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THE CREATIVE CONSCIENCE OF VISHNU PERUMAL

July 25, 2017 pressva Leave a comment

Storytelling has long been about taking one’s personal voyage and relating it in a way that almost everyone can connect to it. While Hollywood has been accused of homogenizing the film industry, some artists who convey these stories are attempting to give the public a glimpse into the lives of others who differ from the majority. It’s ironic that people are often apprehensive to accept differences in their own lives but are attracted to films which display those who possess this trait. Editor Vishnu Perumal learned to be comfortable with differences early in his life. This fact combined with his fascination of film laid out his path from childhood. He has pursued his vocation with fervor for as long as he can remember; the fruits of this labor have been numerous award-winning films and the respect of the Hollywood community. This is perhaps so apparent because Perumal is an artist who seeks out projects which he connects to emotionally and believes in passionately. It’s easy to chase fame or a fat paycheck but pursuing projects which make a clear and resonant statement about society’s potential to aid or hinder is often more challenging and unsettling. For someone like Vishnu, it is also a requirement.

Vishnu relates to being different. He grew up in a situation where it was expected that both himself and others would not have the same exact background and experience. This allowed him to have a perspective different from many people. Regardless of their point of origin, most people are comfortable and content being insulated from those who are different. Contemplating the motivations and life experiences of people who have had it worse than you or who have faced greater adversity is unsettling. For Vishnu, it has been a call to action; one which he has used his most important resource to empower…the role of editor.

Differing perspectives and diversity is an inherent part of this editor’s makeup. The son of an Indian father and an Indonesian mother, Perumal experienced different cultures in his own home and in his surroundings from an early age. He explains, “I moved a lot when I was growing up due to my father’s work. I was born in a small beach town in Malaysia called Kuantan. Later, our family moved to Jakarta, Indonesia. Jakarta is a really vibrant energetic city with a lot of culture. It’s big, bold, noisy, and colorful with great food and very friendly people. Growing up there, I remember it being slightly chaotic, especially the traffic. It was a large developing city that was growing rapidly and changing every year. From there, I moved to Singapore where I spent much of my Primary to early secondary school years. Singapore was the total opposite of Jakarta because it was extremely orderly, clean, and organized. I was astounded by how clean Singapore was and I remember trying to wrap my mind around the fact that it doesn’t have traffic jams. Like Jakarta however, Singapore was a vibrant city with a whole lot of mixing of cultures. Both places were located close to the beach so I would spend most of my weekends there. It was natural to me to witness different types of people enjoying the same activities; I never questioned it.”

Watching his father edit his own family movies on a Sony editing deck interested Vishnu in the process, soon to be followed by his interest in the work of Walter Murch (the editor of such films like Apocalypse Now and The Godfather). Murch inspired an approach to the possibilities of editing for Vishnu who recalls, “I was lucky enough to sit in on a guest lecture of his where he talked about the philosophy of transitions and editing. What I really loved about his lecture was that he wasn’t focused on any technical aspect, formula, or technique but rather he talked about the philosophy behind editing concepts and how they relate to the world. It was a lecture that sometimes delved into the spiritual and metaphysical and it made me look at editing in a whole new light.”

Carrying the torch of this idea for his generation, Perumal’s many award-winning productions give evidence that this editor is focused on making a statement with film. As with many of the most respected filmmakers, Vishnu’s work often displays the more unpleasant sides of humanity in hopes that the public will contemplate the plight of those who suffer. “Violet Hour” is the story of Tom Freed, a young black man who is at odds with what he feels is natural in terms of his own sexuality and what society deems acceptable. The film is a powerful statement about the psychological effects of what others use to subjugate those who differ from their own beliefs, opinions, and actions. Freed goes so far as to undergo conversion therapy in an attempt to conform but in the end takes action with a dire resolution. At the heart of the film is the question “What freedoms does our society truly offer?”; a sobering query. Perumal worked with director Mark Allen to create the conflict that the main character feels in his heart and communicate this in the timing and actions onscreen. Allen declares, “Working alongside Vishnu throughout the duration of the project was a wonderful experience. It is rare to find an editor with as much thoughtfulness, support, and passion. What he demonstrated for the project was evident in the final product and success of the film. Vishnu’s emphasis on storytelling provided the film with a powerful tone and ending. It was really pleasant to discover how easy it is to work with him. Because the story and the style of the film according to my vision was so specific and different, I was afraid that it would have taken considerable effort and time just to explain and push for the vision I intended. Fortunately, Vishnu understood and supported my vision 100% and fought to preserve that vision. He not only was able to maintain my vision for the film, but he was also able to incorporate his own creative ideas into the product, helping to brand the film as a creation of his own.” “Violet Hour” received a nomination at The San Francisco Black Film Festival for Best Film as well as an award for Best Narrative Short at the Princeton Film Festival.

Exploring the unsettling and frightening crime of sex trafficking, Vishnu edited the film “Only Light.” An increasingly widespread occurrence across many parts of the world, including the US, sex trafficking is something that often goes unnoticed and unrecognized in many communities, which is exactly the message communicated in “Only Light.” The two lead characters in the film are young women of the same age. Zora is a rebellious teen living in California who has a crush on her older male neighbor. Zora’s parents are wary of this, as well they should be. This neighbor has a girl named Laeticia locked up as a sex slave in his basement. Laeticia was kidnapped from her village in the Congo and transported to California where she moves in and out of lucidity in the basement. When she is ultimately freed by Zora at the end we sadly realize that this event is only a wishful dream that Laeticia has created in her own mind as she is still a prisoner. The film is highly disturbing and unfortunately somewhat based in reality. Perumal was eager to work on this film as he felt it was a story that needed to be displayed to viewers. “Only Light” was recognized at the One Lens Film Festival, Blackstar Film Festival, and L.A. Indie Film Festival. Zachary Skipp (Producer of “Only Light”) remarks, “Only Light was a film with many technical aspects (shooting in different mediums, various effects, etc.) that an average editor would find daunting to work with. Fortunately, we had an editor who was able to integrate himself into the many creative aspects of the post-production process, making him adaptable in almost any project he undertakes. I hired Vishnu as an Editor for ‘Only Light’ after seeing what he had done on previous films. His ability to understand and work with abstract and experimental forms of storytelling and mold them into a cohesive story is one of the many reasons why I brought him onto the project. Vishnu was deeply involved and began working early on in the project, starting in pre-production. For example: there were some effects and stylistic transitions that we wanted to accomplish, and Vishnu was very helpful in helping us figure out how to achieve the desired result, before heading into production.”

