Although we are just 3 weeks into the new semester, I have absolutely started to notice some positive changes to the way I work.

Firstly, the way in which I organise my files has become much more considered.

I have always taken pride in being a neat person, and this holds true in my edits. However, in a studio consultation last semester, I remember an instance when I became extremely flustered because of the way I had organised my footage. When the Studio Leader asked me to show him a particular shot—which I knew I had seen the night before—I simply could not find it. Back then, I shrugged it off without a second thought, and associated it with my lack of sleep.

In our very first class this semester, Paul shared his concept of “red-face-rising,” and his story really reminded me of that miserable moment. In Deliberate Film, a lot of emphasis is placed on properly labelling and sorting our files; and understanding why we should organise things in certain ways.

With this newfound knowledge, I have become more methodical and considerably faster at editing. I am confident that—were I to experience the same situation again—I would be able to find a shot without needing to scrub through a mess of footage for ages.

Secondly, I have gotten into the practice of creating multiple versions of sequences while editing.

“If you ever get to a point where you think: “oh, I want to change something”—you duplicate the sequence and then you edit in a different version.” (Ritchard, P 2021)

Perhaps resulting from my time as a Promo Producer, I have only ever understood “versioning” as a process that is done upon the completion of an edit.

For example, different versions of this edit would be:
V1: Monday at 9.30pm
V2: Tomorrow at 9.30pm
V3: Today at 9.30pm
V4: Next up

However, this studio has taught me that “versioning” can also refer to an entirely different process that is done during the edit, and I have made a conscious effort to apply this method to my weekly edits.

“The beauty of this is that it gives you the bravery to change something.” (Ritchard, P 2021)

As Paul mentions above, this method of versioning allows us to be more flexible and less afraid to make changes to our edit, and I really wish I had known about this sooner.

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References

Ritchard, P 2021, ‘wk 1 Monday 1.30 / recording_1’, Blackboard Collaborate Recording, 1 March, RMIT University, Melbourne, Viewed 17 March 2021, <Link Here>

Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific 2017, ‘Discovery Channel – Carspotting‘, YouTube, 10 August, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, Singapore, Viewed 17 March 2021, <Link Here>

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