Whatever it takes to finish your film — get it done
Surviving post-production
You’ve spent months developing the script, finding actors, and planning your film. You’ve spent an afternoon or a weekend or several weekends shooting your film. You’ve poured all of your energy and money into shooting your film. It’s been long days and sleepless nights. You’ve dealt with some challenges or arguments on set and you’ve ultimately become a cohesive team. Now, when you’ve given it everything you’ve got it’s time to get to the real work and finish your picture.
Post-production can be as challenging as production and sometimes even more so. During production you likely overcame numerous challenges on set. You might have had difficulty getting the coverage you needed. Now that you have the coverage, there is the added weight of responsibility to everyone who worked on your project to get it done.
I am proud to say that this past weekend we have completed the most ambitious film project we’ve worked on to date, iPhotographer. iPhotographer is a mockumentary short film about a professional iPhone photographer named Kurt Band and his experiences becoming famous for his iPhotography. iPhotographer was developed and filmed in 2015. I wrote the script and it was developed with the help of my friend and Director, Robert W. Robbins. Editing the rough cut took about a month. Coming in at twenty four minutes, this is the longest film we’ve completed so far. We relied on friends and colleagues to complete color correction, sweeten the audio, as well as composing a sweet music track for the film.
After you’ve shot your film, there are some challenges that can arise that you might not expect. Those obstacles can be psychological, technical or financial. I have dealt with all three and they can be crippling to post-production.
On one film, there was a disagreement between myself and one of the people on the film. Every time I sat down to edit, those emotions colored my time editing and made it a little more difficult than it should have been.
When all of your money has gone into production, and you need someone else to edit your work or do any post-production work, the project can become stalled by their schedule. An editor who isn’t getting paid or is getting paid on a deferred basis can go into a project with the best of intentions, but there is always the chance that something will happen that they can’t fulfill their commitment. Sometimes life happens, and if you aren’t able to pay them, your editors will need to find some other way to pay rent.
If you are an independent filmmaker or if you are starting out, and if you want to see your films get finished, I highly recommend that you learn how to edit. When I started making films I wrote and produced. Four years ago, I learned how to edit on my first short film as writer / director using iMovie. Since then, I’ve learned how to use Adobe Premier Pro CC and I’ve even shot and edited a daily vlog for 100 days. When we finish a film project, I am ready to put in the time that is needed to get a film project done. I am still learning color correction and color grading, but Adobe Premier Pro have made post production simpler. I’ve learned a couple of tricks to improve audio, but I have a lot left to learn in that area.
Last year, I started shooting primarily in 4K using a Panasonic GH4. While this camera can give you some very detailed footage, if you haven’t learned how to create proxy files, it can bog down your computer. Over the course of a few months, I filmed six shorts using the GH4. When I sat down to edit, I came into some severe technical problems as the footage choked my computer. Sometimes I would have to advance my film frame by frame to see what was happening. Because of those problems, I would have to export the film so I could watch it as a quicktime and see what I was actually editing. Even working with proxy files, once I add color correction, I’ve noticed that my system tends to slow down. (I’m hoping to get a new computer next year).
When you deal with these obstacles, it’s important to send your cast and crew updates to let them know what’s happening with the project. Set realistic expectations for yourself and the film project. As they say, under promise and over deliver. If you think a rough cut will take a week, give yourself a week and a half.
One thing that can help with the post-production process once your filming day is over, and after you’ve backed up your footage, is to create proxies (if needed) and to merge all of your footage with the sound files. When you sit down to edit, these two steps can feel annoying, but they are necessary to get to the business of editing your project. Backing up your footage and merging clips are the two first steps in post-production and if you can finish both of these steps right after a shoot, it will help everything else go quicker.
In addition, if you have a script supervisor, a First Assistant Director, or a detailed shot list, you can take notes on which takes you felt worked well. Handing those notes off to the editor will help going into assembly.
On my first shoots as a director, after we wrapped, I would head home, take off my gear, and lay down on my bed. I would feel wiped and I didn’t want to look at anything. Now, I back up my footage, set up Adobe Media Encoder to create proxies, and once the proxies are completed I start synching footage.
This also helps on a multi day shoot. In addition to keeping all of your files in a file hierarchy, post-production is made easier if you start synching footage after each filming day.
You’ve completed filming, you’re halfway there. Don’t ever give up until your film is in the can. It isn’t about perfection, it’s about getting your film as close as you can to the vision you had when you set out to make it. Once you’ve finished the film and send it out into the world, you can focus on the next one.
Now that we’ve finished iPhotographer, we will take the next steps of sending it to festivals, and eventually releasing it to the world. In the months to come, I will mention iPhotographer from time to time and give you updates on this project. We put a lot of hard work into it, and I look forward to sharing iPhotographer and how we made it with you.
Thank you for reading this article. If you’ve read this far, please consider recommending it.
Are you shooting a film? Don’t ever quit!
Check out the teaser for iPhotographer.
