Once Upon an Avid
'Twas a dark and stormy night. The wind bit violently and howled like wolves. In the thick of the downpour, an ambiguous figure darted through the streets, dodging squealing taxicabs, leaping over swallowing puddles, and glancing over his shoulder every few seconds, watchful of the countless junkies and thugs who own the night in these slums.
The Interference of Picture
My previous post talks about sound being a distraction to picture editing, but I am here to tell you the inverse also applies: picture obfuscates cutting sound.
When initially cutting dialogue (or audio-driven scenes in general), I often close my eyes and just listen to my cuts. Sound is the first thing I consider when cutting dialogue, so I usually try to cut it the way I want it to sound, then go in and arrange the picture accordingly. In that process I discover how all the great visuals will support the sound, and how the continuity problems will make my job that much harder. Then the wrestling begins until the picture and sound are harmonious and create the desired effect.
The Interference of Sound
We all know that sound is at least half the film-watching experience, but it's also very important to the film editing process. Specifically I find sound can be a considerable distraction. As "picture editors" we have to disregard audio problems and let the sound people deal with that, as it should be, but even minor flaws such as background noise and breaks in room tone have a strong effect on our subconscious. Just the fact that we have to ignore these problems and know that they will be fixed later is actually distracting us from the real effects of our cuts.
The technique I found to solve this problem is to cut with playback at a very low volume, so that I can only hear major audio, such as dialogue and music. This leaves those distractions unnoticeable, and allows me to better feel the rhythm of my cuts. Of course you don't want to cut like that all the time, because you do need to consider those problems before handing it over to the sound mixer- don't just assume everything can be fixed! I usually reserve the low volume technique for fine-cutting, when attention to detail is critical, and really feeling your visual timing will make or break a moment or scene.
Interview with Michel Arcand
A couple years ago I interviewed Michel Arcand, one of Quebec's most accomplished film editors. At the time he was working on Maurice Richard (aka The Rocket), for which he would later win Genie and Jutra awards for best editing. Our phone call lasted over an hour, but of course being an editor, I cut it down to 12 minutes, focusing on the more inspiring and insightful moments to portray Arcand's magnificent vision into the intimate process of film editing. Enjoy.
Play/Download Interview (Audio, 12min, 11 MB)
Editing by Accident
I'm not afraid to admit that some of my best cuts have been by accident, or more accurately, experiments gone horribly right. This may seem unflattering at first, but allowing myself the freedom to play and interact with a scene or sequence is such a vital part of film editing, that I am proud to admit that some of my best choices were not deliberately made, initially that is. I thought for a while my techniques were a touch crass, but when I heard Stephen Mirrione, one of my favorite editors, talk about how his method for cutting a particular scene in Traffic was very much akin with my own style of editing, I finally knew I was not only sane, but on the right track to becoming a real film editor.
In fact, I would later find out that a lot of my radical ideas
What We Do
Offline and Online Editing Services for Broadcast and Film: Features, Docs, TV Series, Shorts, Music Videos, and more. Workflow abilities include RED, XDCAM, Film, P2, HDV, BetaSP, DV and more. Avid and FCP. Over 10 years experience.
In the right hands,
editing is an art.
Categories
- News (11)
- Reel (1)
- Thoughts on Editing (5)
Recent Posts
- Journey of a Dream
- Humble Beginnings
- Quiet Summer, Loud Fall
- Summer Makeover
- Catching Up: Past, Present and 2009
Archives
Tags
avid bc canada comedy compositing demo director dop editor fcp final cut pro head shots landscape motion graphics omni omnifilm omnipost photographer photography portrait powell river producer Production Cos. Reel robson arms school series show Thoughts on Editing Thoughts on Filmmaking Thoughts on Filmmaking tv vancouver vfx video
WP Cumulus Flash tag cloud by Roy Tanck and Luke Morton requires Flash Player 9 or better.