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The Editing Process
If the cinematographer is the director's greatest confidante on a movie set, the editor is surely the director's greatest ally, and critic, during post-production.
That is not to say that Gregg Featherman, the editor of "Stolen Summer," did not begin his job on the movie until Pete returned to Los Angeles from Chicago. In fact, an editor will typically join a film during pre-production. In the case of "Stolen Summer," the process was a bit condensed from start to finish, and Gregg actually joined on at the start of principal photography.
The editor, besides physically cutting the film together, is tasked with ostensibly playing the creative bad cop during production. As Gregg describes it, "the editor's job is to be the director's greatest critic. As an editor, I critique the blocking, the performances, and the coverage, and I can't hold back for the sake of Pete's ego."
During principal photography, Pete and Gregg would speak every single day. After film was shot on set, the dailies would be shipped to Los Angeles, where Gregg would assemble the footage on an Avid®. The Avid® is the latest technology in the editing world, a digital, non-linear system that allows the editor room for error and greater experimentation. Variations of computer-based, electronic editing machines have been used since the late 1970's, and Avid® has been in wide use for about 10 years.
The ease of the Avid® and the magic of overnight shipping allowed Gregg to basically cut the film as the footage was being shot, with just a few days lag time. Gregg would sit down with the dailies and the line script, and assemble the scenes as they were written. (A line script is a marked up copy of the script pages that notes preferred takes, angles, or moments that were captured in the footage). Knowing Pete's "wish list" of takes, Gregg would then use some creative license to assemble the scenes, using the script as a blueprint, but not necessarily the rule.
"Gregg and I spoke almost every single night," Pete explains. "He would send me scenes that he had assembled, and we would break everything down." Not only would the two men discuss the assembled scenes, but also Pete's ability to capture the best visuals and performance on-set, every single day.
Once the film makes it to the editing bay, the film is at the mercy of the footage. It is in editing that a film is molded to fit a style and rhythm that compliments the director's vision. But as good as any editor may be, their job is limited to the quality of the footage that is shot.
The crucial moment for Pete to capture good footage was not lost on Gregg. "Directors are often shielded from brutal honesty on the set, and I made a point, particularly with Pete being a first-time director, to be as honest as I could with him."
Less than a week after Pete's return to Los Angeles, Gregg had an editor's assembly of "Stolen Summer," a first pass at a cut of the film for Pete and Gregg to further manipulate. Avid® allows you to lay down a soundtrack, sound effects, and some opticals onto your film, so Pete's working copy of his film covered a lot of technical ground.
What followed was three weeks of dialogue between Pete and Gregg and hours upon hours of time spent in the editing bay, tweaking the film. For Pete, making choices was hardly easy. "It's so hard because sometimes you love the performance, but you don't love the shot, and other times, you have a beautiful shot, but not the best delivery of the line."
An editor and his director are always going to have creative differences, but success is bred out of a mutual respect for the other's ability and instinct, and the willingness to have a dialogue.
Industry standard usually allows about 10 weeks for a director to tinker with a film before he or she will show it to the studio or producers. Pete had just three weeks. In that time, Gregg and Pete would work tirelessly to rearrange the assembly of scenes to ultimately make the best film.
Gregg was impressed with Pete's ability to become part of a sometimes-difficult process. "It is hard for a director to totally move scenes, cut scenes, shorten, lengthen, and dissect, but once Pete knew that these measures were improving his film, he became a very quick study in the editing bay."
One of the hardest things for Pete was to eliminate scenes from his movie that were so crucial in the original script. "The baseball scenes and the beach footage were beautiful scenes that really worked, but in the end, it was a creative choice to leave them out of the final cut."
After just three weeks, Pete began screening his film for discerning audiences, namely his producers and his studio. What followed were more opinions about what worked and what did not, which scenes belonged where, and how the ending could be changed.
Of course, some things are just not possible to change, but Pete and Gregg addressed every note, working and re-working the final cut of the film. Pete admits, "I was willing to try anything that could make the film better." This could have gone on forever, were it not for a looming date in the not-so-distant future: picture lock.
Picture lock is that defining moment where the film is laid onto print with a soundtrack, and every visual decision, including credits, is final.
Is that to say that there is not anything on the film that Gregg would like to change?
"I watch the movie now, and I am still making notes about things I want to change. That part never ends."
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