# Periodsomnia

# Thomas Grove Carter

For those that have never come across his work, Thomas Grove Carter is a bit of a legend in the Final Cut Pro Community.

He edits commercials, music videos and films - all in Final Cut Pro. Thomas works out of Trim Editing in London and has been nominated three times at the UK Music video Awards and won a Graphite Pencil at the D&AD's 2015.

Thomas cuts with some of the best directors, artists and agencies working today. His reel includes work for brands like Honda, Audi, BMW, Adidas, Perrier, Canon, Sony and Lucozade. His music video's include promos for Arcade Fire, Major Lazer, James Blake, Florence & The Machine, Mumford and Sons, Tinie Tempah and Tame Impala.

Projects he's worked on have been nominated at the D&AD's, Cannes Lions, Grammys, UK Music Video Awards, British Arrows and Creative Circle Awards.

Over the years he's been very active in the Final Cut Pro community - always willing to share his knowledge and insights.

Here's an awesome video from 2017 where he presented "how to edit hit music videos" using Final Cut Pro at the SuperMeet:

He also has a series of fantastic YouTube videos called FCP FTW where he highlights the unique functionality and power of Final Cut Pro:

For this case study Thomas will be discussing a television commercial he recently worked on...

# Case Study

Periodsomnia was a commercial for Bodyform/Libresse which set out to portray the different ways that periods affect the ability to sleep.

It won a host of awards including a Yellow Pencil at the D&AD’s and Silver at Cannes Lions for its editing.

You can watch the commercial here:

This edit was a balance of the real and the surreal. Kim Gehrig, the director, wanted to create an agitated and restless journey though the collective night.

Using a mix of harsh cuts, thermal imagery, animation, sound design and music we found ways to represent all the ways a period can feel for people. Seemingly peaceful outer moments clash with the inner turmoil.

We had 7 Hours of A-Cam from an Arri Alexa, which captured intimate moments with real people. Along with another 7 hours from a Thermal Imaging Camera which came to represent the hidden unseen world of their experience. Much of the thermal imagery was shot at exactly the same time, from the same angle, allowing us to match cut between the two.

I always use a combination of Rejects, Favourites and Keywords to select, filter and then navigate my rushes. No shot is ever fully discounted and I use the quick navigation between these states to constantly re-evaluate the rushes and shots I’m using.

The third element we had to play with was the period itself progressing through the body. We initially edited with rough grayscale renders which I manipulated with retiming and effects within FCP to give them life and the feeling of progression we wanted to tell the story. The visual effects artists at Time Based Arts continued to develop the looks and feel of those visuals as we edited. Eventually arriving on the strangely beautiful forms in the final film.

I drew on my formative years cutting music videos to create an edit that never let up, never gave the viewer a moment to get comfortable. The driving club beat and thump of the period keeps the viewer on edge, but also unifies the protagonists in a lonely yet collective experience.