Claire McCarthy: Napier Film BA

During my 2nd week of TOIL the radio silence had begun to worry me as a producer so I called Karina in to see what was happening. During our meeting I encouraged her to locate Polish speakers (suggesting Olivia from 1st year and Klaudia from 4th year) to aid in the transcription as it is taking too long at this point. I also asked if she’d had thoughts on what the story of the doc is. This is something we’ve been developing since the 8th March when we got back, and I was trying to figure out in the edit. But even as a producer and editor, I can’t be the one creating the whole documentary’s focus and creative style. So I requested direction, through a treatment and storyboard. I’ve encouraged her to go and speak to Shona and organise dates for the trip, and also get a storyboard in order considering we know what kinds of shots are missing from the current film. My reason for being so pedantic at this point with pre-production for the second shoot is to avoid a lengthy post-production process for Tom and I. Altogether we have only 14 days (during an Easter break too!) to finish the film after the shoot, so we don’t have rooms for spending days creatively mulling over what’s happening in the film. 

Unfortunately despite always planning to leave for shoot 2 around 4th April the team are now unavailable that week and will leave w/c 11th April. It was suggested the 17th April but I shut that down as soon as I heard it due to the already short time Tom and I have for post-production. Due to this new shoot date I will be unavailable having made plans for this week months ago, also considering that’ll be my 6th week IN A ROW on projects... I need a break.

I’m happy to be stepping back at this stage, as since the projects formal pitch I’ve been pretty involved with developing the idea, the pitch, shooting the initial shots, the sound, and editing the initial cut, so I need space to step back in order to confidently edit this second half of the film with just an editor’s mind on.

The good news is my application for the student grant has been successful so we now have a budget to work with to support the crew with travelling and financing the film.

Day 1: 22nd March The usual first day... lots of importing, transcoding, and linking, to be done. Then throw in syncing just to give yourself a longer day. As tedious as these first steps are I always enjoy the day one process because it gives me an opportunity to watch through the footage and see what I have to work with. So far the footage is looking really strong, the only hiccup we have is a few continuity issues from actors, and a syncing issue with slate 8 due to the actor going for a walk and not turning off their mics. Due to what a long day it’s been (10am-8.30pm) I’ve decided to leave slate 8 for tomorrow, and begin editing the start of the film.

Day 2: 23rd March (fun begins!) Today I started to work through the first rough cut using the script and mapping out the actions/emotions from the script onto the screen, using shots I feel will aid Kate’s vision. By the end of the first full day of editing I have a rough cut (messy and off-tempo BUT it maps out where we’re going). Unfortunately this rough cut is 17 minutes long. Although I’ve been reassured not to worry about time, this is a stress as it’s not as simple as cutting a few seconds off a cut. This edit will now involve chopping Kate’s script in order to get ourselves anywhere close to the time limit.

I also exported some screenshots of the film to be used for promotion, and to be sent to the composer to get an idea of what the film will look like. 

Day 3: 24th March

Starting to really edit today now that I have the initial map, I’m hoping to move from a romantic film to a tense gothic horror from scene 6 onwards. I’ve started removing unnecessary dialogue that I feel either hinders a scene or doesn’t add any information, which Kate is happy for me to do.

I’ve not included any of the CU chewing shots from scene 6 because I feel it doesn’t make too much sense as she’s facing his back in the shots, so why would the audience be able to see it if it’s her POV we’re seeing.... So... I tampered with scene 7 a bit and introduced flash cuts of Tom chewing Arlene, between the shots of Janet thinking. This has allowed me to use different takes to give the impression Janet is struggling with what she saw, AND to allow the audience to see what it was that had her startled. With Anne-Marie’s sound design I think this could be quite a gruesome and gripping moment now.

The final cut of today was 15:21, so we are losing time naturally which is reassuring. My aim is to have a cut a day, even if there’s still amendments to be made, so that Kate, Paul and Kieran can give relevant notes before we have any major issues flag up. My worry currently is the final scene. It’s not as tense as I imagined and the journey to the basement is filmed in a very long one-shot, and I’m not sure cutting in that shot will look great. We’ll figure it out though. 

Below: Some notes from today, and changes to be introduced. Cutting lines and trying to move dialogue for character motivation is priority, as well as removing shots I’ve used that aren’t great (note the comment on scene 4).

