Major Project: Editing-South Downs Sequence

Major Project: Editing-South Downs Sequence

The final sequence I edited (in the chronology of our edit timeline) was the South Downs Sequence. This is definitely one of the sequences I'm most proud of, and it has an interesting development. I did it a certain way, Alex had me make chnages, but Cailan and I found it less effective with these changes, so put it back to be closer to how it was originally. 

This is one of the more emotive scenes in our documentary. And as such music played a key role in it (even though Alex hadn't originally planned for it to). Other than music a big consideration was atmos. I wanted a really effective sound design like I had found in my research of similar documentaries and that acted on what Beth had said to us, so I underlaced the sea and waves as atmos right the way through the sequence. 

The music allowed me to do some rhythmic cuts at the start (upon Cailans suggestion), which helped set the pace for the rest of the scene. For this scene, I had quite a good idea of what music I wanted, I needed something in a bit of a minor key, preferably piano based. This way it would stand to raise the emotional value of what Alex says during this sequence. As well as adding to the cinimatic effect when paired with our establishing drone shots and cut aways. These elements together help bring home the journey metaphor that we've tried to instil throughout. I was indeed able to find a track that fitted these peramitors and I am pleased with my choice.

I made sure to keep my opening shots on screen longer than i normally would in order to build up the suspense and tone that Alex would later bring in his monologue. As soon as Alex started speaking I was careful to gently lower the music and sea to ensure his dialogue was the most prominent sound (but you could still hear the atmosphere and feel as of your there with him). Cutting away on ocasion during his speech but less often than normal, and usually just to an alternative shot of him as he is to be the core focus of this scene. 

I watched back the clips multiple times to find the best take, which was a really hard decision to make, but I'm happy with the version I selected. 

Alex initially wanted to completely re-shape the structure of the scene and remove most of the transitioning shots that break up the scene. But after speaking with Helen we agreed that the audience needs this time to breathe and take in what is being said. So after some discussion, it was agreed to be put back the way it was. 

The one change that did get made though was the addition of a recap monatge on the end of the sequence which helps re-ground our story and leads us more gently in to the race day. Even though i didn't spend as much time on this montage as i did the rest of the sequence i'm still really happy with it. Originally this had its own backing track but we discovered it more effective to continue the one that was playing throughout the rest of the sequence.

I did have quite a hard time looping the soundtrack to extend this far (as it wasn't quite long enough to span the whole sequence), but after some trial and error I found a point subtle enough for it to work and I am really happy with the outcome of this whole sequence.

Major Project: Editing-Racing License

Major Project: Editing-Racing License

The racing licence happened to be the first sequence I edited on this project. As a result, it is one that has seen the most change. It started off in my hands, went to Cailan to be touched and tweaked a bit, then edned up back with me. 

Initially this sequence was very long. It included the entire PTC of Alex in the morning of his race licence. Then cut to driving shots, which held the tension as we cut in to shots of Alex arriving at the circuit and taking his written test. Before finally transitioning into him out on track which took up about 4 minutes by its self. 

I really struggled early on with this sequence, as three wasn't a great deal of usable footage from the day. We couldn't use any from the written test. One of the go-pros in the car cut out midway through the session, and the trackside footage was often unreliable. None the less i managed to cobble together an edit from this. All be it one that felt a bit disjointed (mostly due to sound design).

So the first thing to change was the introduction. We merged the driving and establishing shots with the opening PTC so that that became SOT. And we cut the written test entirely as it felt like unnecessary information at this point. 

I had other issues with the sequence, the rain constantly stopping and starting throughout made it look as though there were continuity errors or that filming took place on separate days (which obviously was not the case). Along with this every camera had different audio levels which was a bit off-putting and difficult to balance.

Even after the above chnages, the sequence was still too long, however, so we spoke to Simon and made the tough decision to heavily condense it. Rather than having separate clips of Alex in the car and then out on the track, I overlapped them to condense the sequence. To do this I had to completely remove or re-arrange some if the instructor's commentary so it made sense with the new running order. 

I also went through with Alex to find some better go-pro shots that looked more effective, but still matched the audio. We had a dispute about whether to cut some commentary but both Cailan and I insisted it added tot eh drama of the scene. 

