Film Editing in an Ideal World
Editing is an invisible art form. The less people notice it, the better it is. Unless one is specifically sitting down with a film and watching it to study the way it is cut, a good editor only allows the audience to experience his or her work on a subconscious level. When editors themselves watch a movie for the first time, it is but natural to be observing the cutting patterns but a great editor can even fool the pros.
Editing is about telling a story. Once the film is shot and the footage is handed over to the editor, the film begins to take shape. It gains structure, it gains pacing, it gains rhythm, and things start to make sense. Contrary to what people think, film editing is not just about throwing out what is not needed or fixing mistakes made in the shoot. It’s about mixing things up a little, trying to create emotional impact with simple juxtaposition of 2 or more shots. 2 shots joined together at a certain place can create a particular impact. The same 2 shots joined together or cut away from each other (however you want to look at it) at a different place can create an altogether different impact. In the older days, there was the concept of NG (Not good) take, which would get thrown out by the director on the set itself, but nowadays, there is no such thing as a bad take. With the flexibility of digital editing platforms and precision with which we can edit, not to mention the economics of it, we have the luxury of sifting through every single take and finding invaluable moments in them. You never know what you can find. As the great editor Walter Murch says, editing is full of accidents.
Editing is perhaps the most accessible, yet least understood aspect of filmmaking. My mother asked my why Mumbai Meri Jaan won the filmfare award for best editing this year, arguing that it looked very normal. I have seen 20 year old kids just getting their feet wet with iMovie arguing why the Dhoom movies were the greatest edited Indian films they have ever seen. Why, amongst the film fraternity in Chennai itself, editors who are able to use funky transitions and gimmickry in their cuts are called cutting-edge. The more you make it look like a powerpoint presentation, apparently the more popular you get. Sincere editors in this world need to identify their victory when their work is not spoken about, and their films are lauded for not having any boring moments.
But we are in the movies, so let’s escape to an ideal world where editors are given an environment to do their job right.
Ideally, the editor should be involved in the writing process before the film goes into principal photography. The concept of the editor’s script is still alien in India. Once the final draft is approved from the writer/director’s end, ideally, the script should be allowed to pass through the hands of the cinematographer, editor, and sound designer. To maintain focus, let me just focus on how it helps for the editor to take a crack at the script.
To begin with, a good editor can identify whether the story has a clean flow by simply reading the script and visualizing it. If he/she feels that a small structural change may be better, notes can be made early enough, so options can be tried during the actual cutting. Secondly, the editor can write in transitions from scene to scene that can be shot to make them flow better. By that, I dont mean fades, dissolves, and wipes etc. I am talking about the closing action of a scene, and the opening action of the next scene. It could be a dialogue, perhaps a sound. While Kurosawa and Walter Murch still remain the finest practitioners of the above concept, the late Indian editor Renu Saluja (arguably the finest editor Indian cinema has ever seen) too was a master at writing transitions. A detailed, focused look at her work will make obvious the characteristic transitional touches from scene to scene.
The next step of the editor’s involvement should be in the storyboarding process, that is, assuming the filmmaker does indeed do storyboards. It helps for the cinematographer, production designer and editor to be involved in storyboarding as they can grasp a solid understanding of each others’ perspectives at this stage and iron out any issues. If the editor is not confident that 2 shots may cut with each other, he or she has an opportunity to insist on an additional “safety” shot to be worked in, that will certainly cut. It is also here that the editor can ask for inserts and cutaways. Establishing shots can be worked into the schedule as well. This way, the editor knows what he or she is going to be getting after the shoot as opposed to being shocked with a bunch of random footage. Some pre-order is in place for the chaos that is to ensue. Secondly, it is economical for producers and less of a headache for everyone else as it reduces the amount of time that would be spent in patchwork or pick ups after finding out during the edit that something critical was missed out on.
