editing Cutting your my favorite parts?

R

RED ROBOT

Alright guys I really really need your advice for this one.


I've been shooting my a bit bigger short film which I planned to be about 12 minutes long . The opening sequence was a huge robbery but I thought to make the robbery reveal itself as the film goes on so I can constantly mix different emotions like intense and action and slow building and suspense .


I've spend a lot of time shooting , making the right lighting for some pretty slow scenes . Even with not the greatest lens they look absolutely fantastic .

I wanted these slow scenes because they build up to a twist at the end of the movie . The problem is that I am not sure that Youtube audience will stay till the end of the movie just for the twist if it's so slow.

I know you guys will tell me '' just make everything exciting '' . I know but it's not so easy especially on 3 people crew.

Do you think I should make the movie a bit slow so the twist at the end will work great or shall I have the robbery scene and then get to the twist faster .

People are still going to get what's going on even if I cut huge part of those shots it's just not going to be as impactful ,but I am afraid that if I don't remove all these parts people are just gonna click away or skip through the movie missing the whole point.

I love those shots , they look great , however I don't think it will work with so little money.

Thanks in advance!

P.S . I am not sure if the word impactful actually exists :O :D

P.S 2 . I'm gonna share a little bit of the plot so you guys will have some idea .

Let's say it's like Fight club . ( spoiler alert for everyone who haven't seen Fight Club ) . And these 2 guys robber a bank , but at the end the guy realize that he was on his own .

I don't know if I should have shots like him eating and reading a newspaper where he reads about a guy who take over the bank etc . And then shots of him in the shower thinking about it and slowly getting the pieces together .

OR to just have him go home and then go in front of the TV and sees a news report where they show his picture and he realizes that he is crazy.

I made the plot up , it's not the same one but you get the point . I know it is better with the build up but audience is still going to get the point without the slow scenes , but it won't be as powerful at that point .

PS.3 Cutting your my favorite parts? This is the stupidest thing I've ever written.
 
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Firstly your short sounds great.

It sounds like the type of short/story that could do well at festivals. They are filled with very slow moving shorts. A well-shot and well-edited action one would make the judges sit up, and get their attention.

For the big festivals, most require that the short not be posted on youtube etc...

Anyway, you said your audience was youtube so let's go with that.

To keep the youtube-generation interested, I'd hit them with an action scene flash forward/back in the first 10 seconds, maybe even immediately. Show it for a few seconds then fast cut away. To something else, maybe a chase or slower scene. Keep with that scene then smash cut back to the action scene again... That should hook them. Now let your story unfold.

The key is: the audience will keep watching because something as exciting as hell is going to happen.

The movie Limitless used a similar technique. They started with a flashforward to a seriously high adrenalin scene (near the movie's end) that had Bradley Cooper in what looked like an impossible to win situation. Then cut to present day and let the story unfold. The flashforward was great - you had to keep watching, how the hell was Bradley Cooper's character going to get out of that situation????
 
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Do two very rough cuts. One how you originally thought of it, then one that has less of the slow stuff.

You may even look at having someone else edit it for you. This way you have someone coming in with a fresh perspective. They are not invested in any of the shots, and can just focus on making the best cut.
 
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P.S . I am not sure if the word impactful actually exists :O
Click to expand...

impactful
/imˈpaktfəl/
Adjective
Having a major impact or effect: "an eye-catching and impactful design".

If you can take a part out of the film, and the film's message and mood do not change, take it out.

Keep the audience interested. From the start, there should be something that makes them want to keep watching. Not necessarily action, but something to get the audience curious about the film.

Good luck! :cool:
 
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Suppose you hire an editor and see what they come up with.
Hell, someone here could probably give it a try for you if you mail them the footage.

There's no telling what a fresh pair of eyes might find in your work
 
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When you say it's slow it sounds like it could be a bad thing? Does it have to be slow? Or is not really slow, but slow to viewers with just lower attention spans? You ask if you should cut to the twist faster. That implies to me that their is unnecessary fat to trim off. Maybe trimming here and there will be a good thing, even though the film could be shorter than 12 minutes. Unless I am misunderstanding. I wouldn't show him eating or in the shower any longer than it has to be to make sense and establish things.
 
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