It seems contradictory that followers and leaders of religions become upset when religious leaders who are highly flawed are depicted or revealed for their baleful nature. One would think that these “believers” would want those who are not true to their teaching to be “cast into the light.” This seems the most benevolent thing to do in the parameters of their faith. Vishnu used his editing talents on a fictionalized tale that used actual footage and inspiration from the Reverend Jim Jones entitled “Devil I Know.” The disturbing life and events of Jones are well documented but “Devil I Know” creates a storyline inspired by what we know of his behavior to give a firsthand feeling of what it may have been like to be around him. Known for the People’s Temple mass suicide (in Jonestown, Guyana), his infidelities, and other abuses of power, the film takes an almost documentary style approach to portraying this complex and tragic figure. A vital contribution of Vishnu’s on this film was to edit and present the story out of chronological order; a method used to confuse the audience as well as affirm the idea that things are not always as they seem.

The common thread of all these films is that they reveal to the audience that we should not be so assured that we understand the full truth. Well-known figures or private individuals may be dealing with many factors that we are unaware of. They may act in nefarious ways or society as a group may be overlooking the struggles they deal with. There is no way for anyone to truly know but artists and filmmakers like Vishnu Perumal keep us questioning the intent and the plight of others who are different from us. In doing this, they provide a service that few can…a conscience.

Behind the Scenes, Film Editor, international Talent, Reviews, Interviews & Features!

AWARD-WINNING EDITOR JUN XIA’S “INSIDE LINDA VISTA HOSPITAL”

June 12, 2017 pressva Leave a comment

Jun Xia is passionate about his work. As an editor, he is passionate about filmmaking in general but he makes no qualms about his love of Horror films. To be clear, it’s the difficulty of it that calls to him and is so attractive. Jun contends that for an editor, horror films are more difficult and require more of him than any other genre. There are multiple reasons for his opinion but it’s clear that the affinity between this editor and the genre is mutual. His work on the film “Inside Linda Vista Hospital” is evidence that Xia feels called to dig deep and bring brilliance, and the accolades which the film has received have vetted him as one of the premier professionals of the day. In addition to numerous awards, Jun was named winner of Best Editing at the United International Film Festival 2017 and received the prestigious honor of this film being named an Official Selection of the Festival De Cannes Short Film Corner 2017. It’s hard to fathom the concept that a factor which led to such international notoriety was conducted in a small editing room. This is the role and life of an editor however and Xia seems more than comfortable with it. When speaking about his work on “Inside Linda Vista Hospital” it is obvious that his ideas and the images on the screen transport him to another place, just as they do for the audience and even the characters on screen.

Jun is boisterous in his proclamation that editing Horror films is an art form, perhaps even a calling for him. One thing is for sure, when a professional feels as inspired and assured as this, you are certain to get an incredible film. “Inside Linda Vista Hospital” is a pseudo-documentary horror film. The script and fictional elements are used to tell the story but are presented in a style that mirrors the documentary format, giving an implied sense of reality to it. The story is about three explorers of the supernatural who go to investigate an abandoned hospital. They get lost in the hospital and one member of the trio becomes separated from the group. While the other two try to connect and find him, they encounter a variety of horrible things in the hospital. John (the missing member) is lost in the basement as the other two characters encounter patients who had been tortured in the hospital and eventually died. Several surprise twists and turns in the story line deliver the shocks and startles that viewers of this genre love. While it all seems so natural and intuitive when viewing the movie, the film’s editor reveals that it is quite the opposite.

While many people operate under the presumption that an editor simply connects and dissects different scenes, the role is actually one of the most vital in creating a film’s story. Working closely with the director, Jun commonly finds himself in deep discussion about what tone to take in placing the scenes together. As with any creative endeavor, if you aren’t noticing the difficulty that it takes to create the work…it means that a highly skilled artist has manifested it. Xia explains, “Once filming is wrapped, there is still so much work to do before the film takes shape. The story is given to the film editor. The editor should discuss with the director to understand the director’s interpretation and ideas of the script. The editor should also understand the director’s style because every director has a unique voice which will naturally lead to different film styles. After the synthesis of these, the editor will successively present the story’s narrative methods using editing software. It’s paramount to understand the role and temperaments of all these professionals in order to be an effective film editor (the ability to understanding what the writer, director, and actors are doing). When it is most creative and enjoyable is during the post-production, the director and the film editor will communicate and discuss at great length. The film editor needs to understand the style and the ideal effect of the director before starting the cutting. The director will also give the film editor a large creative space in order to maximize the effect that presented by the film.”

Every editor has a process and Xia’s is very specific when it comes to Horror films like “Inside Linda Vista Hospital.” Obviously, he does an initial check of the footage to find the subjective perspectives and intersperse them into the cinematic look of the film; for example, using the POV shots to present the sense of what the character sees while walking. In this way, the audience will feel like they are moving in the film scene while watching the movie. “Inside Linda Vista Hospital” had a large number of handheld camera shots which can be useful but problematic for an editor. Jun describes, “There are a lot of handheld shots in this film. I needed to edit these shots to move fast, so the audience will feel that it’s real and scary. There is a shot in which the character runs into an abandoned red room; I wanted them to run very fast and then fall down on the ground. To achieve this, when I edited this scene, I removed some frames when they run and fall. This is a good idea when editing moving shots. It adds a jolt and surprise element.” Xia adds, “It’s true that editing with a moving or hand-held shot is more difficult than with a fixed shot. A moving shot is constantly changing and often represents the state and psychology of the characters, such as running, walking, or moving with the visual changes of the characters. The editing of these shots should be very reasonable and the convergence of the character movements should be smooth. When editing this, you need to find the splicing points of the screen and then chose the best joint to link the senses of different contents and form a complete action or concept. In addition, based on the characters’ physical movements on the scenes, it’s best to select the beginning or the end of the action as the editing point. In contrast to this, a fixed shot is relatively static and visually has no obvious dynamic shot.

