Roger Crittenden

The Thames and Hudson

Manual of Film Editing

Contents

Introduction 7

I The historical perspective : how the function of editing has evolved 9

THE SILENT ERA I0 THE CONTRIBUTION OF

D. W. GRIFFITH I0 THE CONVENTION I I THE RUSSIAN

INFLUENCE I2 . EISENSTEIN I 3 LIMITATIONS OF THE

FORM I4 . ROBERT FLAHERTY AND THE DOCUMENTARY

MOVEMENT I 5 . CHALLENGING THE CONVENTION I 6 CAMERA-STYLO AND CINEMA-VBRITB 17 . THE NEW

WAVE I 8 . EXPLORING THE BOUNDARIES 20 COLOUR

AND WIDE SCREEN 20 TECHNIQUE AND MANIPULATION 21

2 Shooting with cutting in mind 2 3

CREATING THE EDITOR'S MATERIAL 2 3 CONVENTIONAL

COVER AND THE ALTERNATIVES 24 - CONTROLLING IMAGE

AND SOUND 25 . IDENTIFICATION 26 . RELATING

SHOOTING TO EDITING 28 . DOCUMENTARY SHOOTING 32 . THE PROPER USE OF SOUND 37 PAPERWORK 40

3 The cutting room and editing equipment

UPRIGHT AND FLAT-BED MACHINES 47 THE

SYNCHRONIZER 5 3 . MAGNETIC SOUND AND TAPE

JOINERS 55 THE SYNC BENCH 56 . THE TRIM BIN AND

OTHER ACCESSORIES 5 7

4 Cutting procedure

CHECKING YOUR MATERIAL FOR FAULTS 61 . SYNCHRONIZING THE RUSHES 63 - CODING THE

RUSHES 67 - LOGGING 68 . TRANSCRIBING OR MARKING

UP THE SCRIPT 68 . VIEWING THE SYNC RUSHES 68 BREAKING DOWN THE FILM 70 - CUTTING 70 - THE

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE DIRECTOR AND EDITOR 73

5 The language of editing: giving your material 7 4 form and refining its meaning

REASONS FOR CUTTING 77 CUTTING AND REACTION :

DRAMATIC EMPHASIS 79 . DIRECTORS AND EDITING: SOME

EXAMPLES 80

6 Sound in editing 9 5

CATEGORIES OF SOUND 96 DIALOGUE 97

EFFECTS 99 VOICE-OVER OR NARRATION I00 . MUSIC 102 PLAYBACK 107 - TRACKLAYING 108

DUBBING CHARTS I I 3 THE MIX I I 5

7 The laboratory in post-production I 16

THE 'CONTACT' I I 7 REPRINTS AND DUPLICATION I I 7 . OPTICALS I I g . NEGATIVE AND ORIGINAL CUTTING I 2 3 . GRADING AND PRINTING I 24 . DUPLICATING THE

MASTER 128 - STORAGE AND RETENTION OF THE

MASTER 129

8 Film editing and the future: film or video? 130 ( Appendix: additional and contractual obligations of the editor 135

FOREIGN VERSIONS I 3 5 . CREDITS AND TITLES I 3 5 CENSOR I 3 5 MUSIC CUE SHEET 13 5 LIBRARY

RETURNS 136

Glossary 137

Acknowledgments 156

Bibliography 157

Index 158

Index

Figures in italic refer to illustration

A and B roll chequerboard as- sembly see chequerboard cutting

A and B wind I 19,122; 55 Aaton 133 Accident I I I ; 52 Acmade: Compeditor 3 1 ; flat-

bed editing machine 47; num- bering machine 38; sync bench 33

L'Age d'Or 16 Alexander Nevsky 49 Allen, Dede 73,87, I 3 I Allen, Woody 20 Altman, Robert 23, 88, 89, 95;

4 5 Anderson, Lindsay 105-6 angle and distance 3 I L'Annke Derniere d Marienbad 20 Antonioni, Michelangelo I 9 Arrangement, The 21 Astruc, Alexandre I 7 auto-splice deletion I 24 L'Avventura 19

Badlands I O I Barry, Iris I I , 12 Basic Training 94 Battleship Potemkin 14 Bazin, Andre 16-17, 18 B B C 39744 Beck, Reginald 73 Belmondo, Jean-Paul 84-5 Bergman, Ingmar, 20,24, 81-2,

