Broadcast Curse
- Apr 22, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: May 12, 2025
After Screamsaver didn't go ahead, I began searching for another project that needed an editor. I wanted to get practice on a larger piece of work before specialising in it for our grad film. Another classmate whose film was red-lit took the last available space on a project, so I resorted to asking people editing multiple films if they needed a hand. Rebecca Reid, the editor of our other film TWNG, was happy to co/assistant edit alongside me. Since joining the group, we have had weekly meetings on Tuesdays; however, overall, things are progressing more slowly, as the shooting window is scheduled for mid-April.
The primary concern at this pre-production stage is the script's length. Originally, much shorter as it was not finished, but the following drafts ended up being too long, raising concerns about how it could be cut down to 7 minutes while still flowing well. Rebecca and I brought this up with the group, and we managed to go from an 11 to an 8-page script, which, while not perfect, is better to work with. Having two minds behind the edit process, which will be on a tight schedule due to the fast-approaching deadline, will hopefully work to our advantage and reduce the stress that comes with picture locking.
The padlet also tracks our casting decisions, storyboards in the works and other useful documents:
Some shots from our test shoot:
There will also be quite a few VFX needed, which Dean and Ethan are practing with pre-shooting.
Shooting:
We had a pretty whole crew for our three shoot days (14th-16th). I was 1st and 2nd AC on Monday the 14th and also took on the DIT role. The set wasn't as organised as other projects I had helped on; however, we still made everything work as a team! The only small problems encountered were:
-The script/shot list was not being broken down into scenes properly, making it confusing when filling out the clapper and camera notes, so the edit could be as organised as possible. However, after raising this issue, it was quickly resolved.
-The miniature's head also didn't come off the body as we has hoped, this meant the origional idea of the head popping when injected with blood had to be imporvised and Flo who was the brilliant Art/Productiondesigner used a tool to saw hidden bits of the figure down so it the head could be removed easier.
-Black sheet to block out the window falling down sometimes.
Useful Documents:
Some photos behind the scenes:
Animatic:
Edit Process:
Rebecca began importing and syncing all of the footage. This took a while as the software kept crashing; however, after this was completed in two days, we got started with a rough cut. Using the script and animatic as guidance, Ethan, the director, provided us with notes for his vision. To 'try and keep things from Pheobe's perspective as much as possible.' Shot-wise, they aimed to capture coverage that showed when Phoebe was dissociating, feeling as though she wasn't even in the room with the others. Saving the close-ups and wider shots during the talks with Lindsay allows for a more experimental soundscape while she's disassociating, having more conventional coverage when Jane is there, and Phoebe is less in her own head. I was eager to work with the variation of slow-motion and VFX footage, as it was quite new to me, and I could learn a lot.
Overall, this edit also ran over the time we expected to have it completed by, taking about 8/9 days in total. Compared to Rebecca, my workflow tends to be more perfectionist, and I struggle to move on with simple, rough cuts of scenes. I'm working on this approach as every time I realise how much time gets wasted when trying to make things really good, as they often end up changing later down the line. Previously, the editing process has been a solo journey, so it was refreshing to experience this process more collaboratively, as it would be in the real industry, which often works with assistants. This made the experience much more enjoyable as you go less insane when you have someone to bounce ideas off with in a dark room, for the majority of the day. When one of us started to feel exhausted, we switched places, taking turns to use the software but collaborating on our cuts. There were many ideas Rebecca brought to the table that wouldn't have crossed my mind, which is what I found to be the best part. Each section shared our different ideas and wouldn't have been possible without each other.
The opening scene was the most time-consuming, being very dialogue-heavy, it took a few revisions to work around the shots that very often carried continuity issues in body language and props. Having more of an experimental approach, we easily found ways to work around it, with static interruptions becoming a motif. I really appreciated Ethan's feedback, as an editor, I feel as if I'm going blind to some of the footage after looking at it for so long. My favourite part to edit was the Ghostchase section. This also went through a lot of improvements. A bit frustratingly, on the day of picture lock, we were asked if it was possible to edit around the door Harold goes to open, due to it not being fully painted. This was quite difficult to work around, with the only solution being to change the dynamic and create artificial glitches/freezes with the VHS footage. This was pretty fun to work with and pretty believable considering our DoP Dean asked why the playback was weird. Since it ran over the sound design by a day, Zoe came in to watch the edit with a sound mindset, where she voiced a valuable point about the conversation feeling a bit repetitive. She suggested making the reasoning behind Phoebe's psyche more interpretative as the tense build-up deserved a better climax, which 'moving out of time' didn't suffice to.
The ending was the most challenging to work around, as the original intentions in the script were not filmed, it meant it was up to us to find a closing with the experimental footage. It felt quite overwhelming not knowing where to start, but after some advice from Susan, who suggested making two separate timelines of each dimension to interweave later, we got the ball rolling. Overall, I do agree that the biggest improvement for this film would be a clear link between the dimensions interacting with each other, but I'm super proud and impressed that this came together so beautifully in the end. I will never get over the rewarding feeling of how each tiny little cutting decision works together to craft a touching narrative.
Final Film: https://youtu.be/ygvJXavNpVQ?si=VuFwztcMgrfkbrib
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