The cut log: one documentary, cut by cut

Cut 9 is next

What I’m working on this week, and how far I’ve got.

• Music spottedSpot the musicWhere the guitar comes in, and where it stops.
• 2 of 4 scenesTrim the last interviewsTwo of the four still run longer than the story needs.
• Two versions cutThe endingWhether the last shot is the last firing or the empty yard.

1. Cut 8Fine cut8 Nov 2026

   • AddedOpening on the valleyA minute of valley light with no voices: only wind and a wheel turning, far off.+1 min
   • AddedFinal titlesTwo names on screen at the end: the old potter’s and his daughter’s.+20 s
   • ChangedPotter interviewTrimmed from eight minutes to five, keeping his pauses.−2 min
   • ChangedMarket at dawnMoved to the very end, after the last firing.Scene 19
   • ChangedWheel under the interviewsRaised a little under the last two so the workshop stays in the room.Sound

   3 more

   • FixedSubtitle timingSeven lines were half a second late.Scenes 4 to 11
   • DroppedThe tortilla stallFifty seconds I liked, and the film did not need.−50 s
   • DroppedSecond shot of the courtyardThe first one tells the story.−10 s
2. Cut 7Rough cut 61 Nov 2026

   • DroppedThe market sceneMy favourite scene goes: it repeats what he already says.−2 min
   • AddedHand-lettered signA chalk price board at the stall, five seconds.+20 s
   • ChangedKiln sceneOpened out with a second, wider shot of the yard.+30 s
   • ChangedMusicThe temp guitar is out of the middle; it was doing the interviews’ work.Scenes 9 to 14
   • FixedPotter’s nameIt was spelled two ways in the lower thirds.Scene 6
3. Cut 6Rough cut 525 Oct 2026

   • DroppedThe weather reportA radio forecast the sky already tells us.−2 min
   • ChangedWalk to the kilnTwo shots of him carrying the clay become one.−1 min 30 s
   • AddedWheel bridgeThe sound of the wheel now links the three middle scenes.+30 s
   • ChangedMiddle sectionRe-ordered so the wheel comes before each interview.Scenes 10 to 16
   • FixedClipped wordA word was cut off at a join in the third interview.Scene 12
4. Cut 5Rough cut 418 Oct 2026

   • DroppedRetired schoolteacherFive minutes of an interview I had to stop using; one line stays.−5 min
   • AddedVoice-over lineFour sentences of narration to carry the story across the gap.+30 s
   • ChangedOrder of the middleTwo scenes swapped so the story runs in the right season.+30 s
   • ChangedGaps between scenesA beat of quiet added where the film moves to a new day.Scenes 8 to 20
   • FixedWrong clipA shot of the wrong wheel is replaced.Scene 17
5. Cut 4Rough cut 311 Oct 2026

   • DroppedFirst firingThe first firing was too much like the second.−3 min
   • ChangedHands on the clayHeld for eight seconds in silence, with nothing said over it.−1 min 30 s
   • ChangedOpeningCut by half a minute so the first voice comes sooner.−30 s
   • AddedRooster bedA quiet bed of roosters and dogs under the first fifteen minutes.Sound
   • FixedAudio popA pop at a join in the cousin’s phone call.Scene 22
6. Cut 3Rough cut 24 Oct 2026

   • ChangedFirst morningMoved from the middle to the start of the film.Scene 2
   • DroppedDigging the clayThree scenes of digging and sieving clay, kept as one shot.−5 min
   • DroppedCousin’s phone callThe call is shortened to the one sentence that matters.−2 min
   • FixedInterview levelsTwo interviews were five decibels louder than the rest.Scenes 8 and 15
7. Cut 2Rough cut 127 Sep 2026

   • DroppedThree scenes fell outThe first scenes to go were ones that never mattered.−8 min
   • ChangedOrder of the daysThe film now follows one week, not three.−4 min
   • FixedFrame rateOne clip was 25 frames, the rest 24.Scene 26
8. Cut 1Assembly20 Sep 2026

   • AddedEverything I shotEvery usable scene, in shooting order, as one long timeline.Start: 1 h 12 min
   • AddedThe potter’s storyA first pass at the one thread that runs through the film.Scenes 1 to 44