“Balloon Animal” Feature Film Case Study
Balloon Animal is an independent feature directed by Em Johnson. It’s a slice of life set in a family circus, about a woman’s decision to leave. The film was shot in 12 days on a limited budget. Thus, despite the talent of the production team, there were limited takes, a lot of improv, and little coverage. I worked closely with Em to find the best moments and build a film that we are all proud of. It is just finishing a very successful festival run and found distribution with Buffalo 8 / Slated Films.
“Working on Balloon Animal with Greg was a very rewarding experience. He was creative, collaborative, and supportive in all respects. Even with our post-production under a severe time crunch, he never came off stressed or frustrated and made an honest effort to edit the best version of the film, which I believe he succeeded in. As a director, I look back on my time with Greg in the editing suite fondly and hope I have the chance to work with him again in the future.”
Clip 1: Introducing Poppy and the Circus
The scene features a beautiful tracking shot following Poppy through the circus.
CHALLENGE: With such a beautiful tracking shot, it almost felt blasphemous to cut away. That being said, we also had to tell the story that she is late for the show and her father is waiting. This scene was about making the cut aways feel natural, accentuate the story, and bridge time without inhibiting flow.
Clip 2: Poppy meets Drew
The love interest enters the story.
CHALLENGE: Timing. Too slow or too fast and both the drama and the comedy are lost. The actor playing Drew did a lot of Improv, so it was about allowing him to comedically bumble while also keeping the scene moving.
Clip 3: Poppy makes Drew a Koala
For us, this was the most sensual scene in the movie. It’s about a real connection between the two characters, but also included the making of a balloon animal, which is very tactile.
CHALLENGE: The main story plays in one shot that runs very long, so it was about using all the slow motion details to create an ethereal sense of time dilation. We wanted the viewer to feel how two people falling in love feel. We wanted them to disappear in the moment.
“Working with Greg for a number of years on commercial work, I was completely confident Greg would be the right editor to make our feature film come to life. Greg makes thoughtful and artful editorial decisions that enhance the viewer experience, move the story forward, and create depth for characters. What makes Greg stand apart aside from his talent, is his commitment to the work. Greg is invested and fully present throughout the entire process, working diligently to make the best film possible. Above all, Greg is simply a pleasure to work with. ”
Clip 4: Poppy forgot to lock up
The circus has been ransacked and it’s Poppy’s fault.
CHALLENGE: The shots of Poppy and her father that bookend the scene come from 2 different takes. So we had to find a way to marry them to each other. We also wanted to drive home the fact that Poppy was so caught up in her night that she forgot to lock up. So we reused shots from earlier in the film to bridge the moment and heighten the drama, turning this into one of our favorite moments in the film.
Clip 5: Montage
Poppy begins to explore her freedom.
CHALLENGE: This montage was originally shorter. We found that a few other scenes that originally were placed elsewhere worked better in this montage and added to the sense of time passage, her exploration of the world around her, and her search for meaning in her life.
Clip 6: The Fight
Poppy finally confronts her father and decides to leave the circus.
CHALLENGE: This was the most difficult scene in the film to cut. It was shot on the last day and to find the emotional core of the scene the actors were allowed to improv and adjust emotionality and blocking. Thus, continuity and performances were different from take to take and we really had to comb through everything many times to find the exact right tone and have it build to a climax. We wanted to capture Poppy’s sadness but also understand that she has found her inner strength and will not be pushed around anymore.