Final Cut

The final cut of our film Intertwined! Change quality to 2160p 4k for best viewing purposes.

Acknowledged music source: Lvl by Asap Rocky.

CCR - Question 4

How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?

A how-to social media graphic creation detailing the technologies used in the film!

CCR - Question 3

How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

A virtual meeting skit between myself as editor and "film critics" to discuss the development of my production skills.

CCR - Question 2

How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

Audience reaction and interview style to reflect on the film's area of connectivity with the audience and potential application as a real media text. Acknowledged music source: 'next to you' by Silicon Estate.

CCR - Question 1

How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?
 

A talk over the film addressing how conventions were utilized or challenged and how representation factored into it.

Tonal Montage

The Argument Sequence

For the ending of this film opening, I wanted to expand my editing style meaningfully by incorporating tonal montage; combining shots based on the emotional reaction expected to be triggered in the audience. 

Contrasting flashback scenes edited using the tonal montage theory for audiences to draw assumptions from.

The 'happy memory' was specifically cut as the girls began to laugh to reflect the idea that the laughter and good times were cut short, hence Abby's death and Pam's struggle in remembering these times due to immense grief being felt. It also would provoke sadness in the audience as they have now seen the close friendship that the girls had. A significant scene to use tonal montage between this with was the argument flashback. As it follows this happy memory that has seemingly muffled audio to represent the detachment Pam has from the memory, the argument scene needed to be loud and clear in timbre (good sound quality) to show the turn that took place in their friendship.

To do this, I raised the clip's volume itself and isolated the character's voices more using Adobe Premiere Rush's sound tools (reduce echo and enhance pitch features). Additionally, the argument was trimmed in this sequence just as it started to intrigue the audience before showing how it plays out later in the film, connecting the idea that this may have been the last conversation they had.

Cutting the argument here and then straight cutting it to Pam tearing up in this one shot close up, combines the meaning taken from the sequence presented to the audience as post traumatic stress reminiscing even further.

The remainder of the opening to our film, focusing on the argument sequence playing out.

The argument scene is cut short as discussed previously to then be smashed cut to Pam looking away and dissociating as she is spoken to. It is considered a smash cut because of the contrasting locations and overall atmosphere; it is quieter and more depressing than the argument which is high in intensity in both its visual and audio elements, as Pam is being spoken to by another on the amount of people who attended her friend's funeral.

Followed by another smash cut, the argument between the girls continues at a more intense point in conversation involving Pam's persistence in helping Abby with her addiction issue. Cutting it exactly as Abby's character begins to insult Pam was intentional to heighten the impact this dramatic scene would have on the overall film. It leaves the audience intrigued as to what happened after their conversation but knowledgeable enough to know that their friendship became broken.

Moreover, the argument being cut into two separate scenes was inspired by the concept of tonal montage in order to create tension on it and convey the conversation as one Pam has difficulty looking back on in its entirety. Rather than playing it all out at once, I was able to grow the tension in their argument before showcasing its breaking point and returning back to Pam's distraught state.

Take Away

Overall, in the editing process for wrapping up the film, I learned how impactful the arrangement and cutting of scenes are in invoking emotion to audiences. I also furthered my knowledge on the close connection mixing sound layers has using J-cuts and guided cuts from dialogue climax points help to accentuate the intended perception of events drawn between cuts!

Film Titling

Adding the Title

Placing the title in a way that blends smoothly into the film was a bit of a struggle. I felt as though every placement of the title seemed unnatural and took away from the importance of a scene. 

My first attempt at placing the film's title, Intertwined.

The font chosen in all capitals gave it a simple, yet bold and intriguing appearance. Initially having it placed in this scene felt right because of the clean-cut rule of thirds used in the shot, however, since it was an important flashback scene, it looked random when put together alongside the rest of the film and took away from details that the audience was meant to focus on here.

The revised title placement at the beginning of the film.

Many of the film openings I watched had the title at the very beginning of the film for a short amount of time, usually over a setting. Because this was an establishing shot that pans across the girl's room and was not too significant in terms of attention needed to be paid to its surroundings, it felt more natural to be here. I wanted the title over something of the girls and as this was a scene depicting a home video the girls made during their friendship, it added meaning to the title that could be connected later in the film having that it went on beyond an opening.

This time, I also took sound into consideration when determining the title's duration. The audio is internal diegetic sound and at the clicking on the Nikon Coolpix s3700 zooming in and out, I put the title to pop up with no transition and had it removed when Pam says 'Ok it's recording.' This addition and removal of the title in sync with the sound aspects make it flow seemingly into the film without disrupting the audience's attention. The duration of the title ending once Pam begins to talk transitions the audience's attention from the title to what Pam is recording.

Credits Placement

The credits rolling in scene 2, early on into the film to not take away attention or time from the opening limitations and requirements.

