Indeed, a project that sparked the joy of editing. Using the film language of the 1950s era movies was such a freeing self-imposed restriction. Jump cuts seemed out of place, fast paced cuts became a disservice to the overall story, though longshots and single takes were encouraged.
Nourhan Othman and I have been good friends for nearly a decade. This project arrived on the back of a previous project we worked on, a music video for the band Sons of July. That was a test run to see if we could work remotely. Nourhan being based in Canada, and the editing happening in Jordan, had wanted to see if it was possible to work efficiently and effectively from thousands of miles apart. Suffice to say we both were happy with the experience, learning new ways to save time and money when it comes to a remote post production work.
This project, Fall Asleep by artist Leila Milki, was the reward to our successful test run. Using Zoom to get on calls and edit remotely allowed the director to “be in the edit bay” while we tried out different cuts and transitions.
IF YOU COULD FIND A FRAME THAT EXPLAINS YOUR STORY…
If a director or cinematographer can visually explain their film through a single still, and better yet a motion picture captured in a single shot, then this is the essence of the visual art of filmmaking. I fought very hard to keep this transition and shot sequence together. To some this may seem like a random superimposed image of two or three people, but after watching the video and the progression of the story with its characters, then this image becomes more meaningful.
The main character (beautifully performed by Kristen Rizzom on the left of the frame) is struggling and trying her best in order to live up to expectations, even with the help of others. Her manager, (played brilliantly by Christopher Diviera) walked away from her armed cross as the cross dissolve continues symbolizing the passage of time, and he fades away behind her expressing the disconnected and disjointed nature of their partnership.
POST PRODUCTION
After having added a sophisticated editing bay in the software back in version 15, Blackmagic had taken leaps and strides in refining their tools and adding amazing features for both the solo YouTube video editor, all the way to the professional Hollywood film editor. After focusing on making a good and stable software, Blackmagic focused on listening to their audience and applying features that both editors and colorist feel they need in order to speed up their ever demanding workflow.
MATCHING REFERENCES
In Blackmagic Davinci Resolve 17, the addition of the Davinci Wide Gamut and Generation 5 Color Science allowed for seamless future proofing of the project. Not only was the project future proofed, but the new functions dedicated in the new HDR Pallet came in handy when bringing down highlights that seemed to clip in the RAW files, which subsequently allowed for a more ‘filmic’ roll-off of the highlights.
Using the refences and the stills function in the color page allowed for the importing of references that director Nourhan Othman had picked out. Then, brining up those references side by side with the original camera negatives in order to match the contrast ratio and tones to a near 1:1 match.
CREATIVE COLOR PASS
Saving multiple local grades allowed for creative freedom when it came to color grading. Despite the art direction, the original camera negative lent itself brilliantly to a breathtaking color pallet that accentuated the story.
Blackmagic Davinci Resolve 17 allowed for (at a click of a button no less), easily switching between the colored grade and the black & white grade. Nourhan had decided to stay with the black and white grade in order to keep true to her initial vision, and it definitely helps set the story in its time in conjunction with the music.
Though, seamlessly being able to create a new local grade version and just try a color grade seemed like a creative exercise in free expression rather than a waste of time.