Could someone explain to my wife...

Daniel_Runyon

Daniel_Runyon

Well-known member
I've been editing footage of the most interesting 83 year old man, to sell locally in the upcoming arts and crafts fest, and I want it to be right. I've now been working on it for a couple of weeks, trying out different approaches, even scrapping and starting from scratch a couple of times (which is where I'm back to now), as it's some fairly difficult material to work with....I'm having to take out a lot of inconsequential rambling, and then trying to seam up the holes in as non-assuming o' manner as possible, and the moments just arent working together that well sometimes, so its taking a lot of trial and error.

Problem is, my wife thought it was fine on my first draft, but she just doesnt understand it like I do, she's just ready for me to be done with it and move on! But this DVD/VHS will be my first "announcement" to our fair town that I'm launching a videography business, and I want to put out the best first effort possible! Can some of you editors help her to understand the importance of sometimes needing to tweak 10 frames for 3 hours?

Gracias!
D. W. Runyon
 
In software business, we have a saying: 'Perfect is the enemy of good'.

Don't mean to play you down, and I think I understand your point, but you have to make sure that you know where to draw a line, and say "It's good enough".

Nothing is ever perfect, will never be.

Sorry if my reply is not what you're looking for.
 
Dear Wife-

I am no editor, but please understand there is great importance in the need to tweak ten frames for three hours.

Seriously, if its the first thing you will be showing as a calling card, if you will, you do want it to be as perfect as you can manage. As should all your work be for those who are willing to hire you. :)
 
You guys suck..

Dear Dan's Wife,

Your husband is in the process of launching a business. A business that will hopefully be both rewarding creatively and successful financially. This is his "debut" and, to a certain extent, his rewards, at least in the near term, will be based on it. So, you can either ***** and moan about his perfectly normal (albeit obsessive) entrepreneurial nature now and wind up with a husband who's become the fat, dumb loser your mother told you he was, shooting strange fetish porn just to put food on the table, or you can be patient with him and enjoy the fruits of his labor later - like the nice diamond tennis bracelet that he intends to give you on your anniversary in Paris....

Best regards,

Matthew J. Cherry
 
It shows who here has screenwriting skills... :thumbsup:

It's so tempting to retract my previous post! No wonder TV sucks - nobody has the time to spend three hours on ten frames (never mind the interlace. do I cut here, or 1/60th of a second later?)

Matt said it best.





Just don't try to make it perfect. :laugh:
 
Attention Daniels wife!

Look, you may not realized this but Daniel is doing this for you. You still want those diamonds earings and that new Lexus right? Well, let Daniel do his magic and soon you'll get those nice items because he'll be bring home the moolla! :thumbsup: :kiss: :thumbsup:
 
Dear Daniel's wife

I have been known to take the same aproach to my work as you husband. People may look at my work and say it's good enough, even brilliant...But I look at the same result and know that it's not all that it could be....There is more to be brought out of it. Each peice of my work is like a child. The child has to have ten fingers, ten toes, two eyes and evrything else that constitutes a healthy off spring. I will labor on that child until it is perfect. Then and only then will it make it's way into the world for others to see. I guess some of us are doting mothers to our work.

Mino
 
Ma'am, it's easy to view Daniel's attention to detail as obsessive or even overkill. To an outside observer, many forms of art can appear to be too focused on minutia. To the artist, however, these miniscule details are the difference between good and great.

The musician, Beck, has professed to spend several hours composing one measure of a song! That one measure -- that one frame -- can change the feel or direction of the piece and ultimately affect the effectiveness of the message.

As a relatively new editor, though, Daniel is also doing a great deal of experimentation. Over time he will gain a sense of what works and what doesn't. He will develop a style and workflow, transforming this seemingly painful process into the deliberate movements of a seasoned orchestra conductor.

Be patient. What you are witnessing is the growth of an artist. Nurture him as he nurtures his passion, and you both will share in the rewards.

~Paul
 
Dear Daniel's Wife,

Video editing is a time consuming, meticulous, and sometimes monotonous process. There are an infinite number of directions a story can go in with every cut. You've heard the saying that you can't rush perfection. Daniel is starting something new and wants to be sure to make the best impression he can. You'll just have to be patient with the process

Dear Daniel,

What the heck are you doing spending 3 hours on 10 frames!?!?!?!? Are you mad? Starting from scratch several times? Didn't you see this thing edited in your mind before you shot this project? Even Stanley Kubrik said, "Yeah, I better get this thing finished", for "Eyes Wide Shut"! If you can't fix 10 frames in 1 hour, you won't be able to fix them with 3 days! If the shot doesn't work, cut it out man. Focus on the core story you want to tell. Maybe bring in a fresh pair of eyes to take a look at the thing. Your wife might be right. The trash is piling up and the kids need to be fed.

