THE IMPORTANCE OF POST. Francis Ford Coppola said that you make a movie three times – when you write it, when you shoot it, and when you edit it. I have talked about writing and shooting before – now let’s consider editing.

One of the disconcerting things I felt at the end of our shoot was, even though we had the movie in the can, we were a long way from having a movie. Editing or post is the final gatekeeper, the final passageway to go through before you have a presentable movie. It almost seems unfair, to have already worked so hard on the script, and on production, and now to have to go through yet another challenging creative process. One might argue that it’s the most important of the three, because the edited film is what the audience will actually see.

With this in mind, it is very important to pace oneself, both getting to post, and in post. It is all too easy to arrive at the end of the production, feeling that you’ve reached the finish line, and to be exhausted, drained of creative energy or motivation. If this is your attitude, editing will be an unwelcome obligation.

Just as important is to prudently marshall your budget so that post is not shortchanged. I used to hate the word prudent. It called to mind someone’s grandmother, telling them to save their pennies. Whatever word you use, guard your post budget like a lion. It is all too common for productions to steal from the post budget to finish shooting, and then in post your hands are heartbreakingly tied.

With The Prankster, we were pretty good about preserving our post budget, but did have to sacrifice some of the big ticket soundtrack songs we had in mind. It turned out that even moderately popular songs might cost 50K for a usage! Instead, we were able to source music from talented but largely unknown groups, for a very reasonable fee. The music works great in the finished film, and our audience won’t miss the big name songs. When you think about it, Hollywood’s formulaic use of popular songs seems almost a hedge against failure. It’s as if they think that throwing in a bunch of pop songs will make the movie more appealing, even if the story sucks.

Anyhow, you want to have sufficient time and budget to do a great job posting your film, so conserve your budget and pace yourself. Another big problem for impatient filmmakers is to want to get to the finish line. Another case of being more concerned with the anticipated glory, rather than the grit of the process.

Dig this – one day, before you know it, the film you are working on will be a distant memory. Savor the process. Take each step, make each edit, with quality and care. Let go into the journey and see where it takes you. That said, know that the post journey will take you to many unexpected and uncomfortable places. Buckle your seat belt.

There will be scenes that don’t work, performances that are disappointing, coverage that is missing. You have to slog through this. Better yet, don’t slog. Know that every misstep you discover is taking you closer to a successful completed film. Here’s where your creativity REALLY kicks in – solving all the problems that arise in editing, and combining the various elements – picture, music, visual FX, sound – into a harmonious blend.

Once you have a workable version of your film, it is of course essential to test it on lots of people, including your intended audience. Oh yeah, you should have designated an intended audience from the beginning. If you didn’t, hopefully it’s not too late.

I’ll be honest – which I always try to be – there will be times of doubt and despair in the post process. I liken it somewhat to making your way through a long dark tunnel. The darkness is scary, but eventually you know you will emerge into the light. This metaphor actually applies for writing and shooting the movie as well.

So hang in there. Set yourself up for success by honoring and embracing the post part of the filmmaker’s journey. It may not be what you signed up for, but it is the third and final chance you will have to make your movie worth watching.