Filmmaking is in a new age, an age of big budgets and pre-vis, a concept hugely popular in Hollywood, but yet to make its way into India. Pre-vis is computer generated storyboarding. It’s like a little animated version of the movie, where stand-ins perform the body language of the actors using motion-capture. This is captured into a computer where the director sits with the pre-vis guys and tells them to create rough environments and where to block the actors and set the camera angles in advance. A glimpse through the King Kong bonus DVD will give you a good idea of the concept of pre-vis.
Editors in Hollywood nowadays obtain rendered shots from pre-vis and pre-edit the film to ensure shots are cutting well and that we have everything we need. Pre-vis is expensive, and is not feasible for all movies. A similar procedure can be done with still storyboards as well. It is a process called animatics which is very common in the advertising world where the entire commercial is edited using the storyboards, with dialogue, music and effects punched it. For extremely complex feature films and shoots, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to budget some money and time for the editors to work on an animatic, which again allows space and time to sort out issues efficiently before going into the shoot.
People in post-production generally hate the attitude, “let’s fix it in post”. The more you fix before the shoot the better, because fixing in post usually takes a very long time which also means a lot of money.
Another concept that is becoming increasingly popular is the idea of spot-editing, where the editor, or a qualified associate sit with a mobile unit on-set, get an analog video link directly from the camera’s video tap, and capture the footage as it is being shot, and edit it on the fly to ensure all the shots cut well together and that nothing additional is needed or being missed out on. Purists hate this approach because it tends to make editors lose objectivity in shots having seen the logistics and process behind capturing it. It’s a very valid point on a creative level. Spot-editing can be helpful, but totally unnecessary if an editor’s script, storyboarding, and/or animatics are done before-hand. Spot-editing can also be hugely distracting for the director and crew because they will insist on walking in and be preoccupied with seeing how shots cut with each other, and lose their instinct and spontaneity with which often great films are made.
Once the film is shot and telecined, the footage comes to the editor, and after the logging and capturing, the actual edit begins. Editors hate directors who breathe down their necks and walk them through every shot. Leave an editor be. You hired them trusting their sensibilities, so let them do their job, do a rough assembly of a scene and then let you look at it. The director should never be cut off and can’t be cut off from the editing process because every film has to follow a central vision, the director’s vision. An editor brings his or her instinct, but it is usually a good idea to show work-in-progress as often as possible to the director to ensure that you are working in the right direction. Sitting down with the director and watching, dissecting, and revising scene by scene, usually works.
Once a rough cut of the entire film is done, a video screening on a large screen is very beneficial, where it helps to watch it with at least 2 audiences. One screening with people related to the film, and another screening with people totally unrelated to the film, but who are qualified professionals at the same time, who can offer constructive criticism. When comments overlap between both audiences, it provides a stronger idea of what is working and what isn’t. At this point, it helps to sit in the edit with the director, allow the director to breathe down your neck, collaborate, discuss, and constructively work to improve the quality of the film.
So we are happy with the final cut. We decide to lock picture and go into sound. But the editor’s job isn’t quite over yet. Assuming he worked with good quality telecine, the editor can in fact help the cinematographer out by taking notes on shots that may need specific color grading tweaks and such. The notes can be passed on to the cinematographer who can then take them into consideration during the DI/grading process.
For the DI/grading, the editor needs to provide the DI facility with a solid, clean EDL (edit decision list) of the final cut). Using this EDL, the DI facility will scan all the original negative into high-resolution digital still images, and recreate the editor’s cut in hi-res. Good, reputed post houses will check the hi-res conform themselves in great detail, but an editor must always insist on being there for the checks. Before grading begins, it helps to insist on a simple DV CAM output of the final conform, load it into the Avid or FCP and cross check it, at least randomly with the original offline edit to ensure the conform is accurate. Usually since sound and DI happen simultaneously, the picture being used for sound work is the final cut the editor outputs from the Avid or FCP. So if the DI conform is not accurate, when the prints are made, the sound could be out of sync.
