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By Eloise Tye

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The film industry is such a vast and large-scaled industry to work in, there are many components that go into a film, with pre-production, production, & post-production being the main sectors. I find every aspect of film fascinating, how an initial idea gets written into a script, which then becomes produced, where characters get cast, sets get created & then post-production, bringing the story to life. The film industry is a very fast-paced industry to go into, its always working to deadlines and leaves no time for twiddling your thumbs, which is what I find challenging and appealing about it. I find the initial creativity and excitement of bringing the story to life with the pre-production stage very appealing, with the casting of the characters, the location scouting, costume and set designs, as well as developing the script to be as tight as it can be before filming. I also find the production stage intriguing, with bringing the scenes to life with the acting, setting the scenes emotion with a choice of lighting and set dressing, I can imagine being on a large-scale set to bring you a massive buzz of excitement, knowing that youre playing a part in the creation of a masterpiece. The post-production stage is what I find the most interesting and compelling, where the editors take the shots and create a work of art through a choice of cutting, effects and sound. Ultimately the story that unfolds when watching a film is down to the editors choice, which is probably why I feel editing & post-production is more appealing to me then pre-production and production.

31*(*'Editing has always been a passion of mine as I thoroughly enjoy the process of taking the rushes, selecting the best takes and placing them together like a puzzle to create a rewarding and visually satisfying film. Its very fulfilling watching a piece of work that youve created, knowing that it looks the way it does because of the decisions youve made and the hard work and time that youve put in, that is the main reason as to why I love editing. A lot of hard work will have already gone into the film, with the initial stages of creating and developing the idea, and finding the perfect actors and locations, and creating the best set, and with the production stage, with creating the right mood, achieving professional quality shots with camera movements and getting the best from the actors, however its down to the editor to take all that hard work and use it to create something amazing. Being an editor means you work closely with the director, so the director and editor will discuss the general outlook of the film before its even been shot, but when they become clear of how the films edit should be, its then ultimately down to the editor to create the film and make some magic, so although its not complete artistic freedom, editing is still a creative and exciting role to take on, and the challenge of creating an edit that the director will love is another reason why I find the role so interesting and enjoyable.

There are so many editors around today whose work inspires me and seeing their films reminds me of why I have such a passion for editing. A particular reason to why I like editing is that is can be so diverse, different genres require different pace and moods and that is all created by the editor when piecing together the film. The tensity that Verna Fields creates in Jaws is a prime example of editing that creates a particular mood, or the excitement and energy created by Dan Hanley & Michael Hill in Rush 2013, or the panic and exhaustion created by Alfonso Cuaron in Gravity 2013. Many techniques are required for different genres and different emotional points of a story, which makes editing the creative and technical art that it is. Here are a list of editors that I gave grown fond of, either of them and their techniques, or a particular film of theirs that Ive found to be an inspiration to me, from when I was a child watching films, to me as a student, watching from a critical and observational stand point;
Thelma Schoonmaker - The Departed, Goodfellas, Shutter Island, The Wolf of Wallstreet, Hugo, The Aviator, Gangs of New York Sally Menke - Kill Bill, Inglorious Bastards, Pulp Fiction Michael Kahn - Lincoln, Peter Pan, Catch Me If You Can, War of the Worlds, Saving Private Ryan, Jurassic Park, Casper, Schindlers List, Hook,
Twister, The Goonies, Indiana Jones, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, War Horse, Minority Report Verna Fields - Jaws Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity Christopher Rouse - The Bourne Trilogy, Captain Phillips, United 93 Mark Livolsi - Saving Mr Banks, We Brought A Zoo Daniel P. Hanley & Michael Hill - Rush, Apollo 13, Parenthood, Frost/Nixon, The Da Vinci Code James Cameron- Avatar, Titanic Lee Smith - Inception, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Master and Commander, The Way Back, The Truman Show Mark Day - Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 1, Part 2, The Order of the Pheonix, & The Half Blooded Prince Arthur Schmidt - The Back to the Future trilogy, Pirates of the Caribbean; Curse of the Black Pearl, Forrest Gump John Gilbert - Lord of the Rings; The Fellowship of the Ring, Bridge to Terabithia Debra Neil-Fisher - The Hangovers, Without a Paddle, Due Date, You Me and Dupree Michael A. Stevenson - The Sandlot, Homeward Bound; Lost in San Francisco, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Flubber George Folsey Jr. - Cheaper by the Dozen

