Just a quick note to say that tomorrow we are doing most of the pickups.
We start in the park in Wanstead, and finish in the flat in Dalston.
More details to follow, along with some updates on music and more.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Feedback and music
So I decided that I needed more feedback, particularly from some who have neither worked on the film or seen even parts of it previously. This past week I invited Paula, Ronny and Sarah to have a look. Ronny is involved in a way. He owns the cabin in Norway where we shot a third of the film, and he played a small part in it as well. Now Sarah knew nothing about it, but works in documentary in television, so would have a very different view on it.
This edit was the same I had shown in January. I wasn't looking for anything new, just confirmation of what I already knew, and this was the case. There was nothing new to report.
For example, the pace at the top of the Norway sequence is problematic. I did realise something new on this viewing, now that I had been away from it from two months: it is more than just pace or rhythm, but also the fact that Claire is alone for such a length of time. As Robert said long ago at another viewing, the audience already knows this. It looks beautiful but redundant.
So of course I can cut this sequence shorter. I think I know already that a lot of these shots don't work very well when they are shortened by themselves. I believe here you understand what Tarkovsky meant when he said that you can't impose pace upon a shot. Inherent in a shot is it's own pace. Rather I would have to remove shots entirely. My problem has always been not being certain what to cut. Here is where a real editor would do the job and I don't have one.
I thought of other ways that another voice could be added into this sequence, with radio and incidental music, and I will experiment with this on the next edit.
But Sarah's other primary comment: use music. Not incidental music, as I had always planned to use this, but a soundtrack. I have always resisted this, I did not want to use music to cover the failings of the film. Now I am a bit more philosophical: no matter how experienced I may be I will have failings. There is always the danger that a soundtrack could be used to just repeat what should be apparent on screen and in the scene, but I think back to the short film I did many years ago, when I worked with my friend Joakim. He added another layer into the film. So a soundtrack? I will at least consider it. Now I am busy going through my film music, using it to learn and feel my way through what is wrong and what is right for the film.
I still have plans for more making of videos, and then there is long-delayed pickups.
This edit was the same I had shown in January. I wasn't looking for anything new, just confirmation of what I already knew, and this was the case. There was nothing new to report.
For example, the pace at the top of the Norway sequence is problematic. I did realise something new on this viewing, now that I had been away from it from two months: it is more than just pace or rhythm, but also the fact that Claire is alone for such a length of time. As Robert said long ago at another viewing, the audience already knows this. It looks beautiful but redundant.
So of course I can cut this sequence shorter. I think I know already that a lot of these shots don't work very well when they are shortened by themselves. I believe here you understand what Tarkovsky meant when he said that you can't impose pace upon a shot. Inherent in a shot is it's own pace. Rather I would have to remove shots entirely. My problem has always been not being certain what to cut. Here is where a real editor would do the job and I don't have one.
I thought of other ways that another voice could be added into this sequence, with radio and incidental music, and I will experiment with this on the next edit.
But Sarah's other primary comment: use music. Not incidental music, as I had always planned to use this, but a soundtrack. I have always resisted this, I did not want to use music to cover the failings of the film. Now I am a bit more philosophical: no matter how experienced I may be I will have failings. There is always the danger that a soundtrack could be used to just repeat what should be apparent on screen and in the scene, but I think back to the short film I did many years ago, when I worked with my friend Joakim. He added another layer into the film. So a soundtrack? I will at least consider it. Now I am busy going through my film music, using it to learn and feel my way through what is wrong and what is right for the film.
I still have plans for more making of videos, and then there is long-delayed pickups.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
