​Quite a daunting task i'd set myself, to re-edit from scratch my shortfilm and IMPROVE IT!. Would it work? did any one care? and should i even do it?. Well i finally agreed that i wouldn't know unless i tried so here's the story.

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In 2011 i had the idea for a shortfilm film i originally called "The Knocking", when it popped into my head i wanted to get it shot asap. I figured i would 'act' in it myself and get a friend to film it. However i was getting increasingly frustrated working in that manner and needed to branch out. I had met a group of actors and filmmakers the year before on another project that we failed to get off the ground. Also i had got to know an actress called Hema Johar and thought she was an excellent person to work with.

 

 Realising that making the main character a woman would create a better dynamic for tension, i emailed her my idea and sketches. Luckily she LOVED them and agreed to act in it. I organised the day with her and we got all her scenes shot in a few hours (she had to be back at her parents restaurant to help out that evening). 

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 At the time i had a laptop computer and pinnacle studio editing software (which was not bad but limited in scope). I chopped the piece together that week and debuted the short the week after. The edit looked 'ok', sound wasn't brilliant, but the software i had couldn't have more then 2 lines of audio at one time. This annoyed me as i wanted the knocking sounds to echo and rise. Still it was a workable version of the short and i got some good feedback

 

 Cut to 2013 and i finally had the means to edit my work in ways it was meant to be done. I had bought an Imac and Final Cut Pro X software (which took practically all my savings), i felt like it was time to step up to the mark.

​Although i was very tense when it came to all the footage, i wanted a similar edit with a few choice cuts

(i think i cut around 40 seconds out of the run time). I started editing on January 8th and had it finished by the 20th. This was working on and off the project, it was an obsession and i HAD to get right.​ I also did some basic colour grading after the main edit and highlighted the blues and reds that we used. Think it works better this way, i have always admired a film called "Suspiria" by Dario Argento and i pushed that 'look' as far as i could.

 

 ​When i was in the middle of the edit i came across a site called Indie Reign, it was a site where filmmakers could sell their 'shorts' and feature films. So thinking it was worth a try and a bit of an experiment, that would come in handy for when i shot my movie (should be summer this year all being well). I uploaded and emailed all my friends/Family/Acquaintances and anyone else i thought would be interested. I got a lot of nice feedback, some views but not too many sales. This didn't matter to me too much as i was testing the field. Most shortfilms don't EVER make any money, especially NO-BUDGET SHORTS (which it is), so all worked out well. ​

 

 I recently uploaded it on my youtube site and am proud to call it my best work! (so far). If your still reading this then you got some enjoyment out of it and i'm thrilled. I create films to get a reaction out of an audience, i want them to be seen and talked about (hopefully because they're good) and i'll keep making them until the day i die because they fulfill a big part of me and......well they're fun to do.

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All the best

Matt

 

 

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Re-cutting Knock Knock

Published March 2013