When is a Film Finished?

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So here's one of the problems of the digital era: when is a film finished?

In 2009, my co-filmmakers and I shot and edited Hoop Springs Eternal in five days as part of the International Documentary Challenge. We were disappointed the film didn't make it to the finals (we made it to the finals in 2007 and 2008) but were basically happy with the film.

Apparently, the Doc Challenge folks liked it enough to distribute it via SnagFilms, which is great.

But after living with the film a little, I decided to give it a recut. I took out almost a minute, changed the order of a few sequences, and essentially fixed issues we just couldn't address in the short edit time of the Challenge. I liked the recut better, and started submitting it to film festivals.

The recut version then screened at Olympia Film Festival, All Sports Los Angeles Film Festival, and Coney Island Film Festival (just this past Sunday).

Still, there are a few things I'd change in the recut edit. So is this film really the version on Snag? The version that made it to festival audiences? Or, if I polished it a touch further, would that be the "final" version of the film? Could we go and re-interview the film's characters (Loren Bidner and Miss Saturn, Jenny McGowan) in 2012 to see what's changed -- and revise the cut further?

Since digital work is inherently changeable, can we revise and revise and call it the same film?

Scenarios, U.S.A.

Maura Minsky, Scenarios USA from Dowser on Vimeo.

Interested in Social Justice? Take a look at Dowser. I like the approach they are taking to "Social Change" and the people creating it. (I helped edit the video above.) Watch the video, then visit the Dowser site and introduce your friends to them.

Linear

Today I taught a class in linear editing. That means tape decks, not computers. It's a good step in the learning process: it forces people to organize and think before cutting. It's slow, though, and challenging, and leaves little room for changing your mind or experimenting. At one time, that was video editing.

My New York Times Video List

Over on my other blog I've posted the full list of videos I worked on for The New York Times. Just so I can keep track of them.

Trailer Trash

So I spent the weekend editing a trailer for someone's documentary. I liked the final version, and I think it's a good match for the intended audience. The thing is, though, that a lot of it was cut "to the bone" -- meaning the footage was difficult and problematic, but after extensive editing jiggery-pokery and some serious scalpel work to trim out every last troubled frame, you probably can't tell there were major problems.

When you see the finished product, it looks sensible, I think. But beneath the surface, everything is held together with duct tape and rubber bands. If you wanted to extend this shot one more frame, you couldn't -- because the camera moved. If you wanted to add another line from this interview -- there's no way, because of an audio issue.

But that's okay -- cutting material with problems is a great workout, and you can find solutions. Half-way through the process, though, I find myself thinking: there's no way, this is just unfixable.

I'm always surprised to make it to the end with a watchable piece.

Frugal Traveler: New York City

I've been so busy I forgot to post this episode of Frugal Traveler: New York City. I believe it is my last on the series.

Frugal Traveler, Looking Back

Was a little too busy to post the Frugal Traveler: Looking Back episode when it went online. There's a new episode on the way...

And Then There's Golf

While I've been posting the Frugal Traveler episodes here, I've been posting the "On Par" series over on my other blog, Actualities. It's a series about golf.

I wouldn't call it documentary in style. On the other hand, I've been learning a lot that applies to documentary production while working on it: it's a two camera shoot in natural light, done fairly quickly (have to get out of the way to the other golfers, after all) and with just a few takes possible. You have to establish a setting, a situation and a problem to solve, solve that (and lead into a lesson) and do it all in (usually) 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

In any case, there are about 16 episodes now (I've been involved in about 3/4 of those, approximately), so check out the playlist. They're made in a fun style, so you might like them even if you aren't a golfer.....

And By Wednesday I Mean Not Wednesday

When I said the Frugal Traveler series was wrapping up on Wednesday, it was because I thought the "looking back" episode was running then. Which is why I was frantically editing it on Tuesday. About 10 p.m. I found out it wasn't running yet.

Which is fine, and sometimes that's how editing goes. There's a very strange relationship between deadlines, non-deadlines, and the decision-making process in any work. It's particularly a keenly felt thing in those pieces with a tight (or nearly-impossible) deadline.

Walter Murch, in talking about the editing process on "Apocalypse Now" calculated that all the work and hand-wringing and thinking resulted in an average of one edit per day. That won't fly in most types of work, and there's a fast collapse of the infinite possibilities that exist at the beginning of the process. Sometimes there's a keen awareness that decisions need to be made, they can't endlessly be reversed, and the piece has to move toward completion somehow.

I once had a professor who had been a classical music composer. He told the story of how he felt every piece he had composed had started as a masterpiece, and with one decision somewhere in the process it had changed and missed that mark. That's probably true.

I Rarely Leave Manhattan

So I'm not Matt's Secret Cameraman.

Frugal Traveler Europe, Week 9

A new episode, just edited on Tuesday night:

Frugal Traveler Europe, Week 9: Vilnius, Lithuania

What I Did On My Summer Vacation, 2008 Edition

Ah, leisurely summertime. Well, not at the moment. I've kept fairly busy.

Usually I discuss video editing work on my other blog, Actualities, but here are links to some of the videos I've edited this season -- so far:

Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 1: Dover to Calais
Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 2: Paris, France
Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 3: Southwestern France
Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 4: French Riviera
Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 5: Rome
Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 6: Malta
Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 7: Cyprus
Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 8: Bucharest


On Par by Bill Pennington: Rules That Rule
On Par by Bill Pennington: Coming Up Short
On Par by Bill Pennington: Relief on the Range
On Par by Bill Pennington: The Long and Short of It
On Par by Bill Pennington: The Starter
On Par by Bill Pennington: Nothing Fancy
On Par by Bill Pennington: Hitting it Fat

Of course, it's only half way through the season. Maybe Fall will be a peaceful, relaxing time.

Afterparty

Well, we already knew the Frugal Traveler won a Webby in the "Travel" category for "Online Film & Video."

What we didn't know: that the bar at the afterparty would be quite so lovely.

This Blog Intentionally Left Blank

Wow, I've really fallen behind on posting. Well, here's one reason: I've been doing a lot of editing.

Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 2: Paris, France.

Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour. Week 1: Dover to Calais

Frugal Traveler: Toronto

Rules That Rule (On Par by Bill Pennington)

The Long and Short of It (On Par by Bill Pennington)

Frugal Hawaii Posted

The new Frugal Traveler episode is finally edited and posted.

Over on my other blog there's a little about the process and a link to the video.