THE FORGE is one of those videos that had me watching over and over again. There’s something captivating about it. Yes, the visuals were cool, the narration was emotional, and the soundtrack – hauntingly beautiful. But beneath all that, there’s something much deeper. Something larger than just being a cinematic masterpiece. There was a message.
My sister committed suicide, hurting us all. To bring creation from destruction, we used money inherited from her personal savings to create a message that both honors her and serves as a piece we wished she saw when she was in a dark place. - Eric Lim
Eric Lim made THE FORGE in memory of his late sister, whom sadly committed suicide two year ago. It takes a lot of courage to share such a personal story and I thank Eric for having the courage to do so. May your story continue to inspire and bring life to those who are hurting.
Shot this while I was visiting Singapore last summer. For the longest time I had difficulty completing the videos cause I just didn’t know how I was going to edit them. The fact that I wasn’t happy with most of the shots made matters worst. Most of the shots I took were shaky, out-of-focus, and lacked narrative.
So I left them untouched for days, weeks, and now months. But those incomplete video projects were always at the back of my mind. I knew I had to finish them and get them off my chest. Fortunately, inspiration (and motivation) struck and what you see now are the finished products.
Let’s talk about the editing process. For “Singapore in 2 Minutes”, I knew that I wanted the video to be short but still be able to capture what I did over the 4 day period in Singapore. Rather than stringing together a bunch of pretty-looking shots, I wanted to tell a story of the places I went, the things I saw, the food I ate, and the people I was with. I also didn’t want my video to come across as a “promo ad” for Singapore but more of a personal account of my time there.
The decision to use short 1 second clips came about as a way to overcome the handheld shakiness of the shots. Having those quick cuts helped to lessen its impact by giving the viewers less time to process each scene. But for some instances, the handheld feel do add to the video, especially when trying to emphasize movement or shooting stationary objects, such as food and buildings.
You will notice that I’ve used some out-of-focus shots and very shaky footages to emphasize movement. For those handheld footages that I really like but were unable to justify using, I did one of two things; 1) left it out completely from the video or 2) used “warp stabilizer” from Adobe Premiere Pro. That feature is a life-saver.
Music played a very big part in all 3 videos. But they were also the most time-consuming part of the entire post-production process. If I’m lucky, I would usually be able to find an appropriate backing track in a couple of hours. But for these videos, finding the right track took me a couple of days each.
So if they’re any musicians/singers/songwriters/voice-actors out there who are interested in collaborating, feel free to contact me and maybe we could feature your talent in my next video project. It’ll be fun!
Hope that you were able to gain a little more insight into video editing and the work that goes into post-production. It’s not easy but if you enjoy it, you definitely reap the rewards of your hard work. Happy filming!
SHOUT-OUT to Aun for letting me use his sweet lenses. Thanks man!
Quick video that I’ve put together for a newly opened cafe in Melbourne.
3 Things that I’ve learnt:
1) Always be ready to anticipate the next move. That way, you’ll be able to position yourself and capture more shots from a single action and link together a concise story.
2) There is no (seldom) time for retakes in a busy kitchen.
3) Be present. Is it more important to be taking shots of the guest arriving to the cafe or the action that’s happening in the kitchen?
Hope those quick tips would be useful the next time you’re asked to help cover an event. Happy filming!
Hi guys. I’ve recently started working for White Heights Media, a Melbourne-based wedding photo/video company. Not being biased, but I think they’re one of the best in the industry. Great team to work with and I’m grateful to them for taking me under their wings.
I’m still learning but do check out some of the same-day-edit videos I had the chance to be involved in. I reckon I managed to contribute at least one or two good shots.
Hieu + Vu SDE
Melissa + Trung SDE
And also, do check out their vimeo channel for more of their work.
THE FORGE is one of those videos that had me watching over and over again. There’s something captivating about it. Yes, the visuals were cool, the narration was emotional, and the soundtrack – hauntingly beautiful. But beneath all that, there’s something much deeper. Something larger than just being a cinematic masterpiece. There was a message.