Day 4: 25th March

Day 4 started off with some editing notes after a re-watch of yesterday’s cuts. My thoughts currently are:

-the takes and actions are all too slow. With an average of 3/4 slates a scene there isn’t much to cut to sooo... how do we pace the film better for tension?

-what dialogue can go? There’s a wee bit of talking that either doesn’t work or takes ages, where can I condense scenes to be shorter where talking isn’t necessary. My current target is the proposal scene.

-does the basement scene go... I’d initially imagined this as a tense scene where we see Tom lurking in the shadows, or she’s on a mission! But, she’s walking around a basement and it’s all very slow, I’m not feeling tense or scared for her. So does this scene need to be there? (Updated note: I’ve been told by Kate it stays, now just gotta find something to do with it to give us some “horror-esque” vibes. It’s the final act, the climax of the film, so I feel it needs to have tension to make for a satisfying payoff.

Today’s final cut is 13:29 which is an amazing jump from the beginning of the week.

Below: Thoughts from today on Scene 6 and 11, the two turning points of the film.

-Weekend Break-

Day 5: 28th March

I kicked off the week by exploring how we get to 10 minutes by creating... the 10 minute cut... it doesn’t work. In order to do this I removed scene 7 (the jam scene) and the basement scene, however I absolutely love scene 7 as it’s the last scene where we really see the two interact before she kills him, and I feel the edits creating a wonderful tension in this scene following what Janet’s witnessed downstairs. To me scene 7 is the last moment we see where their relationship is clinging on, he’s trying to convince her and she’s trying to pull away, it almost feels like a breakup. The problem is finding bits of her performance that make sense, I’m still struggling with the scene as she... believes him? I think? With the actor’s nervous laughter coming off as genuine in some takes I am struggling with cutting to Janet, and sticking more to Tom due to the creepiness and obvious two faced nature he creates in this scene.

I also had a anonymous viewer view the latest cut at the weekend to ensure the story is still understood despite the amount of changes I’ve made to the script. Their comments were a nice boost to start the week with, and there were some criticisms that I agreed with, so nothing unexpected has cropped up yet. These are some of the comments for the cut so far:

“the story is ace, feels like a Netflix horror” “Scene 6 up feels very spooky compared to the first half” “I like the ending but it’s a bit of an anti-climax I don’t really believe the girl” “The boys really creepy” “I don’t really understand him in the mirror? Because she shines her torch on him then it goes to the floor then her and he’s not there?” “Is there going to be a sequel?” (nothing to do with the edit but this was nice to hear)

I agree with the ending and basement comments as these are things I’m focusing on trying to change but am hitting a roadblock on how to go about it, but the rest is nice to here.

I also fine-cut the last draft as well today, focusing on important changes to drive the emotion and story. The scripts cutting away well, and being covered up by cuts so I’m hoping the audience don’t pick up where I’ve changed half a page of script.

Day 6: 29th March

Paul came in for his first viewing today and it went..... well it went. The one downside to working in post is receiving constructive criticism. Following harsh critique for the Jola cut (which is a train-wreck currently with no audio or direction being given to me to work with), I’ve been second guessing and overthinking my editing process, so it wasn’t the best critique session today. Sometimes things are completely out-with our control, or we’re to jump through hoops to create something that could’ve been done earlier or create something from nothing (which is about to be done with Scene 9). Pacing, suspense, and emotion are to be focused on from here on out, which is something I’ve been struggling with for the final 2 scenes. 

Some ideas were welcomed into the cut though, his advice for the basement scene have saved what’s left of my sanity and I’m going to cut through the one-shot so we follow Janet on her journey to the heart. We’ve also introduced some mystery to Scene 6 by using parts of the take that obscure what Janet’s seeing, making it more mysterious for the audience.  Paul’s comments for the final scene were welcomed, and we’re cutting into the initial talking that Tom does as it’s a complete anti-climax to the danger in the scene. Scene 9, another challenge, is also going under the (metaphorical Avid-style) knife, and being cut to make it look like Janet leaves the room after Arlene says “get out”. This is to give motivation to the character as Janet’s actions throughout the original script in this scene make little sense considering what she witnessed in scene 6. So we’re cutting the dialogue that’s unneeded to get to the book sooner, and the final turning point of our film.