At this point, an editor can breathe a sigh of relief and hope to god that no re-edits or censor board revisions are asked for.
Editing is a complex job and and an even more complex art form with endless possibilities, that can probably never really be mastered completely. Companies offer 2-3 week courses in many cities that allow one to learn to edit in such a short time. These courses don’t create editors, they merely create operators. And to be an operator, you can just download a tutorial for Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro, or Avid and learn it yourself. Don’t waste your money. If you want to learn editing, watch movies. And watch the right movies.
When watching a film to study the editing, watch the film first to enjoy it, then as Spielberg often advises, watch it by turning off the sound. That way, you can focus all your attention on the visuals. Some great films to study editing:
- Seven Samurai: A film that runs nearly 3.5 hours but feels like 1.5 hours. An example of the mastery of Akira Kurosawa, the editor, in pacing and rhythm.
- Lawrence of Arabia: David Lean himself was a great editor, but he let an even greater editor take charge of this epic film, Anne Coates. Another long film that is consistently so addictive you never want it to end.
- Yojimbo: Another Kurosawa masterpiece (editing and direction). This film shows you the importance of instinct and when to cut away from a shot. Kurosawa holds long on many shots, but just before your attention gets diverted, he cuts to something more interesting. Its all in the instinct.
- Jaws: It’s as mainstream as it gets. Jaws is the definitive mainstream blockbuster thriller. Edited by Verna Fields, it was her last film. Watch the beach scene where after hearing about the shark Roy Scheider observes, looking out for the shark, while families have fun cluelessly. Few scenes show you better how to build tension.
- Apocalypse Now Redux: I recommend Redux over the original version because it is Walter Murch’s exclusive cut. There is a long story behind the edit of Apocalypse Now with the number of original editors involved and pace at which it was edited. Nobody tells the story better than Murch himself in his book “In The Blink of an Eye” a must read for anyone remotely interested in film editing.
This is just a start. I could go on and on and on…
Some Indian films with spectacular editing:
- Movies edited by Renu Saluja: Parinda, Is Raat Ki Subah Nahi, Ardh Satya and more
- Sholay: Sholay won just ONE filmfare award. It was for best editing for MS Shinde. It’s the mother of masala filmmaking! Be it the daku/horse/train chase, or the subtle moments of silent romance between Jai and Radha, never a dull moment, never a lag.
- Vanaprastham: jointly edited by Sreekar Prasad and Joseph Guinvarch, its a fine example of how an intentional slow pacing is also necessary for certain kinds of storytelling.
- Black Friday: Edited by Aarti Bajaj, its a film that stands out for me because the pacing is just right. Never faster or slower than it ever needs to be. Strikes that middle-ground to perfection.
- Naan Kadavul: There is a fine line between disturbing and repelling the viewer. If you show something unsettling shorter than you need to, it wont have the intended impact, and if you show it a frame too long, the viewer will look away from the screen. And if that happens, you have failed as a filmmaker. Suresh Urs work in Naan Kadavul is pure instinct as he threads that fine line disturbing the viewer just enough.
So many more films to talk about. Let’s keep adding to the list.
Tags: apocalypse now redux, Black Friday, edit, Editing, editors, film, kurosawa, renu, saluja, sholay, walter murch, yojimbo
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Vijay, thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you for this write-up!!!! I’ve been playing around with Windows Movie Maker for over two years now, and thinking it’s time to move to the next level, I was browsing through books on editing just last week at Landmark. And here you’ve given us a great starting point!
– ‘pre-vis’ ha ha
Raju Hirani said at the Screenwriters’ Conference that he’s immensely thankful that he got selected for the editing course instead of directing at FTII, and he always writes and shoots his films in terms of cuts.
I have the King Kong bonus DVD. So many fabulous things to learn from it.
