blueteamnovel Chapter 9 Editing and Final Cut
Chapter 9 Editing and Final Cut
After confirming the materials, they did not stay in Zigong that night.
After quickly packing up their equipment and saying goodbye to the middle-aged man in the yard, the four of them headed to the station with their gear and bought tickets for the earliest train.
There were no celebrations or much conversation along the way.
Aside from the fatigue from these past few days of intense work and the need for rest, I'm just waiting to go back and review the footage for post-production.
The early morning bus is a bit quieter, with occasional yawns heard throughout.
The fat man fell asleep shortly after sitting down, his head nodding off.
Not long after, Jin Kai and Li Li also fell asleep.
Lin Ruiyang didn't sleep. He leaned against the window, watching the rising sun outside, a sun that mirrored his current state of mind.
As parents, who wouldn't want their child to grow up smoothly and be loved by others? This is his first real work.
The scene from that video played in his mind over and over again, like a slideshow.
Only by reviewing the footage after it's actually finished can you truly understand that what you feel while shooting is one thing, and what actually ends up on the screen is quite another.
The next afternoon, the group returned to the school and went straight to the equipment room to register and return the equipment. Then they took the DV camera into the editing room.
The school still has those old-fashioned non-linear editing computer labs, the lights are a bit dim, the machines are lined up in rows, and the fans are making a low whirring sound.
When the screen lit up, everyone's attention immediately went into focus.
"Collect first."
Jin Kai sat in front of the machine, skillfully pushing the tape into the machine and pressing play.
The image did not appear on the screen immediately; the signal slowly returned after a few seconds.
A capture window popped up on the computer, playing and recording simultaneously, and the progress bar started moving forward at a snail's pace.
Due to limitations, the time recorded on the tape had to be actually played through.
No one spoke during this time, and no one wanted to go back to the dormitory to rest, since they had slept enough on the bus. Everyone stared at the slowly moving progress bar.
The fat man beside him couldn't help but lower his voice: "How much longer?"
"We'll enter the film as soon as it's been shot," Li Li replied.
The fat man opened his mouth, glanced at the three people patiently waiting beside him, and then said nothing more.
Nearly half an hour had passed since the first batch of scallops was harvested. Then the second batch began, with the same process and the same waiting.
The school's old machines occasionally lag, with slight frame skipping, but they recover quickly.
In situations like this, all you can do is wait. There's no use in being anxious. Non-professionals can only take good care of all the machines and pray that they don't break down.
After importing all the footage, Jin Kai laid out the timeline. Two long takes lay neatly on the track, ready to be arranged.
"Read it once first."
He pressed play, and the video started to move.
The courtyard, the old lady, the people coming and going—everything was proceeding according to plan. Lin Ruiyang stared at the screen, his mind automatically breaking down each step.
The part where the leader entered to offer his condolences was fine, and the reporter's voice was clearly audible, but the background noise was louder than expected...
After the nineteen-minute video finished, Jin Kai turned to look at him: "What did you think?"
Lin Ruiyang didn't rush to answer, but dragged the progress bar back to the beginning and played it again.
After watching it a second time, he finally spoke: "The sound needs to be reprocessed. The background noise is too loud, and the chanting part needs to have variations in distance."
Li Li chimed in from the side, "Okay, I'll take care of it later."
"Where's the footage?" Jin Kai continued to ask.
"The color correction needs to be darkened a bit more; the light in the courtyard is still a little too bright."
Jin Kai didn't respond; he immediately started making adjustments.
Lin Ruiyang moved a chair over and sat down next to him, watching.
Color grading, audio editing, adding subtitles—each step was meticulous work. Jin Kai and Li Li took turns working on it, while Lin Ruiyang oversaw the process.
The fat guy felt he couldn't help, so he went to the cafeteria to buy food, packed it up, and the four of them ate a meal together in the editing room.
Around 11 p.m., the first draft of the film was finally exported.
"Let's put it out and see."
The screen lit up again. This time, they weren't just looking at the footage technically, but rather evaluating it as a complete film.
The voices arrive first, followed by the visuals; the camera remains stationary, and the space is gradually filled.
The first person came in, the second followed, and the voices began to pile up.
The short film has no background music, making everything seem a bit dry, but that also makes it seem more real.
The camera paused on the spot where the last flame had died down. Li Li took off his headphones, frowned, and thought for a moment:
"I feel like I can lower my voice a bit more; the midrange is a bit too high."
Jin Kai nodded: "The rhythm is right."
He said this with great certainty.
This video was filmed without interruption from beginning to end. Even though there were minor flaws in the middle, it was filmed in one go.
"That's fine," Lin Ruiyang said.
"Let's add the background and photos of the accident scene, as well as the previously recorded news report, along with the sound effects of the rescue vehicle."
"OK."
"Once you're done, export it. Thank you everyone for your hard work."
The following morning, in the school's screening room.
Liu Yibing sat in the middle of the first row, watching the film "Condolences" that was being shown.
Lin Ruiyang and the fat man sat upright, acting as his left and right protectors, glancing at their boss's expression every now and then.
After the film finished, Liu Yibing didn't comment; he seemed to be sitting there savoring or pondering something.
The fat man couldn't sit still any longer. He secretly glanced at Liu Yibing, then looked at Lin Ruiyang, his eyes filled with "What exactly does this old man mean?"
Lin Ruiyang ignored him and continued to wait.
"I think the film was pretty good after watching it," Liu Yibing finally spoke, taking off his reading glasses. "But you know the pros and cons of this type of film yourself, so I won't go into that."
"There are a few more things I need to tell you."
He stood up and gestured for Lin Ruiyang to follow him to the office next door.
"The copyright of films funded by school projects definitely needs to be divided."
Liu Yibing took out an agreement, which was titled "Copyright Ownership Agreement for Creative Works by Students of Yanjing Film Academy".
"Take a look at point five."
Lin Ruiyang turned to Article 5—When the school's funding does not exceed 70% of the total budget, copyright is shared proportionally. The school enjoys a non-exclusive right to use the work, while the author enjoys the right of attribution and priority use.
"According to the agreement, including your directing and screenwriting contributions, the copyright will be split 50/50 between the school and you. In other words, whatever revenue the film generates, the school will take half, and the rest is yours."
Lin Ruiyang read the agreement from beginning to end, and after confirming that there were no problems, he picked up a pen and signed it.
"There's one more thing."
"You'd better register a studio, and then do everything under the studio's name. That will be more convenient."
"Okay, I'll fill out the form and go through the process in a bit."
After saying that, Lin Ruiyang was about to leave when Liu Yibing called him back:
"One last thing, remember to add the Department of Literature and your studio to the production company list, and remind Li Ming that you two need to attend class on time tomorrow."