Steve Hullfish talks to top picture editors in his latest book –

By Peter Tonguette

IThe book with the filmmaker is a complete sub-genre of literature, but in all one-on-one conversations, commemorated in print – Francois truffaut The filmmaker’s conversation with his 16 heroes, mentors and peers takes an Idya-sized outline. The book not only distinguishes itself by its range of respondents—in chronological order, from groundbreaking character Allan Dwan to modern master Sidney Lumet, but also provides empirical advice. Yes, Bogdanovich asks about topics and meanings, but he also invites his subjects to be detailed in the daily challenges of his work.

Picture Editor [and sometime CineMontage contributor] Ace’s Steve Hullfish has achieved similar achievements in the post-production world through his two-part book series, the latest of which is “Cut of Cut: A Conversation with Film and Television Editors, Volume Two,” which has just been published. (Volume One was released in 2017.) Like Bogdanovich, Hullfish casts an extensive network—the editors interviewed here include veterans of the New Hollywood movement such as Walter Murch, Ace, Ace and major talents from the younger generation, including Nathan Orloff, including Bogdanovich, and like Bogdanovich, who, like Bogdanovich, asked respondents about his real-world themes. Therefore, this book is an ideal reference work for professional editors who may evacuate from the shelves for guidance, insight, and even moral support for specific issues in their work.

“The value of being able to hear the opinions of so many great editors (sometimes contradicting their advice and approach) means that readers can choose what is useful and valuable to them, and can interrogate methods that may seem strange, but can prove useful and even change careers.”

However, Hurfish is best in a crucial way: and “The Devil Made” makes each chapter of the 16 respondents “The Art of Cut” take thematic approach: each topic that each respondent is considering. Distributed across four broad sections (“preparation”; “creative-micro editorial decisions”; “creative-macro-level editorial decisions”; and “social”, and “social”, interacting among other things with directors and other creative partners) are 26-group chapters, each containing incredible sections that focus on more consef-the-plant problems. For example, Chapter 8 “Rhythm and Rhythm” includes about how the footage of a film shot determines its final pace (“speed will change based on the mood of what’s happening,” it helps to turn on the cut in advance to tighten the conversation because when cutting the sound and cutting the image, it will keep your brain entertaining to some extent,” said Ace Ivan Victor.

Hullfish does not include indexes, but the “cut art” is well structured, and each topic is properly summoned in chapter titles and subtitles, almost unnecessary. The book is a proof of the author’s gift to identify the subject of post-production professionals representing their primary (but not exclusive) audience and the engaging opinions commentary of the numerous editors he spoke to.

The volume begins with a beautiful foreword from Oscar-winning director Ron Howard, who firmly believes that the film is not a real movie “until edited,” by focusing on introducing his important training room collaborators. Howard began his directorial career from the action comedy “Grand Theft Auto” (1977) produced by Nefty Roger Corman, whose editor, future director Joe Dante, was seated most of the basic seats in the film. “[Dante] “Thinking from the box and teaching me a lot about shaping action sequences and stunts,” Howard wrote. [who] Establish an extraordinary working relationship, audience, production studio and your work truly benefit. Howard also praised editors who have worked with him in recent years, Ace and Paul Crowder. The director’s appreciation words set the right tone for a book, where the editor explains how and why the floor is doing their job.

From there, readers can jump freely into – anywhere. “This book doesn’t have to be read linearly,” Hurfish wrote. “Capture any chapter of your imagination directly into depth.” Although Hullfish provides a sequential framework – a discussion of the discussion of the scene before receiving notes about the full picture – completely precisely, “the art of cuts” can be consumed in any way or sequence, reader choice.

Sometimes, such as hullfish, will take the topic as a question. In the chapter of “Watching the Daily”, under the subtitle “Is it a skill to watch the Daily?” There are four editors who have the opportunity to do it. “The viewing process is a process of creativity. It’s getting into your consciousness or unconsciousness. You’re absorbing something.” Paul Harb explicitly said, “Looking at the daily newspaper is a skill.” Dana E. Harb added, “You need to be able to see what you want to be out of context. You’ll determine what looks done for different reasons, and you remember things in the daily newspaper as you learn stories and use your editing work.” Martin Bernfeld listed five questions he always asks himself when he’s always sitting with the daily newspaper, including what the character wants on the spot and what emotionally is, and he looks for “little nuances” to provide answers.

