The Invisible Cut Read online

  The Invisible Cut gets inside the editor’s head more than anything I’ve ever read. O’Steen provides a fascinating window into the editorial process through the use of frame grabs and film analysis. This honest and unique book defines the language of film in the special way editors must understand. The Invisible Cut will be enlightening to filmmakers or anyone who loves the art of film.

  — Carol Littleton, film editor, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Beloved, Body Heat, and The Anniversary Party

  With this meticulous book, Bobbie O’Steen has dissected the fine art of cinema’s surgeons and created an invaluable guide for anyone seriously interested in the mysteries of film.

  — Lawrence Kasdan, writer/director, Body Heat, The Big Chill, and Grand Canyon

  Normally I don’t like to read books about editing in my spare time, since it’s a bit like bringing the office home, but unlike most film technique books, Bobbie O’Steen’s book is both entertaining and instructive. The Invisible Cut is original and captures a complete picture of what we do. Great required reading for any filmmaking class.

  — Chris Lebenzon, film editor, Sweeney Todd, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, Enemy of the State, and Top Gun

  This book is a terrific demystification of a poorly understood art. Without burying the reader in “geek” or “tech” talk, Bobbie O’Steen, drawing on a distinguished editing heritage, introduces us to no-nonsense, easy-to-comprehend principles of the mysterious art of editing.

  — John Badham, director, Saturday Night Fever, War Games, and professor, Film & Media, Chapman University

  The Invisible Cut is a wonderful book for both filmgoers and filmmakers — explaining and illustrating how editors apply their magic and the world that editors live and work in. Bobbie O’Steen clearly explains the politics of the editing room, the screening room, and the studios. It would have made everything easier if I had had this book to read at the start of my career.

  — Alan Heim, film editor, All That Jazz, Network, and The Notebook

  This is the first book about the craft of editing that demystifies the process: that clarifies precisely what a film editor does with film, how he does it, and why. It’s a straightforward, engaging exposition of the editorial process from the first day of shooting until the movie is in the theater. All this, using as examples some of the best films ever made. I wish I’d had Bobbie’s book when first starting out. It would have saved me a lot of time and trouble, because it explains certain truths about editing that one comes to grasp only after editing for many years. Highly recommended!

  — Joe Hutshing, film editor, Jerry Maguire, JFK, Almost Famous, and Born On The Fourth of July

  I wish The Invisible Cut had been available to me when I made my first cuts as an editor. It would have guided my choices, reinforcing them with purpose and focus. With personal accounts from editors who made the cuts, accompanied by perfect frame grabs, O’Steen’s book explains an intuitive and abstract art that is the film editor’s craft.

  — William Hoy, film editor, We Were Soldiers, Fantastic 4, 300, Watchmen

  The Invisible Cut is an impressive book. Bobbie O’Steen has a unique perspective and an uncanny insight into the complicated mind of the editor. I found that a bit unnerving, as if she could read my thoughts when I wake up at 4 a.m. obsessing about a sequence I’m grappling with. I found her book very educational and entertaining.

  — Michael Tronick, film editor, Scent of a Woman, Remember the Titans, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and Hairspray

  The Invisible Cut is the essential book of editing for students and professionals alike. Its use of frame clips brings to life what other authors only write about. O’Steen has created one of the truest books about film editing ever written. I wish I’d had this book when I began my editing career. It should be mandatory reading for all film schools.

  — Randy Roberts, President, American Cinema Editors and producer, Law & Order SVU

  The Invisible Cut has taught me the ins and outs of the final — and often least understood — stage of producing a film. Perhaps most importantly, it has taught me how to apply tricks of the editor’s trade to my own craft. Whether you’re a writer, director, actor, DP — or even a novelist or playwright — exploring how film editors shape raw material into a final, emotional whole offers valuable lessons in scene construction, pacing, shot composition, and even dialogue-writing. Whatever your particular craft, Bobbie O’Steen’s book is a terrific resource for anyone who spends their life making movies or telling stories.

