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July 6, 2011

Editing Notes

I will edit your movie. I'll edit it well. I'll make good choices and do everything in my power to pull your film into perfect realization. I'll fight down to the frame for its integrity. You may not agree with all of my instincts, but I'll argue my case if I feel it's warranted before letting you make the final decision. And when we watch the cut and make notes, I will write things like

Adjust noise in scene with the trees.and sometimes, I might actually know what I was talking about afterwards, even if just about every scene in the movie has trees in it.

The above is one of my favorite jottings from a rough cut screening of the film I've been cutting this summer. I am not a good note taker. I come very close very regularly to not having the faintest clue what I'm talking about. It's also true that I'm not entirely reliable when it comes to remembering scene numbers, character names or even common descriptive words and syntax. And I find that practical continuity like clothing is often for the birds. But when it comes to finding the right shot to cut to, and holding on it for the right amount of time, I stand by what I bring to the table. And I love working with a director who'll challenge that and make me realize I was wrong. Or right. Or wrong again.

I was asked something in an interview recently that made me say that I'd be happy to spend the rest of my career as a filmmaker editing other people's movies. Being an editor doesn't make me any less a filmmaker. And I like it. Let me get behind the camera every five years and I won't complain. I'll still be making great stuff in between.

Posted by David Lowery at July 6, 2011 11:45 PM