 

To maintain some anonymity, only our first names were placed into the film in the credit titling. I decided to hold each credit per person for around 3 seconds and appear with a transition, as I noticed most credit scenes appearing at the beginning of a film are for relatively short durations. At first, the font size was a bit small and when requesting feedback from my peers, it was suggested I increase the sizing. I took this advice and had each role for the credits have a section in which it popped up on; left side for my director, right side for myself as editor, and the middle in capital letters to showcase the actresses starring in the film.

Transitions & Enhancing Edits Through Sound

Strengthening Transitions

As this is only an opening for what would be a full film, I decided with my director that the transitions between scenes would rely solely on straight cuts. Beautiful Boy, 2018, was one of the films I took inspiration from during pre-production research because of its shared area of representation issue chosen and in its opening, straight cuts were dominantly used. The effect this had on me as the audience is that it felt less like a movie I am just watching and more so a movie I am feeling in its entirety as almost a personal watch and experience. 

Visually direct transitions such as dissolve, fade to white/black, wipe, etc, would have taken away from the emotional significance of the scenes. Straight cuts that appear continuous personalize what is happening in the opening, bridging the audience to the events as though they are experiencing it firsthand alongside the characters. 

This impression stayed in mind throughout my editing process and was a meaningful decision in how transitions were done between scenes. Knowing that straight cuts were being used, other elements such as graphic relation matching and enhancing these edits through sound helped to smooth transitions. 

The ending of the opening scene and how it transitions to the next scene.

The opening scene of our film, Intertwined, utilizes a digital camera that has a VHS aesthetic to it. Straight cutting this to the following scene was initially a struggle because of the harsh graphic contrast between the colors and quality change. But with some revision, adding a VHS 'border' of the recording timestamp and date helped to establish that this beginning is on an older camera to resemble a home video.

Furthermore, a pause button was added using Picsart animation features to smooth and increase the understanding that this lower quality video was being watched by Pam herself on the laptop. Since then, I have added a low pitched, but notable computer clicking noise at the time of the pause button on screen. I recorded myself clicking on the same computer and balanced the sound on Adobe Premiere Rush. The sound here adds realism to the video being watched by Pam on her computer, connecting it better to the next scene despite the graphic relation discontinuity, the scene is able to continue using these techniques and considerations.

A sequence showcasing the straight cuts from one scene to another.

The straight cuts in this sequence allow for better comprehension of the necklace's significance and reveals more of Pam's mental state as she keeps thinking of her friend that has passed away. By adding in the instrumental from the song 'Lvl' by Asap Rocky, I was also able to make these straight cuts appear to be synced to the beats of the song. This was done only slightly to avoid being interpreted as too cliche or music video like, but nonetheless the sound enhanced my editing decisions!

The Tinnitus Effect

Sound Progression

It was decided in pre-production that the film would imitate a 'tinnitus effect' to reflect Pam's post traumatic stress involving the late passing of her best friend. With each memory she ponders back to of Abby, the ringing begins to develop the sense that she is dissociating.

An example of the tinnitus effect used in a short film. Here it is used to amplify the explosion's effect, having caused tinnitus in the ear of the characters around it. It creates uneasiness and chaos as the ringing overpowers surrounding sound.

A sequence where ringing is gradually added as Pam stares at her reflection holding her friend's jewelry, thinking back to the promise Abby made when she was alive.

The instrumental from the song 'Lvl' by Asap Rocky was taken and edited without the bass playing for its electric and glitchy sound impression. It paired well with the ringing and was intentionally faded out so that Abby's words to Pam, "I'm gonna stop" are heard clearly as they echoed. Echoing this allowed the words to be heard by the audience better and added significance to the flashback. 

How the echoing of the scene was done, using CapCut's voice changer feature 'Echo.' This was enhanced on Adobe Premiere Rush using the 'Balance Sound' feature and increasing the volume of the take itself to overpower the ringing for just a moment.

Additionally, the shot duration of Pam in the mirror is short and flips back and forth similarly to the rhythm of the music to convey fast flow of time and repetition of Pam looping in her thoughts. Going straight into silence in a long take after this sequence implements Walter Murch's editing theory that slow, contemplative and silent pieces accentuate mournful emotions being portrayed.

In other reminiscing scenes, the story of their friendship is unraveled further. Although helpful in telling the story, it appeared repetitive when the scenes were first edited chronologically. So, I decided to edit each flashback differently and place it in this order; the last promise Abby gave, their friendship before Abby's addiction (laughter scene), and the last argument they had (post Abby's addiction issues). This developed variation between how the story is presented.

The next reminiscing scene using a J-cut, where the audio from the flashback can be heard before it is shown to bring the connection closer between scenes and increase overall continuity of the montage editing style chosen.

The non-simultaneous sound that is heard is both the ringing noise and a muffled, low timbre tone quality version of the characters Pam and Abby laughing with one another. The muffling is often paired with tinnitus effects in films to create disorientating scenes and in this case, distances Pam between the memory she is thinking of and it being edited to begin playing before showing on screen establishes a sound bridge to the memory being transitioned to. The abrupt silence's placement that follows is again a pattern in the film to indicate Pam returning to the reality her friend is no longer alive in and is determined by the straight cuts between scenes.