Before doing the actual shots for our chhoti-moti kung fu shorts, we used to shoot rough versions first, cut them together and see how they look. Now I’ve got the exact term to brag about
Vijay – awesome post!! I love when you talk about editing – the right mix of practicality and idealism.
This is great advice for everyone – esp. newbies – on how to include the editor early. Never heard of the editor being involved in the script stage, but makes sense.
You also point out in several places why the director and editor should be two different people (something often ignored in student films).
Wonderful stuff. One point where I disagree – I just watched Redux and I did feel the length… I actually ended up looking at my watch once with a wtf is going on thought…
I wonder why every post has to mention Anurag or Black Friday.
This is indeed an rare post. Very few understands it and so very few admires, till now I have no idea how to appreciate Editing.
Please keep updating
Vijay- a big thanks for giving such a detailed capsule on editing.I’m not too sure of Naan Kadavul though as a great editing work.There seemed to be a lot of continuity lapses in the movie.Of course the harsh censoring could also be a reason for the same.
Continuity has nothing to do with editing. Continuity is something that is the director and his/her teams responsibility during the shoot.
Upto a certain point, in editing, the editor can try to correct continuity errors, but often in such cases the editor arrives at a point where he/she has to choose between logic/continuity and impact/drama. An editor will always choose the latter, and more often than not, so will the director.
Good Post
I am big time fan of Yojimbo, so i can’t agree more
Btw two more resources to dig dip into editing
Book
Technique of Film Editing-old text,but golden principles
http://www.amazon.com/Technique-Film-Editing-Second-Reisz/dp/0240514378/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238151934&sr=8-1
and a documentary called
The Cutting Edge – The Magic Of Movie Editing
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0428441/
Btw I believe editing a film is closest thing to “Moksha”:))
Shripriya, I feel the director and editor need not necessarily be 2 people, but rather 2 different personalities.
Kurosawa and David Lean on one level, after whom Robert Rodriguez, Steven Soderberg etc are phenomenal directors who edit their own films.
I think if a director has the film pre-edited in detail in his mind before the shoot, its not a very good thing. It restricts the shots you take, the space you offer your actors to explore. You try to fit everything in the mentally created cut.
Dont cut your film in camera while shooting.
Vijay – good advice. Very good advice. So, let me ask you, let’s say you know you are going to cut your film, how do you put on the editor hat during the early stages?
In my first short, I had no clue about the editing, so it didn’t influence me, but now that I have 1% of a clue, wondering how to do what you suggest.
If it is the same person would you say don’t put on the editor cap at all in the early stages? Or consciously look at it through two lenses and make the time to do both?
I may have answered the question for myself in thinking about it out loud
But would still like to hear your views.
Shripriya, I wish I had the knowledge and/or experience to answer your question.
Thanks Vijay..this is a keeper post!
AWE-F******-SOME
It is sure a post to keep and revisit as often.
We are very lucky to have you here and active once again!!!
@cinemausher- I wonder why every post has to have a completely immature comment like yours.
@Kenny, Robert Rodriguez does what you speak of. If you watch the bonus features on the DVD of Desperado, you will see that prior to shooting an action scene, he goes to the location with Banderas, the action choreographer, and a handycam, and does a very very rough taping as a reference for the actual shoot.
A very informative article, thanks for explaining it all so simply.
Thanks a bunch for this Vijay!!!
hey, i thought the DI process takes place before the editing? does it? i am a student and paragraphs 14 and 15 are confusing, can you clear it up a little bit? did u say that once the editing is done then go to DI and then back to FCP or Avid?
Definitely a cut above the rest! Great read.
@Ayush – DI process is a finishing process. It takes place after the edit.
Telecine is done before the edit. It is the process of transferring picture from negative to video.
Once you finish the edit using the telecine footage, you output an Edit Decision List (EDL) from the Avid or FCP. The picture you have in the Avid is low res. So you need to create a hi-res version of it.
Using the EDL, the original negative is scanned in high-resolution (2k) and conformed to match the original edit. Then it is color corrected digitally and output back to negative so that you can make prints for exhibition.
