Is it inspiration or masochism

Is it inspiration or masochism to watch a movie like Robert Altman’s brilliantly acted (and interwoven) Short Cuts while editing your first short? Whichever, it’s a little late now, since the credits are running.

Problems getting the firewire hub to work meant I’ve had to log and capture all the footage in 10Gb batches, filling up the G4’s hard drive and then swapping the camera for the external drive. And since I only learned of Final Cut’s “Move Media” command today, I’ve been dragging all the media files to corresponding folders on the big drive. THIS means having to relink each media file through FCP, since the file location and path has changed. Extra needless work, lots of it. But I’m gaining a familiarity with the footage and the software that’ll speed along decisions over the next few days as we assemble the first sequences.

Rough schedule for the week:

Build sequences for the first half of the movie, including the airport, phone conversations, early driving scenes, and the gas station stop.

Purge a lot of media that doesn’t have a chance of making it into these sequences. Fill this disk space with more options for the middle and end sequences (the encounters in town, visit to the crater and the memorial).

By Thursday Assemble rough sequences and alternatives for these scenes, creating the first complete cut of the movie.

Go over these sequences with Jonah, doing real edits

Weekend: Status check and review full cut with Connie Walsh, another video artist and editor, with whom I met Saturday.

Also on tap: Meet with graphic designer for poster/photo, DVD, tape and press kit design.

In the mean time, Elliot Gould is trying to fool his cat by putting cheap cat food into the expensive can in The Long Goodbye. Sorry, but four hours of Altman a night is my limit.