Editing Revisions

First Screening Feedback

As a first draft was developed to showcase only a minute into the film, the feedback I received from my peers was very beneficial to the way I saw my film from an outside perspective.

Some comments I received were to:

• Add a time and date to the home video in order to signify it further as a video being played.
• Reverse the scene to make it look as though it had been rewinded or 'glitched.'
• Add a pause 'button' on the frozen ending of scene 1 to indicate the video was paused on Abby's face, developing the nostalgic craving Pam is experiencing by holding onto clips of her late friend and clarifying the use of a computer in the following scene.
• Possible music playing distantly.

Application of Feedback

The first attempt at adding all of their suggestions in addition to some of my own revisions and reasoning,

1. I decided to add a title in scene 1 with white, bolded and slightly spaced out letters to make up for the title's short screen time. The insertion of the title being in the home video correlates with the meaning behind the title we intended; 'Intertwined' representing the close-knit connection the girl's share in which Pam eventually inhibits her friend's addiction issues that would be seen in the film had it went on. 
   
   
2. Applying the suggestion from my peers, I used Inshot to create a date and time stamp on scene 1 without changing the quality of the film itself. It allows for the home video vibe we were trying to come across stronger with the stereotyped look of a VHS camera. 
   
   
3. I trimmed the first scene to end when Abby looks into the camera to increase tension of the moment and used CapCut's frozen feature to hold on the expression to assimilate pausing of the video, as well as brightened the lighting using their color grading preset templates so her face is more visible.
   
   
4. Added a pause button in which I overlayed and added a pop up transition for it to look more natural using PicsArt's animation feature. This also smoothed the harsh graphic relation transition that scene 1 and 2 had in between camera quality and lighting considerations.

A revised version of the same sequence that may indeed be included in the final cut.

When watching this back, my film partner and I realized that the seconds in the top right corner continue to count up even during the 'frozen'/'paused' scene. This was a small detail, but a large distractor in a scene where nothing is supposed to be in movement. To resolve the issue, I used CapCut's freeze feature over the first attempt and the time stamp paused as well.

Adding Improvements Experience 

The reversing of the scene and added music suggestions were not applied to my revised version because I felt as though the pause on her face created personalization with Abby's character — as though audiences are watching a clip of her themselves. The diegetic, quiet sound of the camera zoom ins and that is all, helps audiences focus on the dialogue and what is on screen. Moreover, knowing that keeping this scene more on the silent side was the original sound design vision, I noted the request for music to add in other scenes outside the film's first. 

Altogether, the suggestions applied made the scene look a lot better and sparked my creativity in adding other things I did not consider before. Trimming this long take changed it for the better as it gave me another take to add in as a flashback later in the opening effectively and increased continuity editing effectiveness for the following scenes. It also took away the harsh discontinuous transition between this scene and the one to follow of Pam on her bed because it is trimmed to where the most light is on her face and paused there. 

Dimensions of Film Editing

Kuleshov Effect, Continuity Rhythmic Relations, and Temporal Editing

From before we began production, I knew temporal editing was going to be my main editing style in this two minute opening. This is because this kind of editing allows audience's perception of the time period in which the film is presented to be manipulated. Our film involves a lot of reminiscing periods, so it was a must!

In the first drafts, I had executed this kind of editing by focusing on the appearance of the clips themselves to contrast with one another. Hence, scene 1's digital camera warmth versus the Canon Rebel t51's clarity with color grading applied to bring out colder tones. However, my editing goal shifted to wanting to make straight cuts or transitions between the scenes in general more intentional with the Kuleshov effect. This effect was briefly explored in preliminary research under investigation of Walter Murch's editing theory. 

A video I watched to learn more about the Kuleshov effect and how I could use it in my film.

Walter Murch's editing theory in the sector I explored focused on conveying emotion through the shot duration length/pace of editing. This was utilized in the way long takes are left alone in my film at first to build tension before various short length takes are cut faster in between long takes to convey that the strong emotions are breaking through.

However, the Kuleshov effect adds emphasis to the connection the audience will make to several different takes, instead of one on its own. I tried this here:

A 'pause' button added over scene 1's ending to introduce Pam's character and clarify the purpose of the laptop, as this previously confused audiences.

Kuleshov's effect is applied here by showing two scenes this way with added details like the button and the abrupt pause on Abby's face to highlight the connection between each take. It is similar to a cutaway, that can help reveal what it on the character's mind, but Kuleshov's effect focuses on the emotional reaction induced by the cut, not what it cuts to exactly. In the video above, watching the first scene alone may not develop a sad, mournful tone, but when it is cut to Pam watching the scene with a sad expression, it does arise those emotions effectively!

Other scenes compiled and edited using similar techniques.

The shot of Pam picking up the necklace and then being cut to her trying it on consistently presents the narrative to direct the viewers attention using utilizing continuity editing with shortened shot durations. This is then blended with temporal editing of Abby in the digital camera video they took in an unseen before clip which conveys sadness and distance from the memory associated with Abby and the necklace. It cuts in between the short and choppy cuts of Pam staring at her reflection which portrays the scenes as present versus past time periods once again.

