Documentary Edit: Review and Feedback

Today we presented our documentary rough cuts for assessment, which we have been working on for the past few weeks. At the start of the session we went through how to export our files from AVID as a Quicktime movie; what settings/codecs to use and how to limit the data rate for upload on to Vimeo.

Afterwards, we went through each edit in turn to receive general feedback relevant to all our films and specific criticism for later projects. I noted down both for consideration:

• Don't have 'gold-fishing' (moving mouths without voices) - make them low but not silent
• Disguise the production process in some shots - crop out stage lights if necessary
• Decide whether to let contributors dictate pace with pauses or use music to control it
• Back up any speakers' assertions with evidence - can't do it, don't use it.
• Don't repeat ideas in short documentaries - not enough time
• Front-load films with best content to help with festival submissions.
• Always have a subject talk to the camera first before using alternative angles.
• Including pauses to show thinking creates vulnerability and therefore empathy
• Flip interviews if needed to disguise cut - opposite side cuts are less jarring.
• Watch more short films to get a sense of audience response
• Optimum length of piece of music is ~30s - gets tedious/annoying after that.
• Don't use soft cuts or dissolves - too easy. Challenge is to always use hard cuts but for nobody to notice.

Individual Feedback:

• Use less of the red-shirt speaker
• Don't need to talk about nature - more interested in poetry.
• Don't need to talk about mechanics of poetry ('ABAB rhyme scheme')
• Try and consolidate the two endings into one - audiences need to know when its finished.

As I'm currently in the process of creating a documentary for my other module this feedback will be very useful, and now we're moving on to the drama edit the experience working with AVID so far should make the next project much smoother.

Documentary Edit: Ending and Sound

As we neared the time-limit for the film we wanted to try and create an effective transition to the concluding sequence. To do this we used Addie's speech about the spoken word scene being 'a revolution', and reiterat that many people are finding it accessible. In support of this we used a montage of images of different acts at the events, trying to use a variety of shots such as close-ups and pans to not keep it static.

Montage of acts

When Addie says 'every story needs to be heard' we cut to the audience enjoying the night, and when he says they're 'picking up their paper and getting on stage' we used a literal cut to someone reciting a poem on stage. As he finishes this section we cut to him sat in the new location on the hill, and used the audio of him talking about his future with poetry and the future of the poetry scene in general to conclude.

However, as we felt that none of the sound-bytes worked as a satisfying concluding comment, we added a short section afterwards, panning down Addie's back and fading to black. We used a line from his first poem to end it in a similar way to as it started: 'What did you want to be when you grow up. What was your passion. Whats stopping you?' We felt that this was appropriate as Addie is now inviting the audience to share their story through the medium as well. To support this we used a shot which we had initially discarded of an empty stage with a microphone, suggesting they are waiting for the viewer to get involved.

After we had the rough cut of the film we went through to cut some sections down as we were running over the time limit. This involved mainly having the introductions to new sequences being made shorter and introducing audio voice-overs sooner. We also sharpened up the transitions between shots and interviews in the Rutland pub and moved footage from the opening sequence to fill the 'inspiration' sequence instead.

For fades in and out of audio we went through and checked that the key-frames were implemented properly and that the audio level was consistent among the entire film. We used the clip gain option on the tool-bar to tweak this, particularly when the audience applauds as it was much louder. We also added ambient noise of the park, and sounds of the audience for the appropriate sections - checking that the separately recorded audio matched in-camera sound for all the interviews.

In our final review of the film we wanted to trim down some clips of Addie in the park using the ripple tool, but we had difficulties with this affecting other tracks and audio losing sync - so we decided to leave it instead. We also only realized during the end of the final session that we had adjusted our audio slightly too low for the entire film, but didn't have the time to change this. However, we will keep this in mind for future projects.

