DIY! - Other Things to Remember

As different edits get completed, it’s really important to have others watch your film.  If one person shoots and edits the film, accept that objectivity will be lost.  Have people in film production, as well as regular people, watch your film.  Write down all their comments and sort through them.  There will be some comments that are off base, but take the comments that people have in common very seriously.  If you find yourself having to explain a lot about the film to people who just finished watching it, all the information that you’re telling them probably needs to be in the film.

I tried to avoid it, but in the end, I paid for a screening to get people to watch the film and give feedback.  The feedback is valuable.   I created a two-page questionnaire for people to answer after seeing it.  The introduction before the screening should be short. (“Hi.  Thank you for coming.  Please let me know what you think about this film.”  Exit the stage and start the film.)  Don’t talk about what you’ve done or what you’re trying to do.  The film should speak for itself.  It should get a point across and it should be the same point, whether or not you are present for the screening. 

I learned that people subconsciously react to images and information from an emotional rather than intellectual level.  It’s important to keep this in mind when editing the film.  The structure was created from people’s emotional reaction to different sections of the film.  It was valuable to have people graph their emotional reactions through different edits of the film.  I found that after the Foreign Aid section, people were emotionally drained, so the Values section was positioned right after it. It has the effect of pulling the viewers’ emotional reaction in a different direction, giving their minds time to take a break from all the information that was presented in the previous sections.

I had difficulties in creating the overall structure of the project.  Initially I thought that information alone would speak for itself, but it does not. I struggled with the structure of the film because while I thought it made sense, after screening the film for audiences, many people were shell-shocked or seemed to be in a daze due to both the initial lack of structure and from all the information that was presented.  Most people were unable to carry on any sort of rational discussion.  Since the structure was added, it impacts people very differently.

Originally, I did not want to be in the film and resisted it.  But after hearing time and time again that the film needed some sort of structure and a central character, I put myself in the film as a last ditch effort.  I borrowed a camera and shot about 7 tapes (most of the tapes were spent trying to figure out how to use the camera) and used the footage for less than one minute in the main film, but it’s enough.  Since I was allowed to borrow a camera on the condition that I stay away from water, still camera shots were used in Washington D.C.    Interestingly, the picture and question at the end of each section provided both structure and some sort of relief for the viewer.  The level of questions is varied and the film starts simplistically, but they were also a ways to build a story arc and structure into the film.

The working title of the film was Growing Democracy, then was changed to Considering Democracy three years into the project.  It was a hodgepodge of views and statistics until the questions and the editing patterns were brought into the film.  It has taken a long time.  I thought the project was done two years ago, running at 90 minutes.  It is now under 58 minutes, and I’ve probably exported at least 50 versions.  (It probably would have helped to have gone to film school instead of getting a degree in history!)    But remember.  It can be done.

I have also learned that editing is the essence of storytelling.  I’m more careful now and treat the notion with respect.  Editing styles can add a sense of timing to the film.  Because Considering Democracy deals with difficult issues, and because I wanted to present them in a palatable, quick way, all the sections run under 7.5 minutes and follow a similar pattern. Different editing techniques also have different subconscious impacts.  A fade has different uses and should be used in a different manner than a straight cut.  It took me a long time to figure this out. Many people have given me really good advice and feedback throughout the editing process.

While I’ve talked about how one person (DIY!) can do a lot, I’ve had a lot of feedback, advice and support along the way.  I am incredibly thankful to the people who have helped me.  I also have a lot of respect for finished films.  Filmmaking is a team effort.  Getting a project done and distributed can not be done without the aid of different groups and people.  Find and work with all the good people that you can.

Remember to have a sense of humor throughout the process. Murphy’s Law is always at play.  I made it around the world with my camera and equipment in working order.   I’m thankful for that.  When, however, I was shooting some pickup shots with the globe, the camera, tripod and all, fell into a stream. It happened less than a mile from my house.

Finishing a film project is like finishing a house.  Think about how much it will cost and how long it will take, and multiply the final numbers by 3, 5 or 9, depending on how optimistic you feel.

DVD Authoring

Even if you have exported your project out to tape, even though you have compressed it into an .avi file and have watched and listened to it on different platforms, once it is transcoded into an mpeg file for the DVD, the footage will sound and look slightly different.  I think that Dolby Stereo is also encoded when using Adobe Encore, which may have also affected the final outcome. When I was really sick and tired of looking at and working on the project, I found out that the nature of the audio had changed.  I went back and made more changes.  After pushing through many headaches, I do find that I like the project more after changes were made.  The film may be all that people see of your effort.  They don’t see the years of blood, sweat and tears.  Take time to fix issues, while also remembering that there will always be things to change.  There is a fine line between deciding what is feasible to do and what is not.  At some point, a filmmaker will need to stop and let go in order to keep some sense of sanity.