The challenge for Jun when editing a horror film comes not only from the technical aspect of what he is doing but the content which he is given. The footage for a horror film has such a diverse number of factors that affect its delivery. VFX, Dolly shots, fighting or chasing scenes, and other methods are essentially requirements of the genre. While many types of films include some of these, only the rarest contained what is almost always contained in a Horror film. Of course, no scary movie is complete without those unexpected frights which elicit screams and then laughter. This is yet another reason that Jun Xia loves this type of work; it allows him to use the very best he can muster to draw such a wide range of emotional responses from audiences across the planet.

Behind the Scenes, Film Editor, international Talent, Intetnational Films, Reviews, Interviews & Features!

“LIKE COTTON TWINES” EDITOR TING YU CRAFTS AN EMOTIONAL AND AWARD-WINNING TALE

June 12, 2017 pressva Leave a comment

Like Cotton Twines is one of those rare films that breaks your heart and inspires you at the same time. In the form of cinema, it achieves what no other informative vehicle can; it gives the audience an inside view of a very real situation in another culture. A story such as this touches not only the viewer but also those who create it. Ting Yu served as the editor for this production, carefully crafting its presentation with writer/director/producer Leila Djansi. This film’s content directly speaks to both women as it relates to the plight of women in this particular part of the world. Ting also notes that there are facets of the story which resonate with her due to her country of origin. As a lauded and respected member of the film industry, Yu proved her value to the film and the emotional impact it has made. Now available for streaming on Netflix, Like Cotton Twines is receiving a great deal of accolades, as it did in Ghana (the location of the film’s story) where it was nominated for thirteen awards (at the Ghana Movie Awards, the biggest national movie awards in Ghana) and won 6 awards, including the best film editing award for Ting.

The film focuses on the traditional culture in Ghana. Told from the perspective of an American teaching volunteer, it focuses on his attempts to save one of his students, a fourteen-year-old girl, from religious slavery. Djansi contacted Ting based on her reel and declares, “There is a rhythm to Ting’s editing that is on par with some of the greatest editors. Whether it’s on the micro or macro level, she excels with every edit. She combines shots in a way that perfectly conveys the message of the scene and overall tone of the film. It’s inconceivable to think that Like Cotton Twines would have received the attention and praise that it has without Ting’s talent. When I approached Ting it was because I knew that I had to have an editor of exceptional ability to help me realize my vision.” Conflicting opinions are healthy in film and often lead to better art. Yu’s perspective and ideas are what led Leila to bring Ting aboard the film. For the scene in which Allison (the teacher) did not find Tuigi (the student) on the bus, Leila wanted to use a long take from the beginning to the end, because of the production value. At Yu’s urging, she agreed that this take was beautiful but too long. Ting created a cut half the length of the original; one which allowed the audience to still feel the same emotional content but make the story move faster and more entertaining. She found that her personality and opinions were very strong as an editor but she had no problem listening to the director to help achieve her vision of the film. These are the traits that endeared her to Leila Djansi. These two professionals worked at a feverish pace to complete Like Cotton Twines on a very tight schedule. Yu recalls, “We had several cuts before we locked the picture. Each time we made a cut, Leila and I would sit down and watch the whole film together; both of us giving each other notes. Leila is very open-minded. She is always willing to listen to my opinion, especially when we think we need to cut something out of the film. It was an ideal situation. We would challenge each other…in a very positive way. I feel that this is one of the ways you achieve such a good end result; when everyone seeks the very best and refuses to take anything less than that. One of my favorite memories is of Leila’s cooking. She is such a good cook and would cook for me, because we were working such long hours to finish on schedule. I’d be making cuts based on our notes and also guessing what she would be making me for lunch. That’s not the kind of experience and positive work environment I think most editors get. Add to that the fact that Like Cotton Twines won so many awards; I’m a little spoiled by it all.”

Perhaps one of the unseen facets of Ting’s approach and excellence as an editor is because she started out pursuing the path of director. Her history with secondary choices has proven quite fortuitous. When Yu didn’t get accepted into her chosen University as a medicine major, she switched to TV and Film production. She found that she had a lot of natural talent and it excited her. She felt a strong connection to American films, in particular the work of Steven Spielberg. It became apparent to her that an editor has a different means by which to structure and shape the message and tone of a film and she found it more intuitive for her personally.

Ting notes that one of the reasons she was interested in the role of editor of Like Cotton Twines was the story of females in a culture which does not see them as equal to men. Because of these aspects of her own country of origin (Yu is from China) she believed that the commonly held view that men are seen as somehow superior to women gave her great empathy for the characters and storyline of the film. She communicates, “It’s silly to feel this way when I know that everyone is equal but, coming from a society where women are not seen as important as men…it is difficult to shake this idea from your own thoughts. Leila and this film do an amazing job communicating these ideas and I am proud to have been a part of it.”

The attention and accolades which Ting Yu received for her work in Like Cotton Twines led directly to more work. Enjoying a wide variety of productions such as editing an African documentary about wildlife, Kickboxer: Retaliation (once again starring Jean-Claude Van Damme), and a trio of live action films based on comics and toys in China, Ting Yu has become one of those editors who is in demand across the planet. It’s written in the stars that those directors whom she has admired will be watching her work and likely remembering her name for future projects.

Chinese Filmmaker, Film, Film Editor, international Talent

Editor Minghao Shen helps terrify audiences in award-winning horror flick ‘Emily’

June 11, 2017 pressva Leave a comment

Growing up in Beijing China, Minghao Shen always loved film. Unlike many who enjoy watching a movie, he would think about how it was being made. The details behind how each scene was put together were what captivated him; he wanted to be a filmmaker. Eventually, the nuances and strategy behind editing caught his attention, and he knew that was where his future was. Now, he is an internationally celebrated editor.

Shen has worked on countless critically-acclaimed projects, earning him a reputation as one of China’s best recent film editors. His work on films such as Inside Linda Vista Hospital, Stay, Cartoon Book, and Red String has allowed worldwide audiences to see what he is capable of, showing without a doubt why he is so respected in the industry. His work on the horror film Emily perfectly encapsulates what the editor is capable of.

“It is a simple but tense horror film. The movements of shots and the whole visual style are really outstanding. I knew that there would be challenges, but that it would be a great chance for editing,” said Shen.

The film tells the scary story of a woman named Emily. Emily dies giving birth at home after her husband, John, abandons her. However, she will have her revenge from beyond the grave when she returns as a ghost set on killing her widowed husband.

