I had worked with director Chris Jones previously and he called and asked if I was available and explained that there would be four days of principal photography with an additional pickup day later in the process. We would finish editing an episode a week, then grading and mixing later in the week for our […]
Last weekend, editor Chris Frith and myself, picture locked ‘Seeing Him’. Everyone in the team felt like we finished the edit weeks ago, but I was also sure we could continue to make improvements. At this stage, I have learned that small changes can often make a big difference in the viewing experience. It’s also […]
We are in the final stages of fine cutting ‘Seeing Him’, a short film written, produced by and starring Vanessa Bailey. I have stepped into the directors shoes after my good friend Catherine Arton stepped down as director, entrusting me to finish her good work. I have already spent time working with our hugely experienced […]
So I just returned from the cutting rooms of ‘Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation’ where I interviewed my good friend Eddie Hamilton about his experience editing the movie, and his journey to this point. I have known Eddie for 20 years now and this podcast is classic Eddie Hamilton advice and worth its weight in gold. […]
This is not a guide to grading your film, this is a guide to producing a professional grade for your film by working with experts at the top of their field. As part of your learning process, you should try this for your more ambitious shorts and low budget features. Grade with the professionals. My […]
Having helped on countless filmmakers working on both shorts and features, I have come to notice certain patterns in the cutting room. Especially in the final days. As the picture lock gets closer, so the idea of ‘we will get to it later’ becomes ever less possible. Options are narrowing, resources are running out and […]
Legendary editor Walter Murch discusses his career, body of work and editing in this splendid 90 minute masterclass recorded at Sheffield Doc Fest. Splendid stuff! Onwards and upwards! Chris Jones My movies www.LivingSpiritGroup.com My Facebook www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker My Twitter @LivingSpiritPix Sign up to my mailing list for updates on events, books and free film making tools
Last week I delivered a presentation on the Avid stand at BVE about developing a career as an editor, specifically an editor moving into drama. It’s a five stage plan, the first two stages taking around one or two years each, stage three, four and five could easily be a lifetime. If you want to […]
Today I went to the BVE show at the ExCeL center in East London, a three day trade show for film and television people with a very heavy emphasis on tech and software. Avid asked me to present on their stand, which was quite an honour. And with the help of ace editor Eddie Hamilton, […]
This editing masterclass from NAB 2012 with my good friend Eddie Hamilton, just went live. If you are working in features either as an editor, writer, director or producer, you will find this presentation an excellent 30 minute investment. Put the kettle on, switch off the phone and press play… If you enjoy it, you […]
The power of editing never ceases to amaze me – actors, writers, DPs, designers, all offer incredible contributions to a story, but it’s the editor who takes that heady cocktail of ideas, creativity, drama, misfires, failures, surprises, technical problems etc etc that happened on set / location, and makes it all work as best it […]
As part of 50 Kissses, we have invited filmmakers to act on our feedback and that of the community. Already, one filmmaking team, Sweet Home Films in LA, has made their film over 20% shorter, fixed some audio problems and overall radically improved their work. Above is the first cut which, like so many filmmakers […]
I recently attended a test screening of a feature film at BAFTA and I thought I would share my thoughts on common editorial mistakes when close to locking picture. Common mistake number one… It doesn’t make sense (the elephant in the room that the film makers cannot see). Everyone who read the script, then saw […]
One question that always comes up at the Guerilla Film Makers Masterclass is which editing tool should I use? There is no straight answer to this but here are my thoughts… What should you consider when setting up your system? 1. For feature length narrative and documentary, you may go through several editors, so make […]
If I had a second career, I suspect I would have been an editor. I learned very early on that editing is perhaps the most powerful tool in the film making process – that is of course after the freedom of imagination in the script process, the tyranny of budget and fallibility of human beings […]
This weekend I went to an Italian wedding with my other half Lucia. Not understanding a single word of the ceremony or speeches, I thought I would shoot an impromptu wedding video for the happy couple, Oreste and Sandrine. Realising I also had my iPad with me, I wondered, could I shoot, edit and present […]
So we are getting closer to our glitzy London based ‘Guerilla Film Makers Pocket Book’ book launch, and I thought I should bring you up to speed on some things that are going on and appearing on the web. First of, at the bottom of the page are links to buy the books direct from […]
Yesterday I met with my old pal and editor, Eddie Hamilton. Eddie cut ‘Gone Fishing’ (trailer here) for us and most recently (you can buy it here), he has spent 18 months working on Kick-Ass as one of the editors, alongside Jon Harris and double Oscar winner Pietro Scalia, who Eddie speaks about in this […]
I am just helping a good friend of mine complete his fourth feature film, Summer Scars, shot on DVCProHD Vericam. It looks terrific and it’s now a very tight drama, but two things have resonated while working through these final technical stages. First, Julian, the director, has worked his way through three editors in order […]
