Ready for the ediT

Since I'm finishing edit preparations and start on that tomorrow I've set a few rules for myself in regard to the workflow...

MUSIC IS LAW: Since teh epic genius that Endika is created the music I know that in its natural state the music will contain the purest form of the narrative so I will follow it as my editing/pacing roadmap... he is going to give me pieces of music with accompanying text files that notate what event in the film happens where for each piece of music... So when I start a sequence I will first sync all these moments with the appropriate clips and then go from there...

LESS IS MOAR: There is 3 hours and 25 minutes of "raw footage" so I have to cut a TON to get it down to 2 hours... my instinct is always to let things breathe more BUT I will have a different strategy on this film... I will let the breathier longer cut be used for the "directors cut" type deal on the dvd while the quicker paced one will be used for general release... After sitting in with an audience watching WATS a few times AND doing a lot of live/improv electronic music on my own lately I think I have a better feel for pacing when it comes to producing things for an audience in a physical place...

BE CREATIVE BEFORE MAKING ANEW: Since its all 3d...if I get an idea for a new shot while editing I could just go and animate/render/comp it and bring it into the edit..BUT I want to treat this like a live action shoot..MANY great films have been cut together without the need for re-shoots etc so I want to really fully exploit and explore what I have before doing any "re-shoots"

WHEN IN DOUBT CUT IT OUT: If something doesn't push the narrative forward or do something interesting for the story then I will cut it out... I have to remember that a film isn't a bunch of cool shots that I made... it's a trim and fit living thing in its healthy state so I need to get rid of the excess baggage.... its like if you were going on a long trip... you wouldn't bring all kinds of extra shiny stuff just because it looked tite... Well you could BUT it would weight you down on your journey...

DETACH FROM PRODUCTION: I need to forget about how difficult some shots were or how awesome I think they look or how much time I spent on them...  I need to think like an editor that's NOT trying to boost my own ego... I also need to remember that the viewer only knows what's on screen so if there are back-stories or things I want them to know about a character it better be in the cut!

VEER FROM THE PATH IF I FIND A BETTER WAY: Since everything has followed the script/storyboard/animatic there is a defined path... BUT if I discover a better way to sequence the shots I will go with it...

GO WITH THE FLOW: The music will provide me with a rhythm and a path... the dialog also has its own rhythm as does the cinematography... as does the narrative... my job is to get THEM ALL IN SYNCBrought to you by professional weirdo M dot Strange.