The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing

The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing is a 2004 documentary film directed by filmmaker Wendy Apple. The film is about the art of film editing. Firstly, the film is talk about history of editing. Lumiere Brothers invented cinematography in France. However, as time goes on audiences want to watch imagine is moved, they do not want to watch static shot. Why they pay money for real on the screen. Many people thought cinema is no future. Nevertheless, editing changes the situation of cinema. Edwin S. Porter used footage to tell a different story unrelated to what the footage originally was meant to portray. In the 1908, D.W Griffiths was a first editor in the history. He produced first American feature film and discovery of the close up. 

Walter Murch is a film editor in American, He work on The Godfather I, II, and III, The English Patient, with three Academy Award win six nominations for editing and three sound mixing. He has been referred to as "the most respected film editor and sound designer in the modern cinema.  He introduce two principles, first he will not go on the set. He will not to see the actors out of costume. In addition, a major Hollywood production shoot almost 200 hours. Walter thought every shot connect them need to reason enough, the goal of cut let them forget watch movie. This is a invisible art. Picture composition need to be consider deeply. Editor need to developing where is audience attention.   

In the documentary, Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino said two frame has a big different in the film. Therefore, almost film editors are female because they have more patient and they could consider others thoughts. 

When I watch this documentary, I should consider time and space problem and how to get new possibility  to storytelling. One of thing I need to development where is audience attention. The documentary talk about why editing is important in modern movie and meaning of editing.   I will read some books to cultivate my editing skills and art of cutting.

Reference: IMDb. (2004). The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing. Available: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0428441/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1. Last accessed 18th April 2016.