The Art and Craft of Motion Picture Editing

Michael Hoggan

• Editore: Routledge
• Anno: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000485264
• Edizione: 2
• Argomento: Media & Performing Arts
• Categoria: Film Direction & Production

This book explains the broader context of what the art and craft of motion picture editing entails, framing the creative acts of editing within an overall view of the production process and requirements for effective storytelling.

This book offers real experiences and advice from seasoned editors on the editing process, providing a detailed examination of filmmaking from the editor's point of view and exploring how best to cultivate creative relationships with other areas of production to form the final personality of the film. Emphasizing both practicality and creativity, industry veteran Michael Hoggan successfully bridges the gap between the mechanical skills of editing and the thought process behind these decisions. While most books focus primarily on the mind of the creator, this book explores the evolution of practices in film production and editing with respect to the ever-changing expectations of the audience. As the book demonstrates, understanding editing from the audience's perspective is essential to any successful film.

This book will be of interest to post-production students, independent filmmakers, film critics, and agents with editing clients.

It is accompanied by a collection of rich digital materials, including a glossary, bibliography, and more.

CHAPTER ONE

Snapshot of the Invisible Artist

DOI: 10.4324/9781003099765-1

I. On Editing

Motion picture editing is far more than the simple cut and paste the general public assumes. As editors we are the custodians of all work achieved during the production phase, shaper of the dramatic elements described in the script, embedded in the dailies and more. A motion picture editor must account for the good, the bad and the ugly of it all. To do this, the editor must appreciate the essential goals of the writer, director, actor, producer and cinematographer that create the elements with which a meaningful story can be told in motion. These responsibilities are ever present but rarely acknowledged.

—Les Green, ACE

As a general observation, in the 21st century, whether in newspapers, literature, or motion pictures, the editor has become one of the most powerful people in the world, though the role is largely imperceptible. The reason for this unique position is that the editor shapes the order, quantity, and quality of the information that an audience sees, which in turn affects how people think and feel. How people think and feel determines how they function in life – how they vote, what food, clothes, and cars they buy, how they think about religion and war, and how they enjoy movies, etc. Even a superficial examination of our contemporary history indicates that, in the broader sense, those who control what, how much, how often, the manner, and to whom information is given will have the power to dramatically affect people’s lives – and ultimately the direction of history. Realizing the power of this position suggests that such a person with this capacity shoulders a great deal of responsibility.

By the very nature of its process, filmmaking is non-linear, meaning that during production the script is shot out of order and shots are repeated as often as necessary to capture the best performance. This, of course, means that the editing of a film is a non-linear process in which the editor takes whatever was shot and manipulates those many images and sounds, bringing them order and into a powerful story.

Carol Littleton, ACE (ACE Eddie winner for E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and editor of such feature films as The Big Chill and Body Heat), may have been one of the first to suggest that the editor, in the end, rewrites the story. This rewrite is but part of what an editor does. The editor selectively emphasizes the actor’s performance, thus framing the character’s identity. The editor by picture lock puts form to all of the various components in the film’s imagery and story. Editing truly has the final impact on what the audience sees and feels.

The reality is that it all ends up in the editing room. Here, everything will be accounted for, organized, and ultimately built into a digestible structure. In this respect, the editor is the caretaker of all the other artisans’ work from production. As a matter of fact, judging “the best of” in any category of filmmaking, such as with the Oscars, Emmys, etc., is done by watching their work in an edited context. The better the editor does his or her job, the better the work of other artisans looks. If a film is composed or choreographed in a way that feels right, it seems natural, even effortless, and is assumed to be easy. This relationship to production artist visibility versus that of the editor is one reason why the editor and the art and craft of editing are little understood by the general public. “Good editing” is about drawing the audience into the story so it seems like it is theirs.

In the editing room, the film will be arranged, rethought, and rearranged until there is something worthwhile to watch. The editor is responsible for determining what we see, at what time, and for how long. The editor shapes the film’s structure, symmetry, pace, rhythm, and mood. As Craig McKay, ACE (Emmy winner for Holocaust and editor for such features as Reds, The Silence of the Lambs, and Philadelphia), has succinctly said: “It is the orchestration of picture and sound.”