Towards the end of the film, this editing style continues with a low frequency of repeated actions regarding the temporal editing choice so that each flashback has a meaningful effect on the audience's perception on how Pam and Abby's friendship evolved.

The flashbacks are both memories Pam has of Abby on the same couch, but are shot from different angles, clothes, and lighting to contrast the relationship dynamic the girls had near Abby's death. Kuleshov's effect of cutting these flashbacks scenes between this one creates significance on the couch and changes the friendship endured along it.

Short lengths of Pam seemingly 'zoning out' or dissociating (rhythmic relation) add to the development of her character being extremely detached because we barely see her stay focused in the present so far in this opening. She is not fully aware in her surroundings because of the grief she is experiencing from losing her best friend and the editing in all of these scenes combine together in meaning to convey that!

The Two Minute Mark

Extending Narrative with Editing in Mind

When a draft of the film was created, the duration was over five minutes. But, as editing the film became tighter and tighter cuts to create continuity, I realized there was still a lot of scenes still needed to reach the two minute film requirement. My film partner and I decided to extend the narrative out more (adding scenes) according to the vision we established the film would take if it was longer; Pam living her life after her friend's death and falling into similar bad habits. 

The added scenes were analyzed through an editing perspective as I wanted to ensure that the duration of shots were compatible with the goal of having a two minute film and gave me a variety of options to implement different editing styles on.

Some included were:

The scene of the flowers that were straight cut to Pam tying her shoes on a couch.

The vase filled with white flowers with black and white paintings in the back have colors associated with funerals and the 'yin and yang' meaning of light and darkness in the world, representing the kinds of personalities/mental state each girl in the friendship had. I requested this shot so that there could be a break in editing to the different characters as a 'filler' with meaning nonetheless, in the case of seconds or editing break transitions needed.

Additionally, the tying shoes scene's has the ability to create multiple possibilities for the film that I could manipulate different outcomes if necessary for. It can be perceived as her ready to attend the funeral, but can also look like she is taking off the shoes because the funeral has ended. The neutrality of the scene expands the use it could have for breaks to flashback temporal relation editing.

Pam and Abby laughing and spending time together.

This scene provided me with scenes to flashback to, as I suggested we take several versions of the same takes under different lighting, diverse conversation, and shot levels.

The girls arguing over Abby's downfall to drug use and Pam being talked to about the funeral.

The scenes develop the narrative and representation issue being told and was another scene that could serve as a flashback Pam is having. Pam being talked to about the funeral could be where the tinnitus sound effect discussed in pre-production of muffled ringing to convey dissociation is applied.

All of these scenes were developed with consideration to how long the shot would be so that the two minute film opening could be created and edited successfully, as well as serve as transition scenes that could utilize temporal relation editing to manipulate time and gently prod the attention of the audience to the intended vision as editor.

External Diegetic Sound

Sound Implementation

Due to some takes being filmed under the expectation of me adding a voiceover in later, the sound in the film needed work quickly. Scene 2, where Pam's mother walks in and hints that she needs to go to the funeral now, was attempted the first time with a voiceover done on my phone. I recorded voice in a video format close to the voice of the actress doing the voiceover speech. This resulted in the sound's direction in the film to sound misplaced, as it was supposed to come from the direction of the door but instead sounded on top of the film itself (external diegetic sound).

The first attempt at doing the voiceover for this scene. It sounded unnatural for its confrontational tone of the voice actress and for its volume level/direction in relation to how the diegetic sound of this film would sound. 

Having looked over the take and given my limited amount of resources, I reverted to using the Voice Memo application Apple devices have. This allows the sound to be at a higher quality. To change the direction of sound, I had my voice actress play out the scene as it happens visually including; the door opening, the mother speaking to Pam, and the exit of the door closing and walking away steps. I recorded from the bed where Pam originally sits in the scene, figuring that the direction of sound would sound better suited to the scene once added if it is from that area away from where the camera during filming was. 

The revised voiceover with these changes implemented. As it cannot be easily identified as a voiceover — the goal was accomplished!

The sound tool settings on Adobe Premiere Rush that were used to smooth the audio into the scene with more ease were the reduce echo and enhance speech feature using a higher pitch. This quieted the background noise of the original audio and with the scene acted out, the door opening and closing, the footsteps, and the closing of the computer all come together to create this diegetic voiceover.

Seeing the drastic difference between my attempts, I learned the importance of considering every aspect of origin that the external diegetic sound in the scenes themselves would have. The loudness of sound connotes the distance it would be heard in the diegetic world of the scene. It also increases fidelity as one of the dimensions of film sound by accurately representing the sound's origin through playing out the scene detail sounds down to even the laptop being closed by Pam. 

Rough Cut Evaluation

Discussing Pickups

Once a draft was completed from what we had filmed so far, I uploaded it to Google Drive to share it with my film partner without changes in quality effecting the rough cut. We decided to watch it individually and make notes of what we thought would improve the film or needed to be changed before sharing it with one another and later exchanged them.