Video - Edgar Wright (How to do Visual Comedy)

In this video Tony Zhao raises some interesting points about the state of most US comedy films today; they rely too heavily on sound and dialogue to deliver their jokes and don't take full advantage of the possibilities of visual comedy. Visual comedy is largely confined to animation, commercials and the work of directors such as Edgar Wright. He describes a number of areas where Wright manages to create comedy out of an otherwise ordinary situation:

• Transition scenes - comparing examples of a change in location in 'The Heat' (Paul Feig, 2013) and 'Hot Fuzz' (Edgar Wright, 2007). 'The Heat' uses 'generic helicopter footage' of the city, obvious road signs and a soundtrack to keep the audience interested, whereas 'Hot Fuzz' rapid cuts a series of shots which are more considered in their meaning. A phone signal depleting to show he's moving to the countryside, Pegg always facing right to respect his direction of travel and a range of sound effects.
• Foreshadowing and exposition - comparing 'This is the End (Seth Rogen, 2013)' with 'Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright, 2004)'.
• Entering/leaving the frame - the shark appearing whilst chumming in 'Jaws' (Steven Spielberg, 1975) the scene at the end of 'Django Unchained' (Quentin Tarantino, 2012) and Wright's own 'Scott Pilgrim vs The World' (2010).
• Perfectly-timed sound effects and dramatic lighting changes -'Scott Pilgrim vs The World'

In talking about his use of close-ups in his films, Wright says that he supports the method of arriving at a scene late and leaving early. His transitions are a way of bookmarking the scenes and controlling when the start and end, ultimately controlling the rhythm of the film. By starting on a characters shoes as the get off the bus rather than seeing it pull up, he forces the edit of something that would be cut anyway.

Documentary Edit: Middle Section

In adding content for the main body of the film, we used Addie's interviews as voice-over supporting what is shown on screen. This was also important to keep the focus on his opinions and experiences as the film is about his story. We included the sound-byte of Addie talking about having a family at the poetry events, and used shots panning across the crowd as they chat to each other to support this. We used the shot of him hugging one of the poets to emphasize this further and also to link to the next shot in which the poet speaks on stage.

Audience chatting

We picked out a part of his poem that was self-contained and of a good length to give a sense of his style, and then added a small section of his interview afterwards of him talking about the sense of community within the art-form. From here, this linked well to Addie talking about his relationship and closeness with the other poets so we cut back to his bedroom interview. We then introduced the next poet we wanted to show who spoke about how he found poetry through depression, which felt suitable as Addie had talked about how they'res a sense of trust and openness between the poets.

Poet speaking

In his interview he talks about how poetry makes him feel better so we used a clip where the audience laughs at his poem to support this. Initially, we were struggling to find a suitable transition from here to the sequence about Addie's inspiration but we felt that having the poet finish speaking and walk off stage was a suitable end to the section.

Addie in the park

For the next sequence we mixed footage of Addie's interview in the park, his interview at home and the footage of him travelling around and writing. For audio we tried to find sound-bytes where Addie talks about his inspirations and how he tries to write, for which the audio transcript was a huge help. We ended this section with him talking about people's perceptions of poetry and how this is usually wrong when they get down to a poetry night. This was a helpful link to transition to the sequence at the Riverside event, which we introduced again via an exterior shot with audio of people chatting. As Addie talks about how 'its a lot bigger' than people expect, we wanted to include shots which gave the impression of a large crowd too.

Riverside Exterior

To transition quickly we overlapped the footage with the audio of the two poet's speaking, and we chose these in particular as we felt that they again challenged the initial perceptions of poetry Addie talks about earlier. Their dynamic is also the most interesting of the acts at the Riverside as we wanted to try and show the diversity of the acts at the events. In the last section we will transition and conclude the film by using Addie's thoughts on the future of poetry for him and in general as well as the footage of him behind the train station.

Transition to the Riverside

Post-Production Seminar: Managing Media

In today's editing seminar we were shown how to manage our media across the shared network so that we can continue working on our projects on different computers. This process was quite complex so I noted it down step-by-step, but it will be useful for future productions due to the issues we have been around space on the computers.

We were first shown the contents of the 'Creating' file within AVID and the important files that we need to copy across and which should not be changed. We were told how AVID manages the metadata within the media files and which we needed to move about. Then within the edit we were introduced to the Media Tool Display which shows us what clips our sequence consists of so that we don't have to copy across the entire library of footage. We were shown the effects of consolidating and condensing our projects and how to target a computer on the network for the destination of our files.

At the end of the session we watched the opening to 'Lost in La Mancha' (Keith Fulton, 2002), a film about Terry Gilliam's ill-fated film 'The Man Who Killed Don Quixote' in late 2000.

