Portland Editing

So...

We're living in Portland, Oregon now. I have to say, the overall feeling I have of living here is that it is quite a bit similar to what I imagine it's like to live in Hobbiton. People are friendly. Traffic is courteous and unaggressive. The produce is fresher and more flavorful than anywhere I've ever lived. It's a quiet, unassuming city with a lot of charm. And good God do they love their booze here.

But the reason I'm breaking my silence is not to share thoughts on Portland. Rather, I'm doing some freelance video editing. I am taking talking head interviews and documentary footage to make some nice company who likes to pay me money a promotional video. Yippee. I love editing and getting paid, and the company people seem to like what I do, so everyone's happy. In trying to make an interview on this project come out smoother and eliminate unnecessary stammering, I'm working on a moment where a woman says, "So, we..." I need her to say, "And we..." at this moment. The transition from "so" and "we" is narrow... she never really stops saying the "o" sound before moving onto the "w" sound. No hard cut will work.

So here's what I do: I take a phrase from earlier where she says, "And wire..." I chop it so it is like, "And w"

I chop "So we" to start about halfway through the "w" sound in "we"

Bump them up together... play it back...

It sounds like "And wuheye eee"

No good. I trim a little from either side. Then Throw a 2 frame crossfade on the audio. Play it back.

It's perfect (enough). "And we"

This trick is something I've done before, but it rarely works because the intonations have to be just right. Everytime it does come out, I pump my fist in triumph and have the desire to bore the world with all the microscopic triumphs and joys found in the technical inanities found in video editing.

Hmm. Depending on how much work comes my way, I think I'll start reporting about these little triumphs that go into a good edit on this blog. I always want to tell everyone I know about these little triumphs, but for some reason, it's difficult to explain vocally without lapsing into tedium.