She agreed with me that scene 1's lighting was too dark. Ultimately, no editing I was able to do could make it look brighter or cinematically intended for meaning. It simply looked like bad lighting and lack of clear narrative, as you could not see the makeup on the actress playing Abby, who is supposed to portray a girl suffering from drug addiction.

The ending of scene 1 and beginning of scene 2.

From an editing perspective, this scene's lighting also contrasted too heavily with scene 2's lighting, making the transition of scenes incredibly harsh and not aesthetically pleasing. Actress playing Abby, cannot be seen at the very end either, where she ends off her sentence staring at her reflection by saying 'I'll stop Pam. I will.' This meant that the scene would have to be redone under better lighting conditions as a pickup as soon as possible to meet the final cut deadline.

Besides that, my film partner saw the vision I had to create a jagged editing style involving cutaways/flashbacks when Pam is staring at her own reflection. It creates a narrative parallel, as both Abby and Pam (after pickups) will have scenes of them staring at their own reflections. 

The ending of the rough cut will need sound changes, but nonetheless displayed the intention behind adding in scenes that could extend this scene's reminiscing period and carry onto the next.

I could edit these scenes to jump-cut from the past to present versions of Pam's reality without her friend to sync with beats of a song that reflects the lost state that Pam is in; having vivid memories of her friend Abby, but Abby no longer being alive despite how lively this reminiscing will be portrayed in the film. This requires revisions to our storyline, but does not take away any of its original ideas, but rather enhances them with efficient editing to prolong the film and strengthen our vision.

Sound Design Reflection

Another thing mentioned was that my attempt at doing a voiceover to mimic diegetic sound was weak and needed to be redone. The audio of Pam's mother walking into her room, disrupting the reaction Pam was having from watching the 'home video' on her laptop, sounded unnatural. I also added in steps walking away that Adobe Premiere Rush had in its sound effect library, but this as well did not blend easily with the scene and sounded out of place as it was too loud, put in early, and was inconsistent audio of someone walking out of a room. More specifically, the audio of Pam's mother speaking, sounded as though she was behind the camera, but in the scene, her voice needs to sound like it is slightly afar to the left, as she has just entered the room.

The scene in which my film partner and I agreed needed a lot of work. The sound goal going forward is to get it to sound as diegetic as possible.

Planning a Resolution

Some solutions I thought of upon reflection was to create the diegetic sound myself of the door opening alongside the mother speaking to Pam and walking out to go over the scene of Pam reacting to it. This would possibly work by being recorded on Apple's voice memo app and edited on Adobe with the reduce background noise and enhance speech tools.

After this scene, the sound should then transfer to very quiet, almost white noise sound to convey the emptiness Pam feels in her grief and pick up again with music that fades in slowly, becoming full volume when Pam is staring at her reflection, synced memories to the beat.

As this was a rough cut, I was well aware of what needed work involving the sound, as it was intended to be a guideline for what the film would sound like. However, my biggest concern as editor was that the film was too short. Altogether, this rough cut averaged a little over a minute and my goal was to get it very close to 2 minutes so that this opening would incorporate as much of our skills and lessons learned as possible, so the addition of new scenes for Pam to 'think back on' along with inputting the revisions my film partner and I decided on should bring us closer to a final cut we can both be proud of. 

Creating a Draft

Editing Session Goals

While reviewing all final takes, it was time to edit them as concisely as possible with added effects discussed in pre-production to see where we were at with the film. There were two main goals I had as editor in making a draft; 1) Make transitions between scenes seamless and coherent and 2) Reduce the number of long takes meaningfully.

Scene 2, where Pam is seen snapping back into reality after watching a video of her best friend, is supposed to be followed by scene 3. This scene is when Pam throws her tissues in the trash can, so that the camera can focus on what is in the trash; papers with text on them and tissues, which is later clarified as the failed attempts at writing a eulogy speech that is seen finalized in scene 4.

During filming, I suggested we have Pam begin to throw the tissues out in scene 2 and 'finish' throwing them out in scene 3 so that I could edit the scenes together using continuity editing techniques that would make the sequence transition smooth. 

A match cut, also known as an action cut is used here with the shortening of scene 2, right before Pam's tissue gets dropped into the trash can, and continues off in scene 3, where the tissue is cut as it falls into the trash can. Trimming each take this way until they seemed to appear as though it is continued action helped to create a straight cut that smoothly transitions these scenes. Sound details have not yet been added in the video above!*

Picking up after scene 3, the eulogy speech is seen underneath the necklace in which Pam grabs to try on and is seen with it on in scene 4. The other takes needed to stay long so that details such as the laptop closing, tissues, eulogy, and necklace can be processed by the audience. After watching the progress of the film thus far, I felt as though there were too many long takes and my editing skills were not properly shown. I wanted there to be more duration variation in the film, as the scene of Pam looking at herself in the mirror appearing sad and lifeless was also a long take. 