“My favorite part of the whole production was talking about the story, because we found out that there were multiple options would work for it. Although each of the options would have been great, but couldn’t mix them all together, otherwise the tone would be chaos. As an editor, having to narrow this down and figure out how to properly tell the story and convey the right tone was great,” said Shen.

Shen’s instincts proved to be spot on, as Emily went on to do very well at several prestigious film festivals. It was an Official Selection at the Los Angeles CineFest, the SoCal Creative and Innovative Film Festival, the Pittsburgh Independent Film Festival, the Action on Film International Film Festival, the California Independent Film Festival, and the Columbia Gorge International Film Festival. It won Best Overall Micro Film at the Indie Gathering International Short Film Festival and at the Accolade Global Film Competition it won the Award of Excellence.

“I had many complex feelings when I discovered the film was getting a lot of awards. It was a blend of excitement and satisfaction after the hard work everyone had done. We know that we took a bunch of time and work on the film, so I was so glad that our hard work got such encouragement from the festivals,” said Shen.

None of this could have been possible without Shen’s editing talents. He spent his time taking notes every time he met with the director, ensuring he still achieved the vision of the film while bringing his own touch to it. After the first rough cut, there were a lot of points that needed to be ironed out and redone, but based on notes he did originally, it greatly assisted to the time it took.

“Horror film is always about beats, so the director worked really hard with me to specify each second to make the film the best,” said Shen. “I talked with the director about our thoughts and he trusted me for the style based on my previous experience. There were always some different editing choices between me and the director. He is a talented and continuously brainstorming how to make the film better, so I always let him know more than one choice to let our minds be more open, so that we could avoid some useless change and waste of work time. We actually had some different thoughts in some parts. After a lot of meetings, we finally compromised our differences and both of us thinks this made the finished product better than what just our own ideas would have.”

The director, Jun Xia, agrees, and knows that without Shen his film could not have achieved what it did. The two have worked together on multiple projects since Emily, and Xia knows that Shen’s talents are essential to making a good film.

“Minghao and I had worked together for a few times before, and he is always a good listener. He can take feedback and produce more ideas all the time. Minghao is an experienced editor. We talked a lot about a lot of different ways to make Emily better, and it did. He can always come up with unique thoughts when it comes to editing,” said Xia.

Everyone that works with Shen is continuously impressed by his editing skills. Without his work on Emily, audiences may not have been on the edge of their seats, terrified about what would happen next.

You can watch Shen’s impressive editing work on the short film Emily here.

Behind the Scenes, Canadian Talent, Film Editor, international Talent, Reviews, Interviews & Features!

PETER CHRAPKA HELPS SET HISTORY STRAIGHT

June 3, 2017 pressva Leave a comment

History can tell us volumes. The main shortcoming is that it is sometimes selective in what it wants to tell us. A half-truth is still akin to a lie. Anyone who presents themselves without fault is likely someone who has a major one. This is particularly applicable to countries. To deny fallacy or shortcomings is to admit that you have them to the world. When truth is omitted it is up to artists and journalists to bring these occurrences into the light. Ryan Boyko, Diana Cofini, & Editor Peter Chrapka performed the patriotic task of revealing the truth about the internment camps of World War I in Canada. The love of their country compelled them to create a 32-episode documentary series about this period. This documentary series would inspire a feature documentary to expound on the tale. Only in facing the events of the past can Canada hope to understand and avoid them in the future, a lesson that is applicable to every place on Earth…no matter where you live or your ideology.

“The Camps” is a documentary series depicting the period between 1914 and 1920 when over 8,500 people were wrongfully imprisoned in Canada. Almost forgotten, “The Camps” honors the memory of these men, women, and children by telling the story of their affliction. This production was recognized with an Award of Recognition by Hollywood International Moving Pictures Film and an Award of Merit (Special Mention) at the IndieFest Film Awards. Director/writer/producer Ryan Boyko approached Peter about the project. Chrapka openly admits that the content was as instrumental as the process for him, stating, “After meeting Ryan, the director, I learned of the internment camps for the first time and was shocked as I’d never heard about it before. Ryan saw my previous work and hired me to set up the project and sync all the audio. Ryan noticed the great attention to detail I had in handling the footage and setting up the project properly as well as my past awards and recognitions for work in the documentary genre so he offered me the position of video editor for the ‘The Camps.’ I felt like this was an important project for all of us. There is a responsibility that comes with a career in which you have a line of communication with the public.”

“The Camps” received so much attention and praise that its creators decided to fashion a feature documentary entitled That Never Happened: Canada’s First National Internment Operations. The expanded production team focused on the story of the 8,500 people who were wrongfully imprisoned in concentration camps across Canada, not for anything they had done but because of where they came from, as well as the fact that in 1954 the public records were destroyed. In the 1980s, a few brave men and women began working to reclaim this chapter in history to ensure future generations would know about it. Chrapka and his fellow filmmakers became the next generation in this lineage determined to reveal and discuss the true events while learning from them. Delivering a story such as this is never easy, Peter concedes, “I commend Ryan on his pursuits to tell this story in Canada’s history that has been erased from the history books. He wants this information to reach as many Canadians as possible. This web series has been viewed by thousands of people from around the world and I think the feature documentary will greatly help in reaching thousands more.”

It quickly became apparent to Chrapka that his task would be monumental working on the feature documentary. It involved locating and researching archived clips of the time period. Luckily, the Canadian National Film Board has a fairly large collection of footage from this era which the production was able to license. Of course, most of the records about the internment camps had been destroyed, meaning that no footage specific to the camps was available. Working with a combination of black and white footage from the 1920s as well as footage acquired from private citizens’ camcorders at special events in the 1990s up to the 2000s gave Peter some video but there was a distortion in the resolution as the quality of some of the old footage was not great quality. In documentaries, it is expected that archive clips are of lower quality. These archived clips became an integral part of telling the story and allowed the audience to visualize what the interviewees were referring to. This footage, combined with numerous interviews, gave a strong emotional component to the documentary.

