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The Art of Editing…
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I need to chime in for the new breed. I know much of the comments were generalizations but you have to know there are a great many of us who are in this for the storytelling and not the plug-ins. I hate expressions, stabilization trackers, and denoise filters, its just more things that keep me from thinking about what impact that reaction shot is going to have on the interview. Yes many of us grew up with computers and geek out on glow dissolves, but don’t take away the idea that we can fret over 6 frames of trimming to get two pieces of audio to sound natural as one. But the fear of the next breed is always there, because they do things differently and come from a different culture. I am not much far removed from the little ones coming out of school now, but the stuff they can do in AE makes me sick to my stomach sometimes. I may never be able to do some of that high level motion graphics work, but I would rather have more confidence in the story and rhythm department. I would rather be trusted by my producers that I will have a project organized so well that even with the senior editor’s love of having 18 untitled sequences, even he can’t get lost. Even more so I want clients who have been in edit suites for years to trust my perspective on the project because I can clearly communicate what I envision for it and logically argue for the things that need to happen to make it a better piece. Avid is my scissor and tape of choice, but Ill lump myself in with the new FCP breed. Yes, sometimes we worry too much about what version of software is running and yes sometimes we want to film effect everything. But don’t say we don’t want to learn how to craft a program that makes you cry or shutter on the edge of your seat. I would rather be sitting behind you asking annoying questions about why you put that shot in front of that other shot or how you made the stammering CEO sound suave, but I have to go juggle 12 different codec issues and check on those damn untitled sequences again. And from some of the stories I have heard about the edit suites before the no smoking at work rules, the dope was still being smoked by the old breed.
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[Scott Sheriff] “For some reason there is a huge demographic ‘subgroup’ in the ‘new’ editors that thinks editing is about the best plugin, the most FX, etc.”
And it’s not just editors who are guilty of this. There are plenty of clients who assume that they don’t need to coordinate color palettes, light properly or do any kind of preproduction work because they can do it all with a plugin in post.
Client: “Just use the ‘make it look cool’ filter. I know it’s just a plugin.”
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I too have never heard of Tyler Perry – sounds like the love child of two members of Aerosmith.
Was the quote mentioned something said as Academy Awards patter? The presenters just read what they are given on the prompter. We should be blaming the writers of the show. Personally I did not watch the Oscars – much easier to check the web in the morning and get all the info in like 30 seconds.
Editing is storytelling. Whether you are editing picture, sounds, effects, copy, motion graphics or sound design – you are helping to tell the story. Show me a best picture nominee without fantastic editors in all of these departments.
Software is guaranteed to change every decade – the craft of editing remains. Perhaps new tools can make editing tasks better/different/more variable/faster/slower/whatever but if you can’t tell a story then all the buttons in the world are not going to help you or your project.
I have edited on 7 different systems over the years (13 if you count software versions of Premiere) but the end goal remains the same – making the final product.
That’s my contribution to this editors’ manifesto.
Mike Cohen
PS – I googled Tyler Perry and I still can’t figure out what’s so special about him.
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FYI:
Who is Tyler Perry?
Tyler Perry would probably be considered a B-lister, and has a few movies out there, most notably “Diary of a mad black woman”, and has a sitcom “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne”.
He is known for playing a cross-dressing character based on his aunt.Scott Sheriff
Director
SST Digital Media
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com -
Editing is a hard skill to sell..
You cut things together and a story happens.. problem is anyone can do this to a level where it “works” well enough to pass. The only way to prove that you are worth cutting films is by having cut a film that has done well. And to have cut a film to prove you can cut a film you have to have cut a film already.. blah..where is the entrance here?
For example, 3D artists have an art in the industry that has a direct impact/concrete skill to display.. “ok.. you modeled something and it looks amazing”.. there is no explaining to be done “how you found the shot” or “you had to use this because the other angle was fudged, without me the film would suck!” basically, 3d is a concrete and obvious skill, unfortunately editors dont have this to show, editors who do mograph (which is becoming more common and essential) is a little different.
and personally.. I hope colorists stay under the radar so that it stays a professional pocket in the industry and not a red carpet everyone-wants-in type of thing that directing/editing/producing has become.
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This just in from the year 2025:
“Seriously guys, these xPad_Air editors think they’re the shiz. Remember FCP? When I started out, we actually had to watch the footage first, then organize it before we started editing! Then we had to physically search for and then load in the plugins to alter the picture quality. I mean just because you can wave your hands about for five minutes and show me six versions of the title sequence in 3D doesn’t make you a story teller!
We learned it the hard way right? On our own! With a pirated version of FCP and a Macbook Pro. When I started out I had to start from the bottom posting to Youtube before I got a break. You actually had to have real skills like converting to H.264 before uploading. Compression is a real art form you know!
These kids today with their air_xmotion_tech and their instant access to all the media ever created and their ability to quickly deconstruct another motion picture at the click of a button; it’s not even real story telling!
I even read the manual. They don’t even make manuals any more! It took me seven years before I mastered the art of editing. 15,000 hours of work. Today it’s all “30 seconds and I’m making my epic feature” I had a kid the other day, didn’t even know what a codec was! Never heard of DVCPRO HD! In FCP you literally had to move the pieces of video and audio around with a physical object. This made it feel real and organic and allowed you to tell the story. Not like todays editors who whizz around so fast they can’t even think about what they’re doing! Those were the days, man. FCP was a revolution.”
And this just in from the year 2045:
“Seriously guys, these _Kut*99_ editors think they’re the shiz. Remember xPad_Air ? We had to……………….. “
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Editing is not the most important part of the movie.
It IS the movie.
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Well put!
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I don’t think I have ever watched a good film/TV show/video that has been edited badly. The success of the whole project rests squarely on the shoulders of the person who decides the edit.
I don’t profess to be an editor. Yet. But I know how important it is. Maybe if this guy called Tyler Perry had a good editor on his films they wouldn’t be such shite.
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