Unless you have been given the chosen selects ahead of time, you will need to go through the material, make selects, markers and comments to use later when you begin to edit. My general rule for this process is simple: If the footage has an immediate impact on you, mark it. Allow yourself to respond to the footage as a viewer, not just as an editor. However, be open to being wrong about your instincts upon a second or third look.
Some additional tips on how to “look” at footage while making selects: Most projects are fairly prescribed about what shots will be used. Few editing assignments will give you the challenge of coming up with something purely creative out the footage you’ve been provided. But on those rare instances where you are looked upon to be as much of an artist as the DP or Director, you will need to look at your raw material with an eye for its potential beyond being a clip in a sequence of other clips.
- Look for movement and counter-movement within the composition of the screen that you can combine with other shots that “lead” your eye in a direction.
- Look at something and ask yourself what you wish you could combine with that shot to create a flow, and you will be alert for that shot if it appears later in the footage.
- Look for opportunities to use negative space in a shot that could be combined in layers with other shots to create depth.
- Look for “junk” to use for character or texture over other footage, like swish, film run, scratches or light leaks.