Chapter 170: Core Philosophy

No matter how busy work gets, ensuring adequate rest is crucial. After completing all shooting tasks, Murphy gave the crew three days off. Most crew members, having received part of their compensation, would leave the team, except for a few actors needed for dubbing. Only a limited number of people were qualified to participate in post-production.

During these three days, Murphy mostly stayed at home to relax his tense nerves from the busy work schedule and to avoid disturbances.

After a few months of tumultuous events, some things were irreversible, and Murphy had no desire to turn back.

Enjoying two days of tranquility, Murphy felt his suppressed emotions slightly easing.

Then, Bill Roscoe visited.

"I just talked with Miramax and Harvey Weinstein yesterday,"

Sitting by the pool in the backyard, Bill Roscoe accepted a bottle of juice from Murphy, "The global premiere of the film will be held at Cannes."

He glanced at Murphy, whose emotions were hidden behind oversized sunglasses.

Although the shooting was smoothly completed, Bill Roscoe was acutely aware that certain issues had already affected Murphy's work.

Previously, it wasn't a big deal, but after fully witnessing Carey Mulligan's rebellious side, he didn't want her to disturb Murphy and affect his future.

He looked at issues primarily from the perspective of Murphy's agent, not Carey Mulligan's.

Murphy took a big sip of his cold drink, "Is the schedule and personnel for Cannes confirmed?"

"Everything is set," Bill Roscoe nodded to Murphy, "You and the producer, Erica Stanberg, need to go to Cannes before the festival starts to handle some exhibition procedures. Harvey and I will go there before the premiere."

"What about the personnel?" Murphy inquired.

Since the crew was holding a global premiere at Cannes, the main cast and crew members would need to be there.

"The budget is limited, so we won't have many people," Bill Roscoe thought for a moment, "Mainly the on-screen personnel. Downey, Jim, Seth, Jonah, and Jessica Chastain."

Murphy closed his eyes behind the sunglasses, then reopened them, removing the sunglasses to look at the swimming pool beside him. He shook his head as if discarding many things.

Bill Roscoe watched Murphy and deliberately added, "This is the list provided by Miramax."

The entire decision-making power for the film, from investment to production and distribution, belonged to Miramax.

Murphy nodded, "You guys handle it."

He stood up, "Also, Bill. I'll be fully engaged in post-production for the next two months. Handle those tedious tasks for me."

"No problem, leave it to me," Bill Roscoe stood up, "I need to return to the Death Star building. Call me if you need anything."

After sending Bill Roscoe off, Murphy returned upstairs and sat in his study for the entire afternoon, marking the end of his three-day break and resuming work.

Busy work also helped him forget some unhappy things.

With Miramax's strong support, this post-production was completely different from the previous two. There was no need to rent a post-production studio, as Miramax had a fully equipped studio in Burbank, meeting all the needs for "Planet Terror."

However, Murphy did not have the final cut authority.

This was natural, as the previous two films were entirely financed by Stanton Studio, granting Murphy full decision-making power. But this time was different. Even though directors in independent films have more say and weight, the focus is still on the producers.

In other words, Murphy could suggest various ideas and deeply participate in the post-production, but the final look of the film was in Harvey Weinstein's hands.

The editor was also not Jody Griffiths, who worked with Murphy on the previous two occasions, but Ross Bentley hired by Miramax.

"Be cautious with the choice of editing points!"

In the studio, before starting the initial cut, Murphy communicated with Ross Bentley, "I left enough editing points during shooting. I believe editing according to these points will result in a smoother final effect."

The two had already reviewed all the filmed materials, and Ross Bentley had a general impression, nodding slightly to Harvey Weinstein on the other side.

In reality, the editing points Murphy mentioned were mainly used for transitions between different characters' scenes.

For example, when James Franco's character opens a door, the moment the door opens, the shot smoothly transitions to another scene where Jonah Hill opens a door.

Murphy left many such editing points during the shooting, like Seth Rogen turning on a faucet, and as soon as the water starts flowing, it transitions to Robert Downey Jr. washing his hands.

This is a common editing technique in Hollywood, so neither Ross Bentley nor Harvey Weinstein objected.

Especially Ross Bentley, as the editor, participated in the entire shooting process and had sufficient communication with Murphy.

He knew well that Murphy Stanton, this young director, was not just making empty promises. The filming indeed prepared thoroughly for the editing phase.

The filming process is fundamentally for editing. The ultimate goal isn't just to capture good shots but to serve the narrative of the film. Therefore, directors must shoot the necessary shots for post-production editing, allowing these shots to be assembled into coherent scenes and plots, creating a cohesive, impactful product to achieve the final purpose.

This simple principle is not widely executed, as many directors prefer to shoot impulsively.

Ross Bentley saw clearly that this director named Murphy Stanton had a clear concept and orderly shooting, effectively implementing this principle.

Directors like him are the favorites of editors and production companies alike.

He glanced at Harvey Weinstein, who supported a young director like Murphy Stanton not out of blind faith but because the director had proven himself through his actions.

Harvey Weinstein and Erica Stanberg sat quietly, watching Murphy lead the post-production editing.

Like Ross Bentley, they had observed during the shooting process that Murphy Stanton had thoroughly prepared for post-production.

Filming can only capture one scene at a time, and within each scene, only one shot can be taken regardless of the film's production scale. Each time, only one shot is possible, and Murphy Stanton always kept the overall goal in mind, ensuring each shot aligned with others to assemble the scene.

Continuity is a significant challenge in film production, a problem directors must always be vigilant about. Continuity errors can easily render hours of filming useless or cause issues during editing.

Murphy Stanton successfully avoided these problems.

Besides strict shooting requirements, Murphy and Ross Bentley paid close attention to continuity issues during the initial cut.

First was content continuity, related to any visible element in a scene: costumes, hairstyles, props, actors, cars in the background, and times on clocks. Murphy and Ross Bentley ensured everything remained consistent across different shots, cutting out any shots with continuity errors.

These issues could range from obvious, like Jessica Chastain wearing a red tight T-shirt in a master shot and a golden-red one in a close-up, to minor details, like James Franco holding a nearly finished cigarette in one shot and a freshly lit one in the next.

Despite efforts from script supervisors, on-set costume and prop technicians, and Murphy as the director to prevent these errors, perfection is unattainable due to human error, as seen in other Hollywood films.

Therefore, Murphy and Ross Bentley aimed to avoid using these erroneous shots in editing or cut out the mistakes if necessary, resorting to post-production techniques if unavoidable.

Motion continuity was even more crucial for "Planet Terror" than content continuity.

Any moving object in a shot must continue to move in the next shot, ensuring seamless motion between cuts, whether opening a door, picking up a book, or parking a car. The transition between two shots must be gapless, essential for Murphy to plan how to edit them together.

During filming, Murphy meticulously and safely captured various motion shots to avoid post-production editing issues, especially overlapping shots.

For example, in a scene where Jessica Chastain opens a door in Venice, the script ends before the door fully opens, but Murphy still captured a few extra seconds until the action was complete.

Murphy knew the importance of capturing complete actions, providing extra lead time and follow-through to ensure every shot included the entire motion.

These aspects are crucial for a film's shooting and post-production editing, potentially determining its success or failure. While everyone understands shooting is only part of filmmaking, post-production is even more critical.

Excellent post-production can sometimes turn poor footage into something magical.

However, these continuity principles were not the core philosophy of Murphy's post-production studio, which he never publicized.

___________________

(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)

If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters

Read Ahead

Patreon.com/INNIT