Post Production- Editing Issues

 Editing isn't really easy in any sense, especially when you learn about what happened during my editing process. Firstly, the Chromebook that I was using to edit on Adobe Premiere Rush was very choppy and then it eventually stopped working. Then, I decided to go to the library to see if those computers ran Rush, but they couldn't even access it, so I was at a crossroads for a while. Next, the director of the movie asked if I could edit this movie the same way I did for the Chess Film, but that was on an entirely different computer. So, I was pretty stressed out. However, I began to edit some more after I got home again, and in due time, I was able to finish and produce the final cut for our film, Who Killed Henry?

Post Production - Scrapped Ideas

 As the time limit grew shorter and shorter, we realized that we added a lot of stuff, but we just wouldn't have time to implement some of it. Some ideas that I had, which I thought would be good were scrapped. One idea that I had was a news report that would go over some of the killer's victims and how they died, this would be in Henry's house near the end of Scene 2.

(still of David with green screen)

I thought that this would give a good recap of the killings to the viewers, however this was cut due to time.

Another idea that I had was that Henry's ID would fall out his pocket as he does a trick on his skateboard, but the ID would've had 'WHO KILLED HENRY' scribbled on it in capital letters. This was one of the reasons why I created the ID, however again due to time this was cut.

(ID Card)

Production - Acting

 Now,  unlike the editor, I have acted in our chess film before,however, not playing such a role as a slasher,so this was a new type of experience for me. Having to act as a killer is an interesting experience, because I had to wear a mask that I could barely breathe in, yet it was also fun, because it gave me a chance to see acting through a different lens, especially as more of an important role.

The inclusion of the mask only makes me play my part better though, as now I can be seen as mysterious/awkward with just that part to play. This gives me a huge advatage.

Production - Getting into Character

 Getting into character to become the killer is one thing, but acting as the killer in the shots is a whole 'nother story. It took me some time to actually get into character for this ruthless killer that I was supposed to be. I had to get into character, so I took some lessons from Art the Clown from the Terrifier series and took some weird poses and danced around with the mask on in order to get into character. I think this helped me immensely in getting more comfortable in my role. 

Production - The Editing Software

 The software that I am going to use for editing is called Adobe Premiere Rush. Rush is an editing software that I know how to use and am slightly familiar with. Some of the benefits of using rush include:

• Saving projects to cloud for easier access
• Quick video exporting speed
• Better pace for video controls
• Many audio editing features
• Audio library (for the sound-editor if he needs)

These are just a few reasons why Rush is such a useful software and the choice for editing our film.

Production - Character Portrayal

      Who Killed Henry? 

  "Who Killed Henry?" consists of three main characters throughout the whole film, excluding the minor character, who is a news anchor displaying the murders by this mysterious masked man.

(The Sickle Slasher)

Speaking of this mysterious man, who better to describe him than the actor himself.

The Sickle Slasher, adopts his name from the type of horror films that involve a serial killer with redeeming qualities such as a mask, being silent, and mysterious. Being shown as the first character in the film, it's important to make his mark as no-one knows his true intentions. His costume only contrasts his personal agenda, wearing a blue jacket/red hoodie, and rough jeans with the mask being the main component of his get-up.

(Henry Finch)

Our main protagonist, (whom the film is named after) Henry Finch, is an 11th grader in CSG Academy, always strolling by on his skateboard in rather baggy or flowy clothing. He's not as much the optimistic type, however, he's not always known to be negative. If his skateboard is never near him, he's most likely not there. Henry, knowing one of the victims present in the killing, decides to take matters into his own hands and investigate the premises of where the bodies been found.

(Eve Hayes)

The main victim in the film's opening is The Sickle Slasher's first onscreen kill as she's alone in the park as a random figure approaches her after they both step on a branch. Eve Hayes is a sophomore in high school, taking a relaxing day off at the park. Little does she know, this'll be her last park visit ever. She's seen wearing a blue baseball jersey, declaring her love for the sport.