Scene 5 of Pam in the mirror being cut jaggedly to different points of her contemplating how she looks in the same take. This breaks up the scene meaningfully as the repetitive and fast pacing of eye trace editing conveys the sense that she has been in this spot standing for a long time, feeling disorientated and unrestful.

Scene 5's choice of editing also engages audiences to focus on her facial expressions and the necklace she is playing with that was carried in from scene 4, as the same area is being shown over and over again. Using Water Murch's theory, I used the cutaway/flashback edit to reveal to the audience what has her so uncomfortable; reminiscing her friend even more. This segment is still in the works, but made me realize new scenes would be needed to complete it, such as replacing the flashback scene with memories of the two friends spending time with one another. 

Pre-Production Application

In pre-production, I heavily focused on learning editing basics and ensuring my understanding of our representation issue and narrative intentions so that I had a purposeful film to edit. Although I am not director, working with only one other person caused me to learn the skillset involved in her role as not just cinematographer, but director, as well as my positions as editor and sound designer. They all work together and it has helped me take those lessons and implement them in the film during the editing process. The better the storyline and meaningful shots, the more I could edit in the film to have a range of takes to flip to and from so that our story could be effectively told — I noticed how much this paid off significantly when creating the film draft, as it was an easy process to make overall.

As an example, adding input during production of doing a close up of the trash can with continuous motion, aided me in editing. I also insisted on certain scenes, such as the mirror scene of Pam, to be repeated with different actress movements and expressions in order to sift through them and have different reactions to utilize in the cutaway editing style. Additionally, becoming familiar with editing technique terminology and theories, such as Walter Murch's theory of six and impact of editing styles, assisted me in choosing what kind of edit would best contribute to the film's vision and content of each individual scene.

Final Takes & Trimming to Perfection

Choosing the Best Takes

Having developed my own set of considerations when sifting through takes, I still wanted to broaden the take standards according to what film editors say they follow the structure of. In an article published by Linked In, I focused on the first 3 points the editors on the site listed as helpful.

The image above is the first tip on the website I followed, going into depth with the benefits of rereading the script before editing. By reading the script, I was able to order the takes I narrowed down for possible use in the final cut in the order the storyline would have placed them. This helped to see how different takes would play out in the same scenes.

The second tip I implemented by watching even the blooper takes. Bloopers, although takes where mistakes took place, were still watched over by me in case they could be edited out or used for its bits before the mistake happened. I had split the screen and watched takes side by side alongside my cinematographer to discuss which ones we thought were best. If we did not agree on which one was best, we had an open discussion on the pros and cons of each take until we could come to a middle ground on which one was better suited for a scene. 

The third tip I took into account when choosing final takes, involving acting considerations to ensure that the most natural clips were prioritized over any others. Analyzing the scenes frame by frame this way for the actor expressions and surroundings also made me notice abrupt lighting changes and other issues in takes that would be later tagged as needing film pickups.

Final Take Consideration Examples & Changes

Two final takes, edited with Adobe Premiere's 'neutral' filter to darken the setting and a straight cut between them without audio as of yet. They were decided based on the clarity in which the audience can read or grasp what the object(s) being shown are.

Prior to this cut, the duration in which each scene was shown was long, specifically the trash can scene. It was long so that the words on the paper could be read by the audience, but felt out of place and overdone, considering that Pam is seen 'walking out' from frame. The take extending for too long a period after her exit appeared unnatural, so it was shortened to 5 seconds to match the eulogy speech close up duration. The total of these scenes together is around 10 seconds, but when studying Walter Murch's Rule of Six in pre-production, he described how mournful, contemplative scenes should be held on longer to communicate heavy emotions. The scenes that follow these however, will be cut to one another faster to move the storyline along and contrast with these narrative signifiers and reflect the way Pam, the main character is feeling. Erratic and irritated emotions are best portrayed with fast paced editing that can almost appear as 'glitching' or repetitive. 

Final take of Pam staring at her reflection while putting on Abby's necklace. This take was chosen for this scene for its dutch angle having associations with unsettling feelings and disorientation and actor facial expressions conveying those strong emotions of sadness and possible grief.

All final takes were chosen carefully with these considerations and have begun being edited whether it to be make the take more concise or longer to suit the scene's implications. They were also darkened with the Adobe Premiere Rush neutral filter to wash out Pam's surroundings and complexion, conveying the sense that she is not entirely there but rather a 'shell of herself' from the feelings of grief, showing how editing can further the meaning of a scene simply in its duration length to color grading.

Sorting Takes

Analyzing Film Thus Far

Once transfers were complete, I wanted to immediately organize the scenes and files so that the editing process would begin in a structured manner. Uploading the entirety of the film we shot to Adobe Premiere Rush would cause the system to lag, exasperate my editing difficulties, and overall create confusion when comparing takes. So, I wanted to narrow down the take options by watching them individually to assess, without the influence of the rest of the film. From there, those takes would be uploaded to Adobe, alongside the rest of the film in chronological order to make finalized editing decisions.

