Last week Miguel Ferros and I locked the edit of my short fantasy-drama Stop/Eject. This project represents the first time in seventeen years of filmmaking that I’ve worked with an editor, rather than doing it myself. I found it an extremely positive experience and I wonder why I’ve never done it before.
![Georgina Sherrington as Kate Georgina Sherrington as Kate](https://neiloseman.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Alcove-standing1-275x183.jpg)
Miguel’s cut makes the story clearer, the characters more consistent and the emotions more real. Not to mention the fact that it’s paced much better, coming in a good minute shorter than my tightest cut.
Filmmakers are always told that they shouldn’t edit their own material. I liked to think I was an exception to the rule, that I could put the baggage of preproduction and production aside and cut with fresh eyes. Perhaps you’re thinking the same as you read this, just like I did when I read things like this in the past. Then like me you’ll only discover how wrong you are when you finally try working with an editor.
If I was to compare my cut to Miguel’s side by side, I have no doubt that where he has made a different decision to me, in most cases I made my decision at least in part because it looked pretty, or it was a shot I had had in my head since I first started writing the script, or it was a shot that had been particularly difficult or time-consuming to get, or because I somehow felt like it had to be that way because it had always been that way. Miguel simply chose the best material to advance the plot and characters.
It was a real joy to finally see some of the film’s key moments working in a way they never quite have before. I now look forward to what I’m sure will be equally positive experiences as the film splits off in three directions:
- Composer Scott Benzie, profiled in a recent post, begins writing the score.
- Sound designer Henning Knoepfel begins creating and layering the sound effects.
- Half a dozen rotoscoping and compositing artists begin work on a variety of visual effects shots.
![Shooting more pick-ups in my living room. Shooting more pick-ups in my living room.](https://neiloseman.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/alcove-pickups-560x373.jpg)