DIY! Do It Yourself - Postproduction

Because I used tapes, it was fairly easy for me to keep track of my footage.  Technology changes quickly, so I hear that people are trying different methods, like streaming video back to the States, but I would be cautious about these different methods.  Keep in mind that different countries have different TV and electricity standards and you really need to trust the different computer platforms that you are using.  Unless you have an encrypted signal and consistently use your own computer, I’m not so sure about this system.  When abroad, sometimes the electrical system can shut down, shutting off the computer that you’re using in an internet café.  Also try not to be so noticeable in another country.  (My purse was stolen.)  Taking a huge camera into an internet café in a country where the camera costs more than a year’s worth of food might not be the smartest thing to consistently do.  You might be able to pull it off, but I was really glad that I had a small camera.  Using tapes was a good system for me.  Regardless of what method you use, log and know what is on the footage.  Have a system of labeling tapes and files in a way that makes sense.  This will save time as well as your mind, while minimizing frustration throughout the whole process, especially at the end of post when you’re looking for that one shot. 

Once the footage was inside the timeline, I transcribed all of it.  Some people can edit films without transcribing, but I can't.  I print it all out and take crayons (color coding - see left) and scissors to it, then tape it back together in a different order in attempt to organize the clips into a more coherent film.  (I probably did this at least 15 times.  Each time I thought to myself, “Yes, I’ve finally done it this time.”)

It’s important to learn the basic intricacies of audio and audio clean up.  If there’s wind hitting the mic, learn how to get rid of the ultra low frequencies and keyframe it out.  Differences are still heard, but it won’t blow out the audio system.  I shot in many different conditions and locations, so audio cleanup took a lot of work.  Even though there are still noticeable differences between clips, it’s much better.  Try to make your audio as clean as possible.    (That said, know that both audio and color correction are easy ways to really mess up a film near the end of post.  If audio is over cleaned, it will sound metallic and then the original clip needs to be opened and the process starts over.)

Considering Democracy was heavily researched and lists its resources at the end of the film.  This is not typical of a documentary, but since there is sometimes resistance or disbelief toward some of the information in the film, I included it.  I checked and cross referenced resources within both nongovernmental and governmental informational organizations.  (Because I’ve been in post for such a long time, I’ve updated the statistics a few times over the years and have found the proportions in the statistics to have largely stayed the same, but the differences have become greater.  For example, the amount that Americans pay for healthcare has stayed way ahead of all the other nations, but the amount that we pay has increased at a greater rate than the other nations.  Perhaps it’s time to have serious conversation about these issues!)

What I used

I’m based in the Adobe world of editing and work between Premiere for video editing, and Audition for audio cleanup and some audio looping creation.  I really appreciate the digital age to harness productivity.  For example, after I researched and found statistics, the information was put into a spreadsheet; the graphs were created, then remade in the Premiere title window and animated with transitions.