most scenes when edited dont work when played all the way through in a master shot. Coverage adds needed pace and points of view and gives editors options for how to cut the show. Additionally, coverage serves as insurance in case the planned shot doesnt work, e.g., a master shot drags or is repetitive in the middle. By cutting to coverage, the editor can skip over the slow spot and cut back at a more vital point. Directors who dont cover themselves usually regret it.
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down and tells a weird joke. When you film the medium shot of Uncle Ed, dont start with his joking. Rather, have him sit down and begin joking, repeating the action of the master. When you repeat action at the tail (end) of one angle and the head (beginning) of the next angle, the editor has the latitude to cut to any take at the best possible frame.
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2) Match Eyelines
When a scene calls for cutting back and forth between shots of interacting characters, they need to be looking at each other, i.e., their eyelines must match. If shot incorrectly, their eyelines wont match and the characters will not be looking in the right direction. This may confuse the audience and cause them to take an unintended meaning from the characters interaction.
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1.c Crossing the line. Shoot the pawns from the correct cameras or they will appear to jump sides.
Example A car is going down a street and you shoot two angles, one from each side of the street. Perfectly valid angles but if cut together, the car appears to be traveling in the opposite direction. Reason There is an invisible line in every camera set up that bisects the scene horizontally at 180.
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Example Cinematographers and their crews shoot football games from one side of the field only. This way there is no chance to cut to the other side of the field and make the players appear to be running toward the wrong goal.
Of course there are many times nective; thats what film is. when you want to shoot a lot (Emphasis added.) of angles that cover both sides Dede Allen of the action. Here are several methods: 1. Establish a new 180 line Have the characters move within the shot or move the camera within the shot to break the line and create a new one. As Dede Allen notes, director Robert Wise always anticipated his axis changes. 2. Shoot cutaways Cutaways diminish the disorientation, allowing the editor to cut away before cutting to the line-breaking angle. An overhead angle keeps the audience oriented and enables the editor to freely cut to any angle. Jumping the line disturbs the audience, especially in 3-D movies, which, by their nature, immerse viewers more deeply than 2-D movies. 3. Break the 180 rule deliberately If you choose to ignore the rule, be aware that you are breaking it and be smart: Shoot some cutaways for insurance, just in case you dont like the resulting cut. More frequently, due to the influence of modern-style cutting, filmmakers ignore the 180 line. (More about this in Chapter 5 To Cut or Not to Cut: Where to Cut and Why, during the discussion of traditional editing style vs. modern style.)
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this writing, however, the best HD camera does not approach the look of 16mm film, let alone 35mm. So, to achieve a film look, address the differences between the two mediums using these specific methods: 1. Shoot 24p as this format has the most film-like motion characteristics. 2. Be conscious of how you block the camera: Leave enough room for zooming and separate the camera from the set. If space is lacking, direct the talent to move forward; this is preferable to having them move sideways. 3. Set the proper depth of field (DOF). Since video has an infinite DOF and film has a shallow DOF, you need to narrow the DOF to approach film. Do this by using film-style lenses, zooming, adding a digital adapter, and changing the F-stop to widen the aperture. 4. Light film-style to avoid the cold video look. Go beyond room lighting and use key, fill, and backlighting in different scenes. 5. Adjust the white balance to mimic films photochemical color timing. 6. Pay attention to what the audiences focal point will be with every setup. What will they notice first? Catch in their peripheral vision? Gravitate to next? 7. Finally, because sound is vital to viewers acceptance of visual images, record high quality audio to bolster your film-image look. Which neatly brings us to the last topic in this subject.
To create the best-sounding film or video, start during preproduction. You want to anticipate how your show will sound, budget for sound, and record your desired audio during the shoot. This way youve got the sound you want for when your picture comes together audio-wise during sound editing in StageIII.
1. Cinema Audio Society, U.S. sound honorary society equivalent to A.C.E. for sound mixers and their associates: sound editors, recordists, and technicians.
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Last word
Theres a belief in the film industry that you Pay it up front during production or pay it downstream during post. So, save yourself time and money by getting picture and sound right, right from the start. Shoot your footage correctly so that shots cut together the way you want and are logged and slated properly for maximum editorial efficiency.
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The 1970s begat more for editors: viable videotape editing machines. As tape was faster and cheaper, news shows and documentary filmmakers jumped to it. Many independent filmmakers, corporate, and commercial editors gravitated to it in the 1980s as did low budget TV shows. And 1.i Marking the cut point on a KEM. Photo courtesy of Chris Senchack. thus was born the term linear. By the end of the 80s a majority of TV shows cut on tape and the term nonlinear editor (NLE) arose. Now all this time feature film editors, with a few exceptions, remained on film. They held out until the digital age dawned, bringing film and tape together 1.j Ediflex, nonlinear tape editing system, which harin one machine in the early nessed 12 VHS decks to view and review cuts. Photo courtesy of Tony Schmitz. 1990s. By the decades end, news editors, TV editors, commercial editors, independent filmmakers, and feature editors were cutting on digital editing systems as were college students, prosumers, and home moviemakers. And thus it came to pass with the millennium that the computer has made digital technology available to all editors and 1.k Making the cut on a digital editing system. Photo almost all use it. Digital systems, courtesy of Les Perkins. along with the new editing terms theyve brought forth, are ever changing with each new version, plugin, add-on, download, and capability. Moral: Change will prevail and ever yield to more change. And that is the state of the firmament in which we all dwelleth until kingdom come. Or the next evolution.
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Sound editor
Editor who perfects the shows sound. Sound editors finesse the dialogue, ambience, wild track, and narration and add sound effects among other duties.
Dailies
Footage, usually shot the previous day, from the production crew that arrives daily in the cutting.
Shot
Camera start to camera stop.
Take
A slated shot (which hopefully all shots have).
Edit (noun)
A portion of a take or shot put into a show.
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