Short clips - thanks to FCP and others ...
by Sverker Hahn
on
Sep 6, 2008 at 9:39:57 pm
I love nature and wildlife films. But what is it with editing people these days? Clipping-happy? Wathing Discovery, Animal Planet or National Geographic one may get dizzy of all the clips that have the duration of 1 or 2 seconds.
Suppose it is fantastic NLEs that give people the possibility to make these very tiresome videos. "If I can make 100 clips of 2 seconds I will do it".
I make no clips myself. A film is a clip, even if it is one hour long.
Is FCP and others a threat to good film-making?
Sverker Hahn, Stockholm
Slower is better!
Sony EX1
Final Cut Studio 2
iMac Intel
MacBook Pro 15"
Re: Short clips - thanks to FCP and others ... by Shane Ross on Sep 7, 2008 at 2:15:39 am
Nature docs...those have longer takes. But it is true that the cutting style is getting faster and faster. That is the fault of the networks. Mandating that we utilize "MTV style" with these shows...to get the younger audience.
NOt all of us like that style, but we gotta do what we gotta do.
Re: Short clips - thanks to FCP and others ... by walter biscardi on Sep 7, 2008 at 2:23:20 am
[Sverker Hahn]"Is FCP and others a threat to good film-making?"
No, network executives who say everything has to be "edgy." And who feel that the world cannot handle longer than a 2 second shot any longer. It's not the editors, it's the networks and the producers. Then once those editors learn that style, it's hard to do anything else.
That's one reason why I'm so happy I'm working with an independent documentary producer who believes in letting the story dictate the pacing. We're editing four of his features next year which will all be about 90 minutes and cutting fast is just not something we do. I have shots of (shudder) 20 to 90 seconds and longer.
If anything, tools like FCP have brought about some amazing talent that would not have been found had it not been for inexpensive tools like it. The editor who works for me is a great example. Hired him right out of Full Sail and he's a better storyteller than most veteran editors I've worked with. The talent is still there, you just have to look a little harder.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.
Re: Short clips - thanks to FCP and others ... by Sverker Hahn on Sep 8, 2008 at 11:15:02 am
My first editing was with double-eight film. Cut clips, sort clips by hanging them in correct order, filing the ends of clips with a special tool and glueing together. This workflow didn´t encourage many short clips.
In comparison, the workflow EX1 to FCP is a thousand times better. The footage is also a thousand times better. The old times were not good old times.
But I do not like the MTV-style or the "edgy" style when it comes to nature and wildlife. I have been quite a few times to Africa on wildlife trips. What one experiences there is not running hoves, the predators killings - at least not in 2 seconds clips.
I suppose Walter and Shane are correct that it is the network people that are to blame. These people, grown up with MTV, are obviously occupying important posts even in the National Geographic network.
I recall a norweigan film about the lynx. It was a pleasure to watch, long scenes where you could really imagine that you were sitting in the forest, watching the big cats doing their business. This pleasure was also formed by the lack of extreme close-ups and the lack of "forced drama" by putting unrelated clips together.
So, I want different editing - slower is better (see my signature below). But how do I get my voice heard?
Thank you for reading and commenting here on the COW.
Sverker Hahn, Stockholm
Slower is better!
Sony EX1
Final Cut Studio 2
iMac Intel
MacBook Pro 15"
