"FilmCraft: Editing", Justin Chang

Justin Chang is an American film critic for the Los Angeles Times. His book Film Craft: Editing is a collection of short interviews with 17 of the most acclaimed film editors in the world. In it are discussed the differences (not only physical but also psychological) between working on film and digital, the implications that a cut can have, different rhythmic approaches to the material, among many other filmic aspects. Chang has made an accessible little study that, in spite of avoiding the technical details of the craft, is a good starting point for anyone who wants to know more about film editing.

Excerpts:
"Films are cut and paced more quickly now, because that’s a reflection of the society we live in, which is much more about instant gratification, and it demands a pace that the audience will feel comfortable with." Richard Marks, co-editor of The Godfather Part II (1974), Apocalypse Now (1979)...

"You had to be more certain of your ideas in the old days. You had to think it through and have a fundamental point of view about what you were trying to accomplish. Now, with computers, there’s a lot less of that. Nonlinear editing is a huge, tremendous change in our industry and a boon, and it enables us to try many different things and save different versions. But I think some skill and focus can be lost with that freedom. It doesn’t encourage deep thinking; it encourages shallow thinking." Dylan Tichenor, editor of Short Cuts (1993), Boogie Nights (1997), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)...

"A lot of people won’t agree with me, but my one belief about the Academy Awards is that whatever wins Best Picture should also win Best Director and Best Editing. When all is said and done, and the shooting is finished, the editor and the director sit in the room and create the final film." Joel Cox, editor of Unforgiven (1992), Million Dollar Baby (2004)...

"In the Mood for Love (2000), Maggie Cheung finishes talking to Tony Leung and leaves the apartment. I used three very short, fast dissolves to convey a sense of her departure. For me, these dissolves feel very regretful—you talk, time goes by, and then you leave. It’s as if you did nothing, as if you didn’t talk in the first place." William Chang Suk-ping, editor of Chungking Express (1994), Happy Together (1997)...

"Editing is about unleashing the soul of a film. I very much agree with the way Auguste Rodin put it: He needed to find the soul of a rock and unleash it so the rock could flourish and be molded into the work of art it could be. A film is even more complex than a rock. A film is alive." Liao Ching-sung, editor of The Puppetmaster (1993), Flowers of Shanghai (1998)...

Link to the complete book in PDF:

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