Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"This is the last roll, and the audio and video synchronization of the film has been processed." Ronald let out a sigh of relief.

After a day's rest, Ronald went back to the editing room to do more than ten days of synchronizing the sound and picture, and finally, together with two female colleagues, synchronized the 120,000-foot film and the tape.

Fortunately, the main shots of the whole film are shot on a single camera, so it is easier to find the board picture and sound.

Only that explosion shot was shot in two cameras. Synchronizing the film and sound was very troublesome, and Ronald had to get the help of two female assistants to get it done.

Senior editor Larry, who has been working on the editing machine with the two directors for several days, will start editing the film when the assistants have completed some of the audio and video synchronization.

Of course this is to save time, pipelining.

These days, Ronald has been seeing a few of them, on the other side of the room, operating the huge editing machine. It made my heart itch, and I really wanted to watch it.

Finally got a chance today.

Walking to the corner of the work of the two directors, only a rumbling noise was heard. An old-fashioned Moviola editing machine, like a heavy sewing machine, sits on the ground, with the rumbling sound of the gear drive and the crunch of the film, like a giant beast.

There were three people in front of them, discussing what to do. Alan, who is 2 meters tall, is standing in front of the machine, and Joe Dante talks to Alan while touching his hair. Editor Larry was waiting for their decision.

"Look at this shot for a different film." Allen instructed editor Larry.

Ronald stepped forward and helped Larry, the editor, move the film, learning to load the film and tape into the machine and snap the tenon. Director Allen flipped the switch to forward, then pressed a pedal.

"Boom rumble... Kala la la..." Sewing... The editing machine started, Ronald heard the sound of hitting the board, and Director Allen stared at a small piece of frosted glass above the machine, which was the projection of the film, also Only Alan and Joe Dante standing next to him can see clearly.

"The screen is so small that you can't see anything..." Ronald was a little dejected, and took a few steps back to watch them discuss. Occasionally continue to help carry film and tapes.

Director Alan stared at the frosted glass screen and pressed the stop pedal. Then open a hatch and make a mark on the film with a pen. "Come and see", got up and gave it to Joe Dante.

Joe Dante stepped forward, flipped the switch to reverse, reversed the film, flipped the switch upright, and pressed the start pedal.

"Crack!", Joe Dante also stepped on to stop. Open the hatch. Then he shook the handle, looked for a few squares back and forth, and saw the mark made by Allen.

This shows that the two of them have the same judgment, "Yes, I feel that this should also be cut here."

Editor Larry stepped forward, pulled a guillotine-like handle, and cut the film and tape with a clang.

"Ronald, put away the cut film and record the number." This is Joe Dante, teaching himself how to work again.

Ronald hurriedly stepped forward, carefully packed the cut film and recordings in a plastic bag, then took a large workbook on the table, wrote down the cut number, and placed the cut films and tapes in order. Put it in the archive box.

The film used for editing is specially printed by the laboratory, and each frame has a unique number. These cut films and audio tapes need to be carefully recorded and preserved.

The job of an editorial assistant is so tedious. Ronald can't see the image and wonder why the director made such a cut? Why cut the scissors here and not there?

He could only archive the clipped films, like a coroner.

After working for a few hours, it was quite boring, Ronald brought a newly bought Stanley brand stainless steel thermos,

I poured some pre-prepared hot black tea into the lid and drank it.

The scent of black tea attracted the two directors and editors, and everyone looked over. So Ronald went to get a few disposable paper cups, poured a cup for everyone, and everyone took the opportunity to sit down and rest.

"Ronald, how does your new job feel?" Joe Dante asked with a smile while drinking black tea.

"It's a bit mechanical, to be honest, and I don't quite understand editing yet."

"It's easy," Joe put down the cup, pulled Ronald to the Moviola () editor, "look here." Then he flipped the switch.

Ronald put his head forward, just in time to see the frosted glass on the observation window, reflecting the picture of the film, like a small TV. The synchronized sound is read by the magnetic head, converted into an electrical signal, and restored to sound in the speaker.

"Then here," Joe pointed Ronald to the stop pedal.

With a snap, the image on the frosted glass freezes.

Then Joe Dante opened a small window in the middle of the machine. "This is exactly the one you see on the frosted glass."

Ronald bent over to compare the two pictures and nodded his understanding.

Then you make a mark with a pen, and Joe pulls the guillotine and shows it to Ronald, "Just press it down, and the film will be cut off, and the audio tape here, too, will be cut in the same place."