Production - Improvising

  In the middle of our filming, we realized a huge problem. Our main actor portraying the role of the victim , wasn't present at all of filming. Due to this factor, we only had one option: improvise. However, in just little-short time, how would we ever finish film without a main actor. Luckily, our director was up for the task. In order to prepare her for the task at hand, we practiced all her shots and got in the right mind to play the role naturally. 

(Footage of our director)

Even though there were some difficulties, she did a great job especially in such short time we had to offer. All in all, we finished just in time for me to start editing.

Production - Red and Blue Flashes

 Taking place on Friday and Saturday, our filming location for majority of our film, had an excessive amount of police officers, especially on Saturday. This only began to show the downsides of filming at a park, especially at nightly occurrences. However, we must continue with our film, no matter the challenges ahead (which I assure you, plenty more came along). 

(Police surrounding the area as soon as we arrived)

 On Friday evening, we were in the process of filming when a police car with very bright lights pursued our filming shot, where it took at least 30 minutes for him to evacuate before we could continue. We had lost a great amount of time to film , as we had to make that time up the next day.

 However, to only make matters worse, Saturday would be even worse. We came into contact with 6 police cars surrounding the basketball court, which came from a threat being placed on the children inside. After this, a crazed man with a suitcase began coming towards our way cursing the police officers, and threatening to kill them.

(The man holding the suitcase)

All in all, those two days resulted in a bizarre occurrence in our filming process. Despite this, we would work through the struggles and get it done.

Pre-Production - Becoming the Killer

The Art of A Slasher

    `                Reminiscing on my last film where I was also a lead actor and an editor, I now still maintain both roles. However, with a new twist, I'm currently the antagonist of this horror/slasher film. In order for me to get a grasp of what this role has to offer, I studied the mannerisms of famous slashers from films and picked apart their best traits. The most influential slasher that I paid attention to was Michael Myers.

Michael Myers

The overall attitude of  Michael Myers is exactly what I'm going for as this character, The Sickle Slasher.

A mute personality whose main objective is to do nothing but be a perpetrator to those who stand in his way. Throughout the film, no dialogue of any sort is spoken by the Sickle Slasher, just as Michael Myers has little to no dialogue in the films he's featured in. Another form I look at well from Michael Myers is his costume that being a work jacket, which I've plastered over a hoodie to cover the head of our serial killer.

Michael Myers (Halloween Ends, 2022)

Michael Myers is also known for his figure standing at a whopping 6'7 and 325 pounds so his physique is un-natural, another reason as to why the role is perfect for me to work as a slasher. However, the only problem with the role would be the exclusion of weapons in the film, but with the creative genius of our director, we were able to allude to the death of a character without any murder on screen.

Pre-Production : Editing Chase Scenes

                                    An element that's sure to be apparent in any thriller/horror movie is a good chase scene, no matter the intensity of it. Some notorious chase scenes in horror films are Halloween, I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Shining, Texas Chainsaw Massacre. What purpose do chase scenes serve though, especially to the plot of a horror movie? Chase scenes create tension, action, and drama to a scene. So, how do I as an editor, edit our chase scenes to portray such tension? Well, to get a glimpse of what I wanted the film to be based on and the classic movie Halloween gives me a multitude of ideas to choose from. From the lighting to the focus on each shot, there's so much to inherit from this one clip.

Pre-Production - Color Grading

                 What makes a film highly watchable? Some could argue about the dialogue, lighting, and sound, but what I believe to be one of the most important factors of any film is its colors and how they're portrayed. The best example of this is color grading, which you will see a lot of in our film. Color grading can display the atmosphere of a movie/film without using any dialogue whatsoever, that being its best power. Films like Blade Runner 2049, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Twilight just to name a few, give excellent shares as to what magnificent color grading looks like. While all of these films are great in color grading, none of them are horror films or can be even registered as a thriller. So how do I use a technique that's notorious for high-pace action films and transfer it to a horror film? 

Film Riot - Color Grading in Horror

A tip from YouTube channel Film Riot, explains that using colors that aren't very saturated but have high contrast are very dependent in editing for films as such. Another element I'll try to produce in the opening is film grain. Film grain can give a better texture towards the film and can give it a much grittier feeling, which helps a lot in our films case.