I’m also going to introduce a shot I found that doesn’t even exist! (technically). During a take of the basement door a crew member walked in front of a light projecting their shadow over the door. I’m using this in the cuts for the basement scene to introduce Tom coming down the stairs, so now, when we cut to Tom in the mirror, the audience feel tense because they know he’s following Janet... but she’s not seen him yet.

Day 7: 30th March

Today to get myself thinking about why I’m cutting I’ve decided to watch through the recent cut and note on the questions audience members may ask, and what the cut answers.

I want the cuts to be driven by emotion, but where that’s not possible (either circumstance or performance) I need the cuts to drive the story. Hence my little question and answer session today.

Today I worked on scene 9, trying to create this tense atmosphere that’s rocked by the book revealing Tom’s immortality. I think the walkout and walk back in is really working well, even though the shot of her in the hall was intended for later. I’ve also cut a lovely transition between Scene 9 to 10, with it cutting on the word “basement” to Janet’s hand on the door. This gives us a nice skip in time and gets us to the basement faster. The cutting of the basement is getting finer and better, so I’m hoping by tomorrow it’ll be finished.

Today’s cut is 11:32 and we’re getting closer to the picture lock (aimed for Friday), just awaiting a visit from Kieran to hear his comments and we’re fine-cutting to the finish line.

Day 8: 31st March

Kieran has suggested creating a cut of the film purely focusing on Janet’s performance, to see where we can use her more. I think this is a great idea as she is the protagonist yet I feel myself drawn to Tom’s performance so much more. And so today I created... The Janet cut. Much like the special edition 10 Minute Cut... it doesn’t work BUT I’ve found really good bits of her performance to strengthen the emotion of the film.

Now for scene 7 I’ve managed to use bits of her performance to make it seem to the audience that she really isn’t falling for his lies. Reintroducing the shot where he gazes off into the distance to think of a lie has also helped this, and because I’m focusing on avoiding the wide with both of them in shot we fully feel the separation of their relationship in this cut now. Scene 7 is no longer jam scene, it’s the break-up. 

We’ve realised we’ll need a bit of ADR for both main characters in order to make some cuts in the script convincing but these should be easy enough due to the shots I’ve chosen to cut on, you either cant see the character or can’t see their mouth when they need to use ADR.

Below: Some notes of the day (not all my notes are published online, otherwise we’d have a whole notebook on this blog post)

Day 9: 1st April

As the final fine-cutting is going well I’ve been incorporating more cuts from my “Janet cut” to increase focus on our protagonist and gain a better understanding of her character. Anne-Marie has extended her deadline for Bottomline which means she doesn’t need TOIL until Thursday, so I’ve moved picture lock for Toil to Tuesday to give ourselves some time to breath. Following a very short 4hrs at the studio today I nipped home for the weekend, taking time to reflect and recollect myself for the picture lock.

-Weekend Break-

Day 10: 4th April

Reflection over the weekend has helped, and following a viewing of the latest cut in my flat at midnight (lights off, spooky candle on, and showing on the big tv, very horror film viewing party vibes) I’ve come back with some ideas for today’s final fine-cutting session. I’m going back a few drafts and bringing some elements back in, and tidying the ending by removing some of the unneeded dialogue. Kieran’s also advised I extend the final shot by a second just to ensure the audience don’t think it’s accidental that it’s there, as he has. All in all today has left me feeling confident tomorrow is picture lock day, as the films feeling strong, creepy, and I’m finally feeling attached and worried for Janet (big step from my rough cut).

Day 11: 5th April

And we have picture lock!!! It. Is. Done! I’m so happy with the final piece, and (I think) Kate is pleased as well. As an editor I always want to create a piece of art that still embodies it’s original source (script), and make the writer/director proud of their idea. I’m excited to see what Anne-Marie will do with the sound, as I feel the sound is paramount in this project in creating more of the horror atmosphere, however I feel I’ve managed to find moments of performance and shots that give us a lovely Nosferatu vibe. Now to wait for the final colour and sound and create a grad film I’m sure our whole team will be proud of.

 ......