We were asked to identify the different documentary and editing tools it uses to create meaning, of which there were many:

• Authoritative voice-over
• Music with fitting tone
• Fast-paced editing to create excitement and interest
• Superimposed images 
• Expository narration
• Talking heads interviews
• Title cards
• Animated storyboards with sound effects and voices (in Gilliam's signature style)
• Archive footage explaining the history of the project

With further analysis we identified one of the film's key themes: exposing the magic of movie-making. The contributors talk about the parallels between the fictional story of Don Quixote and Terry Gilliam himself, how they both set out to turn fictional stories into a reality.

In another sequence, Gilliam is introduced to the main members of his crew in a meeting during pre-production on the project. The editing makes good use of creating subtext and foreshadowing by including the 1st AD talking about how they should talk to him if there's any issues surrounding the relatively small budget, and the juxtaposition of the crew laughing and being serious talking about money. 

In the first archive sequence we are introduced to the other attempts to make the film in the past, once by Orson Welles, contextualizing the danger of the film and foreshadowing problems further. When looking at the pace of the editing here it was noted that although it wasn't rapidly cut, there were enough 'new thoughts' and new sequences to keep the audience interested, which is a useful tip for future projects.

The film reminded me of a documentary I watched recently called 'Jodorowsky's Dune' (Frank Pavich, 2013), about Alejandro Jodorowsky's ill-fated attempt to adapt the sci-fi novel 'Dune' in 1965. As a similar topic, the film makes use of many of the same techniques used in 'Lost in La Mancha',  including complex animatics from the director's extensive storyboarding, and interviews with many of those who would have been involved such as H.R. Giger. Similar to Gilliam, Jodorowsky had an eccentric, strong personal vision which was brought to life faithfully through the film, importantly instilling a sense of what it could have been even without it being made. 

Apprentice Analysis

The editing and production for a number of TV shows came up in conversation during an early seminar. Chris talked about how there was a large gap in time between food being ready and the judges eating it on 'Masterchef'', and it was surprising to learn that much of it is done with a single roaming camera due to the amount of coverage there is. The other TV show that was mentioned was 'The Apprentice'. Now in its 10th series, the editing structure for the show is very solid and formulaic, with little variation from week to week. As a frequent viewer of the show, I analysed the structure and techniques used in the first episode of the latest series.

1. Opening sequence - Introduce Lord Sugar and his background. Footage and sound-bytes of candidates from pre-interviews conveying their arrogance. Music and sound-bytes to add to drama, conveying seriousness and difficulty of the process.
2. Lord Sugar's back-story - history of show and explaining prize. Montage of footage from tasks in upcoming weeks. Rapid-cut 'You're fired' sequence - titles end opening sequence. 
3. Candidates being introduced in board room - reading through their CVs.
4. Montage of candidates afterwards meeting each other - sound-bytes from interview are used to provide context about each person. Choosing team names. Light and whimsical music in homes contrasts with serious tone in boardroom. Voice-over provides information about day and time throughout, end day with wide shot and fade to black. 
5.  'Day 2' voice-over, shots of sunrise over location. Shots of candidates getting ready. Travelling to task location. Voice-over explains what they have to do.
6. Shots of discussing strategy. Cutaways to Nick and Karen outside explaining the issues they're having. (Lots of foreshadowing of later issues here)
7. Fast music and quick cutting between teams and sub-teams as task starts, adds to chaos. Slow-paced when cutting to someone who's trying to sell with nobody around, juxtaposed with fast running between locations for further effect.
8. Cutting between teams to compress time and to establish sense of urgency and competition. Crucially editing makes them feel neck-and-neck so viewer can't predict outcome before end of the show. Sometimes deliberately leads you to a wrong conclusion.
9. Voice-over repeatedly referencing time and how long they have left to emphasize this. V.O. also keeps track of what they're doing at each location as it could easily get confusing. Fade to black at the end of sequence 'Next up, the boardroom'.
10. Boardroom sequence.
11. Juxtaposition between team winning having a treat and those who've lost in the cafe. Almost comically sad music, washed-out grey image contrasted with energetic music, fast cutting and colorful location of other team. Cutting between sipping coffee out of a plastic cut and champagne out of a glass.
12. Boardroom sequence - candidate fired. Taxi ride home. Shots back at the house. Montage of next week's task.

