To cut or not to cut? – a question every editor faces regularly. Or at least, they should. As the great Alfred Hitchcock once said, montage is not cutting the film, but rather the assembling of its pieces. Carefully choosing the right ones and putting them into a precise order not only tells a story but also creates a different impact on the viewers. There is no doubt that editing is a hugely powerful tool. Understanding when to cut and why can enhance your superpowers in filmmaking drastically. Here, we picked some helpful techniques for you to try. Before tackling any project and heading for the rough cut, it’s essential to sit down and ask (yourself or the director) the right questions. That’s what Tom Cross always does, regardless of what movie footage awaits him, or which size or complexity the story has. Tom is an Oscar-winning editor, best known for collaborations with director Damien Chazelle on four of his features: “Whiplash”, “La La Land”, “First Man”, and the most recent one – “Babylon”. Tom Cross is also the instructor of the MZed course titled “The Art & Technique of Film Editing.” In this comprehensive course, spanning over 8 hours, he blends theoretical lectures with in-depth scene deconstructions from his own body of work. Tom Cross. Image source: MZed.com Back to “asking the right questions”. First, think of the story in the script. What is the movie about? What’s its theme? Is the essence concentrated around an idea or a...
Published By: CineD - Thursday, 18 May, 2023