Penguin June 20th, 2009
If you’re like me, you’re tired of manually calculating differences or additions in timecode. Counting to 24 to add to the minutes ends up confusing the brain. Luckily, there’ a timecode calculator. You can specify how many frames per second, the start, end, and whether you are adding and subtracting. And if you lucky enough to be working with film, you can calculate keyframes. Nice useful tool.
-Penguin
Related postsPenguin September 10th, 2008
FreshDV has a great article on Edward Dmytryk, an American film editor, who wrote On Film Editing
“The only reason for using another cut is to improve the scene.”
“Splicing a few frames back onto a scene which has been lopped short makes ‘jumpy’ viewing, and a cut full of such amendments makes proper visualization difficult and perceptive judgment impossible.”
“Creating a ‘diversion’ of sorts … is also the principle at work in the action cut.”
“In art, the obvious is a sin.”
“Technical skill counts for nothing if it is used only to manufacture films which have little to do with humanity.”
“The film’s dramatic requirements should always take precedence over the mere aesthetics of editing.”
“Subconsciously suggest to the viewer that he is seeing a fragment of continuing life, not a staged scene with a visible framework.”
I think the best rule is this following guideline:
The best film actors act from there eyes. Use the eyes to guide your cuts. Cutting dialogue sequences is much more difficult because it’s not just cutting words: You’re cutting the emotion. You are cutting lives connecting. Attitudes, moments, emotions. And the actors have to look good; they have to be cherished and they have to be honored.
-Carol Littleton
The important thing about editing is the story. And stories are carried by characters and characters are built by emotions.
+ Buy On Film Editing
-Penguin
Related postsPenguin September 8th, 2008
It’s pretty easy to tell good writing. You have good structure, some snappy dialogue, and some memorable scenes. It’s pretty easy to tell good directing too. But what about editing? What’s good editing?
Some people think quick edits and stuff like that is what makes editing great. But I view quick edits as more of a tool in the editor’s box.
I found the following list to be pretty helpful.
- Do we understand and get involved with the story?
- Do we understand and get involved with the characters?
- Do we understand and get involved with the ways in which the characters and the story change as the film moves along?
- Is the film told in the best possible way for its story and its characters?
The primary function of editing is to shape the story. If the plot or narrative is your structure, than your characters are what moves the plot. Both are integral to story. Editing is the final step in putting these stories together. When you put one image next to another, it’ll tell a different story depending on the image.
-Penguin
Related postsPenguin August 25th, 2008
I first heard of this project in spring. A team from Columbia University went to Beijing to shoot a project. Essentially, it’s supposed to be like “living books” or language lessons. Jesse introduced me to the project because they were looking for an editor.
Today, I finally got the footage and the script. The script is in Chinese, so I’m going to have to ask my mom to help me translate.
Should be an interesting project.
-Penguin
Related postsPenguin June 24th, 2008
Fantastic little short starring Kevin Pollack. I really like the editing as it transitions from patient to patient.
A therapist discovers he has six weeks to live and gets brutally honest. Oscar Nominated. Written and directed by Rob Pearlstein
-Penguin
Related postsPenguin June 11th, 2008
Total Running time: 43:12
Invasion: The Battle for earth is a huge mashup of some of the greatest (and not so great) films of our time.
Movies used: Independence Day, Star Wars, Deep Impact, Star Trek, Contact, War of the Worlds (1953 + 2005), ET, Apollo 13, Transformers, Signs, Battlestar Galactica, Terminator 2 + 3, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Abyss, AI, Armageddon, Day After Tomorrow, Goldeneye, Mars Attacks, Outbreak, Superman 2, Superman returns, V: The Mini Series, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space 9, Star Ship Troopers, Alien, Fifth Element, Galaxy Quest, The Last Starfighter, The Matrix, Planet of the Apes (2001), Serenity, Tron, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Even though it said that the final (Episode 6) would be released in April, it still isn’t up yet. I’m definitely looking forward to it.
-Penguin
Related postsPenguin June 5th, 2008
I’ve watched/listened to two interviews. The first was w/ Saar Klein, who worked on Bourne Identity and Jumper, and Jon Poll, who edited Meet the Parents and the second two Austin Powers movies.
Both editors talk about finding that moment that makes the scene, character, or line come alive. They then build the rest of the scene around those moments. As a first time director on Charlie Bartlett, he talks about trying to create those moments.
As writers, we try to write memorable moments. As directors, we try to coax those moments from our actors. As editors, we find those moments and piece them together. I know in the past when I edited Love Angle, I was interested in getting the narrative. Now looking back, it should really be about getting the story, which includes emotion and feeling that only exists in those magical moments.
-Penguin
Related postsPenguin May 15th, 2008
Filmmaker Magazine has an old but fantastic article on “development“.
The first half goes through and discusses the Hollywood system and how writers are undervalued. Granted, this was written in 1995, and having no experience in the system, I wouldn’t be able to say if it’s still accurate. But based on the way business moves, I would imagine it being about the same.
Towards the end, there are some great tips and guides on how to edit screenplays from a producer or director standpoint.
For the producer
There are a few more tips, but I found these the most useful.
-Penguin
Penguin May 15th, 2008
From OpenCut.org
OpenCut is a completely open-source film competition designed to encourage people to take professionally shot material and edit it in their own way. As there is no “one way” to tell a story, so too can stories benefit from being re-edited and re-told from many different vantage points and perspectives.
The winner of OpenCut 1.0 will receive a brand new AJA IO HD from Silverado. They will also be recognized as the “editor-of-record” at IMDB and will have their cut submitted to multiple film festivals.
Registration starts on midnight May 18th, 2008. Pay them $25. Send them a HDD. Get 160 GB of RED footage. Edit, color correct, whatever. Win great honor.
-Penguin
Related postsLimited edition lithograph prints. Signed + numbered.
