Editing “An AI Story – To Be or Not to Be” is complete! Well, it feels like an editors job is never complete :-). Davinci Resolve (the Studio version) has been an amazing tool to work with that has allowed us to give the film a professional finish. We highly recommend this tool for aspiring editors. There is a free version for basic editing that anyone can install.
An AI Story – To Be or Not to Be was assembled from over 250 files with a total size of 117 GB, for only an 18 1/2 minute film. Davinci Resolve was able to handle all these files in a breeze.
First was all the sorting of files into folders, then syncing audio. After all the clips were edited and placed, LUTs (which stands for Look Up Tables) and color grading was applied. To read more about LUTs, check out this article. A number of special effects were also used, which were natively included with the Studio version of Davinci.
Audio was exported and the musical score created, then re-imported into the project.
The problem with being the producer, director, and editor, is that the project never seems completed. You notice the tiniest thing. What is funny is that upon questioning viewers, you find out they never took notice of that tiniest thing! Having multi-roles does have its advantages! You do not have to pay or wait for any revision, and you also get to experiment with different edits to see which best fits your vision of the film. However, downside is that you are prone to always tweaking! You finally reach (I assume) the point when you know it is time to stop… or you are simply forced to if you want your project to move forward! I believe in time one will learn to identify where that “sweet spot” is, and know when it is time to stop, whether you are simply an editor or taking on multiple roles.
I learned that by being the editor, especially on a first-time project, it can give you so much experience in unexpected areas. And you can apply that experience on your next production, even if you are not the editor on that production. It helps you to realize what changes in production equipment may be needed, changes in lighting, how many takes to create of a certain scene, and to help decide (if you are also the producer) how many days to invest into the shooting of the film. In addition, I discovered how the scheduling of the shooting day(s) can be very important. Are you providing enough space and scene interaction for the actor to fall into the character? Customizing the shooting script and scene order on a given day can can have an effect on an actor (or crew). It should not be handled in cookie cutter fashion.
I am not saying everyone should become an editor. It may not be your cup of tea and that is no problem at all! You could be spending the days and weeks on other creative endeavors. And if you do edit, it really opens up the radar to the entire scope of film production.