The primary force behind both productions, Ryan Boyko, declares, “Peter’s incredibly important tasks included splicing stories together from the hours of interview footage we shot (which gave him creative control over what conversations made it into the finalized episodes), choosing the music for each episode from a stock cue library, splicing in our 4K drone footage (drone footage was a relatively new concept at the time, and required skill and grace to effectively edit into each episode), and overseeing the work of our color corrector, sound mixer, and other post-production personnel. All this adds up to Peter being an essential member of our crew, and a lead factor in The Camps & That Never Happened: Canada’s First National Internment Operations receiving the incredible critical and commercial success that it has. The web-series has garnered awards from the IndieFEST Film Awards (where the series won an Award of Merit for Best Documentary Short) and Hollywood International Moving Pictures Film Festival (where the film won an Award of Recognition for Best Webisode/New Media). Peter was such a vital component and essential part of the voice with which we delivered this story, I knew that he must be included in the feature documentary when we decided to move forward with it. He is inseparable from the tone we achieved in That Never Happened.”

It’s easy to tell the kind of story which everyone wants to hear; communicating painful self-implicating ones requires bravery and introspection. It’s only by recognizing one’s own flaws that they may be overcome. Peter admits, “As a proud Canadian, I am glad I got to help in getting this story out to the world and sharing a part of Canada’s past that most Canadians have never heard of. I have learned a lot about this event in Canada’s history and have mentioned it to many of my friends and colleagues. They were as surprised as I was when I told them about this part in Canada’s history because it was never mentioned in any of our history classes growing up. I also learned a lot about storytelling and the importance of keeping the audience engaged and interested as a result of working both of these projects. I’m incredibly proud of these productions because I believe that all art is best when it is honest.”

Behind the Scenes, Film Editor, international Talent, Reviews, Interviews & Features!

VISHNU PERUMAL: EXPERIMENTING WITH EDITING

May 21, 2017 pressva Leave a comment

Vishnu Perumal loves editing. In fact, he loves it so much that he is constantly challenging himself. Yes, he challenges himself to do better and better work on each project but it goes much further than this. He is constantly seeking out new ways of using editing in a production. He is vigilant is this approach. Sometimes a unique idea comes from pondering and sometimes simply by coincidence. You have to keep your eyes open in order to spot your opportunity and Perumal has his eyes wide open. The old adage “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” aptly applies to Perumal as he is constantly in search of differing ways to force himself to think outside the norm and how both he and the community view the role of an editor. Because of this, he often uses his work on smaller film productions to create an approach that he can access for larger ones. For this professional who has numerous award-winning productions vetting his abilities, complacency is a dirty word.

Something as mundane as listening to a friend describe a time when she accidentally hit the no tip button on her phone after getting a Lyft ride home sparked an idea for Vishnu. The discussion evolved into a debate on the virtues of tipping. Recognizing a universally relatable experience, Perumal decided to approach some of his fellow filmmakers and use it as a challenge to create a one-minute short. Vishnu would take a short story and condense it to a two act structure like that of a joke: setup and punchline. This was presented to a number of festivals that had a category for one minute films (like the Miami Short Film Festival). The film, titled Tipping Point, was a hit and proved that sometimes smaller is better.

The action of Tipping Point starts at a restaurant with a man and a woman in mid-conversation about the virtues of tipping. The man explains that he rarely tips, to which the woman begins to lecture him on the importance of tipping. The man begins to throw out scenarios on which no tipping may be fair, and mentions an outlandish one involving a horrible Lyft ride. Unbeknownst to him, she had experienced that exact same scenario and in the end reveals to have accidentally pressed the no tip button after sneezing. Comedy, conflict, and a surprise reveal at the end…all within one minute! The impact of the performances cannot be communicated (a trait it shares with full length feature films) by a simple description; yet, what stands out here is the idea that Perumal is on a staunch search for ways to hone his craft.

Vishnu confirms that even in a film this, being succinct is a virtue. He states, “Brevity is a useful tool in editing short films, especially comedic ones. As in “Sexcapades” [the award-winning series on which Vishnu served as editor], brevity was used in this film to cut out all unimportant aspects, lines, moments, etc. When a film is stripped clean of all the fat and the spine of the narrative is laid bare, it becomes easier to add on moments and embellishments. Unlike “Sexcapades,” this film did not have the luxury of adding awkward moments. It was solely focused on getting the joke out as cleanly and efficiently as possible.” In a revealing statement about his constant quest for improvement, Perumal mentions, “If the story and concept of a film is simple and straightforward enough, you will be able to cut that down to however short you want it to be. Thinking back now, I may have been able to trim this one-minute cut to an even shorter 30 second cut. This film was a really positive experience in my editing techniques and ability to focus on brevity. It has helped me identify how to trim the fat when editing pieces that seem too long winded or excessive.”

In a much darker subject matter, Vishnu utilized his talent on The Devil I Know. Inspired by a Jim Jones video (the infamous cult leader how led his followers of the People’s Temple to a mass suicide in Jonestown, Guyana) the film saw Perumal using his editing skills to present the life of Jones in an anachronous order. In an approach similar to “found footage” the whole aspect and style of editing was instrumental in underlining the plot of this film. The result was a visually challenging story with an engaging narrative, leaving audiences mesmerized.

The film begins with the preacher amongst his congregation in the beginning of his sermon. As the sermon ramps up we witness cuts to a later point in his life where he meets up with a woman from the street. The two leave to an undisclosed location and make love. It is revealed (when the action returns to the original setting) that the woman is actually one of his congregation members. When the woman attempts to leave, the preacher won’t let her. As she fights back, the preacher becomes violent and strangles her to death. As the preacher stands over her body, the words from his sermon play in the background.

Vishnu comments, “The intention was to juxtapose the preacher’s private life with his public life, creating an initial sense of confusion for the audience. I wanted the audience to look through this initial sense of confusion and come to realize and identify what it is they are watching. By presenting the events out of chronological order, I also wanted to emulate the message that things aren’t always what they seem as well as the main character’s duplicity. Having the film told out of order also enabled a significant reveal of the female character as one of the congregation members.”

For those who wish to excel and succeed, constant self-assessment is a requirement. The professionals who are very good are challenged by the industry; those who are great challenge themselves and the industry. It is apparent which side of this Vishnu Perumal resides on.

Film Editor, Reviews, Interviews & Features!

Editor Fei Zheng Uses Her Skills to Create Captivating Visual Stories

April 17, 2017 lgreenbaulm Leave a comment

“Editing is not a technical process. It’s an artistic process. It’s about storytelling. What editors do is the final rewrite of the script.”

