Editing takes such a long time to feel confident in. It took me a long time but I love editing. I find that a lot of people out there today get a little overwhelmed with a bigger project. I understand that for sure. It’s a lot to look at a bunch a RAW footage and figure out what to do with it. But a disciplined approach over time will eventually grow into some skill. It takes years to get good at editing.
Hi Spense! Are you going to make a video about the budget distribution of this short film? (I know I asked it in a recent comment on the previous video, but im really interested in the budget-production part, and I know by the first video title that is about 30k budget, but which components of the film cost how much)
I don’t think I will. It wouldn’t beneficial as sooo much of the film was made with trades, lower rates, etc. I can say that cast, crew, and locations was bulk of the money. Camera, lenses, etc were all free for this. So I’d say this exact production should’ve been more like $60k if I didn’t pull some strings.
@@spensersakurai thanks for answering! Totally understandable! This series was very educataive though! Wish you succes with the film! And I cant wait for more!
I didn't have a decent computer for editing until recently, so I would hire a friend to help me out and we would edit in his computer. Now, I still hire him to just be there. He looks at the footage with such a different perspective than I do, I really enjoy this process and how every project changes when passing it over to his hands
Really appreciated hearing your insights on the editing process and getting that fresh perspective by collaborating with someone else. Also blown away by the level of detail in the audio for dialogue in film vs RUclips content. Good luck on your festival entries, I'm not a common viewer of this genre but will keep and eye out later this year for the film to release online, I'd love to see what you made!
I like to create a "sync" timeline, it's just laid out linear in order, Scene 1, Take 1 and then to the final scene and take. Then I create a fresh sequence/timeline and then I scrub through the sync timeline and just add in and out points for the pieces I want in the main timeline. But I do the same sort of process of chopping it up scene by scene. Sometimes I'll bounce around as well and cut the last scene first, just depends. I think the best advice from one filmmaker to another is to try different methods, don't just assume the RUclipsr's method is the best method for you. Great video though Spenser, have enjoyed this BTS of the process.
I personally love to edit, and once I'm done I'll get people's opinions on it, but at the end of the day my final edit is all that matters to me. I look at some directors like the Cohen Bros Sean Baker Mike Flanigan and Ti West that edit their own movies and I say if you know what you want then do it yourself, at least that's how I feel.
8:30 on the topic of audio editing - if you hadn't put up the music titles for the Musicbed sponsorship in-between, I could barely tell there was music playing. And I too wish for a M-chip laptop for traveling/on location but so far I'm still doing alright with my 2020 iMac. My goal for this year is to get a short into at least one festival - good luck with Flee and I'm glad you got to meet your idol the Sir himself :)
Really great to see this series. I'm curious how your festival run will go since twenty four minutes is pretty long! I purposefully have cut down my short because I've heard from programmers at short film festivals that the sweet spot is 9-12 minutes since anything shorter or longer they don't know where to really place in the programming, so it hurts your chances.
100% right. I tried to enter a 28 minute on and alllll the feedback was, its good, its just too long. They could run mine, or 3 other 10 minute shorts. The choice on their end is obvious. I had people tell me that, but I had to learn the hard way.
I usually release my shortfilms for a week or so online, then make it private and then send it to the festivals. I do this because I know some people really want to see them and making them wait for like a year and a half its unnecessary, in my opinion. And in my experience festivals allow this as long as this doesn't happen at the same time of the festivals and you can't find the film online. So I don't know, ask somebody that works in distribution about the rules in the states. Here in Europe that is allowed and it has worked for me so far, and nobody is doing it. When I proposed this to my distribution guy he was like "OMG. that is such a great idea! Why no one has come up with this before?? Yes do it. Then we'll do the festivals." And yes, please get an M1 MacBook Pro, you won't regret it. I got mine last year and man, it's something else. I edited my whole 20 minute long last shortfilm on my M1 while sitting on the sofa in the living room. I never thought I could do that. Anyway can't wait to watch your shortfilm! keep it up Spenser.
