LoBrutto - The Art of Motion Picture Editing: an Essential Guide to Methods, Principles, Processes, and Terminology

THE ART OF
MOTION PICTURE EDITING

THE ART OF
MOTION PICTURE EDITING

...

VINCENT LOBRUTTO

Copyright 2012 by Vincent LoBrutto.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

LoBrutto, Vincent.

The art of motion picture editing / Vincent LoBrutto.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-58115-881-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Motion pictures--Editing. I. Title.

TR899.L62 2012

777--dc23

2012023979

Printed in the United States of America

FOR

David Weber My high school editing teacher, who taught me that the beginning of a film could be the end, the end could be the beginning, and the middle, left or right of center

Mimi Arsham College editing instructor at the School of Visual Arts during the seventies, when the American Cinema was experiencing its own renaissance

Arthur Ginsberg The first editor I assisted, who witnessed my editing Bar Mitzvah with the patience and the wisdom of Job

Walter Murch, A.C.E. Editings Zen guru master, who taught me that 1 and 1 is 1 and that three ones make a forest

Edgar Burcksen, A.C.E. former Editor-in-Chief at American Cinema Editor magazine who elected me as his editor; a man with wisdom, faith, and belief in the international community of editors

... and to the myriad editors and directors over the years who made my passion for the cinema grow brighter with each question and answer

... as well as to Stanley Kubrick, who once said, Everything else comes from something else. Writing, of course, is writing, acting comes from the theater, and cinematography comes from photography. Editing is unique to film. You can see something from different points of view almost simultaneously, and it creates a new experience.

To the School of Visual Arts Film, Video, and Animation Chairman Reeves Lehmann, Director of Operations Sal Petrosino, and the Rhodes family, David, our President, Anthony, who serves as Vice President, and to the memory of Silas, (Dusty) Rhodes, the father of SVA who passed on during the summer of 2007, my eternal gratitude for educating me about the cinema. For editors Dede Allen, David Bretherton, Anne V. Coates, Rudi Fehr, Jerry Greenberg, Richard Halsey, Alan Heim, Tina Hirsch, Michael Kahn, Harold Kress, Carol Littleton, Lou Lombardo, Evan Lottman, Richard Marks, Craig McKay, Susan E. Morse, William Reynolds, Tom Rolf, Arthur Schmidt, Maury Winetrobe, and Ralph Winters, who answered the many questions of a curious and, at times, insatiable interviewer when I first began exploring the art and craft of editing. Gratitude again to Tina Hirsch, A.C.E., first female president of American Cinema Editors, who stunned this author/editing instructor by recognizing him as a Special Member. To the second (or third or fourth... ) coming of CinemaEditor magazine, now an internationally known editing publication, formerly led by the Dutch Master Edgar Burcksen, A.C.E. To Production Manager Jenni McCormick, the keeper of the flame. To the ACE Board of Directors who reside on the West Coast, my thanks for their trust in their unofficial East Coast correspondent and for allowing me to interview directors and editors they honor at their annual Eddie Awards, an event I promise every year I will attend.

My thanks also to the more than one hundred editors I have interviewed for CinemaEditor over the years as well as other crafts people and directors.

My wife Harriet Morrison has been thanked for each of the many books I have written and my interview book, By Design: Interviews with Film Production Designers, was dedicated to her. She is my best friend and confidant.

My son Alexander Morrison, a wine adviser and sommelier, has over the years been a loyal student of editing and all the film crafts and has sat by my side through countless screenings in preparation for books. His own love and knowledge of the cinema has been a constant motivating force.

My daughter Rebecca Roes, vice president at Royal Dutch Shell, who has followed a unique and multifaceted path, has always had a deep love and respect for the arts and is an avid movie-watcher. Rebecca has taught me tenacity, the ability to accept all people from whence they come, and that living a dream takes lots of hard work and passion.

My late parents Anthony and Rose LoBrutto were the patient, and, at times, not so patient, parents of a son who variously wanted to be a magician, ventriloquist, novelist, painter, motion picture editor, and too many other vocations to mentionRest-in-Peace.

Deep appreciation to all SVA film students, whether their specialty track leads to screenwriting, directing, editing, cinematography, or soundfor listening and sharing knowledge. A teacher can also learn by listening and sharing discourse. My thesis students, past and current, take their final years journey with me, and Im proud to provide guidance and insight.

A special thanks to all the students who have attended my The Art of Editing continuing education course at SVA since its inception many moons ago. Your insights (not opinions) taught your teacher how to expand on his knowledge and personal insights.

My thanks to all the heads of education at Film/Video Arts (FVA). I am especially indebted to Mario Paoli, the man who saved FVA from the brink of ruination. There arent enough Marios in this world.

Ed Bowes, recipient of the SVA Lifetime Educational Achievement Award, has spent hours conversing with me on the art, craft, and technical aspects of editing. And to an earlier recipient of that honor, Richard Pepperman, who was my editing teacher back in the day at SVA. He is an author in his own right, specializing in editing and visualization. Roy Frumkes, SVA instructor and a man with extensive knowledge of the little-known facets of cinema, has always been a supporter of my work and someone to talk to about movies, the crafts, and the outer reaches of this medium.

Thanks to Lyuda Tabak for technical computer assistance. It made in-house production much easier.

And, as always, my heartfelt thanks to the entire staff at the Mount Vernon Public Librarythis loyal author is proud to be on your shelves.