I finished Rough Cut 3! The intention was to get all the scenes in roughly good shape so that we can view the whole story. There are still some problematic scenes but I thought it was time to show the film to our Music Producer Carrie Higgs. So on the 12^th March, Carrie, Angela and I watched the whole thing through and made notes.

There were many notes. Boom in shot, unintended jump cut etc. Oddly, there was one shot where a very stark shadow of the entire crew passed straight across the frame as some car headlights move past yet I had not noticed a thing! Many notes but most can be fixed fairly easily. The sound needs attention and it needs colour grading but in general, the technical aspects are satisfactory.

However, this is just all the scenes strung together. I now need to think about pacing and narrative. Music will help as will better transitions scenes. At the moment I just have place holder shots of buildings. This coming weekend we have another screening with a bunch of non-combatants. Friends who aren’t involved in making films. So I’ll get more feedback on the shape of the film then.

Meanwhile I have contacted a professional editor to give advice and potentially take on the cutting of the problematic scenes. A fresh eye will be less attached to shots and dialogue and, as the film is currently just over two hours long, there may be scope for some fairly ruthless cutting.

I must admit that after getting to this stage I am a bit burnt out with editing and I am waiting for the feedback from the civilians and the professionals before making any big changes. While I wait I’m working my way through the notes that myself an Angela made, filming pickup shots and collecting additional B-Roll for transition scenes. Yesterday saw me standing about on the streets of Brighton for six hours getting shots of different tower blocks at different times of the day.

So, progress of a sort.