Editing:
Stanley Kubrick noted that the editing process is the one
phase of production that is truly unique to motion pictures. Every other aspect
of filmmaking originated in a different medium than film (photography, art
direction, writing, sound recording etc.), but editing is the one process that
is unique to film. In Alexander Walker’s Stanley
Kubrick Directs, Kubrick was quoted as saying,” I love editing. I think I
like it more than any other phase of filmmaking. If I wanted to be frivolous, I
might say that everything that precedes editing is merely a way of producing
film to edit.”
In his book, On Film
Editing, Edward Dmytryk stipulates ‘seven rules of cutting’ that a good
editor should follow:
1.
Never make a cut without a positive reason.
2.
When undecided about the exact frame to cut on,
cut long rather than short.
3.
Whenever possible, cut ‘in movement’.
4.
The ‘fresh’ is preferable to ‘stale’.
5.
All scenes should begin and end with continuing
action.
6.
Cut for proper values rather than proper
matches.
7.
Substance first- then form.
According to Walter Murch, when it comes to film editing,
there are six main criteria for evaluating a cut or deciding where to cut. They
are (in order of importance):
1.
Emotion: Does the cut reflect what the editor
believes the audience should be feeling at that moment?
2.
Story: Does the cut advance the story?
3.
Rhythm: Does the cut occur ‘at a moment that is
rhythmically interesting and right?’
4.
Eye-trace: Does the cut pay respect to ‘the
location and movement of the audience’s focus of interest within the frame?’
5.
Two dimensional place of the screen: Does the
cut respect the 180 degree rule?
6.
Three dimensional space of action: Is the cut
true to the physical/ spatial relationships within the diegeis?