On some editing projects, the schedule for delivery of a finished film is so short that the first cut, or editor’s cut, ends up as a hasty assembly of the show. This is unfortunate because it limits the inspiration an editor can bring to the project through reflection and imagination. Like the director, the cinematographer, the production designer, and the actor, the editor brings a significant set of skills, experience, and insight to the picture, which is usually why they are hired. And like these other artisans, the editor needs sufficient time to do the job right or the project can be deprived of its full potential. A minimum amount of creative time is needed in high-quality motion picture making of any kind. Many amazing things can and do happen when the editorial process is given sufficient time and freedom to work the material. Frequently, editors bring fresh interpretations that lift material to new heights, much in the same way that a good director, cinematographer, or actor does.

In the economic struggle against limited resources, producers sometimes hire inexperienced and/or cheap labor. Sad experience has taught that hiring editors with limited experience and ability has actually cost producers more in time and money than an experienced editor would have. Developing good editing skills takes practice. “Film doctor” editors are often hired to come in after the fact to try salvaging the mess made by inexperienced editors. Speaking to the inexperience of a new young editor, Dede Allen, ACE (Oscar winner for Dog Day Afternoon and Reds), has this to say: “The hardest thing to learn when people are starting out is how to correct what’s wrong without hurting what’s good … why isn’t a scene playing, what’s wrong with it.” Adding to this thought, Tina Hirsch, ACE, editor of such features as Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and Macon County Line, stated: “It’s all very well to see what’s wrong with something, but you also have to see what’s right and (then) how to make it feel better. It takes a lot of patience.”

Today’s viewing audiences have become more sophisticated in their viewing tastes, and even though they may not understand the nuances of the craft that constructs the film, they are aware when the film is poorly put together. The basic function of filmmaking is to create illusions that entertain. If any craft involved in the process falls short in its tasks, the outcome of the film’s effectiveness will be weakened by that failure. An expectation adding to the dilemma is that if there is a failure during production, the production crew will often say, “Don’t worry about it, they will fix it in post,” which is a very negative way of looking at the value of editing. Creative use of editing principles can perform magic in resolving complexities in production.

It’s fascinating how films can sometimes appear more real or more important to an audience than reality itself. History moves on and is dimmed with time. Films stay to remind us, and with their repeated viewing, they become more memorable as representations of life and history. How things are said with a film helps define the values an audience takes from the viewing experience. The way in which motion picture editors arrange movement, words, and sounds and, even more importantly, the way they arrange pictures is determined by their particular views and feelings about reality. This, in turn, has an impact on the audience as the filmmaker’s projected values affect reality in the audience’s perceptions. These new perceived realities are then reinterpreted and imitated by other filmmakers, over time being accepted as fact.

As the shooting script and the dailies are delivered to the editing suite, each is given a read, and the first question the editor will weigh in on is, “What is this about and what does it mean?” Then, “How do I feel about it?” There are literally thousands of decisions to be made: big decisions that deal with these questions wherein plot, character, form, and tempo are involved, and little decisions that deal with variety, texture, tone and subtext, and feeling. By sleuthing through hundreds of possibilities, the editor creates a coherent film that can have a prescribed effect on the viewer.

It is important to emphasize that the motion picture editor is part of a team whose basic purpose is to interpret, clarify, and intensify events prescribed in a story shot on film in order to create a memorable viewing experience. The team’s creative effort requires the deliberate manipulation of the audience’s perceptions because, after all, films in actuality are merely illusions.

The question of what is required to be a good editor was asked of Tom Rolf, ACE (Oscar winner for The Right Stuff and editor of such features as New York, New York and Taxi Driver). His reply: “you must have an ego, but you can’t have too much. You have to be able to stand up for your taste and your opinion. You’ve got to be a pretty good diplomat. You can’t take things personally.” The implication is that the editor must have a personality with sufficient self-confidence, self-respect, vision, diplomacy, and humility to collaborate in the community making the film.

Skill alone is not enough. First and foremost, an editor must bring to the job a genuine concern and respect for his or her audience: What do they want? What do they need to best follow the story?

