KOB Shot of the Day #81: Alex's covering our cuts...

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

Happy Friday!

I woke up this morning shocked to realize it's already the end of the work week, where does the time go? Being holed up in an edit suite (one we're moving out of this weekend for more palatial plains) with no real communication to the outside world can really soak up the time, especially when you're in The Edit Zone. What is that you may ask? That's when you are so ensconced in the process that you actually edit...in YOUR SLEEP. Literally, lately I've been sitting in front of an AVID/FCP rig in my dreams. Funny or sad? I dunno but it's been productive; I wake up, remembering shots to use, time-codes, acting beats in takes I remember liking or recalling stuff that did or didn't work, then come in in the morning and we actually try them...and sometimes, they actually work! Guess my brain is just in full on Post Mode.

But regardless of the question "where did the week go?", looking back it was a very productive week in KOB EditsVille; we plowed through a gamut of different scenes, seeing how the tone of the film is such a delicate thing to balance. Funny how scenes on their own can be very funny or scary or thrilling or dramatic OR not seem to work at first, but bridge them up against other scenes in the sequence and they take on a different life, building off of residual effects from a previous scene or how they will impact a scene later on; amazing to see it all come together. So we're chugging along and it's been a blast putting the pieces together.

So one of the key elements to any good post-production is your Editor's assistant, and we've been blessed to be working with Alex Luna (seen above with a spoiler-heavy image in the BG*) who has literally "gotten our back" in the cut, even before I walked in the room the first day. Howard's worked with Alex on THE COLLECTOR and now this mighty beast and watching them work back and forth, its comforting to see such a seamless workflow between the two editors and rigs working at the same time on the film. A good assistant in the edit room is essential for many reasons....one is having someone who can work on the more menial, tech-heavy aspects of the production (like data management, finding shots, crash maintenance, grabbing lunch, etc) so Howard the main editor and I can focus on the creative side, but also help with elements like implementing sound & temp visual FX, add temp score beats and even tackle parts of the picture cut himself for a fresh perspective on certain moments. Alex is always both a few steps ahead and a few steps behind our picture cut (in a good way); getting things ready for us to tackle next, but also clean up moments and scenes we've torn through already so we are all up to date with the cut. A great guy to have around, always smiling and filled with geeky movie knowledge and another important member of the Fellowship. Say hi everyone!

Have a good weekend....Evermore awaits!!!

Onward,

Joe


PS: I'd like to finally address some salacious rumors spread on this very blog. First off, Sir Dreyfuss' claims of my "furriness" is greatly exaggerated...I'm actually a completely hairless albino who has to bear the burden of glueing imported yak hair daily to feel normal. Also, my gas problem? Another fallacy; Gassy? What!??! I haven't expelled any methane since a Slipknot show in '99 when a dude stepped on my stomach in the pit. Lies I say, lies!
Also, the quote of me referring to myself as Leni Riefenstahl is incorrect; I actually referred to myself as "The Dr. Uwe Boll of LARPing". Just to clarify, thanks.

*I'm kidding. It's just me spiking the frame with a flipped bird. Hi ho!