Since April of 2022, I’ve been editing videos for the Face-Off series on one of the JoBlo Movie Networks YouTube pages. Here I will be posting all of the videos that I have edited for them, along with some insights into my choices.
This was my first assignment. It had been some time since I had watched the Departed and I had never seen Infernal Affairs, so this tested my ability to work somewhat blind. Having the film fresh in your head does wonders for an edit, especially from a creative standpoint. I wanted to play it safe for this one and not try anything too outlandish.
This video also introduced me to the world of producer notes. Editing and producing your own content, you don’t get feedback regarding what you’ve done. You trust that the video is done when you’re satisfied with it. While most of the notes I received for this one were regarding copyright strikes, something I WAS familiar with, it helped me understand the limitations I needed to adhere to. Great learning experience all around. Plus, I really want to see Infernal Affairs.
When this assignment was handed to me, I was pretty excited. THIS is what I know. And because of my confidence with the material, I decided to take some creative liberties, all of which were met with praise. If only I could have had access to Ryan Reynolds, this could have been so much more dynamic.
Piggybacking off of the energy from the last video, I wanted to try something a little bit different with this one. In the first two, I stuck with a simplistic approach to each “Round Card” with some creative choices made to play around with the latter. Here, I went with something a bit more stylized, but still kept with the usual narration and bell ringing. I also took an opportunity to drop in a favorite blooper of mine to comment on a moment in one of the flicks.
When this one came around, I was confident in my ability to do it but wanted to do something unique, if possible. Since my first video, I had avoided copyrights issues but here I REALLY wanted to utilize some ACTUAL Star Wars music. While I didn’t risk using it throughout, I was able to secure usage during the prologue and during Round Cards with zero issue. The use of the aforementioned tunes also allowed me to remove the narration during the Round Cards and let the music doing all the heavy lifting.
It had been awhile since I had watched both of these films, but wasn’t intimidated by the assignment. In fact, I took the initiative and rewatched BOTH which led to faster turnaround and clever editing choices, since they were fresh in my mind. I was actually glad I was handed this assignment because it reminded me how good both of these films are.
This one was a source of stress for one reason and one reason only: TIME CRUNCH. When the assignment came to me the turnaround was less than a week. I was obviously concerned I wouldn’t be able to pull it off, but I also see any challenge like this as an opportunity to prove that I AM very capable of pulling it off. Not only did I turn in my draft early, but with more pizzazz than the producer expected. He was impressed and made it known. It meant alot.
This was also the first video I did where I did NOT keep a score card. Sometimes it feels like a good idea and other times not. It’s something I’m still trying to decide on.
While I love and respect both of these fine directors, I was not 100% sure how to approach this video. Everything up to this point was focused on films or characters from pop culture but not actual people. That said, I welcomed the challenge and did my best to incorporate any and all pieces of media I could find that corresponded to the narrative. I think it came out better than I think it did.
When asked if I wanted to try my hand at this video, I felt pretty confident I could do something fun here. I was probably more familiar with Rush Hour than Bad Boys, but still remembered enough to have a game plan. The lightning round at the end was definitely a fun bit.
I had never seen either of these films before being handed this assignment, even though the Black Phone was on my radar. This gave me the push to watch them both and I was impressed with both. That said, each left me with a different feeling at the end. Despite how this Face-Off ends, the loser is my preferred title.
I wasn’t sure how this would come together after being handed this assignment. I wasn’t very familiar with the Leprechaun series and had NEVER watched a Wishmaster flick, even though I was aware of it. Luckily, it came together better than I expected.
I had no preconceived notions on how this one would turn out. This was literally a situation there were minimal opportunities to be creative, or at least I thought so.
Pencil & Paper Productions 