Exploiting Hollywood 1980

  Chapter 33 Clips

   "This is the last roll, and the audio and video synchronization of the film has been processed." Ronald let out a sigh of relief.

  After a day's rest, Ronald went back to the editing room and did a dozen or so days of synchronizing the sound and picture. Finally, together with two female colleagues, he synchronized the 120,000 feet of film and tape.

   Fortunately, the main shots of the whole film are shot on a single camera, so it is easier to find the board picture and sound.

   Only that explosion shot was shot in two cameras. Synchronizing the film and sound was very troublesome, and Ronald had to get the help of two female assistants to get it done.

  Larry, a senior editor, has been working on the editing machine with the two directors for several days. When the assistants have completed part of the audio and video synchronization, they will start editing the film.

   Of course this is to save time, pipelining.

   These days, Ronald has been seeing a few of them, on the other side of the room, operating the huge editing machine. It made my heart itch, and I really wanted to watch it.

   Finally got a chance today.

   walked to the corner of the two directors' work, only to hear a rumbling noise. An old-fashioned Moviola editor, like a heavy-duty sewing machine, sat on the ground, with the rumbling sound of the gear drive, and the clack of the film, like a giant beast.

   There are three people in front of them, discussing something. Alan, who is 2 meters tall, is standing in front of the machine, and Joe Dante talks to Alan while touching his hair. Editor Larry was waiting for their decision.

   "Look at this shot for a different film." Allen directs editor Larry.

   Ronald hurried forward and helped Larry the editor move the film, learning to load the film and tape into the machine and snap the tenon. Director Allen flipped the switch to forward, then pressed a pedal.

"Boom rumble... Kala la la..." Sewing... The editing machine started, Ronald heard the sound of the board hitting, and Director Allen stared at a small piece of frosted glass above the machine, which was the projection of the film, also Only Alan and Joe Dante standing next to him can see clearly.

   "The screen is so small that you can't see anything..." Ronald was a little dejected, and took a few steps back to watch them discuss. Occasionally continue to help carry film and tapes.

   Director Allen stared at the frosted glass screen and stepped on the stop pedal. Then open a hatch and make a mark on the film with a pen. "Come and see", got up and gave it to Joe Dante.

  Joe Dante stepped forward, put the switch to reverse, finished rewinding the film, turned the switch upright, and pressed the start pedal.

   "Crack!", Joe Dante also stepped down to stop. Open the hatch. Then he shook the handle, looked for a few squares back and forth, and saw the mark made by Allen.

   This shows that the two of them have the same judgment, "Yes, I feel that this should also be cut here."

   Editor Larry stepped forward, pulled a handle like a guillotine, and cut off the film and tape with a clang.

   "Ronald, put away the cut film and record the number." This is Joe Dante, teaching himself how to work again.

Ronald hurriedly stepped forward, carefully packed the cut films and tapes in a plastic bag, then took a large workbook on the table, wrote down the cut numbers, and placed the cut films and tapes in order. Put it in the archive box.

  The film used for editing is specially printed by the laboratory, and each frame has a unique number. These cut films and audio tapes need to be carefully recorded and preserved.

The    editing assistant's job is just so boring. Ronald can't see the image and wonder why the director made such a cut? Why cut scissors here and not there?

   He could only archive the cut-out films, like a coroner.

   After working for a few hours, it was quite boring. Ronald brought the newly bought Stanley brand stainless steel thermos cup, poured some hot black tea prepared in advance into the lid of the cup, and drank it.

The aroma of    black tea attracted the two directors and editors, and everyone came to watch. So Ronald went to get a few disposable paper cups, poured a cup for everyone, and everyone took the opportunity to sit down and rest.

   "Ronald, how does your new job feel?" Joe Dante asked with a smile while drinking black tea.

   "It's a bit mechanical to be honest, I don't quite understand editing yet."

   "It's easy," Joe put the cup down, pulled Ronald up to the Moviola editor, "Look here." Then he flipped the switch.

   Ronald put his head forward, just in time to see the frosted glass on the observation window, reflecting the picture of the film, like a small TV. The synchronized sound is read by the magnetic head, converted into an electrical signal, and restored to sound in the speaker.

   "And here," Joe pointed Ronald to the stop pedal.

With a    snap, the image on the frosted glass freezes.

   Then Joe Dante opened a small window in the middle of the machine, "This is exactly the one you see on the frosted glass."

  Ronald bent over to compare the two pictures and nodded his understanding.

  Then you make a mark with a pen, Joe pulled the guillotine and showed it to Ronald, "Just press it down, and the film will be cut, and the audio tape here, too, will be cut in the same place."

