Chapter 18： Post-production

How important is the post-production of a film? It can almost be said to be equivalent to the second creation.

Frame-by-frame editing, soundtracking, editing, color grading, and then slowly a complete work can be achieved.

This also means that it will be a work that requires a lot of patience. After all, the more than 1,200 minutes of material that has been shot must be selected and assembled, and then compiled into a film with a smooth plot of nearly 90 minutes. not easy.

Different lens collocations, length of time, etc., the resulting movie effects are completely different.

A mediocre film, with superb editing, may become ups and downs and fascinating, and conversely, a good film may be ruined by a bad editing.

For example, a later film "Watchmen", in the hands of Director Zha and in the hands of Warner, is basically two stories.

I don't know which editor said this: Editing is the rhythm of a movie, and it also determines what kind of viewing experience the movie will bring to the audience.

So the general post-production work is very tedious. The more you come up with the best results, the more time, energy and thought you need to spend.

Small-budget one-man films like Buried Alive are not as complicated as blockbusters, but they are by no means easy.

It's a headache just to choose and choose good materials and combine them into a movie.

In order not to suffer alone, Lyman also brought in Ryan and Thomas, and the three of them worked together in the later stage.

After they dealt with the problem of the shooting equipment, they went around and settled the leasing of the post-production studio.

In the original studio invested by Huyou, the three of them went to see it in person. All kinds of equipment were readily available in it, which fully met the editing needs of the movie. Therefore, after repeated discussions with the person in charge, the price was 20,000 yuan per month. The price in euros, rent for a month.

Such a price is not cheap, and of course it is not expensive. It's just so-so. After all, none of the three of them have acquaintances here, so they can't be of much help.

After the two parties signed the formal lease contract the next day, Lyman, Ryan, and Thomas, who was willing to act as assistants, brought a large amount of film material and directly moved into the editing studio. Anyway, the right to use the next month was with them. In his hand, the space inside is enough for three big men to play the sleeper.

......

In the editing room, there was chaos. Three people sat around the editor and expressed their opinions.

"It should be cut here!" Thomas said more and more since he joined this small gang.

"Go! I think this long shot is great. I shot it several times that day. Now you say you want to cut it, no, stay." Ryan also has a film major and has his own With a set of opinions, he said, he looked at Lyman again, "You said, should you stay?"

"This long shot is simply slowing down the rhythm of the film. Are we making a thriller film? Of course, we have to take care of the entire film atmosphere! It must be cut." Thomas said plausibly, "Lyman, I said right?"

"Thomas is right. This clip is not suitable. It was cut." Both eyes were fixed on Lyman, but he still followed the best editing style of the film and chose Thomas.

Friends are friends, and movies are movies. These are two different things.

Does any story have to have a main line? The film "Buried Alive" is very simple and crisp, and it is cut around the changes in the psychological journey of the protagonist Paul. The long shot just now was very cool and tortured, but it was really not a good one. The choice is a bit inconsistent with the overall rhythm of the film.

After all, Lyman manipulated the editor to cut this long shot.

When Thomas saw that his ideas were followed by Lehman, he was even more proud.

Ryan, who was next to him, couldn't stand it any longer. He hurried down the mountain and hugged Thomas. While hugging him vigorously, he thought to himself, "Let you be skinned!"

Ping Pong Pong.

Lehman sat safely in his seat, staring at the shooting material, debugging the most reasonable match, without even looking at these two live treasures.

These days, he's used to the two being noisy.

The progress of the editing work was much slower than the filming. Even though it was only the first round of rough cuts, Lehmann seemed very serious.

After repeated comparisons, assembling, and after a day, it is impossible to determine the scene of a few minutes.

He is very careful in this regard, and he is more careful than when shooting. The closer he is to the final film, the more careful he is.

As the editing passed the boring early stage, Lehman also adapted to this rhythm, and the coordination of the three also entered a good state.

They can always find the most suitable editing point in a mess of shots, and turn the shooting material into a picture in their minds.

In order to complete it as soon as possible, the three of them simply ate and lived in the studio. Every meal time, they would ask Thomas or Ryan to buy some food and solve their physical needs.

Every day, in addition to processing the material, it is the processing of the camera, and any other leisure activities, all of which are rejected. Even Ryan, a person who pays attention to appearance, has suffered from dark circles under his eyes, not to mention Thomas and Lyman, who are also devastated. look.

