The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing

            The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing was an interesting look at one of the most important components of creating a film, which is the editor. In a sense, without the editor there would be no movie; or at least it wouldn't make sense. The editor is in a way, god. He controls time, and space in a way that shapes the viewers response to what they see on the big screen. Editing can slow down time, or speed it up which by itself is very fascinating. I think editors are almost more important than the director, because without the editor there is no film in a way.

             The editor and the director should work hand in hand at creating the film. Sometimes the director gets lucky and is on the same page as the editor. As Quentin Tarantino said, having a female editor is usually better because they don’t shove their agenda down your throat; they usually help nurture and create the film alongside you, not against you.

            D.W. Griffith was the first to understand the psychological part of editing. He was the first man to use the close up. People wanted to see the whole body of the actor or actress but slowly started to realize that the close up created emphasis on the scene, and further enhanced the viewers encapsulation of the film.

             The movie “Birth of a Nation” was the first movie to have many features of classical film editing. The goal was to mask the cut so that the audience barely notices that it was cut. I was really fascinated with the documentary especially seeing the parts of editing one doesn't normally get to see. Being an IT major and not a productions major I’m more interested in the technical process more than anything, but after watching the film it really made me interested in all of the other parts of editing.  It was also really interesting to see the many different styles of editing many different types of film. No matter what I’ll always be fascinated by how many people it takes to make a AAA film. I might not pursue a career in editing but I know that after this class I will have a much more appreciated view on film and the process it takes to create one, especially by the editor.

The Cutting Edge (Blog #1)

In lieu of tracing a sort of thematic thread, I’ve decided to simply comment on certain insights that I took note of while watching—given that the assignment, and blogs in general, are somewhat informal.

The first being an opening quote from Anthony Minghella: “film is the sum of editing.” Conceptually, I think this is a useful lense to view editing through—especially as the interviews progress, and individual frames are compared to the likes of puzzle pieces, and Walter Murch gives the visual of boxes within boxes. As a student having not only no prior editing experience, but also no prior knowledge of editing whatsoever (for it is invisible), it’s helpful to view frames as parts of a collective whole; and I think it’s important to conceptualize this well before critically thinking about the cuts themselves.

Secondly, I took note of the importance of a single frame—the discussion of Jaws, but more specifically, Quentin Tarantino: “one frame off, or two frames added, or two fames less, is the difference between a sour note and a sweet note […] between clunky, clumsy crap and orgasmic rhythm.” It seems this is a tenet of editing—a fraction of a second can influence the psychology of an entire film. Having said that, while I thoroughly enjoy his films, I’m making an honest attempt to avoid hearing Tarantino speak ever again; guy’s a lunatic—I’d much rather listen to Scorsese talk (or David Lynch—I wish they got him on here).

I don’t have anything necessarily insightful to say about the relationship between director and editor; I was simply previously unaware of this level of artistic interaction, and likening it to marriage is interesting (as was more lunacy from Tarantino).

Alexander Payne thinks of editors as “really sly politicians.” I loved this comparison; “the emotional, psychological effect from a certain type of cutting […] the manipulation” (Scorsese). Stalin is discussed here, as is Hitler in the later half of the film—but I fully intend on looking into the Why We Fight series from the US; film [and editing] as a manipulative agent is a truly remarkable phenomena. Examining editing as such allows for a case study not only on the power of film in itself, but on a reflection of the human psyche—on its fallibility and on its interpretation of film as sensory experience. In this sense, it seems editors do have the ability [without hyperbole] to create alternative, symbolic realities; and the simulacrum has the ability to affect rational order.

The segment on the same face being intercut with varying images does a great job in explicitly illustrating the power of juxtaposition; and the editor as controller of actors’ performances is worth noting.

I like the idea of Spielberg’s editor as the “most objective eye.” As he says, the editor hasn’t been “inundate[d]” by the film—in this sense, the editor is the first viewer, a watcher that is to experience the unmediated emotion of the picture.

I suppose, technically speaking, what I’ve taken away from the documentary echoes your own insights upon taking a look at my first cut—editing insofar as the manipulation of time—the ability to slow time and speed it up through cuts, developing pacing through breaths and pauses.

A few more final highlights: Murch’s description of editing as “a dance of eyes,” and ‘carrying attention,’ and getting your final cut by banging on the keyboard at random. 

The Cutting Edge

The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Editing: This documentary was very insight full and contained so much knowledge on the role of editors, and specifically where and when editing began.  It begins with how editing first came, about.  Early editing was very basic and was not seen as a creative process like we see it today.  This documentary explains how it is in the editing room where the movie actually becomes a “movie”. 

This documentary uses many famous movie as examples which I loved because it gives you some “behind the scene knowledge”. They interviewed one of my favorite directors Quinton Tarantino.  Who explains how important a good editor is.  Tarantino wanted a woman to be his editor for his first film because he believed she would be much more nurturing to his film and try to make his film as close to what he wants as much as possible. They also interview editors and directors who talk about how just simple editing like adding two frames, or subtracting two frames can drastically change the way the scene looks and feels.  An example of this is in Jaws, how by just having two extra frames made the shark look completely fake but without those two shots they were able to create a realistic, terrifying monster.  This documentary was very interesting to me as I would love to pursue editing as a future career.

The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing

A major Hollywood production typically shoots over 200 hours of film. An editor can spend several months to several years analyzing and crafting the raw footage into a two hour movie.  This is the life of a typical film editor. The history of editing and the developments of editing are explained in the documentary “The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing.”