   "This is the meaning of your audio and video synchronization work. When editing, we only need to look at the picture, not the sound. Or vice versa."

   Ronald nodded frequently, looked left and right at the editing machine, tried two more times, and reluctantly got off the machine.

  This machine is very cleverly designed. People stand beside them, their eyes are right on the frosted glass, and there are two start and stop pedals under their feet, which are similar to the accelerator and brake of a car.

   "Cut the piece, and then use the connector where you want to connect, you already know how to use it"

   "The film numbers on both ends are recorded," says editor Larry.

  Ronald hurriedly took the work notebook and went forward to copy the number.

   After drinking the black tea, director Allen, and editor Larry, plus Joe Dante, started editing again. The three continued to play the film back and forth, and then they negotiated a clipping point and cut it off for Ronald to come forward to record. Everyone gradually cooperated tacitly.

   However, the efficiency of editing work has not increased much. Editing is a typical slow work and meticulous work. Every time a decision is made, it must be watched and discussed repeatedly.

  Sometimes the parts that have already been cut are found to be inappropriate later, and the cut clips must be taken out and connected, and then edited again.

   At times like this, Ronald stepped forward, carefully lifted the scotch tape on the editing point, checked the work records, found the clipped clips, and used scotch tape to restore the film and tape.

   This was repeated, and Alan cut more than 10 scenes in one day.

  Ronald did the math. A 90-minute feature film would take about 400 shots, so it would take a month to edit it, add the sound mix, and finish editing the entire movie, which would take three months later.

   Test screenings, replays, discussions, editing,  …

  The time goes by, and the film is formed day by day. At every editing point, the director strives for a natural transition.

   This morning, it's almost lunchtime. The editing team finally got the shot that Ronald was in charge of shooting. Director Allen specially asked Ronald to come forward and learn how to find editing points.

   "Once you start, just when you feel you need to cut a shot, hit the stop pedal. Don't think about anything else, just rely on your intuition." Joe Dante started live teaching again.

  Ronald rubbed his hands together and stood in front of the editing machine impatiently.

   Looking at the frosted glass under observation, a relatively dim picture came into view.

   This shot is of Liv and Kate, the two best friends who were punished by the principal of the school. The two comforted each other in the sunset and slowly walked towards the sunset.

   Ronald remembered that this was the last shot he took. I was very proud of myself when I was shooting, and I thought about using the light. At first, the friendship between the two girlfriends was expressed with the positive light, and then the contour light was shot with the backlight.

   Contour light, also called **** light, diffuses a circle of golden light around a person's hair, and the lens is very poetic.

   This is one of the best shots I have ever taken.

   Played it a few times before and after going up, and Ronald was completely engrossed in his footage. When I felt that the two of my best friends had walked for about the same time, I stepped on the stop pedal.

  Then picked up the pen and made a mark on the grid of film that stopped. Ronald stepped back, vacated the machine, and asked Director Allen to check it out.

   Allen also came again. This shot is not difficult to edit, just leave enough time for the two of them to move forward under the sunset.

   stepped on the stop pedal, and Alan also picked up the pen and made a mark. Then crank up the handle and start looking back and forth for the mark marked by Ronald. Very good, the director's selection of editing points is only ten frames away from his own, less than half a second. This shows that the two people's judgments on the editing points of the shots are basically the same.

  Ronald was a little bit happy, the first cut didn't seem to go wrong.

   "Very good, Ronald, you do have some talent. Joe, come and see." Allen admired Ronald.

  It was Joe Dante's turn to look at it. He reversed the film a bit and played it again, "Hey, this shot..."

   "What's the matter, Joe? There's nothing wrong with Ronald's choice of editing points?" Ellen asked curiously.

  "Tsk", Joe Dante rewinds the film a further distance, and then asks Alan to step forward, "Look from here."

   "Well, there seems to be a problem, and you're right, Joe."

  Allen called the editor Larry again, "Look at this part."

  Ronald is a bit inexplicable. He didn't find any problems when he was shooting or setting out the samples.

   "Is there something wrong with my shot? Did I wear it?" Ronald asked.

  The shooting of low-budget movies is often in a hurry, and there are no props, scenes, shooting and sample parts that are not found, and it is often found during editing.

  Ronald was a little worried, not counting the pictures he had dreamed of in his dreams. Among the shots he shot by himself, this was the best shot he ever took. Could something go wrong? "

   "It's not a gang, Ronald, come and see."

  Editor Larry, pulled him in front of the Moviola editor, then poured forward for a minute, "Did you play it all over from here, did you find the problem?"

   (end of this chapter)