104; 42 Birth of a Nation I 2 Bitzer, Billy I I

Bogdanovitch, Peter 20 Bonnie and Clyde 87 Boston, Satah 44 Bresson, Robert 20, 25, 73, 83-

4,102; 43 Britten, Benjamin 104 Brownlow, Kevin 46,74 Buiiuel, Luis 16,22,23,82-3 ; 9 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance

Kid I 02

Cacoyannis, Michael 24 camera: mechanism faults 63;

use of 9, 10, I S camera sheets 40,61; 16 Camera-Stylo I 7 ,24 cameraman: importance of 23-

4. 93; relation with recordist 3 7

captions I o 1-2; and see titles cementjoiners 55

censor (in U K) I 3 5 Chabrol, Claude I 8 ,73 Chandler, Raymond 23,89 chequerboard cutting I r 9, I 23-

4; 56 Chien Andalou, U n I 6 Chinatown 87-8 Chronique d'un Et4 I 7 ; 6 Cinema-Vkrit.5 I 7-1 8 Cinemascope 2 I Cit izen Kane I 7 clapperboard 26-8,42, I 3 3 ; i 1 Clark, Susan 86 close-ups 4,9, 10, I I , 15, 24, 30,

35 ; crosscut 10, I I ; sound 30 C M X Video Display Unit 58 coding see numbering machines,

rushes Collins, Alfred 9 colour film 20; correction I 18;

duplicating from colour ma- terial 129

Compeditor 5 3,96 ; 3 I complementary angles 3 3 Confrontation, The 91 ; 46 continuity 28-32, 34-5; conti-

nuity cutting 21 continuity notes (or sheets) 28,

40-1,43,61, 133; 18 continuous action 16-1 7,21 Conversation, The 25 Coppola, Francis Ford 25 Coutard, Raoul23 cover 24-5, 3 2

cues 98 cutaway 3 3 cutting: in the hand 46; organ-

izing material 61-70; positive reasons for 77-8; procedure 70-3; standard markings 58, 64, 113, 121, 123; 40; tech- nique 21; to overcome prob- lems 78-9; and see editing

cutting copy: guide for ordering optical effects I 2 I ; preparation for negative cutting I 23-4

cutting room 46-60; 21,35,36; accessories 57-60; effect of equipment on sound 95; and see editing machines

Daniels, Bebe 46 Death in Venice 20

Delerue, Georges 105, I 07 Death on the Nile 89 Decae, Henri 23 Decisions 94 Devils, The 108

dialogue 79,96,97-9; tracklay- ing 109-10,112

Diary o fa Chambermaid seelour- nal d'une Femme de Chambre, Le

directors: editing techniques 80- 94; relationship to cameramen 24; relationship to editors 73

dirt or 'sparkle' 62, I 25 Discreet Charm ofthe Bourgeoisie,

The 82 dissolves I 19, 121, 122-3, 126;

40 documentary film 15-16, 17,

18, 92-4; breaking down 70; shooting 32-7; sound 97, 101, r 07

Don't Look N o w I I 2 ; 53 dramatic tension, balance and

emphasis 75 Drew, Robert I 7 dubbing charts I 13-14; 54 duplication I 17, I 18-19 Dymytryk, Edward 23

East of Eden 2 I

editing: general contribution 7- 8, 23,73,74-94, 133-4; dot- umentary 92-4; evolution of 9-2 I ; obligations after com- pletion I 35-6; sound 95-1 I S ; video editing I 30-3

editing machines 46-54; flat- bedltable 47, 50-1. 52-3, 60, 70; 25, 26, 27, 28, 29; upright see Moviola

editors: relationship to director 73

effects 96-7, 99-100, I 36; 54; music and effects mix I I 5, I 35 ; tracklaying I 10-12

Eisenstein, Sergei 12, I 3-14> 17, 103,104; 4,49

Elvira Madigan 103 extraneous objects in shots 63 eyelines 29-30, 34; 13

fades 119,122-3,126; 40 Farewell M y Lovely 23 Fassbinder, R. W. 32 Femme Douce, Une 83-4; 43 film footageltime conversion

58; 34 Fistful of Dollars 50 Flaherty, Robert r 5, 16,75; 5 flashback 10

focal point of scene 75-6 fogging 62, I I 8, 127 Ford, John 23

INDEX

foreign versions I I 5, I 3 5 Fuller, Samuel 85

Gaillard, Jacques 7 3 Gance, Abel 17,2 I Garr, Teri 25 Girl in Black, A 24 Godard, Jean-Luc I 8,19,21,76,