This is all in jest of course. :) Only you will know when its right. Good luck.
 
Man, seriously, there is no way I could convey how much you guys helped, and we're talkin big difference made. I really do appreciate all of your responses, each one of them was a worthy POV. Course, now you've created another problem....

See, she's not at all into diamonds and cars, or any other material objects, but that caused her to give pause and think about what exactly she does want from me.....actually, she didnt have to think.....it came right on out! Man o man, its just like one of those games where the little heads are poppin out of the holes, and youre supposed to whack the **** out of em, but when you whack one real good, another is popping up on the other side!

Anyway, here is a little about the project, its my first time posting any grabs or whatever here, check it out....and truly sincere thank yous once again....I really wish you could understand how much of help this has actually been.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V3/showthread.php?p=179174#post179174

D. W. Runyon
 
My advice to YOU...is don't show her early drafts anymore. No one will understand a half-second trim between a first and second draft edit except for you. Sorry, but you're an obsessive-compulsive nutjob just like the rest of us...embrace it!

Don't show her early work next time, they'll always think it's great and won't understand why you need to continue fussing with it. If you don't show them anything until it's done, they will think you've just been working so hard on the whole thing...not frame trims, minor corrections and audio mixing.
 
Daniel_Runyon said:
...that caused her to give pause and think about what exactly she does want from me.....actually, she didnt have to think.....it came right on out!
Click to expand...
Dan, have you washed the dishes and taken the garbage out?

OR... is it:

Look, it's 1 am and I am going to bed. You've got five minutes, or you are moving out!
 
Well, I'm usually going till about 5am, but it is a bit closer to your second option, Jerry, though I'll never tell the whole deal...unless you can also explain how difficult it can be to just shift gears when your focus is so intensely on something!

J.....to tell you the truth, she can often be my best pair of extra eyes, she has often come up with well worth while solutions to editing problems, but generally on things that make bigger, more obvious difference as opposed to subtle cutting and tweaking. And since I have to edit at the foot of our bed it would be hard for her not to see it. She hears endless loops from a region I'm tweaking and after a hundred passes with subtle adjustments, all she knows is she's heard the same phrase over and over again. I really dont like working with headphones on, and often I'm working on a part that I cant mute the audio on, so to the untrained ear and eye, it just looks like nothing is being changed unless you sit up and really look at whats being done.

One thing she said though, is that she really understands that she doesnt understand, and she will accept that and let me tweak unhindered! It was really bothering me, because even when she wouldnt be there, i would feel this nagging sensation of needing to just wrap it up and get it done so she wouldnt freak out that I'm still at it.
 
Out of the box

Out of the box

Daniel-

You've been thinking about this all wrong. Next time you drag axle into bed at 2AM after a session with AncientCat, take her hand in yours, look deeply into her eyes, and say:

"Honey, I have a confession. I've actually been having an affair with that hot lonely Vietnamese 20-year-old a couple doors down. We do the nasty. Oh yeah. Every possible position you can think of. Whew! Well, I'm glad I got that off my chest."

She'll look at you stunned for a moment, then haul off and whack the side of your head, and say, "You filthy liar! You've been editing that movie again!"

Well, it was a thought, anyway.
 
Dear wife,

If you let Dan do his thing, he will be able to buy you new furniture, a car, and increase the funds of supporting your shopping cause of clothing and shoes.
 
speedbump said:
Daniel-

You've been thinking about this all wrong. Next time you drag axle into bed at 2AM after a session with AncientCat, take her hand in yours, look deeply into her eyes, and say:

"Honey, I have a confession. I've actually been having an affair with that hot lonely Vietnamese 20-year-old a couple doors down. We do the nasty. Oh yeah. Every possible position you can think of. Whew! Well, I'm glad I got that off my chest."

She'll look at you stunned for a moment, then haul off and whack the side of your head, and say, "You filthy liar! You've been editing that movie again!"

Well, it was a thought, anyway.
Click to expand...


Well, aside from the fact that our neighbor is a cattleman, it just might work!
While I'm on that bastard... nah...never mind. I dont want to get started on that.

Waverider....you musta missed my above post! She's not much of a shopper at all, unless it's fleamarkets and Salvation Army stores. But I do appreciate your sentiment, seriously.

D. W. Runyon
 
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