Fine Tuning Movie

I’m fine tuning my edit now. It’s somewhat of a grind to re-watch a rough and see where you can trim. I shot so conservatively, the choices are limited. I think the trick is to NOT watch your rough cut so much as to be married to the tempo of the film, so you can’t see it any other way. Going into a fine cut has its own landmines. Mostly since if you shave a few frames here, it will change the tempo of the film later. It’s a weird balance. I’ve gotten the warning of “killing your babies.” Basically it’s watching the movie SO subjectively, it entails cutting out shots that may’ve taken a lot of time to do, or cost a lot of money to get. If it doesn’t work for the movie, it’s a painful decision. Since I live with the project for so long, the feeling is muddled in a lot. Extending a movie to make it feel like a bigger emotional moment isn’t the solution. Making the payoff make sense to the set up is. This is REALLY hard to do in a short (probably much more in a feature). There can be nothing of fat in a movie. But you also need healthy fat (yes, I made this up). Healthy fat in a movie is breathing room. You can’t just cut from here to there back to here because you feel it speeds the movie up. People will watch a three hour movie if it’s interesting. No, the trick is to know where to shave. The money is on superfluous dialogue. But even that has landmines. Cutting out vital character phrases can jeopardize your pace. Pacing is GOD. God likes to be liked. Watching it with others through their eyes is nice as well. It gets you to see where it starts to lag. Watching it with the colorist was fascinating. There is a moment in the movie that does lag, but it has less to do with the dialogue, since we still get the gist through expression. I think that’s what a lot of critique lately has become. And maybe, if I filter out what people are really saying, it’s that the dialogue is inconsequential to what we are seeing. I consider this a win, since those who chose to listen get a few zingers. Those who don’t still get the structure.

As a side track….

You know sorta’ bums me out, is when stories in life outshines my interest in my own movies. I’m not sure how feature guys do it. They have to be REALLY interested in their project to live with it for so long. It’s so easy to get distracted by so many things in life. Whenever I watch a movie, and if it’s good, it’s near impossible for me to watch anything I’m making. Because I get this overwhelming thought that this is the end game to where I want to be. To make a great project that speaks to people. I get distracted. I think I have to make a movie as fast as I can for that reason. To live with something for so long can make you batty. A feature is much worse.  I think. Because you have to make it not for yourself, but for a bigger audience. And pray that it makes money.

I should’ve snuck into a movie I worked on and see the audience reaction. I went to “Jurassic World” but I don’t think that counts. It should be a project where I actually made decisions. It would’ve been cool to have gone to Korea to see that Steven Seagal movie I shot. It didn’t make a lot of money, but in Korean terms it was a success. It would be interesting to hear their reaction to the everything. Good or bad. Though, in most Asian countries, you really can’t tell if they enjoy it or not. They’re quiet. I’d want to see a movie like that in Compton or something. That would be great. For two reasons. Black audiences don’t suffer fools. Watch “Night At The Apollo” and you know how ruthless it can be. Most of the time I have no idea what I’m seeing is good or bad, but that audience knows. The second is, if they like something, they REALLY let you know. As much as they don’t suffer fools, they get bad movies. I’ve overheard conversations in grocery store check out lines where people would regale the other with scenes from “Ride Along.” I would just like to see a movie to an audience that responds to something you’ve done. The closest was my student thesis project, where it was wall to wall people. Because the people in that audience worked on it in some way. Or know someone who worked on it. It’s very uncomfortable, but you can tell what works and what doesn’t. When a movie derails, it’s REALLY uncomfortable. There’s always a professor who doesn’t mince words. To be honest, most of those professors were total losers anyway, who couldn’t cut Hollywood. But, whatever.

One time I saw Jerry Bruckheimer try to sneak into his own movie. I think even he is curious how people like his movies. That’s a guy who cares.