Skip to main content

Cutting out the story

Hello.

Just got back from Sydney where I was lucky enough to work with editor, Tim Wellburn (Black Robe, Mad Max 2 etc. etc.). Dale Fairbairn (my Producer) convinced him and Island Films to get involved in our 10 minute, ScreenWest funded short, "A Stone Throw."

I wrote the screenplay with Phil Jeng Kane and no matter how hard we tried, the picture cut just wasn't working. We were slowly losing our story with each attempt and we needed a fresh, experienced set of eyes. There were some difficulties with coverage, but they seemed to dissolve with Tim at the helm.

It took him 4-5 days. I let him choose takes, cutting style - the lot and I must say, he did a fine job. He really got into the story. The cut was fresh, new and completely understandable. I was so happy to see the film working. He'd solved all the problems we'd had with previous cuts (there were 4 of those). Most problems were brought about by limited coverage on an incredibly tight, TV-style shoot.

Now we have to get ScreenWest approval before we go into track lay (Richard Mahony), music (Jonathan Mustard), mix and final online.

Stay tuned.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Not the only white guy in Mumbai

Hi readers . . . and hi Mum! ;) I've been watching some pretty heart-wrenching documentaries here at the Mumbai Film Festival . Watching docos seems to be a fast track to learning about the world. Many documentaries have an Indian element, but a couple stood out. I tend to make friends with the people who make films I like, so I'm pleased to say that Rajdeep Randhawa is now a close and personal friend of mine. Rajdeep made a 47 minute documentary called, "Ek Tha Lal Pari." Shot mostly cinema verite, it documents the problematic relationship between a eunuch and her lover. It's an on and off relationship, but the two are still very much in love and have lived together for 20 years! In India, eunuchs live in enclaves. They are ostricised by society, but also revered and considered to have many spiritual powers. So they earn money by performing special rituals at marriages, births, deaths etc. It is a special honour to be blessed by a eunuch. To cross one would resu...
7 comments
Read more

The Three by Five Card Index System

Here's another approach to writing your screenplay. The screenwriter's friend. Introducing the infamous Three by Five Card Index System . Wow! How can I get one? In my case - I made it. What it amounts to is this: Three 90cm x 40cm sheets of chipboard hinged together so that the whole thing stands like a concertina on a table or floor. Every 5cm or so down, I have drawing-pinned small cardboard hinges (triangles if you will) made from old file dividers. These become placeholders for your cards. A couple of bunches of 3 inch by 5 inch index cards (available in packs of 100 at any newsagency) and there you have it. A sure fire way to make your screenplay bubble to the top of the pile . . . Not. But it's a tool and writers need their tools. Cool. How does it work? As you can see - each act has three mini-acts in it (fitting in with Australian script theorist Linda Heys' Second Act Story ). Or rather - going one step further and suggesting that all three acts have a begi...
1 comment
Read more

Giant CRX 1 Flat-bar Road Bike - A Metaphor

I've been working my guts out doing websites all week (day and night) and now I have to mark 50+ online student usability exercises. Ugh! I got a glimpse of my girlfriend this week. She lives really far away and - as I ride a CRX 1 Flat bar road bike - it takes me a good 2 hours to get there. Especially after riding from Como to teaching Saturday acting classes in Hammersley. I got to her place late and then had to leave at 5am to get to Freo on time - where my parents were celebrating their 4oth wedding anniversary. Hi Ma & Da. Congratulations! Now for the meat of this post. Read carefully: It's a nice ride. For every difficult hill, there's a downward slope. I top around 50kmh (peak at 60kmh) but try to cruise along at around 30kmh to conserve energy. You never know when you might need to sprint. I'm mostly on bike tracks - I don't like to ride on sand. My bike has no shocks, so my energy isn't wasted. I get to feel the ground. Whatever power I have go...
2 comments
Read more