Documentary Edit: Introduction

After importing footage, labeling it and placing it into bins we began thinking about a structure for the overall film. We broke the footage down into different sequences and looked at what Addie talks about in the interviews to see where we could support it with other content. This was important as we were told to back up any assertions from the interviews with evidence.

We decided to follow the advice given in the last seminar and start the film with Addie speaking his poem in the park, as the footage in that sequence was arguably the strongest and worked well as an opening to the film.

Opening park section

We also agreed with the comment that it forces the reader to engage more effectively than just simply starting with Addie's introduction to camera (which will come later). When choosing when to cut clips we looked for effective out-points as we had been advised, which came primarily at the end of the lines in the poem. In picking out which clips to include we tried to support what he was saying in the poem. For example, when he says that he's 'looking for adventure' we used the pull focus of him looking across Sheffield. This also linked to the next sequence we cut to which was in the Rutland Pub.

Addie looking across Sheffield

In looking through and labeling the footage we had marked out some clips which had useful audio, such as when Addie makes an introduction hosting the event at the Rutland. We condensed this heavily so that he welcomes the audience and then begins with his poem immediately. This was important as we wanted to get to his introduction as soon as possible before the audience became confused about the change in location and who they are listening to. We used an exterior pan-down of the pub to establish its location and a shot of the audience to show it is an event, roughly trying to stick to the rule of three for moving to a new location.

Transition to Rutland Pub

As Addie began his poem we key-framed the audio to fade out, overlapping it with Addie introducing himself. Here, we move into his bedroom to show him writing as he says he's a spoken word poet. Talking more about his background, we used the pan across his poetry books and small souvenir from St. Lucia to support this further. Using the audio transcript we made, we tried a few ways of ordering his speech in this section until we felt it was right. We edited together sound-bytes so that he talks briefly about why he came to England, the poetry scene in Sheffield and then what poetry means to him. At the end of this section he talks about how spoken word events are becoming more popular because they're 'accessible', so we used this opportunity to cut back to a poet at the event who's appearance seemed to support this idea.

Introducing Addie

Addie in his bedroom

In the next section of the edit we will show some of the other poets at the Rutland pub,  also including interviews if we feel they contribute towards the film. From here we will implement the sequence of Addie talking about his inspirations for writing.

Editing Progress

Over the past couple of weeks we have been working on editing a rough cut for the documentary project.

We decided first to first import and label all footage and sounds so that we can become familiar with the content. We can also identify a structure and be as efficient as possible not having to look through all the footage to find what we need. However, we did not realize the amount of time it would take for us to import the footage. Adding to this was that what we first received was only half of the total footage, excluding sounds as well.

These issues, as well as the suite often being occupied, meant that by last week's session we had only imported and labelled the footage (and most of the sound files) - with no rough cut to present for feedback.

Whilst labelling the footage we used abbreviations to help us sort it, such as GV for good visuals or BS for bad sound. With the amount of footage we would be dealing with we felt it was necessary to try and keep some order and so we further split the sounds and video into bins corresponding to the scenes they were from, such as the park, the Riverside or the Rutland.

I also listened through each interview in the film and transcribed sound-bytes from them (with their respective time-codes). This will make navigating the footage much easier when we come to edit, and also allows us to plan a structure for the film before starting our assembly. I did the same thing last year for our documentary project, although with that I transcribed it fully including pauses, stresses, and all speech. However this time I felt this was not necessary.

Sound-bytes

Although we are now trying to catch-up and create a fine cut for next week's session, it was useful to hear the feedback on someone else's edit before we have started, as a number of useful tips were given out regarding structure and general practice:

• Use Addie at the start and stay with him in the story to create empathy.
• Do NOT use repeated footage - even if it just looks the same.
• Start the film with the poetry to shock the audience.
• Always look for strong out points - ends of sentences or phrases can dictate editing and hide production. Don't always look for obvious way out.
• Listen to the sound of your edit on its own.
• First section go out on 'Looking for adventure' - cut to crowds in Rutland/Riverside. Rhetorical questions are a good way to get out.
• Montage rule of three to establish setting.
• Create subtext in documentary if it isn't already there.
• Showing people thinking is a good way to create empathy.

Yesterday we started our rough cut after I finished labeling the rest of the sound files. We followed the advice of cutting to the Rutland pub after Addie says the line 'Why are we always looking for adventure?' in his poem. To try and ease that transition we tried out a few ideas - such as using the audience applause to bridge the two scenes. 