Day 12: 8th April

Today I nipped in to the studio to help Anne-Marie with some sound issues that developed in post-production. It seems whilst copying my sequences my eyes were too busy on the cuts and we have lost some channels. As this is my mistake that’s slowed her down I’ve offered to go in and re-do a new AAF and video files with additional timecode information to help her figure out each take. As the video files were never renamed to S1T1 on the camera, as sound did, the names don’t match, so I’ve created a report of each shot and cut and what sound file goes with it. My hope was to try and reimport the audio files without jeopardizing the cuts, however whilst attempting this we reached a corruption issue and nearly lost the project. At that point we decided the report and timecodes would be enough to help Anne-Marie out, and we backed up the project to multiple google drives.

Below: The last thing any editor wants to see...

Day 1: Wednesday 9th March Today’s been the usual first day of uploading and transcoding files. I’ve noticed some confusion with the audio files, seems the camera split the lengthy video file into two or three clips where the sound recorded one file. So I’ve synced what I can but may need Karina’s help as I’m finding it hard to focus when I can’t understand the language. To start with the visuals I’ve created a 30second intro using our shots of Jola’s paintings. I think it’ll be good to start on these then move to “reality”. The paintings to me are like a dream sequence, like Jola remembering what once was.

Day 2: Thursday 10th March Seems I’m picking up Polish faster than I thought, sorted the audio issue through some labelling and colour coding and everything’s synced. I’ve solidified the initial opening with the paintings and wrote down points of audio we should include here: her childhood, being young and in love, having her daughter. Then we move to Strzegomska where we begin to hear of the marriage going south, and how Jola became stuck here.  Two thoughts I’m having right now are: When do we first see: Jola, the flat, Strzegomska? These to me are all the characters of our doc, so the first impression we have of them is important. I like the fact that the first 30 seconds or so we don’t see Jola, so the audience build their own interpretation of her, but how long do we hold out before audience lose interest....

I’ve introduced a fade transition from the painting of Jola to the sky that Karina really likes, so we’re going to look for creative transitions to keep the film visually interesting and moving at a good pace.

Kieran popped in for a bit today and showed me how to use ScriptSync. This will aid us in using the interview footage but I need transcripts from Karina first. She’s now begun transcripting the footage to the format we need for Script Sync and is emailing it over as she completes it. Kieran emphasised the important of the character arc in the documentary, and recommended some footage we should get on the 2nd shoot. I’m feeling really confident following this meeting, he was really positive about our footage and complimented the opening sequence I’ve done (which is rare cos initial sequences usually get slated), so Team Jola are feeling good today.

Karina and I have also brainstormed with the interviews and came up with this idea for a storyline for me to work with:

1. (Act 1) Intro (Childhood)  2. Abuse/1st Husband 3 (Act 2). Building a home out of what you have 4. Aga’s (daughter) ignorance to her mother’s sacrifice 5 (Act 3). Reconciliation between the mother and daughter. 6. Jola’s acceptance and hope for the future.

The 3 acts will use different mediums (archive footage, location footage, interviews), giving them a distinct feel as the story progresses.

Day 3: Friday 11th March 

Today was a small half day up to noon because I’m travelling North, but I managed to develop the location footage a bit more and found some footage of Jola showing Karina around the building that we could use.

Sat/Sun 12-13th March: Not in town

Day 4: Monday 14th March

It has become clear now that we’ve not got enough quality to footage to use so I’ve been using markers to block out where we’re going. The computer screen is starting to get to me so I’ve begun paper editing in the edit suite to help me out rather than looking at the computer and having a brain block.

Unfortunately still not got complete transcripts from interviews so working with what I’ve got I’ve brainstormed what storylines or order we can go with for this film. Because it’s only 10mins we have to narrow the focus rather than trying to pack everything into this short film. I’ve asked Karina to see if she can find her Christmas test footage from her test shoot so we can have fillers for now, or even some extra footage we can use.

Day 5: Tuesday 15th March Feeling confident with sequence 1 up to 2:39. However I can’t help feeling this is rushing, and I’ve realised we’re going to need a lot more footage to push this to 10 minutes. The story is there, just not the visual aids to go with it.

I’ve changed around some of the start, showing the surrounding neighbourhood then Karina/Jola, THEN Strzegomska. I don’t know if I’m liking it too much, Strzegomska is the location of the memories discussed in the doc so it’s very important so I do feel maybe we show it first....