-Jack Tucker (editor of “Shogun” and “Winds of War)

From selecting the best shots from hours of footage to creating seamless transitions and deciding the pacing for the story, a film’s editor truly does determine the way a story plays out on screen; and nobody know this better than film editor Fei Zheng.

Zheng explains, “A bad structure will ruin whole story– it will make the story boring, unclear and you will quickly lose the audience’s attention. The structure is really important to the story because it is the basic element that helps the audience to understand a story.”

Originally from Hangzhou, China, Zheng began her career directing and editing the popular Chinese television series “Ye You Shen” and “Xiao Yaer,” which aired weekly on the national station Hangzhou Television. After carving out a strong reputation for herself as an exponentially talented and sought after editor in China, Zheng moved to the U.S. where she took her skills to the next level and completed an MFA in Motion Pictures and Television Editing from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA.

Zheng’s experience spans the gamut– from working on television series, where she had a little more than three days to deliver the episodes from the first day of shooting, to commercials such as the recently released Alpine Dairy “K-Drama” and “Marble Game” advertisements, and music videos for Madelaine Minx’ songs ‘Rabbi of Rap,’ ‘Sushi’ and ‘Feminem,’ as well as editing a multitude of narratives, Fei Zheng has clearly done it all. But not all animals are created equal, and some projects are more complicated than others– and that’s where Zheng’s skill stands out.

“In a large crew, the shooting process is very complicated and there are always some oversights. In this case, the editors use some ‘tricks’ to make the scene play out on the screen more smoothly. Sometimes, I prefer to watch the film that I did without sound, and pay attention to it’s feeling for story the first. Then I can figure out the problems concerning sound, and select the right music to match the scene,” explains Zheng.

“I have become more and more familiar with the environment of filmmaking, and the significance of both image and sound since I first began editing. Editing is the second creation of the film, and for me, the interesting part is helping to create a better story, which is based on the script.”

Anyone who’s Zheng’s work in the realm of narrative films would be hardpressed to call her anything but a true artist. Her work on the thriller film “She,” which was released last year and chosen as an Official Selection of the QFest New Jersey LGBT Film & Digital Media Festival where it was nominated for an award, is a perfect example of how Zheng is able to come in and rewrite the story with her edits.

“She” director Yuxin Zhang explains, “For ‘She,’ Fei Zheng was both the lead editor and the color corrector on the film. She made quite a lot of changes with edits. She reorganized the footage in a way that made the plot more compact and the overall story more attractive. She definitely drew out and established the anticipatory suspense elements within the film with her edits, and those are important for any thriller film.”

Starring Nika Burnett from the two-time Golden Globe Award winning series “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and the four-time Primetime Emmy nominated series “Castle,” Lissa Keigwin from the series “Wives with Knives” and the film “Love Pyar Whatever,” and Sabrina Ranellucci from the film “The Selected,” Zhang’s film “She” portraits a twisted love story between two young women with one of them harboring a dark secret that may prove to be fatal in the end.

In it’s final cut, the film pulls viewers in from the opening scene and keeps them guessing what is going to happen next; and when it finally comes to a close, audiences are given an ending that few would have expected. But as it is with most productions, the final cut went through several transformations on Zheng’s editing screen before turning into the powerful piece that screened at festivals across the country.

“The problem I met with ‘She’ was that the structure and emotion were not strong in the rough cut, so I changed the order of the scenes, which made the story more meaningful and easy to understand. After I speeded up the pacing, the emotional intensity also became much stronger than before,” explains Zheng.

She adds, “I love editing thriller and suspense films. The challenge is to create suspense and attract the audience’s attention. I am interested in creating puzzles with the story and showing hints but not exposing all the elements… leaving enough space to give audiences a breath to think.”

Aside from the actors’ performances, what keeps viewers engaged throughout the film is the way Zheng chose to sequence the shots for each scene, inserting close-ups and slowing down the footage to help us connect to the emotions of the individual characters where necessary, and speeding up the footage when things become intense. Zheng’s work as the editor of the thriller film “She” was paramount to creating the markedly high-paced energy of the story that keeps us on the edge of our seats.

For someone who began their career editing television shows, Fei Zheng has quickly become a strong narrative film editor whose work is creating quite a buzz in the U.S.; and we can’t wait to see what she lends her editing wand to next!

Film Editor, Reviews, Interviews & Features!

Editing Genius Rudy Vermorel Engages Millennials with his Work

March 24, 2017 Scott Prewitt Leave a comment

At the heart of every production, whether it’s an advertisement or an epic drama, is a story with a purpose. The writers, cinematographers and director are all critical to a project’s creation, but it’s at the editor’s desk where it becomes more than just raw footage and words on a script. It’s up to the editor to see the forest through the trees — to know the story that’s being told, and to be able to put the right scenes together in the right places like so many puzzle pieces, to create the final product that movie theater audiences and home viewers will ultimately see.

The job of an editor can be grueling, but for Rudy Vermorel it’s all a labor of love. Painstakingly parsing through hundreds of hours of footage, one second at a time, is just the beginning of Vermorel’s zenlike process. He cuts, splices and rearranges scenes with a methodical efficiency and confidence honed by experience, breathing life into the story with every move.

“Once I have the footage I start to watch it to get an idea of the general tone,” Vermorel said. “If there is music in the background of the video I listen to the song to feel all the emotions and adapt the song to the footage. Then, I start cutting and I create my magic.”

In 2016, Taco Bell hired Vermorel as the lead editor for the company’s web series “Taco Tales,” an innovative marketing campaign geared toward the millennial demographic. In each episode, actors reenact Taco Bell-related stories found online at sites like Facebook and Reddit. Lighthearted and at times zany, editing the web series gave Vermorel the chance to showcase his talent for comedic timing. Moreover, the decision by such a massive company to hire Vermorel for a major social media marketing campaign speaks volumes about his talent.

Vermorel worked hard to earn his reputation as a leading figure in the field, a reputation which in turn earned him the trust of a wide array of high-profile clients internationally. Among countless other productions he’s served as the lead editor on advertisements for Ford, music videos for artists including MTV Video Music Award winner Demi Lovato, and in 2016 he expanded his repertoire with a venture into the rapidly growing market of mobile gaming.

