Editing for Dummies!

I promised myself I would never do this. I told myself that I would never ever touch on this subject. Well, unfortunately, it is time. I must delve into a topic that I'd much rather leave alone. A topic that is hitting a little too close to home for my taste. A topic that would possibly tell me that I've been doing it wrong the whole time. That I haven't been doing my job. That I haven't been living to my full potential. It is indeed time...for Editing for Dummies!

I don't like to refer to myself as a "dummy," but I often am. I don't prefer to undermine myself, but I often do. I would rather not make myself, along with everyone I know, realize that I could do so much more than I already do...SO WHY START NOW?! I don't mean to toot my own horn or anything (although this is very exciting news), but it turns out that I've actually been doing [almost] everything I could possibly be doing to help the productions I've worked on in the past.

First, let's get our jobs straightened out. In the world of editors, there are two main positions: the editor, and the assistant editor(s). I say "editor(s)" because, while there can sometimes be only one assistant editor, there's more often than not multiple assistant editors. It's true (probably). Look it up (please don't). In a nutshell, the assistant editors report directly to the editor. They do what the editor tells them to do and the editor does what the director and executive producer tells him to do.

They're worked like dogs...get it? It's funny!

Let's begin with the responsibilities of the assistant editor, considering that will lead into the responsibilities of the editor. See how organized I am? The assistant editor's foremost job is to log and capture media; basically put all the files onto a hard drive and label them. After the files are logged and captured, the assistant editor organizes them in coordination with the script supervisor's log on an offline edit timeline in a rough cut format. They take the specific clips the script supervisor recommends they use and put together a very rough cut of the film without doing any detailed edits. The assistant editor also keeps a system of backups of all the files and assists the editor in compressing and the timeline and exporting it in multiple formats.

In short, the assistant editor's job is to make the editor's job as painless as possible. They gather and organize everything and even put together a rough cut of the film, pretty much just leaving the more minute, detailed edits up to the editor. Having logged at least a couple thousand files myself, it's not fun. It's definitely not fun. Hats off to you, Mr. and Ms. Assistant Editors!

Now let's move onto the editor. The chief. The head honcho. The top dog. The big cheese. Like I said, the editor is responsible for delegating responsibilities to the assistant editors. Once he/her receives the rough cuts from the assistant editors, the editor takes what they're given and cut, slice, and dice the footage into successive cuts until the final cut is reached.

An editor looking very deep in thought.

The editor doesn't only make the meticulous edits and turn the film into the masterpiece it will hopefully become, but they're also the ones who receive all the criticism. They sit down with the director and executive producer on a regular basis to receive criticism about how they can improve their work. It's pretty mentally and physically exhausting! Not only is their work ripped apart by some very important people, but they also work unimaginable hours to change their work so that these very important people like it.

Once the "final cut" is reached (I say "final cut" because, well, the final cut isn't typically reached until the day before the project's hand-in date) the editor often assists the Directory of Photography with color correction and other postproduction effects. There's more often than not other people who are specialized in these areas who are hired for color correction and special effects, but the editor gets some level of input in what is done or how it's done.

The editor's final job is to output the final cut of the film to several formats. The format can depend on who it's being sent to. This can include film festivals, theaters, online, etc. Assistant Editors and Editors have it rough. Their jobs are to basically polish and refine with the very little time and resources that's [most likely] available.

Memento: A Movie You Will Never Forget

Even though I believe I only very briefly mentioned this film before in a much earlier post, after recent discussions in my psychology class I realized how much this creative and crazy film deserves a full post. Memento is a film written and directed by Christopher Nolan and it showcases Guy Pearce playing Leonard Shelby, a man who has no short-term memory. Even though he says in the film it is not amnesia, as I learned in my psychology class, Shelby actually has anterograde amnesia. Throughout the film Leonard tries to seek vengeance for the rape and murder of his wife by finding a “John G.” This process of detective work is hard for Shelby because of his anterograde amnesia, which makes him unable to remember new facts and memories.

The film does a wide variety of things to help accurately convey Shelby’s condition to the audience. Shelby can remember the events leading up to his wife’s murder but is unable to make new memories. To combat this he writes notes, tattoos his body, and takes Polaroid pictures so he can remember this information and find the mysterious “John G.” figure. It is still tough for Shelby especially since characters like Teddy and Natalie are telling me contrasting stories and information. These notes and reminders give Shelby help in “remembering” where he is in the case.

Another interesting thing the film does is present the story in two different sequences. One sequence is in color and is shown in reverse and the other sequence is in black and white and is shown in chronological order. These two sequences then converge at the end of the film and thus create one full story. This is done to put the audience in the main character’s shoes. By not being able to recall the events in the color sequence (since the audience does not what happened before them during their first viewing) they are experiencing short-term memory loss and Shelby’s inability to remember what happened after his wife’s death. To help further understand this “sujet” or presentation of the film Andy Klein for Salon magazine numbered the black and white timeline with the numbers 1-22 and the lettered the color timeline with the letters A-V. After the opening credits the sequence starts at 1 and is followed by V, 2, U, 3, T, 4, S and so on until finally 22/A and the end credits.

Two of my favorite moments from the film are when an event in Shelby’s life runs too long and he forgets where he is and what he is doing during it. For example he finds a wounded and injured man in his hotel room and asks him who did this to him only for the guy to respond, “you did!” Another great moment is when he is running through a trailer park and wonders what he is doing there. He sees a guy running on the other side of some trailers and thinks he must be pursuing that guy. He begins to chase him only to realize he is actually running away from him!

Memento is a crazy thrill ride directed by Christopher Nolan and a great film not only for a film or psychology student like I am but also for anyone in general. The film does a good job (especially for most Hollywood films) portraying psychological conditions like anterograde amnesia. While I could go on all day about unique and creative this film is many of you will probably forget about this post. But please do not forget to check out Memento when you have a chance over the holiday break. Believe me it will be a movie you will never forget!