I was playing with effects on avid today and I discovered Karina loves superimposing as a creative choice, so we’ve been playing around with shots to see if any can be combined in a way that shows the passage of time (e.g. past and present). Because we didn’t shoot with superimposing in mind it’s not working perfectly so I think with Shona on the 2nd shoot we can get some good shoots to superimpose with.

Kieran popped in again today to help me setup the Polish ScriptSync in SAS, and showed us how to do audio punch-in to do some narration, which will help us at the pre-translation stage where I need audio to make rough-cuts make sense.

With the interview we listened to we realised that generational abuse is a huge factor at play in Jola’s life, so we’re really focusing on how we show that this has affected her actions in raising her daughter.

Day 6: Wednesday 16th March

Karina managed to source the hard-drive she used for her test-shoot in December, and a lot of the footage is usable for our final doc. So I’ve been uploading and transcoding again and looking through. There are some amazing shots of old photos, and Jola showing her grandchildren the photos, which is giving the documentary more life.

I’ve incorporated the archive photos into a storyline and incorporated them into the main sequence, giving our film a real feel now.

Ended today with a strong 5 minute film, however we’re still missing a lot, and need to get the full interview now to develop the story as I’ve hit a creative block. Karina’s used a bit of our budget to use transcripting software to help us out because it’s a lengthy process, so hopefully we have it all by the start of next week.

Day 7: Thursday 17th March

Today was spent doing producing work, sorting out funding/grants and liaisoning with our graphic designer about posters for the film. We’ve received photos from the crew and sent her images of the shoot and Poland so we’re excited to see what materials we can receive for marketing the film.

Day 8: Friday 18th March

Unfortunately a sick day for me today. Karina is continuing with the translation and the finished interviews will be uploaded today or this weekend to allow us to complete the sound on Monday.

Sat/Sun 19th-20th March: Weekend off.

Day 9: Monday 21st March

Today was spent tidying the current cut and incorporating more of the archive footage. The hopes are to have narration over the images to give them some meaning, however without the interview audio yet it’s feeling a bit like a clipshow. My worry for the edit so far is that it’s a series of images without really saying anything, or saying to much leaving the audience bored. Without a clear storyline or creative direction I’m starting to feel the initial confidence and vision for this edit slipping away, but thankfully I’ve spotted gaps where we need stronger visuals.

Day 10: Tuesday 22nd March- Off to TOIL

To prepare ourselves to keep up the posts and attract a fanbase outwith our friends and family I’ve designed an outline of uploads we can do as well as compiled ideas on how we can effectively promote the film before it’s release to (hopefully) festivals.

Right now the project has faced issues with crew, especially the DoP which led to me drafting up a storyboard to ensure that there would be some preparation for the edit. As we’ve outsourced for a DoP I will for the first time in my life be editing with the visuals of somebody whose work I’m unfamiliar with. So that’s a development I’m interested in, and looking forward to, but as a control freak it does bring stress.

As of right now (Feb 22nd) we have no location yet, but hopefully our meeting with Location Scotland this week will give us something fruitful to work with!

I’ve found it hard to focus these last 2 months whether it be creative or practical. And getting up to go to class has been a post-pandemic hardship I never thought I’d face. At first I blamed it on my own dealings with Long-Covid (the joys of fatigue and struggling to walk upstairs without feeling like you’ve run a marathon). But after missing more classes than I’ve probably missed in all my 4 years in the last semester, I’ve reflected on this and found my struggle with this semester is... a mix of things. 

And so, to re-inspire myself I’m writing down these things for my journal (probably to be deleted later) in a bid to force myself to get back to the hard-working creative I usually am, and get myself out of this slump.

With this semester looking at a confusing mix of online/in-person it’s been hard for the course to reconnect together with everyone being in various places. The rushing to Uni to rush home for a 2pm online class has proven a bit difficult, and as much as the library is there it’s hard to get involved in class sitting in a busy library. With everyone unaware of other projects goings-on there’s a disconnect to the course that feels like we’ve never really come back after the pandemic. To me the uni experience of coming into class ended in 2020, little did we as young 2nd years realise lockdown would last until we graduated. Of course nobody can be blamed for this, except... maybe, the government (but what can we do there).

