Summary
As the editor, I worked on the film the most in post-production. I was responsible for organizing the shots and editing them into a cohesive film. I also took the sounds created by the sound designer and put them into the film at the appropriate times.
Discussion with Director
I chose to use black screens with text to communicate a change in the date. I chose to do this because it is an easily understood way to show that the following scenes took place in the date that was in the text. Another editing choice I made was to use fading transitions during the montage. I did this because the fading transitions communicate the passage of time and are sort of jarring, which helps communicate that the protagonist is stressed.
Test Edits
This was going to be the final edit before we filmed the zoom in on the papers that transitioned into the zoom out of the diploma. Instead of the zoom in to zoom out, a screen with text is used to show the change in date and the zoom out from the diploma follows the repeated establishing shots of the school.
Contributions with the Director
A decision made was to cut a few shots of the protagonist working at her computer. This decision was made because these shots were drastically more zoomed in than the other shots and it contained some background laughter. Another decision made was to use the line “Congratulations to our 2023 seniors,” as opposed to “Give it up for our 2023 seniors,” and “Give a hand to our 2023 seniors.” This decision was made because we agreed that the line we used was more professional and was more fitting for a graduation ceremony.
Editing Software Screenshots
Evidence of color correction
Evidence of visual transitions
Evidence of an audio transition
How I Could Have Improved The Film
I could have improved the film by focusing more on rhythm with the editing. Specifically, I could have edited on the blinks. I also feel that the edits could have been more smooth and that I probably could have found better points in the shots to edit. I also feel like the film could have been better if we had music in the background since the noise of the protagonist moving isn’t very loud and it makes the film seem rather dead, but we didn’t have enough time to create any. Another thing that would have made the film better would have been a shot of something like a calendar to communicate a change in date, rather than the black screens with white text.
What I Learned and Problems I Solved
I became more comfortable with using Premier Pro, as I had only used it on a few previous occasions. I also learned how to layer background sounds and how to mix background sounds with the audio of the camera. A problem I solved was that initially we had forgotten to film a scene that would have allowed for a smooth transition into the next. To get around this, I used a title slate to show that the date had changed which communicated the passage of time without that transitional shot. However, we did eventually shoot that shot, so that text screen was not in the final edit.