Editing:

And the winner goes to…

Can you name any movie that has won the Oscar for best editing?

Editing can make or break a movie or programme

Recent Oscar winners2009: The Hurt Locker2008: Slumdog Millionaire 2007: The Bourne Ultimatum 2006: The Departed 2005: Crash 2004: The Aviator2003: LOTR Return of the King2002: Chicago2001: Black Hawk Down2000: Traffic

What links these movies together?The DepartedThe AviatorGangs of New YorkBringing out the DeadKundunGrace of My HeartCasinoThe Age of InnocenceCape FearGoodfellasRaging Bull

Thelma Schoonmaker

Born 3rd January 1940

http://www.filmreference.com/Writers-and-Production-Artists-Ro-She/Schoonmaker-Thelma.html

Thelma Schoonmaker

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Thelma Schoonmaker1971 - Woodstock (nominated) Academy Award -

Best Achievement in Film Editing1981 - Raging Bull (won) Academy Award - Best

Achievement in Film Editing1991 - Goodfellas (nominated) Academy Award -

Best Achievement in Film Editing2003 - Gangs of New York (nominated) Academy

Award - Best Achievement in Film Editing2005 - The Aviator (won) Academy Award - Best

Achievement in Film Editing2007 - The Departed (won) Academy Award -

Best Achievement in Film Editing

Thelma Schoonmaker

And she says……….

Thelma Schoonmaker"... Editing is a lot about patience and discipline and just banging away at something, turning off the machine and going home at night because you're frustrated and depressed, and then coming back in the morning to try again."

Thelma Schoonmaker

But on the plus side….

Thelma Schoonmaker"You get to contribute so significantly in the

editing room because you shape the movie and the performances," she says. "You help the director bring all the hard work of those who made the film to fruition. You give their work rhythm and pace and sometimes adjust the structure to make the film work ‑- to make it start to flow up there on the screen. And then it's very rewarding after a year's work to see people react to what you've done in the theater."

Thelma Schoonmaker

EditingEditing can be learnt as a technical skill and

you will all be or become familiar with the terms and technologies around it such as:

Jump cutTimelinesBinsTransisions / DissolvesLap Dissolves……etc….etc

EditingLike everything else, watch examples, both

good and bad and decide for yourself and discuss what is good and what is bad about the editing in a piece.

Often a film adapts a particular style of editing to get across it’s style and content in a particular way such as slow and lyrical or fast and hard edged.

Editing

But really you should be concerned with how artistically the edit can change, develop and influence any project that you are working on.

Editing

Basic editing such as news reports with inserts are functional but necessary.

More ‘Creative’ editing can actually be detrimental to what you are wanting to achieve.

Have you ever considered a movie ‘Too Flashy’ this often is because of the editing style

EditingIt is said that if you can see or notice the edits then

the editor has failed.

Editing is part of the process of programme and filmmaking but it is not the whole process, you will have to develop a style and way of working suitable and effective to the project you are working on.

Each project will probably be edited in a different style and manner so consider this at the planning stage and just as in filming, you should do test edits to try these out.