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There are two editors in particular that I feel I can say have helped me understand editing and the importance of making the right cut and creating the right mood. Thelma Schoonmaker is the right-hand lady to Director Martin Scorsese, & Michael Kahn, the editor to many of Steven Spielbergs films. Together, these editors have dealt with a diverse mix of genres, sci-fi, drama, gangster, family, adventure and thriller, and have each earned 3 oscar wins, and together culminated another 29 wins and 56 nominations with their editing! They are both truly inspiring editors with years of knowledge and wisdom behind them to give them the experience, talent and success that they have earned.
Michael Kahn is the part of a creative duo with Steven Spielberg after initially working together on Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Since then, Spielberg and Kahn have become a powerhouse duo, working on many successful and event award winning films, such as Lincoln, Saving Private Ryan, Jurassic Park, Schindlers List, Catch Me If You Can, War of the Worlds, Peter Pan, Casper, Twister, War Horse, The Goonies, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Close Encounters of the Third Kind & Minority Report. On reading interviews with Kahn, Ive learnt a few techniques about the way he works, for example he doesnt like to be on set filming, he prefers to see the footage through fresh eyes. I also found a good extract from an article of him talking about editing the film Schindlers List in 1993, It was clever work Steven did on that, but it was very heartbreaking. Sometimes I would run a scene for him and wed look at each other, and hed say, Ill talk to you tomorrow. We wouldnt even talk about it. Some of it was really painful. But you go ahead and you edit it. Whether its painful or not you have to dig out the best values for that scene... I would say of all the films Ive done, that was really difficult. Thelma Schoonmaker is the long-time editor to Martin Scorsese, working together since their time at New York University. Their first film together was Raging Bull, which saw Schoonmaker receive her first 3 Oscars for editing. Since then, they have worked on many films including Goodfellas, The Departed, The Wolf of Wall Street, Shutter Island, The Aviator, Raging Bull & Gangs of New York. Schoonmaker has also taught me a lot when it comes to editing, as she has been praised for her intuitive, deep grasp of each individuals narrative journey through the film. by actor Ben Kingsley, and also said by actress Juliette Lewis has such grace, but she knows when to buck convention, when to make it rough, when to make it seamless. She can nail it all. Some advice from Schoonmaker is that you have to be a good collaborator with the director. A lot of male relationships are more combative, I think, and you have to be able to not fight over a film. Scorsese has said that he relies on her to maintain the emotional heart of his movies.

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A few skills that I find I have that benefits me in terms of being an editor are;
My attention to detail - This allows me notice things that perhaps other people wouldnt when it came down to editing Patience - This is beneficial to editing, as it can sometimes be a very slow process while waiting for clips to render and load, and its overall a good quality to have, as the editing process can take a long while before it becomes remotely workable Ability to work under pressure - All stages of film production requires you to work quickly and creatively to a deadline, so to have this quality means that I can do both without falling behind schedule or loosing creativity Understanding narrative - This allows me to effectively understand the way in which a narrative works and is to be understood Rhythm and timing - To be able to have a sense of these allows me to edit effortlessly and understand where and when to make specific cuts naturally. Organised - Being organised makes editing a lot easier, as it means putting clips into places that will be easier to find and work from and naming them appropriately to personally suit me. Software knowledge - Im knowledgable in Final Cut Pro & Ive had experience with After Effects and have signed up for some master classes in the following months to come. Ive always been quite a technical-understanding person and find that I can pick up and learn quite quickly. Communication skills - Having good communication skills is a major skill to have in most elements of film production, in editing it allows me to understand and be understood when working with others, and particularly the director. Imagination - Having a strong imagination helps make editing easier, as I can visualise the film with my imagination and then the edit is a product of what I have imagined.

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Despite my skills that I have that make editing an easy process, I have a few weak skills that I find I need improving on ;
Too proud - Sometimes I feel too proud about a particular scene that I have edited or a shot that I have used that I dont like to be told to change it, despite the fact it may be a better choice. If I were to work on a real film as opposed to student films, then I understand the importance of doing what Im told, particularly the director, therefore I feel this wouldnt be a problem for my career. Criticism - Sometimes I take criticism constructively, but there are sometimes that I feel criticism can knock me down, however with working in the actual industry, I understand that they want perfection as much as I do, so criticism is only a way to ensure that the best is being done. Distraction - The way in which I currently edit is very different from the way professional editors work, therefore I only see this as a limitation to my editing as a student as opposed to a professional, where the likes of gadgets and lengthy conversations wont be accepted.

At the moment, being a student editor, these weaknesses are very hindering, however I feel that editing in the industry will be very different to the way I currently edit, and that most of my weaknesses will change when in different circumstances, for example, in an edit suite with a professional director.