The return of this semester also saw us move to Craiglockhart.. sometimes. Taking us away from our cosy home built at Merchiston. Again, this is more a selfish unsettlement as the new campus holds so much potential for the future film students and I’m happy for them to have the space they do at the new campus (as long as that noisy in the chapel can be figured out... that room is not friendly to sound-designers or lecturers trying to speak to a class).

Maybe it’s the external factors of a pandemic affecting our education and the new structure of university life, or my own internal fears about graduating that are affecting my focus. In 2 months that’ll be it... 4 years of my life over and done and time to move on. When you signup for university they never warn you over the questioning and imposter syndrome that you face as an upcoming graduate. I know I’m not alone in my year with these feelings of uncertainty, and maybe we’re so focused on May that we’re allowing it to seep into our last days we have at uni.

But either way it seems this semester will be the biggest test of everything I’ve learned over the last 4 years.

He then moved onto fiction works, where he continued to challenge the issues of Polish life. Despite his trouble with the authorities and criticism for his depictions of Poland he is now regarded as one of the best film directors of modern times. 

Below are some of my favourites out of his documentaries that I watched and had some thoughts on:

From the City of Lodz

The heart of this film being about the effect’s of modernisation on the older residents of the city is reminiscent of our own film, as we analyse how this building has remained stagnant amongst a gentrified city. I love the editing, the interactions of the characters, and the inclusion of city shots to portray the wider world the people live in.

Spitzal (1976) [aka: “Hospital”]

I absolutely love this documentary, possibly my favourite piece of Kieslowski’s works. The structure of breaking up the film with timecodes portraying a day in the life of the hospital workers and patients makes you feel as an absolute fly on the wall watching what you assume is an average day to them. The fact there’s no interaction between filmmaker and participants is really interesting too, as the dialogue and subsequent story is so realistic due to the simple interactions overheard between the doctors, patients, and nurses.

Z punktu widzenia nocnego portiera (1977) [Aka: “From a Night Porters Point of View”]

I was surprised by this documentary due to the interviewee’s harsh opinions on allowing government silencing of oppositions. It felt like Kieslowski was putting himself out of his comfort zone and rather than criticising the government, was showing how they manipulate people into following them by giving them positions of authority (although my reading of the film could be influenced due to watching it in the 21st century and knowing Kieslowski’s larger career that spent the majority of the time criticising Poland). I’ve also been seeking out the 2006 sequel to this film featuring the same Night Porter by a different director, to see if his views have changed.

Gadające glowy (1980) [Aka: Talking Heads]

Although we’re abstaining from the use of talking heads in our documentary due to our thoughts on them being overused in modern docs, I found this film really interesting and influential. I love how all he asks are two simple questions and yet everyone’s answers so different. The evolution of starting the documentary with young people and concluding with the elderly, reflecting their differences, is a wonderful way to show the contrast between generations. This idea of who are you, and what do you want, are key to this film, but also to our own. We want to know who Jola is, and what she want’s out of life, so seeing this film gave me more want to explore the idea of generations within Karina’s family to see how these have changed between her and her grandmother.

-----

I like the use of sound as language in this film, not only is it really creepy and unsettling but actually feels like somethings communicating. I feel this is something I might discuss with Anne-Marie for post-production. If Kate likes Paul’s idea of the house “being alive” then I feel having scenes where it feels like the house is luring Janet to stay and communicating with her could be interesting. Our films are 10 minutes, so we have time to develop this relationship between Tom and Janet. Despite their relationship being short term, Janet agrees to stay, so is it some supernatural force that lures her to say yes? Is the house the inner monster of Tom? 

The rural setting of this film is really close to what The One I Love will be set in, even down to the garden. During the digging scene I was reminded of Kate’s initial idea of the heart being in the garden, and a scene where Tom is seen burying the box. 

Once we have a DoP onboard I’d really want to discuss with them about shooting one shots, similar to this characters entrance to her home when she finds the dead animal. With building tension in horror I love films that almost linger uncomfortably on shots to allow us to digest the scene around us, but also feel unsettled because... we’re watching a horror, something’s gonna happen, so nothing happening makes you unsettled. This one shot would be excellent for Janet’s entrance to the home and potentially her first sighting of Arlene. This establishes Janet as the clear protagonist but also keeps the viewer with her. Like her, we are unsure of what’s happening in this house, and the film follows our journey together in finding the mystery and defeating it.