Two-Thirds of the Rough Cut Done

I’m pretty happy with the editing I’ve done so far on Treasure Hunt, having reached page 56 (out of 84).  I haven’t rendered what I’ve done so far, but the editing software says it’s running a bit past 49 minutes.  One minute per page isn’t working out terribly well. If this ratio keeps going I’ll wind up with 73 minutes (exclusive of any begin/end credits), but I don’t have any particular goal for length, just want something that flows easily.  I feel even better about my self-imposed goal of having a rough-cut done by end of next weekend, though there are two scenes that, together, have over 60 takes, which will no doubt take a good bit of time to sort out.

I’ve decided to put off reworking the singing scene until I’ve got the whole rough cut done.  I’ve already decided to rejigger a few of the earlier scenes anyway, given my increased experience.  I recut the library scene I did earlier, going from 2:53 down to 2:22, without sacrificing anything, just as John said I could.  No doubt he’d cut it still further, but then again, he’d do a completely different movie from the get-go.

I’m getting a lot more comfortable with the editing, but still don’t feel called to it at all.  I do feel I’m learning about lost opportunities, though, and believe it’s just the thing to be sure I get more little shots on any future projects.  But even if people judge I have some talent for editing, I don’t know that I’ll ever do it again.  Besides, I feel having another set of eyes on the material, not to mention someone with more patience (and passion), will lead to a better product.

I finally managed to make the behind-the-scenes page I promised earlier (better late than never, eh?), you can find it here.

Back to work…

Author: mitusents

Biochemist, MBA, then programmer. Now novelist, screenplay writer and hopefully director. What a strange trip it's been.