While editing my 16mm workprint a couple weeks ago to project for a preview screening, I at first found it slow and challenging. It had been a while since I edited actual film with a razor blade and tape. Because of the time it takes to separate and string together shots, hang them on the wall, hand crank the reels, it can make for a different style of editing. Often times less cuts.
After I was all finished, I thought it might be an OK edit. I quickly edited together 18 minutes of my band's jam recordings mixed with some field recordings to play along with the footage, not in complete sync with the edit, as I had no way to sync them up. This audio-visual edit is basically a really rough edit of the beginning of my movie.
I had already done an edit of this section of the movie digitally, a more compicated edit. I thought it was going to be the better of the two. But after comparing them, I like the simple edit I did with my workprint way more, and the way the audio goes with it too. I was really surprised by this. It just feels fresher I think. It was less thought out, and I was under pressure to get it done quickly. So I'm now going back to my digital edit and conforming it to what I did with my workprint.
this project on fb: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hangs-Upon-Nothing-a-16mm-surf-film/246361802068338