  —Chad Gervich, TV writer/producer, and author of Small Screen, Big Picture: A Writer’s Guide to the TV Business

  Using scripts and frame shots from classic films, Bobbie O’Steen takes you inside the world of editing — turning it inside out to show you most everything you need to know about the process. An excellent book for both filmmakers and film fans.

  — Matthew Terry, filmmaker, screenwriter, teacher, and columnist for www.hollywoodlitsales.com

  Bobbie O’Steen’s new book makes visible some of the secrets of a mysterious art. With great clarity it reveals the craft of the editorial magician. It is a fine follow-up to her earlier book on the invisible art.

  — Ray Zone, 3D filmmaker; columnist, Editors Guild Magazine

  THE

  INVISIBLE

  CUT

  HOW EDITORS

  MAKE MOVIE MAGIC

  BOBBIE O’STEEN

  Published by Michael Wiese Productions

  12400 Ventura Blvd. # 1111

  Studio City, CA 91604

  tel. 818.379.8799

  fax 818.986.3408

  [email protected]

  www.mwp.com

  Cover Design: MWP

  Book Layout: Gina Mansfield Design

  Editor: Linda Norlen

  Printed by McNaughton & Gunn, Inc., Saline, Michigan

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  © 2009 Bobbie O’Steen

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  O’Steen, Bobbie, 1952-

  The invisible cut : how editors make movie magic / by Bobbie O’Steen.

  p. cm.

  Includes bibliographical references.

  ISBN 978-1-932907-53-7

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

  TR899.O88 2009

  778.5’35--dc22

  2008038628

  TABLE OF

  CONTENTS

  * * *

  FOREWORD

  INTRODUCTION: THE SEDUCTIVE MAGICIAN

  CHAPTER 1: SETTING THE STAGE

  CHAPTER 2: PULLING OFF THE ACT

  CHAPTER 3: MASTERING THE MAGIC

  CHAPTER 4: MAKING THE INVISIBLE CUT

  CHAPTER 5: CHEATING TIME

  CHAPTER 6: CHEATING MOVES

  CHAPTER 7: KNOWING THE EYE

  CHAPTER 8: KNOWING THE CAMERA

  CHAPTER 9: THE SOUND AND MUSIC

  CHAPTER 10: THE ACT COMES TOGETHER

  CHAPTER 11: THE MARRIAGE OF THE EDITOR AND DIRECTOR

  CHAPTER 12: A HISTORY OF MAKING RULES AND BREAKING THEM

  CHAPTER 13: ANALYZING SCENES AND THEIR FRAME GRABS

  DIALOGUE-DRIVEN: TWELVE ANGRY MEN

  COMEDY: THE GRADUATE

  SUSPENSE: REAR WINDOW

  MYSTERY: CHINATOWN

  ACTION: BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, THE FRENCH CONNECTION

  THE SEX SCENE: BODY HEAT

  THE MUSICAL: A HARD DAY’S NIGHT

  THE MONTAGE: BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, THE BIG CHILL

  CHAPTER 14: MAKING MAG
IC

  CONTACT SHEETS OF FRAME GRABS

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  NOTES

  GLOSSARY

  BIBLIOGRAPHY & OTHER REFERENCES

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  FOREWORD

  * * *

  What does a film editor really do? He decides what you see on the screen and for how long you see it. But that makes his work sound too simple. Whenever the editor chooses a shot, even if it only subtly changes a point of view or the timing of an actor’s response, he will create an impact on the scene and even the entire movie. And every time he decides precisely where to start that shot and where to end it, he is contributing to an overall rhythm and pace that must pull the audience in and tell the story in the most satisfying way. In fact he is constantly taking the audience’s pulse. No matter how moved or excited they are, no matter how much fun they may be having, the editor has to always be aware that he might lose their involvement.

