Tricks and treats (in editing!)

TRICK OR TREAT

    Editing, editing, editing… what a learning experience!! From the start to finish I was learning and adapting. Before beginning I chose to use the program HitFilm ( and as I mentioned previously on a blog) I ended up switching it up!! I ended up using CapCut to edit the film. And after a 5 or so hour editing session… I finished!! I think? So I have come with my final product- and my partner, Aden, is gonna go in and make some edits to wear he thinks is appropriate. This has honestly been a team effort throughout this entire project and I am so happy we are finishing off on that note as well!! 

    In my experience, editing was a lot of fun once I understood what I was doing. (Obviously…) It was crazy how many scenes we had to cut out after realizing that our film was actually around four minutes long…But!! We cut it down to a reasonable 2 minute length! Throughout editing I really knew that there was an understood importance based on how the scenes flowed together. 

    A few tricks that I found include overlaying the sound bit by bit to create more depth through the audio. Whether this included the soundtrack, foley, or background noise it was definitely important to the film. Another trick that I have found through the editing process is to make sure the videos do not have TOO much air time. I did this for a few reasons but mostly because at the end of the day not everything needs to be told to the audience or in this case shown. It is super important we follow the simple rule SHOW DON’T TELL and assume that some things are really implied! Another trick I found was that the transitions really can put together a film seamlessly. For instance, I used the dissolve twist for the peep hole to home shot (you’ll see in the film) and this really tied the two scenes together. Moreover, I absolutely adored how the cutaway shot we had planned seamlessly tied me walking back inside to the audience. It gave an extremely stalker vibe which I immensely enjoyed creating with my partner. I would say a big learning point in this experience was to not spend SO much time on what we need to be cut. Due to the factor if I had just watched the whole film opening sequence it would clear the the master walkthrough shot should be sped up and that some still shots were just NOT necessary at all. Overall, this whole experience taught me SO much about editing! I hope you enjoyed these editing tricks and treats!!