Supercell – the group behind the runaway hit game “Clash of Clans” on iPhone and Android smartphones – has relied heavily on its strategy of widespread marketing to entice players into joining, to great effect. When the company released “Clash Royale” in 2016, it began preparing for a massive advertising blitz and Vermorel was recruited as the campaign’s editor.

“I am not a big game player so… at first I was apprehensive about how to edit it,” he said. “I figured out that the best way to work on it was to start playing the game, and I enjoyed it a lot. After that, I had so many ideas for how to highlight ‘Clash Royale,’ and all the fun, strategy and entertainment that make up the game.”

Initially the campaign was challenging for Vermorel, but he quickly adapted and before long the campaign had produced 20 videos publicizing “Clash Royale.” The videos racked up more than 120 million views, and the game became the top downloaded and highest-earning app on the iOS App Store overnight.

“I was very attached to the characters. I attributed to them a very different style, which allowed me to vary the editing techniques,” he said. “I wanted to showcase the funny side of the characters. For that we worked on their design to make them endearing, then I opted for modern dynamic editing in order to attract the interest of a large audience.”

The campaign was such a wild success that Vermorel was asked to continue editing the game’s ad campaigns for the next three years, the first of which will begin development this year.

Very few people involved in a production can ever be as intimately familiar with the project as the editor. A dedicated editor can spend days or weeks poring through every scene countless times. They can spend years perfecting the ability to bring the narrative together using the timing, cadence, and music of each scene. An editor’s job is to build order from chaos, to understand the director’s vision for a project and to bring that vision to life. A production is only as good as its editor, and Rudy Vermorel is the best there is.

Behind the Scenes, Director, Film Editor, international Talent, Reviews, Interviews & Features!

ZHENG KANG’S LION DANCE IS AN INSTANT CLASSIC OF ANIMATION

January 7, 2017 pressva Leave a comment

Zheng Kang is redefining the role of animator. Yes, he is technically given the title director/animator but he does (pun intended) the lion’s share of the work on Lion Dance. For this production, he helped create the script, directed a live action cast (more about this later), directed the animation (coordinated with different teams on different continents), animated, and essentially helped to coordinate every aspect of this film. Zheng has been a driving force behind so many animated productions (Comedy Central’s TripTank, Diors Samurai, Baby and Granny, etc.) that he is constantly striving to create original approaches to ward off any unconscious attempt to fall into a pattern. In Lion Dance, Kang has gone to new heights of diligence and preparation in order to create a unique look and storyline to reflect accurately on his native culture and the characters of the film. It’s this intense work ethic and attention to even the smallest detail that led to a host of accolades for Lion Dance, not the least of which was the decision to use Lion Dance as a teaching aid by the faculty at USC (University of Southern California) School of Cinematic Arts for their graduate animation classes. Winning awards and screenings at prestigious festivals is high praise (both of which Lion Dance has garnered) but being used as a template to the premier graduate students in the field is a rare accomplishment indeed. It doesn’t come easy; Zheng can attest to this. He worked hard to make Lion Dance an epitome of its ilk. The achievements and praise of the film confirm that all of this tenacity paid off in spades for this young and creative professional. Lion Dance continues to focus attention on Zheng Kang’s contributions to the animation film world.

In creating Lion Dance, Kang wanted to present a love story that was original. Just as importantly, he wanted to present its main characters in a new way. He states, “As a Chinese man, I’m well aware that the male Chinese characters are often presented as comic relief. I was committed to portraying my leading man as exactly that, a leading man. I wanted to show that he could be brave, kind, searching for love; I wanted him to represent all those qualities that Asian men are seen void of.” The Hero, Jian, is the “head” of the lion in the traditional ‘Lion Dance’ during the parade celebrating Chinese New Year in his town. He and Ayumi (the female lead) lock eyes and fall in love, but Jian is in mid- parade and must continue his march through the town. It is typical when the Lion Dance is performed in real-life that two teams will take turns performing inside the Lion costume because it is so heavy and hot! When Jian hears a hand tapping on his Lion costume, he assumes it is the relief team and he races off to find Ayumi. He arrives at her balcony and is sad to see she is not there. Heartbroken, he heads back to take his place in the parade. The film then switches to Ayumi’s perspective of the events. After their eyes met, Ayumi decides that she can’t let Jian simply march away. She races after him, catching up with his Lion at the same time as the relief teams are taking their shift. She taps Jian’s Lion costume, and he mistakes her for the relief team. Throwing the Lion head onto Ayumi without looking, he races off to find her, unaware that she was standing right next to him! Now, as the relief team begin to march, poor Ayumi finds herself pushed along inside the parade. The star-crossed lovers seem doomed at this point to be diverted from each other. In the final act of the film, a sad Jian becomes very confused when he spots that his Lion is no longer in the parade, and is instead playing with local children. He walks over and lifts the Lion’s head off to find Ayumi underneath. Both are surprised, and relieved, having finally found each other. In the final scene, the camera drifts off to a romantic firework display as the young heroes fall in love. Zheng created these young characters to provide a role model he felt had been too often overlooked in film. He comments, “I wanted to ensure that I was as diverse as possible and created a starring role for an Asian man that allowed him to be an action hero (rather than a comedy relief) and a starring role for an Asian woman that allowed her to have confidence, strength of character, and personality (rather than being a Caucasian guy’s one-dimensional love interest). I believe that no matter what art form you work in, you have the ability to inspire and educate society with a positive message.

In his role as director/animator for Lion Dance, Kang utilized a very unique approach. Because he wanted the characters to avoid any status-quo type movements found in animation, Zheng cast and directed a group of live actors in order to get completely original movements and expressions. Employing a method known as rotoscoping, the animators would work on top of the live action footage and follow the actual live sequences. This led the animators to following the movements of the actors rather than deferring to their stock ideas about what movements should look like in animation. The result is immediately noticeable as different from the vast majority of animation productions. Zheng concedes that this method was every bit as successful as he had imagined. The only difficult aspect was that he had so many great actors auditioning with interesting interpretations of the characters.

