Whether you’ll be editing your micro-budget, or any movie, depends on your role for the film. For instance, if you’re just the writer, even on a micro-budget, it’s likely you WON’T be in the editing room making the final decisions on what will eventually become the movie. However, if you’re the writer-director, yes, you’ll be in there making these crucial calls. In some ways the 3rd 3rd of the movie, post-production, is the most important in the life of the film. Decisions will be made down the hundredth of a second on how the film cuts together. Does a line of dialogue stay or go? Do we use the master shot or cut to a CU? What emotion are we trying to evoke in this scene and are the visuals getting us there? Will there need to be ADR or Foley work? Is the music score working or will it have to be changed? Sooooo many questions…
Generalities will always get you into trouble so let’s just say it’s a safe bet that more often than not, if you’re just the writer on a Studio film, you have the same shot getting into the editing room to make final cut decisions as the Cubs do winning the World Series in 2014. That’s 101 years of Cubbie futility, Good Writer. NOT going to happen. I mean, just ‘cause you wrote Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2, doesn’t mean the producers give a damn about your opinion on the final product. A take your check and go away mentality.
With micro-budget, this changes. The whole point of micro is to own greater access to creative control. This means that as the writer, even if you ultimately give up the reigns of power to the director—as you rightfully need to do—there will come a time where your notes are not just welcomed, but become necessary, and taken.
This comes down to choosing your collaborators well, knowing who you’re getting into bed with. In my case, Boris knew there would be a time in editing CHAT where he would not just welcome detailed notes, but absolutely need them. That time came after assembling the footage into a series of “Reels”, 8 to 10 minute movie segments. He would then ask for SEVERE criticism by the inner circle who made CHAT. And that—incredibly—includes the writer. This is not a right given in writing. It doesn’t need to be. Boris and I, working together for years before on multiple projects, understand how each work. In previous collaborations Boris would say he’s used about 8 out of 10 of my notes. Being that I’m ALWAYS right, I want him to use 10 of 10 of my notes. I want to meet the Pope too, but that’s not happening any time soon.
So, after Boris put together the Rough cut, he sent the film out to the inner circle—the key producers, DP, myself—looking for “Time Code notes”. This is the numerical “time code” found at the bottom of each digital image. Boris was looking for a couple pages from everyone else. Knowing me, he was expecting 10 pages.
I gave him 20 pages.
Single-spaced.
Poor Boris, had to go through them all. They look like this (my notes come first, Boris’ responses are CAPPED):
3 00:10:44:00
This is the scene that makes us believe that Annie would go in with Falcon to find here. It’s the core bonding scene and I think it works quite well. Your style of MCU and CU’s works here. Performances and the visuals are strong. I would suggest, as an experience, you try a change of scene order. It’s not that what’s here now doesn’t work, but I’m wondering if it could be improved by having the two lipo scenes joined together, then the two women’s scenes. In other words 1-Dr. Lauren-Syd& Csonga 2-Syd gets lipo “let’s get you on the chair” RIGHT TO the chair. 3-THEN to the crazy energy of the “Hondo scene” (which would match better than what we have now and 4-natural transition from crazy Hondo scene to all the girls gone and now just Mary Rose and Annie. It really makes sense to me and I think you should run it in that order to check it out, please. DONE – IT WORKS BETTER, YES.
3 00:10:58:10
“Fucking disgusting”. I don’t know, right now I’m not seeing disgusting. Do you have more quick cutaways? It’s either more or less. Meaning you cut the shoe sucking and “fucking disgusting line” and go with him being walked down the hall to the words “wonder what his wife would think of his Friday nights, music over to Csonga saying “what about the girl?” The visual is really nice with her opening the door in that black silhouetted catsuit. DISGUSTING IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER – THAT’S THE WHOLE POINT HERE. TWEAKED THE SCENE BUT DIDN’T CHANGE MUCH. I DO HOWEVER THINK THAT YOU NEED TO WRITE A COUPLE MORE LINES TO ADR OVER SOME OF THE VISUALS TO BETTER EXPLAIN THE PLAN. IT’S MURKY AND DOESN’T FEEL RIGHT. WE CAN DECIDE AFTER THE SCREENING BUT WOULD NEED THOSE SHORTLY AFTER TO BE ABLE TO RE-TIME.
4 00:00:00:15
Your whiteout here is better, longer, but needs to be consistent with the other whiteouts. Each should be the same length, about a second or 1 ½ seconds longer than here. Beats title cards or superimposes where we have to TELL the audience is a time change. YES – WE’RE FIXING THEM AS WE GO AND MAKING THEM UNIFORM
4 00:01:17:15
All the times I complaints you going to the CU too much, wanting the master shot longer at the top. You do that here, and it doesn’t work. From this spot I’d START in the medium then cut to CU’s. You start in the WIDE and cut to the MEDIUM. Experiment, move us closer. This scene is surprisingly unfunny. I DON’T THINK THE PROBLEM LIES WITH THE EDITING – I THINK IT LIES WITH THE ACTING. WITH THAT SAID WE DID CHANGE THE EDIT, AND CUT THE SCENE IN HALF. IF THAT DOESN’T WORK THE NEXT SOLUTION IS TO CUT IT ALTOGETHER – I DON’T KNOW HOW TO DO BETTER WITH IT.
This is a revelation. Collaboration with the writer in the editing process? When does that happen on a big-budget Indie?
It happens when you pick your collaborators well. When you help write the Kickstarter project that makes $25,000+ dollars. When you bring your own investors to the project. When you book audition space and are the first one there to set up the chairs and tables hours ahead of time. When you’re called on to help with casting after your first casting guy flakes and there’s no one else to make the calls that have to happen RIGHT NOW. When you’re brought in on major casting decisions by the director who has no contractual obligation to do so… on and on.
In short, it happens you make a micro-budget movie.
To quote Jesse Pinkman: “Whole new ballgame, bitches.”