I’m an audio engineer I would love to mix this and you can keep it or toss it. I love what you’re doing so let me know if this is of interest to you, good luck!
I know this I feel the same way I need somebody else to edit the stuff I don't have time for and to do the first edit before I do the final edit. It will save me from losing my mind all the time with editing. Everybody keeps asking me why I prefer to shot images over editing..... please.
I hear that H264/265 is an awful format for editing because their decode performance is just not designed for it; you're better off with a ProRes (or whatever proxy) - maybe the Venice/FX* can record your proxies in that instead? I can edit 6K BRAW on my 2014 MacBook Pro (at least in theory, though I try to avoid it and do it on my cheesegrater instead) so I don't think it's your hardware, it's just the codec.
You just need a cheap PC with any 30 or 40 series Nvidia card (cheap ones have the same video decoder/encoder as the expensive ones), it'll be faster than the M Mac...
@@jeremiahkuehne2400 lol no. Video editing is not demanding on the GPU... When I render in Blender (5x times faster than the most expensive Mac) then yes, it gets hot. But with regular use and just editing it's cool and quiet.
@@lukastemberger I have a Windows laptop (really it should be called a desktop cause it pretty much only works when plugged in). It sounds like a jet engine and heats the room, but yes, it can do 3D computer graphics faster than Mac. Not entirely sure the Nvidia cards render faster but it's pretty irrelevant. At this point on Mac I get buttery smooth playback with multiple streams of 6K footage and renders are faster than realtime for those few minutes at the end of a multiple hours long editing session when I need to have a stretch break anyway. I'll certainly take the peace and quiet of a silent laptop with a fantastic screen and useable speakers and the ability to actually be used as a laptop. 🤷🏻♂ If you are only working at a desk with headphones on and doing 3D work then definitely go with Windows, but that's a pretty specific use case.
@@jeremiahkuehne2400 I don't know what laptop you have, as a "Windows laptop" is not very descriptive. Obviously there are laptops of all price points... And a desktop is not a "specific use case", it's a use case of any video professional. People who don't work in a caffe or sitting in the shade under a tree. People who have an office and a job.
@@lukastemberger First off, I find it hilarious that you think a desktop is a use case of any video professional. It's even more hilarious that you think an office is somehow important for a job in video production. There are a lot of people (including myself) that make a good amount of money ($100k+) doing video production and use a laptop for their computer and edit on the go. It's kind of nice to not be tied to a desk (although I have an office setup if I need it where I can hook my laptop in). But my Windows laptop was like a $1700 Eluktronics laptop. On a spec sheet it blew a more expensive Mac away (at the time) -- in reality I only used it for about a miserable year and a half. Machine worked completely fine it was just a terrible user experience in comparison to a Mac. I made the mistake of listening to people online raving about how Nvidia was so much better but later learned that things like power efficiency, display, speakers, a quiet machine that doesn't burn your lap, and OS are more important overall. And now with the M chips you get all those benefits plus a legit amount of power.
So much great advice in the comments!!
The one thing I can add is don't be in a rush to finish if you can.
Editing takes such a long time to feel confident in. It took me a long time but I love editing. I find that a lot of people out there today get a little overwhelmed with a bigger project. I understand that for sure. It’s a lot to look at a bunch a RAW footage and figure out what to do with it. But a disciplined approach over time will eventually grow into some skill. It takes years to get good at editing.
I love to edit because of the end product. It’s difficult, but very satisfying to see the final cut.
Hi Spense! Are you going to make a video about the budget distribution of this short film? (I know I asked it in a recent comment on the previous video, but im really interested in the budget-production part, and I know by the first video title that is about 30k budget, but which components of the film cost how much)
I don’t think I will. It wouldn’t beneficial as sooo much of the film was made with trades, lower rates, etc. I can say that cast, crew, and locations was bulk of the money. Camera, lenses, etc were all free for this. So I’d say this exact production should’ve been more like $60k if I didn’t pull some strings.