The final changes made involved cutting down Alex's closing PTC in the car and ensuring that the last thing we hear from the instructor is "congratulations you've passed". With some cutaways and clever L-Cutting, i managed to achieve this. As well as adding further on track footage to break up the end PTC  Before passing the sequence over to Cailan to make some minor adjustments to improve the visuals. 

As well as this we figured out how to fill one of our gaps early on. By setting up the scene in the way Alex wanted, we were left with a few shots where although things were happening on screen, there was little of interest audibly for the audience. I tried to combat this through my use of atmos, and raising the background noise of the circuit but this still felt a bit empty. 

So we came up with the idea to record a small piece of V/O. This would not only fill the gap, but also help provide the audience with some additional information that explains what the test is/how it works, without going in to too much detail.

Those were the final changes made to the sequence which helped it stand on its own but also work within our timeframe. We are now worried that the sequence happens too fast and ruins the sense of challenge and build up. But Simon insists this was the right decision so hopefully our audience feels the same way.

Major Project: Editing-Receiving Equipment

Major Project: Editing-Receiving Equipment

This sequence is mostly actuality, where Alex explains the equipment he's now bought and will be racing with. Originally this sequence followed an interview with racing driver Bruno Spengler, which Alex had filmed and edited before I joined the project. But this ended up being cut since this sequence stands fine on its own. 

The scene was very simple to edit. It was all done in one take, I just had to pick the best one. To make it more interesting I did some cool L-cutting and audio work at the start. Establishing the scene with a drone shot, and having the audience hear a knock at Alex's door. Before seeing him walk in to his room with the equipment. I think this cut works really well. 

To keep some energy in the scene I used cut in's that were filmed after the first take to highlight all of the equipment. Not all of these cuts matched perfectly at first but with a bot of scaling, I got two of them to work and just scrapped the third. It tricks the audience in to thinking there's a second camera which is cool.

The scene then transitions in to Alex reaching his fundraising goal. Originally this was a corssfade but we all agreed it worked better as a dip to black, as it made it look like the filming stops and we are now just a fly on the wall. Upon Simons suggestion, I also put a graphic here to illustrate hitting the fundraiser. 

Major Project: Editing-Jamie Caroline and Kickstarter

Major Project: Editing-Jamie Caroline and Kickstarter

The next interview in our documentary is one with profesional racing driver, Jamie Caroline. 

This sequence was visually different to a lot of our others, but also was set up in a way that I am more familiar with. As such it wasn't too hard to edit. We had 3 different camera angles which I was keen to use to their full extent, cutting to a close up when he makes a very hard-hitting point. Then cutting back to a wide shot so we see his hands when he's explaining something. I think this flowed quite nicely and I had a rough cut put together pretty quickly.

But after showing it to Simon, he said it was far too long and he also wasn't a huge fan of our wide shot. So i ended up re-editing the sequence to be more accommodating to these peramitors. But I was struggling with what to cut out. This is where my transcripts came

in handy and I was able to sit with Alex and work out what the essential information was. We had some disagreements here but eventually, Alex saw the point I was making and we put together another cut with little trouble.

This time Simon was more positive but suggested we add in more cut aways. So as well as the stuff we filmed at his house Alex fov.ound footage of Jamie out on track which I overlayed. Then upon Simons request added in the audio from this. I know how important sound design is but i was a little apprehensive as i didn't want to overpower the interview, fortunately with adjustments to the gain I got this to work smoothly. 

Jamie became more refined with every cut and although he is shorter now, I still think he's effective and im happy with his sequence. My only issue is that I think he cuts out to quickly at the end but Simon insisted we cut here so there's little I can do.

After his sequence we show Alex setting up his kickstarter page. This was originally all VFX but Simon found it too bland. So we followed the same advice he gave us for the interview and overlaced the V/O (which we had to re-record multiple times to get a clear explanation that wouldn't confuse audiences) with on track footage and sound from race cars. With a tiny bit of VFX and actuality. I think this sequence works but could be a little bit tighter. 

Major Project: Editing-Stings

Major Project: Editing-Stings

For our documentary, we had come up with the idea to show the passing of time with the inclusion of very fast paces, very quick montages that would act as a kind of Sting between certain sequences. 

I had a clear idea about this from the start, and although the end result is different to that, it is still one that I am happy with. 