Let me clarify that DI is a new innovation and is not mandatory. The traditional method is where you use the EDL and cut and join the actual negative to match it, and then grade it optically and make prints.
Thats a lovely write-up. Right now, its about 3 in the morning… I’m in an editing room, trying to re-version my docu from 94 to 49 mins… and we’ve only managed to arrive at 74… so, its the right time to appreciate an article on the art of invisible editing
@Vijay…Brilliant…
Shan Mohammed who edited my film “Frozen”(he edited “Jaane Tuh…” after that) was included during the scripting meetings. Personally, it helps later on as the editor understands the vision very early.
Also I agree that the best editing is that which can’t be seen.
@Shivajee, I loved Shan’s work in Frozen. A fine example of deciding on the correct pace for a film, where it cannot be too fast so that audiences can sink into the characters. I found the style very European.
“The more you make it look like a powerpoint presentation, apparently the more popular you get.”
.
unfortunate but true.
@Vijay…
I personally feel that once the film is shot the director has to trust the editor’s competency and leave him to do his stuff. After all he is there in the team on merit.
Without giving spoilers on Frozen…If you recall the end of the film, I still remember we had a week’s break before putting that together. Myself,Shanker and Shan had brain storming sessions discussing a simple ending and the ending what is there in the film. Shanker had his reservations regarding the original idea but Shan stood by his guns and we arrived at the final sequence.
Also if the director is a learning director like me it is fascinating to see an editor at work. I know a director should not shoot thinking about cutting points but it does help if before going on shoot the editor can just jot down few pointers like some shots which should not be missed. Again of course this can happen only when the editor is clear about the vision and is involved from the scripting stage.
I wish some one writes an article about background score and sound designing also…it is such an important part of any film vis-a-vis editing.
ah. thanks.
@Shivajee – Picture editors need to be sound editors in this day and age as well. It helps to design cuts keeping sound in mind. I feel all editors should equip themselves with a basic sound effects library.
Why don’t you do a post about the background score of Frozen. I am very interested in it. I remember watching the rough cut on DVD which had a temp score, and when I finally watched it on the big screen after it was finished, I was blown away with the new score full of electric guitars and such. Certainly not something I expected, but it was awesome!
Really nice post – simply worded and a very informative .. almost made me wonder “Wow, this is what i do?” :-)
“Write only what a camera can see and only what a tape recorder can record” was the most valuable lesson that my script writing professor gave us in film school. As an editor, I still follow that because it’s on the edit table that the final draft of the film is written.
For editors, the picture on screen and the sound playing out of the speakers are the pen and paper with which to tell any story. And so every picture and every sound has used almost as judiciously as a writer choosing his words. The challenge for me is to not kill good material with a bad edit. Even more challenging is to work with bad material and make that play out correctly.
Many times when i get stuck with terrible footage, i’ve found that the way out is NOT by blaming the director or actors or the production BUT by looking at all the raw material at your disposal and saying “OK .. so this is what we got . .and this is what i need to say in the film, so how can i fashion it differently?”
Can the scene be edited differently from the way it’s been written and filmed? Can the really bad stuff be thrown out while still retaining the crucial information/moment/plot point? Can it be used somewhere else in the script/film? Like i said, it might lead to the script being re-written, for the last and final time!
PS. Amongst my personal favourites for timing and pacing is Mahesh Bhatt’s SAARANSH, edited by the now Director No. 1, David Dhawan :-)
greeeeeaaaatttttt post!!!!
@Vijay
I know what you mean vis-a-vis Frozen’s sound designing. It is Vivek Sachidanandan’s first film as Sound Designer and John P.Varkey’s first film as Music Director. Incidentally Shan’s 2nd film. His first film is still not out(The Great Indian Butterfly).