Sean Penn said at the beginning of the film, “Great editing skill will protect the director from suicide.” In order to get a point across in a film you need to have quality cuts and without them a film won’t make sense. At the beginning of cinema, filmmakers held shots until they got bored or the film ran out. It wasn’t until a man named Edwin Porter who worked for Thomas Edison discovered that cutting certain shots together could make a story.  Porter showed off his editing skills in his films  “The Life of a Fireman” and “The Great Train Robbery.” The invention of editing is the reason cinema grew and continues to grow today.  The documentary interviewed several professional editors and directors. It also showed not only how to edit but also all of the different techniques and styles of editing through examples in cinema history. As an editor you must always know that every single frame is important.  Too many frames or too little can either make or break a film. There needs to be the right amount frames to either scare or amuse the audience.

 I was really fascinated with the documentary as I got to witness the secrets of the editing process. It was also really interesting to see the many different styles of editing for a wide variety of films like Psycho, Jaws, and Gladiator. These were just three out of the many that were shown throughout the movie.  As someone who wants to one day become a professional editor I was overall fascinated with the world of editing and how much work is put into it. 

The Magic of Movie Editing

                The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing was a fascinating look at one of the most important components of the film industry, the editor. The job of the editor is an underappreciated one but is one of the most important ones.

            The first editors were mostly women because editing was seen as synonymous to tasks such as knitting. When audio was added to film, men came into the picture but still editors were only viewed as “highly skilled mechanics.” Today editors receive a lot more credit for the part they play in the film making process but are still underappreciated. Editing is why we like watching movies because it gives us a more intimate look at the action that is being played out before us. And none of this would exist without the work of the editor. They create the art and the magic and are really the last storytellers in the process of making a film. The editor is responsible for the pacing and the emotion of the movie. They also control the performance of the actor by selecting the best shots from every take. In the end, the editor is the one that actually assembles the film, which is an extremely important job. The average movie contains over two hundred hours of film and to be able to edit that material down to about two hours worth of material is remarkable. It is the editor’s job to not only know when it is necessary to cut but also when not to and when to keep the shots longer. This is why the editor’s role in film making should be greater appreciated. They are not just stringing or cutting scenes together but creating a work of art; an invisible art. The editor gets nowhere near the amount of praise and respect as they should be receiving and this should definitely change. Right along the director, the editor is the most important role in creating a film and it is time for this to be realized.

Thoughts and inspiration from The Cutting Edge

The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Editing is a very fascinating and eye opening look on the importance of editors in the movie and production industry.  The editor’s job has grown exponentially, from being a job meant for only women -who were considered less at the time- to the editor sitting alongside the director himself.  Then, in the 1930's, editors then had more than just the video images to deal with; they were given the charge of sound editing too.  Soon the sound and image played an exponential part of affecting the audience to not only feel what was occurring in the movie but also to start believing what they saw. Since then, we have been able to experience the tale that was told through cohesive clips and we have been influenced by movies and productions even if they were of a fictional nature. It is the editor's objective to materialize the director's vision in the most effective way possible for the audience to understand.

Personally, I found this movie gave way to a hope of further appreciation of the efforts of editors in more than just the movie industry. Also, it made me realize that I have been an editor for some years now.  I have never done any scene editing before this class, but I have created Animated Music Videos.  A popular type of video on youtube, AMVs are made through editing clips from animated movies/television shows.  The clips are placed in time with music and then it goes one more step beyond basic editing.  The editors then use their program of choice, such as Final Cut Pro or Sony Vegas Pro, to add special effects onto their clips.  They zoom in/out, spin, cause fireworks to spew from the top, and put in more time into making the clips very complicated and eye catching.  Through the effects and timing of the clips placed alongside of the music of choice, the composer is able to tell a new story through their work, or express a relationship between two characters to a popular or meaningful song.

There are many talented people out there that are able to create stirring art with their finished projects.  The fans of the show that had already been drawn in through the story told beautifully through the editor’s work, now are able to see glorified versions of their favorite characters or scenes placed to their favorite music in an exciting and new way.

Blog Respose #1

Danangelowe Spencer

Blog Entry #1

The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing

After watching “The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing” I think it is safe to say that Editors are one of the most unappreciated people in the movie industry. Editing, in my opinion can make or break a film and its influence on an audience. According to the film, editing can speed up or slow down time, trigger emotional response, enhance a story etc. The Director may know where and how to capture a shot and prepare the raw material for the Editors to tell a story.  But it is the job of the Editor to create the magic that may capture the viewers, tell the story in a seamless manner and make the movie seem virtually in real time. With the skills to manipulate and juxtapose images the Editor has the power to control what the viewer’s think or how they react.

You may ask why I am describing how important the role of the editor is in the production of a film. While I am not advocating for Movie Editors, I think that their role should be praised as much as the lead actors of the movie. Furthermore, if the Editors don’t leave the viewers with a memorable story, the actors as well may not be as memorable. Editors, according to the film, were almost always invisible. According to Paul Hirsch, (the editor of Star Wars and Mission Impossible) Editors such as Owen Marks who worked on renowned films such as Casablanca and East of Eden were “completely unknown.” Though this is not always the case nowadays, it is clear that great movie Editors deserve any and every recognition they get. A film success or failure depends on the collective skills of the Actors, Directors, Production team, Editors Etc.  However, I posed the question of where does the importance of a Movie Editor stand on your list?