Let the Editing Begin..

Once filming wrapped, I moved on to the editing process which was arguably the most crucial stage in shaping Shaam into the eerie, psychological experience I envisioned. While shooting had its fair share of struggles, post-production was no easier. Every decision, from the pacing of the shots to the color grading, played a role in establishing the unsettling atmosphere of the film.

I now had all my footage, but the challenge was turning those individual clips into a cohesive and compelling story. The first step was choosing the right editing software. I decided to use Adobe Premiere Pro, as it offered the flexibility I needed for color correction, smooth transitions and all crucial elements in crafting the eerie atmosphere of Shaahm. I thought of using CapCut as that is what I used for previous projects, but it didn't fit the criteria well and I needed to export the video in the highest quality.

Organizing the Footage

Before jumping into editing, I first had to organize all the raw footage. Since I shot the film over multiple days (with different lighting conditions), I sorted the clips into folders:

Daytime shots

Evening shots

Night shots 

Surreal flashback sequences

Once my footage was organized, I imported everything into the editing software. This was the first time I saw all my clips laid out in one place, and it helped me visualize the structure of my film.

 Rough Cut Analysis

Once the clips were in the timeline, I began assembling a rough cut, the first major edit where all shots were placed in order without any advanced effects, transitions, or sound adjustments.

At this stage, my goal was simply to see how the story flowed. I arranged each scene based on my storyboard, ensuring all the necessary shots were included. However, I quickly noticed some issues:

1. Some shots didn’t transition smoothly into the next, making the pacing feel off.

2. Certain clips felt too long and needed to be trimmed to maintain suspense.

 3. The night footage had way more noise than I expected, making it look grainy and unpolished.

However, the rough cut gave me a clear vision of what needed to be fixed. It was far from perfect, but it was the foundation of the final film.