A patient in a dental chair and the viewer of a film have more in common than one might think. Both have little control over what is happening to them and both must trust the skills, the good judgment, and hopefully the good intentions of someone else. Thus, the dentist and the motion picture editor carry a unique responsibility. One operates on human teeth with sharp instruments and skilled hands, whereas the other probes the human psyche using unseen tools in hands driven with aesthetic and emotional purpose. The filmmaker, like the dentist, must be prepared to bear responsibility for his or her actions. As consumers of films, just like the dental patient, we have a hard time escaping the effects of each moment in a well-composed film.

II. So, Who Is the Editor?

As there is creative power in motion picture editing, there can be a struggle as to who will have the most influence in the editing process. Industry experience has shown that editing is best managed by the person who clearly understands all of the requirements, demands, and needs of the entire process. Without this knowledgeable oversight, the film may end up lacking continuity or integrity, or become muddled and out of sorts with itself. Said in another way, a film that is without an exciting, well-defined form will probably not compete well in the marketplace. The person who is best able to serve the needs of this position is one with experience who understands all of the tasks and potentials inherent in the job and who has chosen editing as their professional life focus. Having expressed this bias, there must always be the important interplay between the director and the editor in the film’s creation. We will discuss this dynamic relationship in greater detail.

III. The Editor as Artist

We perceive our world not in terms of absolutes, but rather as changing relationships. We are constantly engaged in judging one aspect of life against another (e.g., what is the biggest or what is the fastest, what’s safe and what is not?).

Whenever one looks through the viewfinder of a camera, makes an edit, or arranges elements on a computer screen, one is engaging in the creative act of interpreting, selecting, thinking, and modifying what the audience will experience. This has been described in motion picture criticism as a theory called Contextualism, which says that all incidents in a film must be viewed in the social, political, and cultural context with which the film concerns itself and in which it was made. Contextualism stresses the essential, intimate, and purposeful relationship among art, film, and life. This is because we perceive them in relation to one another. A film artist, therefore, must interpret, order, clarify, and intensify certain aspects of the human condition first for themselves before they will be able to do the same for their audience.

For an editor to become an artist, a high level of aesthetic literacy is required in order to take advantage of the complexities, subtleties, and paradoxes in life so as to be able to clarify, intensify, and interpret them effectively for an audience. Making aesthetic choices in film involves the examination and appreciation of the media elements, such as lighting, movement, and frame composition. When properly chosen, they will elicit emotional responses from viewers that support the narrative. The editor approaches the creative task with these perspectives and with his or her personal sensibilities, sculpting the film’s form. Knowledge on how light, space, time, motion, and sound affect perception is essential.

The macro principle of Harmony of Form – the coherence and integrity that defines a particular film’s form – is one of the primary considerations for good editing and is absolutely necessary throughout filmmaking. Harmony of Form in film implies that there is a center, a heart to a film, and around it a film develops into its unique identity. When the editing, writing, acting, directing, music composing, etc., complement the premise and attitude of a story, then we have harmony in form.

Motion picture editing is much more of a mental, emotional, and creative process than it is a physical act. It is a collaboration of the right and left parts of the brain working together, a synergy of logic and imagination. Each editor develops his or her artistic approach, developing their palette of skills to physically mold the story into a meaningful experience.

Richard Marks, ACE (editor of such features as Apocalypse Now, Terms of Endearment, and Serpico), describes what happens after editing an assembly of the film:

The real fun is when you start to take the big monster and shave it. The first cut is like roughing out a piece of marble – you are roughing out vague shapes. The rest ...

Indice dei contenuti

• Cover
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• 1 Snapshot of the Invisible Artist
• 2 Motion Picture Editor and the Story (the Script)
• 3 The Motion Picture Editor/Director Partnership
• 4 The Motion Picture Editor and the Actor’s Performance
• 5 The Motion Picture Editor and Cinematographer
• 6 Overview of the Editing Process
• 7 Narratives Editing: Principles and Techniques – Film Editing “Rules”
• 8 Forming the “Editor’s Cut,” Its Creative Opportunities
• 9 The Motion Picture Editor and Sound Design
• 10 The Motion Picture Editor and the Audience
• Appendix: Film Production’s Historical Timeline
• About the Author
• Index