"That's what you mean by synchronizing the sound and picture. When we edit, we only need to look at the picture, not the sound. Or vice versa."

Ronald nodded frequently, looked at the editing machine left and right, tried two more times, and reluctantly got off the machine.

This machine is very cleverly designed. People stand beside them, their eyes are right on the frosted glass, and there are two pedals for start and stop, which are similar to the accelerator and brake of a car.

"Cut off the piece, and then use the connector where you want to connect, you can already use it"

"The film numbers are recorded on both ends," says editor Larry.

Ronald hurriedly took the work notebook and went forward to copy the number.

After drinking black tea, director Allen, and editor Larry, plus Joe Dante, started editing again. The three continued to play the film back and forth, and then they negotiated a clipping point and cut it off for Ronald to come forward to record. Everyone gradually cooperated tacitly.

However, the efficiency of editing work has not increased much. Editing is a typical slow work and meticulous work. Every time a decision is made, it must be watched and discussed repeatedly.

Sometimes the parts that have been cut are found to be inappropriate later, and the cut clips must be taken out and connected, and then edited again.

At times like this, Ronald stepped forward, carefully removed the scotch tape on the editing point, consulted the work records, found the clipped clips, and then used scotch tape to restore the film and tape.

This was repeated over and over again. One day later, Allen cut more than 10 scenes.

Ronald calculated that a 90-minute feature film would take about 400 shots, so it would take a month to edit it, add the sound mix, and complete the editing of the entire film, which would take three months later.

Test screenings, replays, discussions, editing,  …

Day by day, the film is also formed day by day. At every editing point, the director strives for a natural transition.

This morning, it's almost time for lunch. The editing team finally got the shot that Ronald was in charge of shooting. Director Allen specially asked Ronald to come forward and learn how to find editing points.

"Once you start, just when you feel you need to cut a shot, hit the stop pedal. Don't think about anything else, just rely on your gut." Joe Dante began live teaching again.

Ronald rubbed his hands together and stood in front of the editor impatiently.

Looking at the frosted glass under observation, a relatively dim picture came into view.

This shot is of Liv and Kate, the two best friends who were punished by the principal's detention. The two comforted each other in the sunset and slowly walked towards the sunset.

Ronald remembered that this was the last shot he took. I was very proud of myself when I was shooting, and I thought about using the light. At first, the friendship between the two girlfriends was expressed with the positive light, and then the contour light was shot with the backlight.

Contour light, also called Jesus light, diffuses a golden light around a person's hair, and the shot is very poetic.

This is one of the best shots I've ever taken.

Played a few times before and after going up, Ronald was completely intoxicated by his footage. When I felt that the two of my best friends had walked for about the same time, I stepped on the stop pedal.

Then pick up the fountain pen and make a mark on the grid of film that stopped. Ronald stepped back, vacated the machine, and asked Director Allen to check it out.

Ellen came again. This shot is not difficult to edit, just leave enough time for the two of them to move forward under the sunset.

Stepping on the stop pedal, Alan also picked up the pen and made a mark. Then crank up the handle and start looking back and forth for the mark marked by Ronald. Very good, the director's selection of editing points is only ten frames away from his own, less than half a second. This shows that the two people's judgments on the editing points of the shots are basically the same.

Ronald was a little happy, and the first cut didn't seem to go wrong.

"Very good, Ronald, you do have some talent. Joe, come and see." Allen admired Ronald.

When it was Joe Dante's turn to look at it, he reversed the film and played it back, "Hey, this shot..."

"What's the matter, Joe? There's nothing wrong with Ronald's choice of editing points?" Ellen asked curiously.

"Tsk", Joe Dante rewinded the film a further distance, and then asked Allen to step forward. "Look from here."

"Well, there seems to be a problem, and you're right, Joe."

Allen called the editor Larry again, "Look at this part."

Ronald is a bit inexplicable. He didn't find any problems when he was shooting and setting out the film.

"Is there something wrong with my shooting? Did I wear it?" Ronald asked.

The shooting of low-cost movies is often in a hurry, and there are props, scenes, shooting and sample parts that are not found, and it is often found during editing.

Ronald was a little worried, not counting the scene he had dreamed of in his dream, among the shots he shot himself, this was the best shot he ever took. Could something go wrong? "

"It's not a gang, Ronald, come and see."

Larry, the editor, pulled him in front of the Moviola editor, and then went forward for a minute, "Did you play it all over from here, did you find the problem?"