Eventually we found a good sound-byte at the start of the night where Addie introduces people to the event and then begins reciting his other poem. We then tried fading the sound away and cutting to Addie writing in his bedroom, providing context about him and what we are seeing in the Rutland. 

From here we will use the sound-bytes I transcribed to form Addie's personal introduction, and then take us back to the Rutland to meet the other poets. We quickly drafted an idea for the structure of the film in sections:

1. Addie's poem in the park
2. Rutland introduction.
3. Addie's personal introduction - bedroom interview.
4. Rutland poems and interviews with other poets.
5. Addie talking about his inspirations in nature - park/bedroom footage
6. Riverside poems and interviews
7. Addie talking about future of poetry scene - amphitheater sunset.

In working with the footage independently yesterday and starting out rough cut we also learnt a number of important techniques with AVID: showing audio wave-forms, key-framing and fading out audio, reducing volume by sound or per media, adding an edit to split footage and a better understanding of how to drag and overwrite or use the ripple tool. Most of these techniques were not covered in the taught workshops, and so we have been mainly looking online to solve any problems which arise.

Walter Murch Research

Today I have been researching the world-renowned and academy award-winning editor Walter Murch, who worked on such acclaimed films as 'Apocalypse Now' (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979), with directors such as George Lucas (THX1138, 1971) and Sam Mendes (Jarhead, 2005).

He has worked in a number of departments for film but predominantly sound design and editing, and his latest film and first venture into feature documentaries, 'Particle Fever' (2013), was shown as part of Sheffield Doc/Fest last year.

He is also known for his strong opinions towards the direction that Apple has taken with their 'Final Cut Pro' editing software, which he championed as an alternative to AVID Media Composer until recently. Murch also wrote what is considered as one of the most important texts on film editing, 'In the Blink of An Eye', which I will be reading as part of this module.

For my research I watched a number of YouTube videos where Murch shares his thoughts on editing, his own personal style and techniques and theories surrounding a range of film and editing-related topics. Below I have summarized the main points he raises in each video.

Walter Murch: On Editing

• A good editor must have a sense of how to tell a story and a sense of rhythm. Like telling a good joke, it could be very funny but if you tell it wrong it falls flat.
• Editing is like a dance - you can explain it but to really learn how to dance you have to just dance. Its awkward in the beginning but gradually you learn how to do it.
• An assistant editor must be in touch with both the bigger picture and the context in which the film sits. They must try not to get caught up in the final details, and to balance it with the human aspects in the film.
• Digital technology essentially allows for the movie to be 'filmed a second time in the editing suite'. 
• Huge pixel density allows for shots to be recomposed and for details or even characters to be omitted entirely - useful especially in documentary where you don't know how the image will integrate into the final film. Murch calls this 'Vertical editing', as you are editing within the frame.
• Advice for new editor is to just edit - the interned has free material to use or you can shoot it yourself. Software also allows for complex editing and sound design which he never had 50 years ago.
• Editing is the newest art - it is barely 100 years old and there is still much more to discover and learn.

Worldizing: A Sound Design Concept by Walter Murch

• Murch loves echo or reverberation in sound - anything that tells you about the atmosphere or the space where the person is.
• He recorded the sound then moved to a location with the ideal acoustics. Then he played the sound and recorded it on another tape recorder, playing both sounds together in sync in the edit.
• A discovery was made that if sounds were played and recorded at higher speeds and then slowed down in the edit, it made the space sound proportionately bigger.

The Rule of Six

• What makes the perfect cut? 6 rules are all satisfied.
• 1) Is it true to the emotion people want to feel or does it subtract or distract from it.
• 2) Does it tell the story - do we understand what is happening.
• 3) Does it happen at the right point - does it fit the rhythm we have established.
• 4) The attention of the audience is carried from shot to shot - unless this is intentionally disrupted.
• 5) Is the 3D world being represented well in 2D.
• 6) Are the people and/or objects moving through the space coherently.