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Ive been using the blogging website Tumblr as a way to document myself for the past few months so that I can keep an online diary of what Ive been up to for anyone who may be interested and can have a look and follow my projects with me. The best part about having Tumblr is that it allows people to follow my experience, and more importantly, it can show a future employer the hard work and passion I have for my subject and hopefully make myself look appealing to them, as in this industry, getting recognised and being memorable is extremely important. At this moment in time, my group and I are in the post-production stage of our fiction film, so most of my time has been editing that, which Im really enjoying. Ive posted a few screenshots and updates every now and then to let people know where Im at and how Im finding it. After my hand in for my fiction film, its straight into pre-production for my documentary film, Im with the same group that I was with for fiction, so whilst the majority of my time at the moment is going into my fiction editing, the rest of my group are planning our documentary film, which Im also editing. Im also using Tumblr as a way of promoting myself, and it comes in handy as a way to show potential employers how passionate I am about promoting myself, so when it comes to designing my personal logo, or showreel, I can use Tumblr to show my development so that people can see how serious I take myself and how important it is for me to get the right logo, or create the right impression with my showreel. To check out my blog, follow this link http://est0101.tumblr.com/

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My showreel will be the most effective way of showing off my editing skills, as not only will I be showing my previous editing work, but I can use the introduction of my showreel to really show off some editing skills, as, so far with my projects, editing has been quite basic as none of my projects require heavy styled editing, so I intend to play around with some of my footage to create a interesting opening that will be able to show a future employer my skills within a matter of 30 seconds, and then give them the chance watch my editing in context when watching a film of mine. Here are a few examples of editing styles that Id like to incorporate into my showreel.
These few screen shots are from the 2014 Sky Movies advert, I like the way that it shows current movies in a creatively edited way. I could use this style to show my own films and show my talent at editing. The link to see this advert in full - http://www.tvadmusic.co.uk/2013/12/sky-movies-whats-on-2014/

Similar to the Sky Movies advert, this 2014 Netflix advert also creatively shows clips from current films and merges them together to create an interesting 30 seconds clip, similar to what I intend to do with my showreel and my films. The link to see this advert in full - http://www.tvadmusic.co.uk/2014/01/netflix-hold-on/

This is a showreel that I had found on YouTube by SuperCreative.tv, it uses a lot of effects and filters on the clips, it also has categories and then clips to follow, which I could use to introduce the categories of my films, ie documentary, fiction et. The link to see this showreel in full - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stUUXIwAEW8

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Although a showreel will be more effective to show my skill, I cant always guaranty that everyone I want to show my showreel to will be able to watch it, so I also need to be able to sell myself on paper, and that will be through my CV & business cards, and a personal logo. Having a logo will help make myself look more professional as it shows Im taking myself seriously as someone who is wanting to work in the industry, I can place this logo on business cards, my CV and on anything that is associated to me, so the disc that I put my showreel on and so on. Its really important to get the logo right as at a first glance I want it to represent me in a positive, engaging and professional way, and not look boring, causing the person looking at it to become uninterested. Once I have their attention with the logo, then hopefully they will feel more inclined to look at my business card/CV, which is where the next step is, cramming all the important details onto a page (or business card). Here are a few examples of logos that I have came up with so far, as for the business card style and CV style, Im still in the process of finding examples that are similar to me, so that I can get inspiration and create my own that reflect me. On the following slide I will show some examples of logos and business cards that I like, and show a few of the logos that I have came up with so far.

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Above are a few examples of logo ideas, playing around with colour, style and font. Below are some business card examples that I find creative and interesting.

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Here are a few ideas for my logo, I played around with colour, font and style to see if any sprung out to me. I dont feel strongly about any of my logos so far, so I feel I should look more into specific logos that reflect what Im doing and see if I gain any inspiration for my own.

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I have a fairly clear sense at how I plan to promote myself, and Ive done the research and currently in the initial stages of creating my showreel, logo, business cards and CV, but Im still a fair bit away from actually completing them. At the moment I have my hands full with editing fiction and preproduction/production work for my documentary film, so my self-promotion is on hold for the moment until I can find a balance between the work loads. Once my fiction film is out the way at the end of february, I will have a lot more free time, as currently editing is taking up a lot of my attention and time. I think that Im going to need to allow a lot more time to editing my documentary as its different to fiction film and requires more intense effort and attention, therefore will use my time wisely before then, and after my fiction hand in, to focus heavily on my selfpromotion to ensure my full attention is ensuring that my showreel, CV, business cards and logo is the best it can be for my own sake.

Week commencing

17/02 24/02 03/03 10/03 17/03 24/03 31/03 07/04 14/04 21/04
Continue editing for fiction film. Further research logos. Begin to Select final Be in final Begin filming Begin Editing Editing, add a create final logo, begin stages of CV for physical documentary few clips drafts of applying to & business documentary production of Have CV & from doc into showreel and draft card designs. Have final CV & business showreel, logos. Look business Finish CV and Business cards done finish off at CV styles. cards and CV showreel. business card card completely showreel Extra week to catch up incase behind schedule. Editing documentary

Continue editing fiction Intentions for film. Further that week research for showreel.

27th April - HAND IN