Post-Production Commences

With filming done, we’re heading into post-production. Gilly (Editor) and I jumped straight into the editing process, piecing together the story. I already had a rough cut from watching the rushes after the shoot, and now Gilly had one too. It was really interesting to see how different they both were – kind of cool to compare and notice the choices we each made.

The critical screening gave us some excellent insight, the editor and I played both cuts: one that leaned on mid and wide shots, and the other focusing more on close-ups. When we did a screening, it was pretty clear the close-ups were the way to go. They really captured the actors' subtle reactions and got rid of the dead space in the wider shots.

A few things popped up during the screening, like the edges of the wallpaper showing, the lobster looking a bit too fake, and then some minor lighting issues towards the end of the scene. To fix this, Gilly and I decided to swap one of the close-up lobster shots for a wider shot of the basket on the table. The lobster is still there, but it’s out of focus, which helps steer attention away without cutting it completely. The editor worked both on the edit and the sound design, and each time I checked in, the film was making excellent progress.

Editing is a role I have had many times and it was hard to let someone else take the wheel but I had full faith in my editor and just checked in regularly to make sure everything was heading in the right direction. As a director, I wanted to make sure the final cut stayed true to my vision, but I also wanted to give the editor space to bring their own ideas to the table. Overall, the edit’s gone really smoothly, and I’m super happy with how it’s turning out. We’ve only got a few small tweaks left before it’s ready to send off to the gallery.