Some considerations in narrowing down takes were:

1) Is cinematic skill shown effectively in this take? Could it be improved?

2) What narrative is told here? Is it meaningful to keep in?

3) Are there sound/actor/camera issues present and if yes, are they fixable through editing?

Moreover, in my editing research prior to the film, I learned that directors should always state the scene and take number when the camera begins rolling so that when editors have to rewatch them, they can sort them and note the takes that are better than others. This was something my film partner and I followed on production days, but made mistakes on. Without noticing, the numbers got mixed up along the way, so when I was attempting to order the scenes, there was confusion on how to separate them as some takes had the same exact numbering by my cinematographer.

Not only this, but remembering which files I just had reviewed was a difficult process. So, I numbered them over again, changing the file name itself to the scene number, take number, and with a dash if it was a take that stood out for a specific reason.

The numbering of all takes from every scene shot to date of the film in a folder titled 'Intertwined' with the numbering mentioned.

Highlighted pink in the image above, there were two takes in scene 5 that were numbered the same by my cinematographer, so its title 'S5T7' stands for scene 5, take 7 and the dashes next to them helped me remember why she mistakingly listed them under the same take; one was a blooper signified by the dash followed by 'BLOOPER' and the other a strong possibility of being a final take in our film with the dash saying 'GOOD.'

Grouping the film together in the device I will be editing on has set me on a clear path of editing planning going forward. I am in a better position to review film to make final take decisions and bring the story to life! 

And So the Editing Process Begins

Transferring Film

After each production day, I transferred the film from both the Nikon Coolpix s3700 and Canon Rebel by taking out the SD cards, inserting it into an SD card reader, and connecting it to the device intended to receive the files: my laptop. Due to the Nikon Coolpix being an older model, its files end in an AVI format, which is not supported by most modern devices. The sound was jagged, cutting out randomly when played on my MacBook and even my phone, but was clear and coherent on the camera preview screen.

A screenshot of a google search I made to confirm it was the file format that was the issue, which led me to a solution. 

My editing is taking place on my MacBook, since my main editing software(s) are installed on there and has large storage capabilities. Therefore, the film formatting issue needed to be converted on the laptop to affirm that the audio issues from scene 1 were salvable. Using cloudconvert.com, I was able to upload the AVI videos from the Nikon to be converted to MOV, the dominant format that Quicktime player on Mac supports. Here I learned the different format titles and how each device relies on different systems as technology evolves, making it my responsibility as editor to research format compatibilities and ensure that all throughout transferring and converting, the sound and visual qualities remain the same.

The settings of Cloud Convert, the file converting website I used, where I manipulated how the files were converted; whether it be to change the resolution, aspect ratio, tune, and many more options. My personal settings were minimal for scene 1's transfer in order to keep the takes exactly the same as they were taken on the camera, as I could later change audio quality in the editing process at a later time.

Furthermore, moving film from the Canon Rebel camera to my Macbook was easier because of its compatibility with a MOV format. I utilized the Airdrop Apple feature to efficiently transfer all the takes and there was zero changes in quality!

All Quiet on Set!

Filming Process and Lessons Learned

On our second day of filming, the priority was to complete the rest of the film's scenes. Because we had extensively planned out the scenes with one another, my cinematographer/director and I were able to shoot efficiently and with ease. The main issue I anticipated would come from the filming sessions was the sound and transition from the first scene to these scenes.

An unedited blooper of scene 2, where Pam is meant to be left reminiscing about her friend, specifically the video they took together from what will play before the scene.

This failed attempt was due to the unserious we felt by having our cinematographer play the 'mom' calling Pam out to attend the funeral. From this take on, I suggested we have no one speak for a couple seconds and that I would later record an older woman to play the part of the mom to increase the realism of the scene. The goal is to keep the voiceover audio smooth and consistent with the visuals; the door opens, the 'mom' begins to speak, and then Pam snaps back into reality. 

The unedited version of a take that was not a blooper, where there is an indicated pause in which I will have to edit a voiceover in.

An edited version of scene 2 with the audio isolating feature tools on Adobe Premiere Rush turned on and a darkening filter applied to the scene to develop a solemn mood. The voiceover is not added here just yet, but the sound quality is much quieter and attentive to what is desired for the audience to hear the most such as the door opening and Pam's sigh.

The exact filter added over the take can be seen in the screenshot above. These scenes being shot in daylight with significantly better lighting than scene 1 is what makes the filters show up successfully and not worsen the quality by any means as it does to clips with existing poor lighting or grainy areas. 

Creating Meaningful Props & Semiotic Signifiers

Scene 2's addition of Pam throwing out a tissue was suggested as a way for me to incorporate editing techniques I learned and strengthen the impression the audience has of Pam's mental state. In pre-production, we finalized the idea of having a close-up of Pam's trash can, in which failed attempts at her eulogy speech can be seen crumbled inside.

However, there was never a specific way we would cut to this shot that flowed, and in production from my previous film, so having Pam place a tissue in the trash can which I would then edit as a straight cutaway to the trash can close up, would tie several connections of the scene in one. Therefore, my film partner and I began making props that would help achieve this effect and make a point of the representation issue we intended to portray.

