This book explains the broader context of what the art and craft of motion picture editing entails, framing the creative acts of editing within an overall view of the production process and requirements for effective storytelling. This book offers real experiences and advice from seasoned editors on the editing process, providing a detailed examination of filmmaking from the editor’s point of view and exploring how best to cultivate creative relationships with other areas of production to form the final personality of the film. Emphasizing both practicality and creativity, industry veteran Michael Hoggan successfully bridges the gap between the mechanical skills of editing and the thought process behind these decisions. While most books focus primarily on the mind of the creator, this book explores the evolution of practices in film production and editing with respect to the ever-changing expectations of the audience. As the book demonstrates, understanding editing from the audience’s perspective is essential to any successful film. This book will be of interest to post-production students, independent filmmakers, film critics, and agents with editing clients. It is accompanied by a collection of rich digital materials, including a glossary, bibliography, and more.

A list of 100 essential films.

This volume can rightfully be called "a film school in a single book." Investigating and analyzing the elements and concepts of motion picture creation, this book looks closely at 25 films that represent a wide range of styles and subjects. Although most motion picture viewers have seen numerous movies in their lifetime, few in the general public have a firm and deep understanding of how motion pictures are created, or a grasp of the intricacies of cinematic storytelling and content. By presenting 25 films, American and international, Hollywood and independent, this book educates and enlightens readers about the details of the motion picture creation process. Some readers will have viewed certain films in the volume, but many will be introduced to major cinematic works within the canon of great and essential films for the very first time. Topics explored include animation, period films, editing, directorial style, and non-linear cinematic structure. Readers will learn about the origin of the jump cut in Breathless, time and space in Hiroshima Mon Amour, and the editing in Orson Welles's essay film F is for Fake. The Art and Craft of Motion Pictures: 25 Movies to Make You Film Literate will educate the novice and avid moviegoer alike about the inner workings of this dynamic, popular, and culturally significant art form.

The value of the editor?s craft to a finished film cannot be underestimated, and it?s no surprise that directors rely heavily on the same editor over and over again. Seventeen exclusive interviews with some of the world?s top film editors, including Walter Murch, Virginia Katz, Joel Cox, Tim Squyres and Richard Marks, explore the art of film editing; its complex processes, the relationship with other film practitioners, and the impact of modern editing techniques. The Filmcraft series is a ground-breaking study of the art of filmmaking?the most collaborative and multidisciplinary of all the arts. Each volume covers a different aspect of moviemaking, offering in-depth interviews with a host of the most distinguished practitioners in the field. Forthcoming titles include Cinematography, Directing, Costume Design, Production Design, Producing, Screenwriting, and Acting.

Though movies have remained our foremost cultural pastime for over 100 years, many of us still know very little about the tools used to create them. In this groundbreaking new book, Vincent LoBrutto provides an enjoyable and accessible education in the art of cinema: using 50 landmark films spanning the history of the medium, LoBrutto illustrates such important concepts as editing, production design, cinematography, sound, screen acting, narrative structure, and various genres, nationalities, and film eras. Each concept is illustrated by the selection of a film that epitomizes its use, so that readers will learn about film authorship in Citizen Kane, multiplot narrative in Nashville, widescreen filmmaking in Rebel without a Cause, and screen violence in The Wild Bunch. Explaining the various tricks of the moviemaking trade, Becoming Film Literate offers a crash course in cinema, one designed to give even the novice reader a solid introduction to this complex and multifaceted medium. Though movies have remained our foremost cultural pastime for over 100 years, many of us still know very little about the tools used to create them. In this groundbreaking new book, Vincent LoBrutto provides an enjoyable and accessible education in the art of cinema: using 50 landmark films spanning the history of the medium, LoBrutto illustrates such important concepts as editing, production design, cinematography, sound, screen acting, narrative structure, and various genres, nationalities, and film eras. Each concept is illustrated by the selection of a film that epitomizes its use, so that readers will learn about film authorship in Citizen Kane, multiplot narrative in Nashville, widescreen filmmaking in Rebel without a Cause, and screen violence in The Wild Bunch. Providing a unique opportunity to become acquainted with important movies and the elements of their greatness, Becoming Film Literate offers a crash course in cinema, one designed to give even the novice reader a solid introduction to this complex and multifaceted medium.

Film Editing provides an introduction to the craft of editing in the non-silent film. In clear and accessible language, Valerie Orpen considers editing as an expressive strategy rather than a mere technique. She reveals that editing can be approached and studied in a similar way to other aspects of film. Traditionally, studies on editing or montage tend to focus on silent cinema, yet this book claims that an examination of editing should also consider the role of the soundtrack. The aim of Film Editing is to examine the way in which editing can make meaning. The book addresses editing as part of a wider context and as a crucial element of the overarching design and vision of a film. Consequently, this book incorporates other parameters, such as mise-en-scène, framing, sound, genre, history, and performance. By examining a number of mainstream and art films, such as Godard's A bout de souffle, Hitchcock's Rear Window, and Scorsese's Raging Bull, Film Editing seeks to dispel the notion that editing is necessarily polarized as continuity versus discontinuity.

What does it take to be a motion picture editor? Learn from some of the most decorated editors in motion picture history over the span of 551 films, 360 Academy Awards (R) and another 785 nominations. From Apocalypse Now to West Side Story. From the suspense of The Silence of the Lambs to the comedy of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. From the realism of Saving Private Ryan to the universe of Star Wars. And the challenges: How do you get through 450 hours of material to make a three-hour movie? What happened behind the scenes, in the editing room, when it became apparent that the lead actor wasn't working out? How do you make a release deadline when you still haven't seen the visual effects you need to adjust scenes? What is it like when the director looks at the scene you just edited and says, "Do you have any idea what we went through there? How could you do this?" And then leaves. And, in the stranger than fiction department: You wind up working for one of the most famous directors in motion picture history based on a five-minute conversation where he asks you, "Are you a good editor?" And, so far, you win three Academy Awards(R) for editing. You write a letter to the producer telling him that you just got married and you can't do the film. But you never send that letter. And then you win an Academy Award for Lawrence of Arabia. You find yourself editing West Side Story for the director who edited Citizen Kane. And the life of an editor? You don't think about a nomination and you get nominated. You know there's absolutely no chance you'll win, and you do. You thank your family. You forget to thank them. You go right back to work the next day. You wait for a year until the next job comes. An editor's responsibility is not, as many have thought, "to cut out the bad parts," but to form and shape the material according to the director's vision in support of the story. Editing is based on decisions--hundreds, thousands--and everything you see and hear has a decision behind it. Read on about these remarkable individuals and their stories in The Making of a Motion Picture Editor.