The time was approaching mid-August, and the three finally got the editing work done.

"Buried Alive" went through the first cut, the second cut, the fine cut and the final round of comprehensive cutting. After four processes, the film's duration was strictly controlled to 90 minutes, and the plot was smooth, the rhythm was clear, and the atmosphere was suitable.

The dubbing work is due to the better sound quality, so there is no need to ask Heath Ledger to re-dub the dubbing in the later stage. Therefore, after all this, the post-production work of this film has also reached the end, and only the final soundtrack work is left. not complete.

Nowadays, basically every movie needs background music to set off the atmosphere of the plot and create the feeling that the movie needs, and "Buried Alive" is no exception. Lehman had no money and no way to find someone to make original soundtracks, so he had to choose a few songs that were suitable for the scene, and after paying a certain copyright fee, he successfully obtained the permission to use it.

These soundtracks are all based on the thriller genre, and they will appear to promote the atmosphere when Paul panics to the point of hitting his head on the top, calling people everywhere for help, and finally accepting the reality and desperately desperate.

The 450,000 euros have basically been used up, and there are still about 10,000 left. Lehman didn't have the money to hire a professional sound editor, and the three of the gang came up with a solution, and it took another 4 days to solve it.

"Lyman, isn't the transition of the soundtrack a bit abrupt here?" Ryan frowned suspiciously.

"The voice gradually becomes better from small." Thomas also said.

"The low-level three-second prelude, followed by the expansion of the soundtrack." Lyman pondered, "Let's try this first."

He put on the headset, and slowly reduced the prelude of the inserted soundtrack, and then gradually expanded after three seconds.

Since the three of them are novices in terms of sound effects, they are often prone to mistakes.

However, this movie doesn't use sound effects frequently, and after rounds of changes, it was barely completed.

After nearly a month of intense work, the film "Buried Alive" was finally completed. It's slow, but it's worth it.

When Lyman, Ryan, and Thomas walked out of the editing room, they were exhausted, their faces were still shiny, and they felt uncomfortable. But his heart was extremely excited.

This is their first completed work, and after watching the entire finished film, there is an extraordinary sense of accomplishment that lingers in my mind.

When the three of them first saw the film, they were excited because the film was beyond their expectations.

There is a feeling of setting a record and becoming popular all over the world. Then there is the Oscar, the punch in Cannes, the kick in Venice, and the international awards all over the world make way for "Buried Alive".

However, as soon as they came out of the nest, they were exposed to the sun, which awakened their sweet dream.

"Hey, I'm going back first. We'll be gathering in a few days. I'm like this, and I won't be able to come back after three or five days." The first person to speak was Ryan. The two rough men cherished their faces even more.

"I also have to go back. I don't have much money on me, so I went back to my dad to get some moreThomas stood outside the editing room and also expressed his difficulties.

After two months of running around and working hard, I haven't received a single penny of wages. Sometimes, I have to help me with the money.

Just like when he brought meals back on weekdays, the money Lehmann gave was really not enough for a better meal, so he paid for it himself to make the food more plentiful, so that everyone would have a better appetite and be more motivated to work.

He said this, and immediately made Lehman embarrassed. He originally said that if he did a good job, he would be given a corresponding salary. As a result, after so many days, the budget was really tight, and he wanted to give him a little more money. S-Ledger, the star, didn't even mention it.

But who is Leiman? He immediately responded: "If the movie makes money, I will keep it for you. Follow me, and I will definitely not let you suffer."

Empty words without prospects, come with your mouth open.

"Well, it will take about three or four days for me to go back this time. When that time comes, I will be here." Thomas looked at Lyman seriously and said, "I want to continue to follow you, okay?"

"No problem, I'll be waiting for you here. When the time comes, let's go to the distribution company to release our movie." Lyman patted his chest and agreed.

In this way, under a big sun, the three of them completed the agreement.

Afterwards, Ryan went back to his house, Thomas went north to Paris, and Lehmann also went back to his nest to take a good rest.

The intensive work for a month has made one’s head grow, and the sense of urgency under pressure, being able to sleep well is a luxury.

Now that all the post-production work of "Buried Alive" is done, it makes people feel relaxed.

Lying on the comfortable bed, after a while, he fell asleep and played chess with some god.