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How To Make a Good Fanedit (AKA The Joy of Fanediting)

There's a ton of great advice in this thread, Neglify.

I agree with every pretty much everything except all the pre-planning aspects. It's different for everyone, but for me, gonzo is the best way to go. Go from inspiration and dive right in to production. If it doesn't work, delete and move on. If it does, run with it. You'll often be surprised where you end up.

But I think the most important advice is right here:

Neglify said:
Everything should be FUN. You have almost complete creative control how you want this movie to play out! Nothing should be a CHORE.
Click to expand...
 
Epic Thread, is Epic.
 
It feels like a short note from L8.

Good stuff. Good stuff.
 
Dammit Neg, saying that cutting Kim Basinger was your inspiration for your LA Conf edit! Stop reminding me to watch it! I mean... er, um... keep reminding me! I need to watch that!
 
case closed. neg is a fanediting buddha.

great read. passionate and wise.

i concur about keeping copious notes about what works, what doesn't, ideas you'd like to try, and keeping track of your cuts/changes down to the frame, in case you have to cut again.
 
Thanks for the great feedback guys. I realized I needed to add a little Addendum to "Pre-Production":

ADDENDUM -

After re-reading this and seeing some of the comments from other editors I realized I may have put too much importance on planning. Like I said at the start, this is how I do it. This isn't THE ONE WAY to do things. Truth be told, there is no one way. So I add this:

Do what works best for you. If you're a meticulous planner, plan meticulously. If you just like having a general idea of what you want to do and you like playing around with a film as much as possible while editing, go with that.

Pre-Production is much much more than planning what to cut. Pre-Production is preparation for smooth editing.
 
This is a thread of such epic proportions that I absolutely approve :)

Regarding the 'pre-planning' stage, I think the idea that Neglify, TMBTM, Adabisi and others have circled around is the core aspect of what separates a watchable fanedit and something unwatchable... and that is have a point before going in. Some may prefer the rush of a a jump in the deep-end approach, others may find more comfort in a meticulous planning period, but no matter what I think that most successful faneditors will agree that the key to success is having a point, more specifically, have a purpose in mind.

I'm not talking about "I want to make The Phantom Menace better"... there are 19 fanedits of The Phantom Menace on IFDB, with more in the works. The goal of every single person who has undertaken TPM is to make it better. The critical question is, "What about it do you want to make better?" Is your focus improving character? Changing plot point for a different progression and feel?

Essentially, what is the point of your edit? Ask yourself what is the kernel of uniqueness which will make your project stand-out, both against the original version, and others if you're working on a movie that's already been done?

Whether you're the meticulous pre-planner, or the jump in and start feeling the rush type of editor, the key is have that goal in mind, and then be open to the editing experience along the way. Scenes and solutions will offer themselves up to you, old ideas will fall to the way-side, and in some cases, the goal itself may change mid-way through the project, but even in those cases, you still have a focus, it's just changed, evolved or upgraded, and the key is, evaluate every choice against that greater goal.

Like writing itself, everything should contribute to your goal. If it doesn't, you need to examine whether it can (or should) be removed or modified. The more you do this, the more seamless the final product will be, the more 'natural' and organic the viewing experience will be, the more likely you will hear the ultimate compliment "If you were to show this to someone who'd never seen the film, they'd never know it was a fanedit"

Great thread Neg, you have indeed grown powerful...
 
To add to that, make sure your primary goal isn't "I want a faneditor badge" or "I want to win a FEOTM." That should be a by-product of your effort, not the primary goal.
 
TV's Frink said:
To add to that, make sure your primary goal isn't "I want a faneditor badge" or "I want to win a FEOTM." That should be a by-product of your effort, not the primary goal.
Click to expand...

If I could add to that, I would urge everyone to make your secondary (or near primary goal) 10/10s on Audio and Video Editing Quality on the IFDB ratings!

As an editor, the audience's enjoyment of the edit may not be completely within your control but the technical quality of the edit is.
 
This is an absolutely WONDERFUL thread! Thanks Neg!

Just wanted to echo a few previous comments...

Everything should be FUN. You have almost complete creative control how you want this movie to play out! Nothing should be a CHORE.
Click to expand...

This is my core philosophy to fan editing.
FUN!
This is a hobby. Not a job.
It should be a joyful experience...
a creative experience...
...a FUN experience (with a few maddening, grey hair pulling, WTF, face palm moments thrown into the mix).;-)

Seriously, it may be challenging and frustrating at times, even times where you want to chuck the whole thing, and those are the times to just walk away from it for a while, let your head clear and wait til the original inspiration that motivated you to begin with returns. But also, be okay if sometimes the edit just does not work. It is very easy to get excited about an editing idea, so excited you announce it to others but when the practical work begins to realize the edit you saw in your head does not match or fit with the actual existing material. There is no shame in this. We have all done this. I know I certainly have. It is all part of learning experience. It also connects back to Neg's suggestion of pre-planning.

But even if an edit does not evolve as you may have planned, you will have learned something new, which will make the next edit an even more fun experience!

Which leads me to....

... make sure your primary goal isn't "I want a faneditor badge" or "I want to win a FEOTM." That should be a by-product of your effort, not the primary goal.
Click to expand...

This is so important!

The reason to fan edit is not gain applause or awards or compliments (though they are very nice) but because YOU have a creative NEED to tell a story. A story a for yourself. Not for others.

We only share our new stories with each other because we all share the same hobby and love of movies and television.

So if you are happy and proud with the new story you have crafted, please do share it with us.
But do not be disheartened if it does not receive the praise you think it deserves
or if the only response you receive is the sound of crickets.

This does not mean your edit is bad or even no one is watching it.
Just no one is commenting.
Only a very small percentage of our members post comments or reviews,
and this is no reflection on your edit or skills as an editor.

It is just reality. As this is a hobby, and most of us have very active lives with work, school, family, and other craziness that we call LIFE, it is hard enough to find time to always download and watch (except for Neg, he watches EVERYTHING!!!) all the new edits, never mind taking the additional time to post a thoughtful and helpful review. It does not mean the community is not supportive of your efforts or your edit is not being enjoyed.

For example, the vast majority of my own edits get a lot of attention and comments during the In The Works phase, but once they are released I may only receive two or three (if any at all) comments or reviews. But this does not bother me. One, as I said at the beginning, I make my edits because I find it fun, and they are the stories I want to tell and may not hold much broad appeal, especially to those outside a certain older age bracket.... LOL. Also, even though I may not receive many actual posted comments, I do take heart in the fact that based on my download numbers, most of my edits seemed to have an interested audience.

So I guess my point is to new editors, heck, even jaded old timers,
tell the story you want to tell,
don't worry about too much about positive or negative or no reviews,
learn from every experience, both success and failure,
don't worry about trying to top yourself or others,
but most of all,
just fan edit for the love of it,
for the magic of it,
for the FUN OF IT.

:)
 
i do it for the money.

and the booze.
 
You forgot the chicks.
 
Gatos said:
If I could add to that, I would urge everyone to make your secondary (or near primary goal) 10/10s on Audio and Video Editing Quality on the IFDB ratings!

As an editor, the audience's enjoyment of the edit may not be completely within your control but the technical quality of the edit is.
Click to expand...
bears_repeating.jpg

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