I agree when you say the Editor should have knowledge of Sound and I was lucky to have a team of all these three Mallus who would banter among themselves and just tell me at the end that yes it can be done :-)…
I will write the note on Sound Designing and I think it is the correct time now as the India release of Frozen is happening very soon. Also the DVD would have a detailed section on this process.
@Vijay
BTW John has never seen snow in his life. The music was made in Cochin while drinking toddy and smoking joints wearing baniyan and lungis. It was an awesome sight when these guys were watching the film on screen and making music in plus 35 degrees celcius and the name of the film was “Frozen”…
Oh those mallus and sound!!! The best of them just won an oscar this year!
Have you seen the film Everybody Says I’m Fine? Very average film, but Resul’s sound design in that film in Dolby EX is phenomenal! Definitely something to check out for sound gumbies.
Nahi yaar…haven’t seen it. Would check it out…
very educational posts…
for a guy discovering the intricacies of filmmaking aspects practically, this comes at a right time.
I feel an editor’s skill comes through without being in your face when he/she edits flashback sequences or sudden shots from the past relevant to the story-and succeeds in blending it with the present scene.
@jibin
An amazing example is Sarfarosh – where he goes into aamir and sonali bender’s flashback in college and comes out back at the Naseeruddin’s concert.
One of the greatest flashback techniques was in The Godfather Part 2, the way the flashbacks are intercut throughout the film. At every stage, Michael Corelone’s life is paralleled with the life of his father in his younger days. The way we move back and forth between both stories is seamless.
@Vijay = how about a more ‘By the example’ post on editing. Michael Madana Kamarajan is one of my wow films for editing. I guess having a good script is the first starting point from that respect.
@VPJ – as you said, it is indeed all in the script. Editing is not just about how it’s cut, its about how it’s written so it can be cut a certain way also. Which is why I harp on the editor getting a crack at the script in its final stage.
I have always been too busy laughing my ass off during Michael Madana Kamarajan to ever notice or study anything there beyond the jokes, story and performances. This after 27 viewings of the film! It’s the mark of a great film where everything is seamless and supports the performance and storytelling.
Yes, I do intend on doing a more “by the example” post, but it would require a little time. I would have to re-view scenes in detail and include screen shots etc. I’m flying to LA next month, so I have a long flight ahead. Maybe I will pick a film most people have seen and work on it during the flight.
Superb!!! Superb Post…first the sound designing, then the importance of silence in films and now editing…awesome Vijay..
I have very less knowledge of editing( zero to be precise), but..i loved the work in Jaaneman by Sirish and Salam-E-Isq by Aarti also, Metro…it must be a tough to cut a movie with multiple story lines…how is it decided..about the chronological sequences..i guess editor and director both sit together to discuss it..
Also, about Flashbacks..in RDB..we see flashback in different light..that yellow wala..now is this done while shooting or is it after the shoot?
@Om – When editing a movie with multiple storylines i.e. Metro, the film needs to be written that way. Metro runs in what we call a parallel narrative structure, with two or more stories moving together, side-by-side, where you cut back and forth between each, without necessarily shifting in time.
Pulp Fiction is a mix of fragmented and episodic structures where you shift in time as well.
These kind of scripts first have to be written that way. It has be the style of storytelling the filmmaker decides upon at the very beginning. For shooting, he may restructure it linearly so its easier to break down and shoot. Of course, there will be plenty of experimentation during the edit to see which chronology of shots and scenes work best. But it has to begin with the script.
Anurag may be able to explain this better as he had written Yuva for Mani saar.
In RDB, the sepia tone in the flashbacks was probably done in DI in post production. I am sure Binod Pradhan perhaps lit the scenes conducive to that look, but the tone looked like it was most certainly added in post. Nowadays, because of DI, filmmakers don’t exhibit that confidence of doing certain things in camera, and shoot it such that they have the luxury of throwing the concept out in post.
Shirish Kunder is an excellent editor, but his best work is Matrubhoomi.
Thanks rei :-)