Lesson 19 - Post Production

AKA: Sitting in a room for hours on end staring at a tv screen that’s 8” away

They say the movie is made three times; when you write it, shoot it, and when you edit it. Post-Production is a very long, very tedious process that requires a great attention to detail. It is in the post-production phase when all of the editing, special effects, and finish work is done. 

The first step of the post process is to hire a post production supervisor. The post-production supervisor is very similar to a Unit Production Manager or a Line Producer for post-production. They are in charge of all the post departments as well as the budget and schedule. 

The real question is: how much does a director need to know about editing? Film editing is an art of storytelling practiced by connecting two or more shots together to form a

sequence, and the subsequent connecting of sequences to form an entire movie. Film editing is the only art that is unique to cinema and which separates filmmaking from all other art forms that preceded it (such as photography, theater, dance, writing, and directing). However there are close parallels to the editing process in other art forms such as poetry or novel writing. It is often referred to as the "invisible art," since when it is well practiced, the viewer becomes so engaged that he or she is not even aware of the work of the editor.

Because almost every motion picture, television show, and TV commercial is shot with one camera per take, every single shot is separated from every other single shot by time and space. On its most fundamental level, film editing is the art, technique, and practice of assembling these shots into a coherent whole. However, the job of an editor isn’t merely to mechanically put pieces of a film together, nor is it to just cut off the film slates, nor is it merely to edit dialogue scenes. A film editor works with the layers of images, the story, the music, the rhythm, the pace, shapes the actors' performances, "re-directing" and often re-writing the film during the editing process, honing the

infinite possibilities of the juxtaposition of small snippets of film into a creative, coherent, cohesive whole. 

Film editing is an art that can be used in diverse ways. It can create sensually provocative montages. It can be a laboratory for experimental cinema. It can bring out the emotional truth in an actor's performance. It can create a point of view on otherwise obtuse events. It can guide the telling and pace of a story. It can create the illusion of danger where there is none, surprise when we least expect it, and create a vital subconscious emotional connection to the viewer.

• The Edit

• Seven Rules of Editing

• Editing According to Murch 

• Editing As Art

• A Little More About Editing

• Sound Editing

• More Sound Editing 

• Music

• More Music

• Homework