The Vicious Cut

Finished editing the special project I've been tied up with for work. Didn't get a hell of a lot of sleep this weekend, but it's done. There are adjustments that will have to be made over the next few days, but the toughest part is over, I think.

Editing is a curious art. You shoot this footage in the real world, you take it elsewhere and then you dissect the moments. Zoom in, slow down, warp, manipulate. Take it apart to put it together as something else. Something better, hopefully. Give it a different life by forcing it into a different context. You take those moments and you impose your sensibilities on them. Make a statement with a razor blade.

Arguably, I did a lot more work on this thing than The Company was expecting or needing, but even though it's essentially a corporate puff piece, my name's on there and this is part of what I claim to be my art and I wanted it to be impressive.

Of course, the by-product is a massive amount of ass-kissing points, and I'm not above cashing those in, but the only reason I've gone over-and-above with this project is because I was producing a video. I could have given this thing A LOT less attention and still would've come out ahead, but I enjoy challenges. And I wanted to make a corporate puff piece that's actually engaging. Not saying I've done that, but that's what I've tried to do.

The strike against me is, it took me MANY HOURS to get this done. Granted, it became a much larger project as it developed, and I did everything on my own, but I can't afford to freelance all over as a lone-gunman because it takes me too much time, and on an hourly basis some of these projects could be really cost-prohibitive.

I'm also thinking I'm not editing in the most efficient manner possible. I make my rough assembly cut, a tighter cut, and then a vicious cut. I've got my own system and I can get something done, but I probably end up wasting a lot of time because most of what I can do with these programs is self-taught. I started watching Errol Morris's First Person documentary series and I'm just amazed at what he manages to do. While I'm watching it, I'm just trying to figure out what he had to go through to put the pieces together...