To meet the scheduling and budgetary constraints but yet still bring his vision to completion, Kang hatched another ingenious approach. Coordinating multiple crews on different continents, he created a twenty-four hour per day work schedule. Zheng’s co-director Tim Pattinson was astonished as he relates, “On Lion Dance, Zheng’s directing skills were exceptional. Using a series of sketches, drawovers, and video calling, he was able to effectively and assuredly communicate very complex animation direction to teams across 5 continents, resulting in the successful completion of our animated scenes. In Tokyo, Zheng created a complex and incredibly successful method of visually communicating the direction of our original sound and score design to Japanese speaking team members, via a series of graphs showing our story’s emotional peaks and troughs, high-energy moments, etc. Lion Dance has been very well-received globally and I have no doubt that it could not have enjoyed any of this success without Zheng’s clear, confident, and incredibly commercially-successful direction. Zheng’s skills on Lion Dance as the Animation Lead were invaluable, in terms of achieving our finished film.” The recognition and achievements Lion Dance has received are literally too numerous to mention in one article but a few include: Award of Recognition (Hollywood International Moving Pictures Film Festival 2016), Animation Of The Month (The Monthly Film Festival) October 2016, Best Animation (Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards) November 2016, Best Animated Short Film (Chandler International Film Festival) October 2017, Best Animation (Asian On Film), Best Short Animation (Canadian Diversity Film Festival), Best Short Animation (Canadian Diversity Film Festival), and official screenings around the world in LA, London, Guam, Toronto, and many others.

When asked what fueled the herculean amount of work he did for Lion Dance, Zheng reveals, “I really do feel that any artist can have a positive effect. I knew that this was a great love story that could also show people from my part of the world to be the same as anywhere else. There will always be cultural differences but in our hearts we all want the same things. Animation serves to tell that story just as well as a feature film, a great song, or a moving painting. Oh, and one other thing fueled all of this. Typically, for a whole year, the work for me was 15-hour days/7 days- per-week. Approaching the last month of production, the light at the end of the tunnel was visible. Tim [Pattinson] and I have a friend named Konie and his fantastic Korean cooking kept us going. we’d have been living on hot dogs and potato chips for that last month if not for him. That’s a hero to me as well!”

Film Editor, Mexican Filmmakers, Music Videos

Zeon: EDITorially Obsessed and Growing Through Fashion Film

December 29, 2016 pressva Leave a comment

fashion-films-zeon-with-mextilo-team-at-asvoff — Zeon with *Mextilo* Team at ASVOFF

Growing up in Mexico City, Alejandro Salinas was captivated by the artistry of music videos. Crafting images and story to music, and the creativity that went along with it, was something he knew he wanted to be a part of. Eventually, this transitioned from a dream to a reality, and now he is professionally known around the world as Zeon, an extraordinary director and editor who isn’t just passionate about what he does, but this passion translates to talent, making him one of the best.

Zeon’s career has been filled with accomplishments making music videos and films. This past year, he also saw success in the fashion world, which he calls one of the highlights of his career so far. Zeon directed and edited first Mexican fashion documentary, titled Mextilo.

“I travelled to Paris, met all these important fashion designers and saw how far a simple idea can take you,” said Zeon. “It was an amazing experience. I collaborated with a very hard working and talented team, who are now great friends who I keep working with. We’re like a family now and I’m glad this project allowed all of us to come together.”

The documentary did so well that it’s now being turned into a book, something Zeon is very proud of. He originally wanted to work on the film because the producer, Gustavo Prado, was someone he had always admired and wanted to work with. However, after being exposed to the project, it being the first of its kind made it even more attractive to get involved with.

“I worked very closely with Gustavo. I had a great time, because he’s not just a co-worker, but a good friend and someone I learned a lot from. The editors are now friends of mine with whom I’ve worked on in different music videos. They are all very talented and fun,” said Zeon. “But getting to know all these designers, the fashion history behind my culture, and this whole visual world I got to explore by making the documentary made working on Mextilo amazing.”

The film had a long process of editing and re-editing, shooting interviews and making the film better with each cut, but having a clear structure and organization allowed Zeon to push through. This perseverance led to outstanding results. In addition to the book deal, Mextilo was the first Mexican fashion documentary premiered at ASVOFF film festival in Paris.

“I feel very honored to have been personally invited by Diane Pernet to the festival. Working so hard on a project locally and seeing how it was much bigger when seen from a worldwide perspective was very rewarding,” said Zeon.

Although it was the first Mexican fashion documentary to appear at the festival, Mextilo was not Zeon’s first taste of success in the world of fashion film. He previously worked on the fashion film and music video Dieode.

“It’s motivating to have such recognition because it proves I’m not the only one who sees potential in what I do, and even though some people in my country don’t seem to appreciate it, the rest of the world does, even more than I expected,” said Zeon. “It was great being involved in all the creative aspects of the film and getting to develop my creative vision with many talented people that further expanded everything in the best way.”

Dieode went on to be an official selection at various festivals, which is satisfying to Zeon as he was in charge of creating the entire concept of the film from scratch, and he worked hands-on with every single creative department.

“Zeon strives for perfection–he’s one hundred percent focused on the work in all the videos or films he’s involved in, always with a lot of responsibility, communication and passion. He’s very detail oriented,” said Kether González, the producer of Dieode. “He is very friendly and kind with the people he works with. He is definitely one of the most dedicated and responsible people that I know in this business.”

fashion-films-dieode-still — Still from *Dieode* fashion music video.

The film premiered in early 2014 at the Cineteca Nacional in Mexico City, with full attendance in the theatre. Zeon was very humbled to see this video finally done, and that people enjoyed it so much.

“People were silent until the very end of the video, and when up until the final credits showed up on screen, everyone clapped euphorically,” he said.

Despite having worked on music videos in the past, Dieode was Zeon’s first time fusing fashion with music videos. He wanted to create his own version of that hybrid.

“It was a very strong and simple idea I thought could work. It would allow me to push my limitations by working with other creative disciplines alongside me,” he said.

With his true passion being in making music videos, Zeon has worked alongside Lady Gaga on the video for her Academy Award nominated song ‘Til it Happens to You, as well as La Lupita, Icon for Hire, and the Raíz collaboration of Lila Downs, Niña Pastori, and Soledad. No matter who he is working with, he knows directing and editing is what he was meant to do.

“I wanted to get into this field because I would be watching music videos that were already released and thinking: “No, this needs to cut faster! It’s the chorus of the song and the most emotional part! How come we’re in a static shot?!” I felt that only by doing it myself would I be able to get my vision across,” said Zeon.

“There’s so many feelings that can be accentuated and drawn just from the right editing, and I’m obsessed with making that happen,” he concluded.