However, Hurfish did not stop such general comments. He asked respondents about the best way to watch the daily newspaper, which prompted Hank Corwin, Ace (“I take a lot of notes when I’m showing”) and Mark Yoshikawa. (“My assistant rolls each piece of Kem into a sequence. Then, when I watch, I use a lot of locators [in digital editing, virtual markers for tagging specific time locations] real time. This records my first impression, and I find it very important. “On the other hand, Orloff believes that watching the daily newspaper is a “waste of emotional energy.” One of the reasons I feel frustrated when I watch all the daily newspapers religiously is that I don’t know what I need yet,” Orloff explained. “I’ll find these great performances, these special moments that I really rely on, and I’ll realize, ‘actually, it’s useless. ‘” Mark Goldblatt, Ace, uses the notes of the script supervisor to leverage his information and why some of the ingested information was chosen, while Steven Rosenbloom, and Steven Rosenbloom allows him to take his own things. “When you find something that makes the scene sing, that’s fine. Carol Littleton, Ace missed the social aspect of watching the daily with her filmmaking colleagues. “It allows us to evaluate and refine the filmmaking process every day,” she said. ” “The daily newspaper is a time of reflection. ”

Each subject received the same thorough treatment. When building a scene, ACE starts with her favorite angle of notes, and she doesn’t leave it until she finds out she wants to see something else. “If I’m cutting the conversation, I really want to see that guy react, that’s when I’m going to cut it,” Martin said, adding that her rally was put together without thinking about what was said in the scene. “In a weird way, I don’t want to be distracted by the voices of conversation at the earliest stages,” she said. “I deliberately made myself ‘deaf’ to focus on body language and facial expressions.” Michael Berenbaum, the ace, echoed Martin’s point of view on shooting until it was necessary to cut. “If there is a part where the actors are on fire, I tend to let them go,” Berenbaum said. “You don’t want to cut it off.”

Other chapters review when and how to deploy coverage (“I try to use each setting correctly, and I try not to overuse the settings,” you “understand” the idea of ​​what the first person is saying, and you look at another person to evaluate their reactions,” Murch says. A chapter on the transition between scenes involves highly specific considerations like pre-self circles and post-call audio and disbandment, but also includes Glauberman’s wonderful “big picture” observation: “When you try to sell comedy, you don’t have to end the scene on a pause. You want to be comma and move on.”

Do you want to hear editors talk about flashbacks? Hurfish asked them. “I really like to cut them in and cut them out if emotions can match on both sides of the cut,” said Michelle Tesoro. “How about continuity? Hurfish asked this too. Murch thinks it is far better than emotion, story and rhythm, while Brent White quotes Dede Allen’s immortal word: “Matching is for sissy.” Hullfish also explores the first act, abbreviating the entire scene as a montage sequence, and even considering how best to refer to the edited clip. Galster calls it the script, Tom Eagles, Ace, Compilation and Michael Taylor, Ace prefers rally – “Because that we can say it’s just a version of the movie.” Paul Rogers, Ace will undoubtedly speak for many people when they talk about the scenes that play beautifully but without the end home in the movie. “There are a lot of moments, you’re thinking, ‘This moment is so good, but it doesn’t serve the movie.’”

Hullfish prompted editors to talk about a variety of pathways from working as an assistant editor to credits on low-budget production to earning points from scripted TV or commercials, and never signed up for a significant editorial leader relationship. “I’m not editing the movie to make it feel like a Jeffrey Ford movie,” said Jeffrey Ford. “I’m around me making it feel like a director’s film.” Murch is a long-time collaborator of the main directorial talent, from Francis Ford Coppola to Philip Kaufman, who thinks his role is the same as the priest in the repentance. “[Editors] Seeing the problem, the people they see are tired, dissatisfied and delighted, discretion is very important to our work. “Skillfully, Hurfish even addresses how editors handle notes. “Sometimes you get notes, it’s better to understand the problem than take notes, because the solution may not be right, but to make sure they stand out from the experience and then explore that,” said Ace Simon Smith. As such comments suggest, these editors are smart, talented, and perhaps most important, combat-tested.

The book’s expert organization expanded to include pull quotes (excerpts from interviews in large fonts) and even boxes that define certain terms, including circles (the preferred performance of filmmakers), MOS (material without sound) and Oneer (scenes unfolded in a single-scene photo). Of course, professional editors who read the book will be familiar with such terms, but Hullfish should be applauded for film students and even amateur film lovers who will undoubtedly collect like the professionals in this basic book. ■

“The Art of Cuts: A Conversation with Film and Television Editors, Volume 2”