@@spensersakurai thanks for answering! Totally understandable! This series was very educataive though! Wish you succes with the film! And I cant wait for more!
I didn't have a decent computer for editing until recently, so I would hire a friend to help me out and we would edit in his computer. Now, I still hire him to just be there. He looks at the footage with such a different perspective than I do, I really enjoy this process and how every project changes when passing it over to his hands
Thanks for sharing, Spenser. Wonderful points about what editing is all about.
Glad it was helpful!
I would absolutely love to have a vid about color-grading this project!
Really appreciated hearing your insights on the editing process and getting that fresh perspective by collaborating with someone else. Also blown away by the level of detail in the audio for dialogue in film vs RUclips content. Good luck on your festival entries, I'm not a common viewer of this genre but will keep and eye out later this year for the film to release online, I'd love to see what you made!
I know Drew. He's a good dude. He lived here in knoxville for a bit a few years ago!
I like to create a "sync" timeline, it's just laid out linear in order, Scene 1, Take 1 and then to the final scene and take. Then I create a fresh sequence/timeline and then I scrub through the sync timeline and just add in and out points for the pieces I want in the main timeline. But I do the same sort of process of chopping it up scene by scene. Sometimes I'll bounce around as well and cut the last scene first, just depends. I think the best advice from one filmmaker to another is to try different methods, don't just assume the RUclipsr's method is the best method for you. Great video though Spenser, have enjoyed this BTS of the process.
I personally love to edit, and once I'm done I'll get people's opinions on it, but at the end of the day my final edit is all that matters to me. I look at some directors like the Cohen Bros Sean Baker Mike Flanigan and Ti West that edit their own movies and I say if you know what you want then do it yourself, at least that's how I feel.
I agree completely, I edited my two indie features, and my two short films.
The fx6 and fx3 do record proxies internally too. That’s a feature I really do appreciate
spencer is HIM❗️ great series man, loved every second of it
I didn't know Deakins was coming to Oklahoma until the day after 😭
Cant wait to see it!
8:30 on the topic of audio editing - if you hadn't put up the music titles for the Musicbed sponsorship in-between, I could barely tell there was music playing.
And I too wish for a M-chip laptop for traveling/on location but so far I'm still doing alright with my 2020 iMac.
My goal for this year is to get a short into at least one festival - good luck with Flee and I'm glad you got to meet your idol the Sir himself :)
As an audio person thanks for the credit to our profession. 8:22 In a future video please tell us what you learned.
Really great to see this series.
I'm curious how your festival run will go since twenty four minutes is pretty long! I purposefully have cut down my short because I've heard from programmers at short film festivals that the sweet spot is 9-12 minutes since anything shorter or longer they don't know where to really place in the programming, so it hurts your chances.
100% right. I tried to enter a 28 minute on and alllll the feedback was, its good, its just too long. They could run mine, or 3 other 10 minute shorts. The choice on their end is obvious. I had people tell me that, but I had to learn the hard way.
Love this. If you’re still in need of audio post hit me up. Im a supervising sound editor in Atlanta.
How far along is the coloring of this project? These shots look color stylized.
Great vid 👏
6:06 EXCUSE ME, WHAT?! 😮
I usually release my shortfilms for a week or so online, then make it private and then send it to the festivals. I do this because I know some people really want to see them and making them wait for like a year and a half its unnecessary, in my opinion. And in my experience festivals allow this as long as this doesn't happen at the same time of the festivals and you can't find the film online. So I don't know, ask somebody that works in distribution about the rules in the states. Here in Europe that is allowed and it has worked for me so far, and nobody is doing it. When I proposed this to my distribution guy he was like "OMG. that is such a great idea! Why no one has come up with this before?? Yes do it. Then we'll do the festivals."
