#507 – Editing Tips, Tools, Techniques
If there's one thing I'm learning as I get older, it's that having the right tool for the job is half the solution.
So often I've tried to brute force my way through a problem without quite the right implement to hand and then been left frustrated with the inevitably lacklustre results.
These days I try to stop, take the time to find/buy/build the right tool and then proceed with the job far greater ease and satisfaction.
(Maybe this is why older folks own more tools? They know from experience that each and every one was worth then investment.)
Anyway, this Issue of Cut/daily is packed with editing tools to save you time and get the job done right.
But first...
Speaking of the right tool for the job, as you may have noticed this month Cut/daily was brought to you in partnership with the very excellent Louper.io, which makes live streaming your edit session affordable for everyone.
Huge thanks to them for supporting Cut/daily – just like many of you already do.
One of the little things that makes the biggest difference when using Louper is the new “auto ducking” feature that automatically mutes your mic when you’re playing back and unmutes when you’re making changes.
No more “You’re on mute” hand waving, no more hot mic mistakes – just a fluid, professional presentation experience.
You can test drive Louper yourself with free 20 min live streams or start a 10 day free trial to unlock 8 hour sessions and store up to 1TB of assets for review.
Even better, signing up from this referral link awards you $50 in credit when you upgrade to any paid plan.
This week I've been mostly watching IMAX
This week I was lucky enough to watch Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey in IMAX 70mm at the BFI Waterloo in London. Apparently one of only 41 cinemas around the world capable of such a projection - and on the largest IMAX screen in Britain no less.
It was a pure cinema experience. Every seat was filled. People were buzzing.
Book yourself an IMAX ticket – most places have extended their run to accommodate the sell-out crowds. You won't regret it.
We were able to shoot a lot that we were very happy with. And so then the challenge is how do you wrestle all that into a shape that's comprehensible for the audience and evolving for the audience?
And that involves, you know, not using a lot of things that were quite hard to shoot. And it's always why you need a great editor who's ruthless with the material. Yeah, Jen, you know, she's a wonderful editor.
I'm there on the day we're shooting it. I'm going through it with everybody in the crew and, you know, how difficult it is to achieve something or whatever.
But if it doesn't serve the story, it has to go. That's really the sensitivity of a great editor to what's really essential for the narrative.
— Christopher Nolan, Letterboxd Interview
I'm hoping I can interview editor Jennifer Lame, ACE once again...
Surprise! Dune Part 3
In a surprise twist there was a ‘glimpse’ of Dune Part 3 before The Odyssey started, which was outstanding.
Honestly, the way in which a sense of scale is progressively revealed in those few minutes was epic.
Cinema has a bright future!
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