A behind the scenes look at editing

By Darrian Dowdy

Movie stars spend weeks, possibly months, perfecting their roles. But the real magic takes place behind the scenes in the editing room.

Mary Hughes, a senior at SUNY Buffalo State, has been interested media production for 10 years.

“I’ve been interested in photography since I was old enough to work a camera,” Hughes said. “My brother and I both got computers, and with the computers came these really [low-quality] digital cameras. Once I got my hands on that, I was hooked.”

Zach Cassidy, another Buffalo State senior studying media production, said that, “The first time I remember thinking I wanted to work on movies I was about ten years old… I said, ‘I want to do stuff like that. It looks fun.’”

Hughes and Cassidy want to work behind the scenes, rather than in front of the camera.

“I think production is more interesting because of all the variables that go into it,” said Hughes. “You have to deal with budgets, equipment rentals, location scouting, et cetera.

“Production is about capturing the story you’re trying to tell and then during post production you take all the pieces to the puzzle and put the story together.”

In the television control room at SUNY Buffalo State. (Photo by Mary Hughes)

Production can take more than twice as long as shooting. While shooting may take just a few weeks, post-production can take months.

“Doing something as simple as working with a one-second clip could take as long as a week to motion track. … You need to go frame by frame and adjust it accordingly,” Hughes said.

“I had to take a one-second video of someone who was flinching from a fake gunshot and add blood, a gunshot, and all these other effects. It took about a week and a half to do it all, and it was only one second long.” Cassidy said.

Post-production takes so much longer because extensive technical work goes into it. Editors handle putting together scenes from the filmed footage, adding sound and foley effects, and creating special effects with CGI.

Michael Devine, a student actor, had fun on set with special effects. In the student film “Escapism,” Devine played a villain with a disguised voice.

“I had never heard my voice through any type of audio changer,” Devine said. “There was a drastic difference.”

“The hardest part about audio work is making sure the timing is synced, otherwise it won’t look correct and the viewer will notice something is off,” Hughes said. “You take a scene and have to add every audio element imaginable.”

“It’s just so much fun creating something from nothing,” Cassidy said. “It’s just a great way to share any story you want.”

“It’s a tedious and time-consuming process but the final product always comes out really awesome,” Hughes said.