Walter Murch and Jon Favreau: Movies in Your Brain

• Intrinsic tension takes place when there are no cuts - we don't notice this consciously. Examples are made of 'Children of Men' (Alfonso Cuaron, 2006), 'Gravity' (Alfonso Cuaron, 2012) and the upcoming 'Birdman' (Alejandro Inarritu, 2014).
• Its harder to create surround sound and atmosphere with fast cuts and dialogue (such as the opening of 'The Social Network' dir. David Fincher, 2010). The opening of 'Gravity' had sound that moved around but with no cut it wasn't disorienting for the audience.
• A cut is violent - it is a total displacement of our field of vision but our mind can take it.
• Cutting isn't something you have to do - filmmakers and audiences enjoy the sudden juxtaposition of two concepts.

Sheffield Doc/Fest 2014: Walter Murch: From The Godfather to The God Particle

• Murch would not have expected the resurgence of animation and documentary. Drama films are going through the doldrums and stomping out the middle ground it used to occupy. Crisis point in cinema - great opportunity and threat.
• 'Good editing makes the film look well-directed. Great editing makes the film look like it wasn't directed at all' - Victor Fleming.
• Murch creates a scene board of the whole film using coloured post-it notes. Size represents length, colour represents person, diamond is a pivotal scene and green triangles represents years.
• Analogy of the black box and the snowflake - the tension between control and spontaneity is at the heart of any art form. Digital film can be both an enabler of spontaneity and control - can always have a camera ready but with a Pixar film everything is controlled.
• Begin a project with 10,000 questions and one certainty. End it with 10,000 certainties and one question - a gift that will transpire and connect with the audience.
• Murch's theory of blinking and editing - we blink between looking at two images, like cutting between shots.
• He stands up whilst editing to feel the rhythm of the film, and lies down whilst writing to separate his editing mind from his creative mind.
• 'The director has a vision, but not all of his/her vision can be articulated... its too complex' 'One of the functions of the editor is to provoke this vision to come out of hiding.' Hearing an alternate version will provoke the original to surface.
• Documentary is like going into the Amazon to collect specimens and then figuring out a theory afterwards. Drama is like using the film as an experiment to prove the theory.
• Music and film love each other - 'fraternal twins separated at birth'. They are both highly modular, temporal art forms with great repetition.
• Music has great abstraction, film is highly specific. Each one saves the other from the excesses of itself. 
• Music helps to digest emotions and ideas - the silence afterwards is just as important in drawing attention to it.
• It can also be a steroid that is injected into the film to bulk up its emotional muscles. That isn't good long term for the film or the art.

As someone with a keen interest in film soundtracks, I find Murch's description of the use of music to be particularly interesting, providing a deeper understanding as to why the two mediums work so well together. His criticism of music becoming an 'emotional steroid' is also important. Through personal experience I've noticed that US documentaries and TV shows on channels such as Discovery are saturated with music that adds nothing to it. 

In the video below from Doc/Fest 2013, the panel discusses music in documentary and the effects it can have on audiences. One of the points raised in the video is that audiences can become 'dislocated' from a documentary that they perceive as 'real' if they sense that the music is telling them what to feel. He goes on to say that the absence of music is stronger in a lot of cases, which is similar to what Murch says about the importance of silence.

Post-Production Seminar

Today was the first post-production seminar of the module. We began by each sharing a piece of  TV or film that we have watched recently, as we were told that any such media was viable to break down and analyse editing. That said, an example was made of 'Breaking Bad', which we were told not to analyse as most of our time would be taken up trying to explain the context behind each episode or scene. This differed with 'Game of Thrones' however, which although also has a huge amount of sub-plots to deal with, could be easier analysed because each individual scene was more discrete.

After this we were given more information about the module, including the set texts and our project brief. We were told to watch 'Senna' (Asif Kapadia, 2010) because it is an example of 'perfect editing', and to read 'In the Blink of An Eye' by Walter Murch. As part of our independent work we were also told to research Murch by reading his work and watching his video lectures, giving our opinions of him next week.

We were given our project brief, to create a 4-5 minute documentary from a bank of footage, creating a clear narrative, establishing empathy with the film's subjects and using sounds from the clips to create an original sound design.

Next we were introduced to the new editing software that we would be learning and using for the year - Avid Media Composer. In this first session we were shown the very basics: how to setup a new project with the correct settings, how to create a bin and import footage to it, and the beginnings of assembling a sequence using the 'In/Out' markers. We were also shown how to alter some of the general settings such as the time-code - which was by default set to the American format.

In the time before the next session I will import the footage for the documentary edit into our new Avid project, and will attempt to check each clip individually for naming and labeling.