The director editor relationship can be the difference between a cinema classic and a flop. A creatively stimulating and productive relationship is a gift that bears much fruit, which is why some director and editor collaborations continue throughout several films. So what does this relationship look like? In The Art & Technique of Film Editing course on MZed, Oscar-winning editor Tom Cross describes the director editor relationship he’s had with Damien Chazelle. They’ve worked together on films such as Whiplash, La La Land, and First Man, all of which were very successful films. But according to Tom, it’s in the editing process that the director can realize the original vision. Watching the First Cut The first rough assembly of a movie can be a very sensitive watch for a director. As Tom describes, some directors don’t like to look at them. It can be discouraging or even depressing, to finally see a movie go through the lengthy years-long process and end up falling flat in the first cut. In the course, Tom illustrates a situation he prefers to avoid. “If I say you know, you really need to look at it so we both know how much work we have to do, well I might be able to step back and be objective and say yeah this is bad, it doesn’t work, but you know what, we’ll fix it. My director might not be able to do that in the moment, my director might look himself in the bathroom and...
Published By: CineD - Friday, 21 October, 2022