Scene 3 of the trash can close up with the eulogy speech and tissues visible.

Key words such as eulogy and overdose are in focus, as we crumbled up the surrounding parts of the letter that we did not want attention on. The trashed papers give the impression that Pam had a lot of difficulty finalizing a speech, reflecting her struggle to cope with her friend's death and also contributing to the audience that this is the day of her funeral. With editing, scene 3 will be a cutaway. The ending of scene 2 will straight cut into this scene to look as though it was continuous; placing the tissue in the trash and then putting on her shoes to leave.

The finalized eulogy speech cover with a bolded, big title stating, "Remembering My Best Friend, Abby Donovan 2006-2024" to seal the understanding audiences will have when watching the scene.

The teal necklace that the actress who played Abby was wearing in scene 1 is also sitting on the paper and is picked up with hesitation by Pam before going to put it on. This draws a further connection between them, as does the title of the paper which refers to Abby as her best friend in the past tense of remembrance. 

As far as audio considerations go, this may be where some kind of slow, sad music starts to play, but at a low volume enough for the diegetic sound in the film to still be heard as the silence is unsettling when quieted and isolated using Adobe Premiere Rush.

Additionally, these prop creations added scenes that developed semiotic signifiers that visually provide signs for the audience to piece together. In scene 1, Abby fidgets with her necklace as the camera drops below her eyes, conveying guilt. The necklace being placed on the eulogy speech, off of Abby, and now in Pam's hands signifies that the owner is no longer here to wear it. People who suffer from grief are left with the belongings of their loved ones and an empty, nostalgic feeling when around those objects which is also why the hesitation and straight cuts between these areas around the room will accentuate this representation.

Overall, I learned the importance of visualizing how scenes will go together before even reviewing the footage in post-production on this filming day. This is so problems with the shots can be addressed ahead of time and fewer pick-ups, if any, will occur. I was able to contribute well-thought-out ideas through my role(s) that proved to change the quality of our film and the editing and sound design process significantly!

Reviewing Production Progress

Input as Editor and Sound Designer on Set

When studying sound design, I learned how obvious it is to the audience the direction in which the sound comes from – even if you do not see the someone or thing making the sound. During filming, I thought about if I were placed in any other area besides close behind the camera myself, my dialogue with Abby would sound unnatural and diminish the point of it seemingly being a home video taken by Pam herself (diegetic sound).

The position my cinematographer and I, playing Pam, were in while filming scene 1.

Still from a practice shot my cinematographer took of the mirror area where our character Abby would be zoomed into. We tested angles to ensure it was not apparent in filming that it was recorded by any other person besides Pam and it was not.

The audio sounded much more realistic and clear in the takes, preventing an audio issue I would have experienced if this we addressed ahead of time. We continued to film takes this way and eventually narrowed it down to two versions we would like to include in an upcoming draft.

Day 1 Filming Concerns & How I Plan to Address Them

After the first day of filming wrapped up, I transferred the takes to my computer using an SD card reader and uploaded them to Adobe Premiere Rush to begin reviewing the film. The audio was good for its purpose of being a home video between friends, as there is no heavy pressure nor expectation on the sound quality other than being able to simply hear the dialogue between the friends. 

However, when watching the full version of the takes back, I noticed that there was an issue visually with using the takes; how dark the lighting was. My cinematographer did not notice exactly how dark because the preview screen on the Nikon Coolpix S3700 does not show its full quality until the content is transferred to another device. The intention was to film in low warm lighting to convey a sense of comfortability and liveliness, but not as dark as it turned out, as the transition to the following scene would be abrupt and peculiar.

So I sifted through takes and tried to apply the filter templates within Adobe that I explored before production. These filters did not help the level of darkness in the film, especially the ending of the scene where Abby looks at herself in the mirror, so other editing measures had to be looked at,

An unedited ending of one of the takes of scene 1, where the lighting is extremely dark to where you cannot see the girl's face.

My cinematographer and I realized this would potentially be one of our pickups; a scene to reshoot or cut before the girl turns into the mirror, where the darkness gets heightened. The darkness around her face could convey that the girl has gone down a dark path or lost hope in herself, hence, suffering from drug addiction. But, this is a far-reached narrative point to draw and not one I'd find easy to convey to audiences through editing or sound.

All the while, it is important to note that the narrative of Abby being addicted to drugs is not meant to be shown directly as the core representation issue, but rather implied as something that the film would go more in detail with if it was more than the first two minutes, so a shortened version shown of her character has the potential to work even better so that emphasis on Pam's grief experience can shine through. 

Being the editor, before deleting any takes or deciding to do any pickups, I now am choosing final takes from what we already have from both scene 1 and the filming day that followed it to create a draft that could possibly work with this scene even with its faults (editing flaws out as much as possible). This draft will allow us to move forward in knowing what needs to be reshot, if any, and have enough time to revise the film itself to perfection!