The Filmsupply Editfest is something I’ve been wanting to enter for a few years now, but annoyingly other projects always seem to get in the way. The basic idea is that you get to access Filmsupply’s library of footage to come up with a TV ad, trailer or title sequence under 60s long. It’s a great opportunity to have complete creative freedom whilst utilising some of the best footage money can buy. Over 1000 video editors and motion designers from all around the world entered this year and the main prizes are judged by a panel of the creatives behind things such as Game of Thrones, True Detective and Westworld.

This year it looked like I wasn’t going to have time to enter again, but miraculously I managed to dedicate a couple of days to try and submit something. The initial challenge is coming up with a concept and pulling together footage into some kind of cohesive narrative. As a huge fan of high-end title sequences and cinematic motion graphics used in contemporary film and television, I chose the title sequence category as I felt this would allow the most creativity with the visual style.

I initially experimented with a few different themes before eventually settling on a gritty drama/thriller set in small American town. It was annoying having to let go of a lot of amazing footage I had selected that didn’t fit the theme, but ultimately it’s about the narrative and bringing it together into something that didn’t feel like a series of unrelated stock shots.

As well as having access to footage you can also select a soundtrack from Filmsupply’s sister company Musicbed. Rather than use a more generic instrumental track, I really wanted to go for something with vocals that would work with the footage to make it feel more powerful and emotive, which is one of the things each entry is judged upon. So after a shortlist of around 5 I decided on a sparse, melancholic, folky track by Trevor Menear. I also got the help of sound designer Patrick Collins to add some mininimal atomspheric sound to the edit.

After the concept, footage and music were selected everything came together pretty quickly after that and I was predominantly focused on the overall style and tone, utilising various textures, blurs and colour adjustments within After Effects. I would liked to have spent more time on the editing side of it, but this was a luxury I didn’t have and the concept didn’t necessarily suit a more complex edit style.

Considering the amount of time that I had to spend on it I was reasonably happy with the result, and it very much represents the type of projects I love working on and want to do more of. It went on to reach 2nd place amongst the title sequences for the people’s vote, with over 300 votes. Next year I’ll aim to spend the full two weeks on it!