84-5,106 Gould, Elliot 89; 45 GPO film unit 16 grading and printing I 24-8; 57 Graef, Roger 94 Grierson, John I g, I 6, I 04 Griffith, D. W. 9,1o-I I , 12,89;

frontispiece, 3; techniques 10 guide track 98, 108

Hackman, Gene 25,86-7 Haden, Sterling 89 Hepworth, Cecil 9 Hazeltine analyser 57 Hess, Dame Myra 48 High School 94 Hill, George Roy 102

Hitchcock, Alfred 90-1 Howe, James Wong 24 Huston, John 8 8

Ichikawa, Kon 36 identification see clapperboard,

sync reference image, related to sound 25-6 Intolerance 12; frontispiece, 3 Ivens, Joris 44

Jancso, Miklos 20,32, 90, 91 ; 46 Jennings, Humphrey 16,92; 48 Journal d'une Femme de Chambre,

Le23; 9 Jules etJim 19, 105; 51

Kazan, Elia 2 I

K E M editing machines 47; 26, 27

King, Dave 3 8 Kubrick, Stanley 103 Kuleshov, Lev 12,17 Kurosawa, Akira 20,23, 3 I , 76,

80-1; 10,41

laboratory: contact I 17 ; post- production I 16-29; process- ing faults 63; reprints and duplication I I 7-1 9 ; rushes re- port 61-2

Lamy, Raymond 73 Langlois, Henri I 8 Lassally, Walter 24 Last of the Mohicans, The 39-40 Last Picture Show, The 20

Leacock, Richard 16,17; 5 leaders 58, 109, 113, I23 LCger, Fernand 7 lenses I S ; aberrations 63 ; zoom

4 1 Leone, Sergio I 04 ; 50

Lindgren, Ernest I I , 12,95 line 28-9, 34; 12 Listen to Britain 92; 48 Llewellyn-Davies, Melissa 3 3 log sheet 68; 39 Long Goodbye, The 23,89; 45 long shot: developing I 3 ; ex-

treme 10

looping see post-synchronization Losey, Joseph 25,73, I 10; 52 Louisiatza Story IS, 16; 5 Love in the Afternoon 85-6; 44 Lumet, Sidney 73 Lumi&re, Auguste 9; I Lumitre, Louis 9; I

magnetic sound 55-6 MagniJicent Seven, The 23 Malick, Terence I 01 Maloney, David 39-40 Manhattan 20

marked-up script 43,61; 20

Marker, Chris 17 marking Q m 5 8 master film I 28-9; duplicating

I 28-9; storage I 29 Matter of Dignity, A 24 Matter ofLi$ and Death, A 20 Maysles, Albert r 8 McAllister, Stewart 92 Mechanical Copyright Protec-

tion Society I 36 Meekums, Bill 39-40 MClits, Georges 9; z Millar, Gavin I 7 ,2 I Mills, Reginald 73 mise-en-shot I 3,2o, 87,91 mix 115; 54 MKM editing machine 26 Model 94 montage 14,76,84,91 Morin, Edgar I 7; 6 Morricone, Ennio I 04 Moscow film school I 2 Mosjoukine, Ivan 12 movement: direction of 30; pace

of 3 0 ~ 7 8 Moviola: editing machines 46,

479 49-50? 51, 52-39 60, 70; 22,23,24,29; synchronizer 30

Moy numbering machine 37 Mulligan, Robert IOI Murnau, Friedrich I 6 Murphy,John 38,39 music 96-7, 102-8; music and

effects mix r I 5, r 35 ; cue sheet 135-6

Nanook ofthe North I 5 Napoleon 2 I

narration 96-7, 100-2 negative cutting 123-4; orders

127 negative report see camera sheet New Wave 17,18-19,23,86 Night Moves 86-7 N o Mean C i t y 3 8

numbering machines 67-8 ; 37, 38

Nykvist, Sven 24

0 Lucky Man! 105 optical sound 5 5 ovticals I 19-23, 126; orders

121,127 Outrage, The 23 over-exvosure 62-3 overlapi7,31-2,78-9,128; 40 Ozu, Yasujiro 9 I ; 47

Pal1andt;Nina von 89 parallel action 9, 10, 76 Paris CinCmathtque I 8 Paris vue par . . . I 8 Paul, R. W. 9 Penn, Arthur 73,86-7 Pennebaker, D. A. 17 Performing Rights Society I 36 Persona 8 I-2,8 3 ; 4.z Phantom ofthe Liberty 82-3 Pierrot le Fou 19, 84-5 plane of action I 1-12 playback 97, 107-8 Polanski, Roman 87-8 post-synchronization 37; dia-

logue 70, 97-9, 112; effects 99-100; looping 98, 99, 106, I I I ; music 102-7; narration 100-2