Cailan our VFX artists and my co-editor put together some cool looking countdown clocks that were to be used during each sting (forming their base). I then sat down with Alex to find clips to play behind them. He worked out the order of each sting and what shots to include and I did my best to make them fit. 

The first version of these felt very slow and ineffective. This was partly due to the lack of music in the stings. We had all envisioned music in the stings but after much much searching and debating, no one could agree on a track to use. 

Instead, though we went down a different route. I located a basline tone that could be looped to match the tickigng of the digital clocks. Playing this in the background once again gave me a template to utilise rhythmic editing. I attempted to cut to a different shot in every beat but initially struggled.

This was because in most of the shots we had picked, not much happened in the space of a second so the cuts just seemed pointless. I tried speeding up some clips but this just looked worse. Eventually though we found some better clips that matched.

We also had trouble seeing the clocks against the background. But after working with cailan, we added various effects such as vinuets and shadows, to the video to help them stand out. They became so successful that we ended up creating more than originally planned.

Major Project: Editing-Fitness Sequence

Major Project: Editing-Fitness Sequence

The fitness sequence is one that went through significant changes. I had a lot of material to work with, but as a result, it was hard to know which direction to go in. 

I think I set up the scene nicely and in the first cut we had Alex entering the gym and introducing himself and his dream to Craig the gym instructor. It was really hard to get this audio to macth due to a large amount of background noise but I did it eventually. 

I then took the edit through the various tests Alex was put through by Craig. Although I had lots of shots to work with hear it was much slower paced than i had originally intended and wasn't as effective as we had hoped. It also had no natural conclusion. 

After showing it to Simon we agreed it was best to cut the audio entirely, put in some music, edit to that and fill in gaps with voice over. This worked a lot better although it did take us quite some time to find an effective music track. But once we did I was able to try out the rhythmic editing I had researched. Cutting each shot to the beat for a more interesting and tighter sequence. 

I did add in some natural audio at the end but we eventually decided to take it out as it didnt match as well as we thought. 

I became quite proud of this sequence and kept improving it. Making sure the ending was better (as t=it felt like it had multiple end points until i swapped out some of the shots). 

However Simon, after watching our full cut, said the music didn't match as well as we thought. So after another evening spent hunting for music, I swapped the tracks out, and ended up re-doing the whole scene so the rhythmic editing matched with the new song. Although ths=is was a pain, I must say it ended up working even better than before and i am still really proud of it. 

Major Project: Editing-Abbi Pulling Interview

Major Project: Editing-Abbi Pulling Interview

The first interview in our documentary is with 2X Karting champion Abbi Pulling who advises Alex on fitness.

When editing this sequence I had some success early on, but some challenges to overcome later down the line. The first half of the sequence was quite straight forward, being a single camera set up, I didn't have to worry about matching shots. Also despite having 2 separate clip mic's it proved quite easy to sync them both.  

The second half of the interview was more challenging. I was able to put my research to good use hear, carefully constuecting L-Cuts to connect the two halves together neatly. But before that I had to match the audio form the second sequence. 

It was very windy on this shoot and for some of the cameras they couldn't hear either Abbi or Alex over the wind, so I had to match up the sound manually through visuals. Which although very challenging and time-consuming, worked well in the end. But i had to go right in to my timeline and adjust the clips by micro frames just to get it perfect. 

From here there wasn't too much trouble in matching the shots and I put together the remainder of the interview in fairly good time, but still slower than I would have liked. 

Then it came to the changes. Straight away I knew we were pushed for time, so I cut out the majority of the first half of the interview early on as it added little to Alex's story.

I then had to cover the opening of the sequence with some B-Roll to hide the initial shakey camera as cailan finds his pacing. Although this goes on for longer then I would have liked, it works ok and just looks like an extended L-cut. 

I out in relevant cut aways and manipulated the focus of them slightly to make them more visually interesting and guide the audience's focus. Alex and I had some disagreements about which cutaways to use but i eventually came around to his idea. 

Simon then made us make the hard decision of cutting the interview down further. This actually proved quite difficult as i had trouble getting the audio transitions to sound natural. After a lot of keyframing, I managed to bodge it but i wasn't entirely satisfied. I personally feel it's now a bit too short but it is at least successful.