Directions | Development: Editing

I went straight into editing after wrapping with the shoot so I could have a rough cut ready for feedback with Simon and Mike Rymer.


I found it much easier to edit once I connected my laptop to a TV screen as I got a much better idea of how the finished product would look compared to a tiny window on my laptop; it also freed up space to edit on the timeline.

I filmed my scenes using both a DSLR and Sony EX cameras which could have caused me some issues with the video codec and rendering, however I avoided this on the shoot by ensuring both cameras were recording in the same format - 1080p at 25 frames per second - and I did not run into any problems in the edit.

I assembled about half of the footage onto the timeline.  The main point for improvement was the sound design, which I agreed with: since there was no dialogue other than the first few minutes, I needed to rely on the audio to build the atmosphere and tension as the drama would not come through any speaking.

I feel the pacing of the edit fits well, especially after Rick wakes up and sees the dead flowers - I am glad I drew focus toward them in the first scene so that when we see them again, we are aware that a lot of time has passed since Shane gave Rick the flowers.  I had some trouble with how I would place the latter scenes together due to the limitations we had with the second shooting location.  Despite this, I think that by bridging each scene with shots of walking down the corridor, the audience becomes aware that Rick has travelled through a lot of the hospital at this stage.

After my issues with audio in the story-telling unit, I had become used to using Adobe Audition, especially for capturing sound prints and removing audio.  This was a very useful feature for removing any unwanted background noise.  Since the first location was next to a road, this tool became essential for creating a post-apocalyptic atmosphere with no unnatural sound effects.  I also opted to add a fluorescent light buzzing wild track - we could not turn the lights off at the apartment block, so I made the most of it to appear as if the emergency generators have kicked in to illuminate the corridors.  Fade and gain envelopes were also vastly useful for editing individual audio clips.


I went into the edit trying to avoid the use of music, due to my desire to keep the the realism of the scene (even though this scene is from a show about zombies) but it became difficult to build atmosphere relying solely on diegetic sounds.  I found a royalty-free track at www.incompetech.com which fit very well with the tone of the scene and so I added it to the timeline to play once Rick finds the corpse and again when he discovers the undead clawing at the door.  This added a new layer of depth to the scene - Rick realises things were not normal when he sees he has grown a beard and the hospital is in disarray, but now he has found a corpse, the music triggers a deeper response as he discovers something truly dreadful has happened since he has been asleep.

I recorded a number of other sound effects myself and found some online as well.  The footsteps, some of the breathing, all the zombie sounds and generic movement noises were recorded by me, whilst the music, fluorescent light buzz and the hospital wild tracks were from the internet, whilst the dialogue, some more of the breathing and some more wild tracks were recorded on the day of the shoot.

I made extensive use of the FFT filter tool on Adobe Audition to muffle some of the dialogue, and the zombie grunts and groans.  This worked in two ways: the first instance, combined with the high-pitched generated tone, gives the impression of being dazed and confused as Rick is recovering from a gunshot wound; the second instance worked as the zombies were positioned behind a door which made it seem as though they were making those noises behind the door.

Mike Rymer suggested that I adjust some of the colour grading to make use of the lights we had available, as opposed to forcefully hiding the fact that unnatural lighting is used throughout.  Therefore I brightened and increased the exposure and contrast of the bathroom scene combined with the fluorescent light buzz track to harness the lighting rather than trying to hide it.

I also tweaked the colours on the scenes filmed in the apartment block so that the lighting looked like fluorescent lights and not tungsten as they actually were.  This turned out quite well in my opinion.

Still on the topic of grading, I upped the contrast, exposure, brightness and saturation of the first scene so that the contrast between the dream sequence and reality was much more distinct, giving the first scene an almost surreal feel to it.  I was inspired by Marc Munden in this scene for his use of bright and vibrant colours to emphasise the mood of his scenes.  Whilst his work tends to focus on expressionist themes, I did not want to deter too much from reality and so I kept the colours somewhat realistic so we are still aware this is not happening in the same instance as the rest of the sequence whilst not being too over-the-top.

 Overall, I am very happy with how the edit has turned out compared to my feelings at the start of the edit.  I initially was disheartened by the lack of depth and atmosphere, especially in the latter scenes in the apartment block, yet once the sound design and colour grading was complete, I was able to properly establish the mood of the scene and I am proud of the finished product.