It’s Sunday morning with a day and a half remaining to participate in 2019’s 15 Second Horror Challenge. The completion of “A Broken Oath” for Lights Film School coupled with the ongoing production for our upcoming documentary had put the 15 Second Horror Challenge in our backlog, but now we’re backed up to its submission deadline. After reading the rules and terms of the challenge, I decided to work with existing footage to create refreshed content.
Revisiting your work as you mature as an artist and after gaining new experiences not only helps you practice your editing and post skills (when you’re without an active project) but can also bring new life to an old film! The concept of revising and re-releasing one’s work is not unheard of. It’s a lucrative opportunity and has been fully exploited by George Lucas. In 1997, the re-release of Star Wars: Special Edition earned $138 million in ticket sales alone! Granted he had an established audience… On the opposite side of the spectrum, re-using old footage can enhance or add to a current project. For example, Troma Films crashed a 1978 Ford Thunderbird in Sergeant Kabukiman NYPD. That stunt was costly to Troma, but the infamous car scene has been reused in Tromeo & Juliet, as well as Terror Firmer! Taking a note from Kaufman and Lucas, it was time to revisit our most successful micro-short to date: “Grease Ghoul”.
Self-contained, modular scenes lend themselves to these types of mini-micro short film festivals. Each scene, the story structure, and even the individual camera movements should have a beginning, middle, and an end. Overall, this was a tough editing personal challenge, as I was reshaping the story by removing two main characters and deleting 2 minutes and 40 seconds of footage! Plus, I needed to show and not tell. The 15-second mini-micro opens with a mechanic carrying a toolbox walking through a junkyard. The vehicles immediately react to him in an ominous fashion and we’re ready for the payoff. This is visual storytelling wherein the audience quickly gleans who, what, when, and where without talking heads.
This was also an opportunity to enhance sound and picture color. All the foley was redone to enhance the feeling of danger. I picked up a unusual tip somewhere that the sounds of dogs barking subconsciously alerts us to the possibility of danger. In the real world, canines alert us when something in the environment has changed, such as an unknown visitor. When approaching the climax, I made sure that I added distant barking along with non-diegetic tones to increase the sense of uneasiness. Improving upon the 1970s daytime slasher theme, I adjusted the existing “baked” color via an adjustment layer. Following a quick render, the final product was submitted via Film Freeway!
In closing, I hope aspiring filmmakers will keep their eyes open for these “free” festivals, inventory and assess their existing footage for new or redux projects. At a minimum, you will gain more experience in the editor seat which will only make you a stronger filmmaker.