And yes, please get an M1 MacBook Pro, you won't regret it. I got mine last year and man, it's something else. I edited my whole 20 minute long last shortfilm on my M1 while sitting on the sofa in the living room. I never thought I could do that.
Anyway can't wait to watch your shortfilm! keep it up Spenser.
Dang this is a solid idea. I’m going to look into it.
Roger 😱
I’m an audio engineer I would love to mix this and you can keep it or toss it. I love what you’re doing so let me know if this is of interest to you, good luck!
Hey! Email me your work and we can discuss.
spensersakurai@gmail.com
I know this I feel the same way I need somebody else to edit the stuff I don't have time for and to do the first edit before I do the final edit. It will save me from losing my mind all the time with editing. Everybody keeps asking me why I prefer to shot images over editing..... please.
Curious why you went for a 24 minute film if trying to submit to festivals? I
I hear that H264/265 is an awful format for editing because their decode performance is just not designed for it; you're better off with a ProRes (or whatever proxy) - maybe the Venice/FX* can record your proxies in that instead? I can edit 6K BRAW on my 2014 MacBook Pro (at least in theory, though I try to avoid it and do it on my cheesegrater instead) so I don't think it's your hardware, it's just the codec.
Because you're not an Editor. You're a DP by nature. Editors are closer to filmmakers than DPs.
Can't have one without the other.
If you want to try something smaller this year but with a cool CGI element, hit me up! I've emailed you.
FCPX will help you not to get bogged down in the minutia. Resolve is great, but FCPX cuts to the story faster.
You just need a cheap PC with any 30 or 40 series Nvidia card (cheap ones have the same video decoder/encoder as the expensive ones), it'll be faster than the M Mac...
As an added bonus it'll heat your house!
@@jeremiahkuehne2400 lol no. Video editing is not demanding on the GPU... When I render in Blender (5x times faster than the most expensive Mac) then yes, it gets hot. But with regular use and just editing it's cool and quiet.
@@lukastemberger I have a Windows laptop (really it should be called a desktop cause it pretty much only works when plugged in). It sounds like a jet engine and heats the room, but yes, it can do 3D computer graphics faster than Mac. Not entirely sure the Nvidia cards render faster but it's pretty irrelevant. At this point on Mac I get buttery smooth playback with multiple streams of 6K footage and renders are faster than realtime for those few minutes at the end of a multiple hours long editing session when I need to have a stretch break anyway. I'll certainly take the peace and quiet of a silent laptop with a fantastic screen and useable speakers and the ability to actually be used as a laptop. 🤷🏻♂ If you are only working at a desk with headphones on and doing 3D work then definitely go with Windows, but that's a pretty specific use case.
@@jeremiahkuehne2400 I don't know what laptop you have, as a "Windows laptop" is not very descriptive. Obviously there are laptops of all price points...
And a desktop is not a "specific use case", it's a use case of any video professional. People who don't work in a caffe or sitting in the shade under a tree. People who have an office and a job.
@@lukastemberger First off, I find it hilarious that you think a desktop is a use case of any video professional. It's even more hilarious that you think an office is somehow important for a job in video production. There are a lot of people (including myself) that make a good amount of money ($100k+) doing video production and use a laptop for their computer and edit on the go. It's kind of nice to not be tied to a desk (although I have an office setup if I need it where I can hook my laptop in).
But my Windows laptop was like a $1700 Eluktronics laptop. On a spec sheet it blew a more expensive Mac away (at the time) -- in reality I only used it for about a miserable year and a half. Machine worked completely fine it was just a terrible user experience in comparison to a Mac. I made the mistake of listening to people online raving about how Nvidia was so much better but later learned that things like power efficiency, display, speakers, a quiet machine that doesn't burn your lap, and OS are more important overall. And now with the M chips you get all those benefits plus a legit amount of power.
Dropped an under 2 min vid on the biggest tip that made my videos better from the edit: ruclips.net/video/ale_Mj7gieM/видео.html