Melissa was in charge of the edit, but it was also crucial that I provided my input, as the director, so that what I wrote in the script translates well into the finished product.
I initially left her to her own devices to make the rough cut based on the script before I started to add my input to help her with the pacing and flow of the film. Here is the initial rough cut that Mel put together:
The main issue for me was that some of the shots drew out to be a lot longer than they needed to be, almost to the point that it feels uncomfortable. I felt that the build up lasted far too long, especially as Sheila is coming in to the building - the lack of music and dialogue accentuates this so I advised Mel to cut this first sequence down massively. We also agreed that the audio needed a lot of work, but that is something that will be perfected toward the latter end of the editing process. The surgery scene also needed a lot of work - this was largely my own fault on the day as we rushed shooting this scene and missed out on some crucial coverage of the blood splatter.
The overall sequencing was there, now it was a matter of condensing it down and ensuring that the editing works in favour of the tone instead of making the piece seem awkward, and not in a good way. This was the first rough cut, however, so I am not expecting perfection just yet.
The second rough cut featured the first version of the opening titles, which I am very happy with. The music fits the tone of the film very well and I am a big fan of cutting to the beat, so other than some minor adjustments, I am mostly happy with the titles. The pacing feels a lot better in this cut as well, since Mel has condensed the opening down a lot, so there are no uncomfortable pauses.
Mel and I both decided that in order to salvage the surgery scene, she could work on the sound design to give an idea of what is happening in the room without actually showing it. If executed well, this could even be more effective than showing the blood splatter itself. There was still a lot of work to be done here, as the blood splatter we did record looked very poor, it may even be better to rely entirely on the sound design rather than showing any of the blood until Dr Stewart leaves the room. With this feedback on board, Mel went on to the third rough cut:
This edit saw the addition of music to some of the scenes which really added a lot to the tone of the film. We also re-recorded 'the sniff' so that it lasts longer and feels a little more awkward for Sheila. I said previously that I did not want the film to feel awkward, but I feel the awkwardness is unnecessary for the consultation scene to show how ridiculous Sheila finds Dr Stewart's methods. For example, Sheila's long pause after Dr Stewart says he is going to sedate Coco works well to linger on her reaction as she is completely bewildered. My favourite addition to this cut was the louder 'thud' right at the end which cuts off the sombre music. Mel has timed this perfectly and I feel the dichotomy between the sadness of losing the dog and the complete disregard for Coco's body comes across as darkly funny. This edit also involves the credits, which I am happy with as well.
Simon also gave feedback on this cut. He liked the build up sequence as it felt very fitting to the style we wanted and he was happy with the overall pacing of the film. His primary concern was that the choice of shots did not feel like a fixed camera documentary as we had initially decided on. I agreed with this to an extent however I feel we needed to get more coverage than we would usually see on this sort of documentary series. Come Fly With Me also uses more diverse camera angles than we would expect on an actual documentary series, so this did not both me too much. This is certainly something to reflect on with regards to how we approached filming the mockumentary.
I gave Mel some final notes to improve on for the finished cut: The audio volume needs to be consistent, especially with dialogue, the timing of the music needs to be altered slightly so it comes in with the action, and I thought that some of the shots could linger for a little longer (such as the "these hands" line). Mel finalised the cut and Katie joined to help with the colour grading, as she was Director of Photography. As director, I also gave my input to the colouring. Here is the finished cut:
I am very pleased with how the edit has developed since the first rough cut. The timing works very nicely to create that darkly comic tone and it feels a lot more polished than before. In future, we certainly need to ensure we have as much coverage as possible, and when shooting, ensure that we remember the style of shooting we want to go for in order to ensure we are filming for the genre we want.
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