Powell, Michael 20 Prevost editing machine 47; 28 pre-mix see mix Price, Alan 105 Prior, Peck I 32 private-eye genre and cutting

86-9 projectors: variations in results

125 Prokofiev, Sergei 103,104 Pudovkin, V. I. 12, 14 Punishment Park 93 Rashomon 23, 80-1; 41 reaction shot 78, 79-80 Red Beard 76 Renoir, Jean 16, 17,22,23 ; 8 reprints I 17-19 Resnais, Alain 18,zo reverse angles 3 I ; I 4 rhythm and pacing 76-7 Riefenstahl, Leni 92 Ritt, Martin 23 Robe, The 2 I

Roeg, Nicolas I I 2 ; 53 Rohmer, Eric z1,85-6; 44 Rosemary's Baby 87 Rouch, Jean 17; 6 Rules ofthe Game, The 17 rushes: breaking down 70;

checking for faults 61-3 ; cod- ing 67-8; 37, 38; laboratory processing I I 7 ; laboratory rushes report 6 1-2 ; logging 68 ; 39; synchronizing 63-7; viewing 68

INDEX

Russell, Ken 39, 108; 15 Russian cinema I 2-14

Sadoul, Georges 9 Sanjuro 3 I scratches 62, 125 screen : limitation for video r 3 3 ;

ratio 14; wide 21 script: marked-up 43, 61 ; 2 0 ;

marking up 68, transcribing 68

sequencing of action 9,76 Serurier, Iwan 47 set discipline 3 I set-up 9,74 Seven Samurai, The 2 3,3 I ; 1 o shooting: the convention I 1-12,

24; script I I ; with editing in mind 24

shot lists 42-3.61, 133; 19 silence 25,95 silent fiIms 10-1 5,108 Singing in the Rain 26 Smith, G. A. 9 soft focus 63 Some Women of Marrakesh 3 3 Song ofSummer 39; 1 5 sound IS, 37-40, 95-1 I 5 ; cues

98, 99, 106; early technology IS; heads 95, 109; in close-up shots 30; in use of opticals 122; interdependence with image 25-6; library 97, 136; mixing I I 5 ; report 40,6 I ; I 7 ; sources 97; sync 37-8; sound track 108-9, 112-13, 127-8; sync

sound 37-40.97; wild sound 38-40,65,97, 101; 17; andsee dialogue, effects, music, narra- tion, playback, post- synchronization

Space Between Words 94 spacer 58,65-6, 109, 113, 121 'sparkle' 62 special recording 97 splicers see cement joiners; tape

joiners static 62 static shots 34, 78 Steenbeck editing machine 47,

~0-1,52-3.96; 25 Stella 24 stock faults 63 Stravinsky, Igor 108 Strike, The 14 Stroheim, Erich von 16 Sturges, John 23 sync bench 56-7,60; 3 3 sync sound see sound sync reference 26-8, 34, 63, 66,

107, 112, 133; and see clapperboard

synchronizer 53-4,633; 3 0 , 3 1

tape joiners 55-6, I 24; 3 2 Technicolor I I 6, I 32 television 93, 101, 107 titles I 19-20, 121, 13s; and see

captions T o Kill a Mockingbird IOI Tokyo Olympiad 36

Tokyo Story 91 ; 47 Towne, Robert 87 tracking shot 10

tracklaying 108-1 3 trim bin 57,71-2 Triumph ofthe Wi l l 92 Trouble W i t h Harry, The 90-1 Truffaut, Franqois I 8, 19, 104;

7, 51 Tuchner, Michael 3 8 200 I - A Space Odyssey 103

under-exposure 62-3

Van Dongen, Helen 75 ; 5 Vaughan, Dai 3 3 Vertov, Dziga 12

video editing I 30-3 ; 58 Visconti, Luchino 20

Vogel, Edith 95 voice-over see narration

Warhol, Andy 32 Watership Down 102 Watkin, Peter 93 Weekend 8 5 Welles, Orson 17 wide shot 3 5 Widenberg, Bo 103 Wild River 2 I wild sound see sound Williamson, James 9 Wiseman, Fred 94 Wollner, Anthony 7

'zero cut' I 24