  Editing is hard to analyze and evaluate. Only a movie’s director, cinematographer, and editor really know the quality of the original footage, and how much control the editor had over the final cut. Many editors have actually done their best work with mediocre films, because they salvaged a movie that otherwise would not have been viable. Not only is the art and craft of editing elusive; in many cases, so are the editors themselves. For the most part they are insightful and visual, but not very verbal. Because they’re primarily led by their instincts, when they’re asked to explain why they made a particular cut, they may simply say, “It just felt right.”

  I developed an understanding of those mysterious editors by being immersed in their world. My father, Richard Meyer, was a film editor and so was my husband of twenty-three years, the late Sam O’Steen. These two men couldn’t have been more different in personalities, but they both shared a passion for their work. They thought that editing movies was an endlessly intriguing challenge, and each would lie in bed at night, turning possibilities over in his mind, trying to solve the puzzles that could make a movie reach its greatest potential. They would never be completely satisfied; if they happened to see their work years later, they’d be convinced they could have done a better job, always holding onto the hope for more. Editing permeated their lives to the extent that they would even see life around them in edits, especially when someone told a joke or made a speech that went on too long.

  Working as a story editor, a screenwriter, and film editor gave me my own perspective on the moviemaking process. I am also known to my family as “the interrogator,” which certainly helped when I wrote Cut to the Chase, based on interviews I did with my husband about his work. In those interviews he said, “When people notice editing, it’s probably bad. You’re trying to tell a story. It’s not about somebody showing off. I prefer not to be seen in my films.”1 It’s not easy to describe something that is intended to be invisible, but in that book I was able to get Sam to explain his process of cutting a movie. This book goes beyond any one editor’s experience; it is meant to give the reader an even deeper and more visually exciting understanding of editing.

  The first section of this book will explain the whys and hows of cutting movies. However, an editor would be the first one to say that his work can never be fully explained without “show-and-tell.” For that reason, I’ve dedicated the second section of the book to thirteen scenes from nine different movies and used “frame grabs,” individual frames from the scenes themselves, to explain the choices the editor made. (These movies are referred to at various points throughout the book with asterisks.) They were selected not only because they represent different types of scenes, such as suspense and comedy; they also come from movies that are memorable markers in movie history. Three of these movies have personal significance for me as well, since my father edited one of them (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) and my husband edited two of them (The Graduate and Chinatown).

  My use of masculine pronouns to refer to editors and other members of the moviemaking team is meant to be a neutral choice. There are at least as many talented women in film as there are men. In fact, the two editors I chose to interview for this book are women: the film editor Carol Littleton and the music editor Suzana Peric. I would also like to note that most of the editors in the early days of silent movies were women, at the time when editing was thought to resemble a craft such as knitting. When sound was introduced the job was considered to be more “technical” and eventually men came to dominate the field. However, as editors went from being considered hired hands to key collaborators, women kept their foothold.

  INTRODUCTION:

  * * *

  THE SEDUCTIVE MAGICIAN

  Movies take us on a journey like no other. When we watch a movie, we let ourselves forget we’re seeing pieces of film joined together — and that we’re being completely manipulated. The director, along with the screenwriter, cast, and crew, all help set up the illusion, but ultimately the editor must pull the rabbit out of the hat and make us believe in movie magic. He’s the seducer who not only anticipates our needs and feelings, but makes us want things we’re not even aware of. He’s the deceiver who tricks us into believing we’re experiencing real time instead of movie time and convinces us we’re in a familiar three-dimensional space, even though film is actually in two dimensions. Like the magician who uses the sweep of his cape to distract the audience from the setup of a trick, the editor uses the movement on the screen as his sleight-of-hand, so the audience won’t notice that moviemaking really is quite problematic.

  The editor and director know they’ve pulled off their act when they’re sitting in the middle of the theater observing the body language of the audience all around them. Moviegoers may lean forward or backward in their seats, widen their eyes, or look away. They may gasp, scream, cough, clear their throats, laugh, be silent — or for a moment even stop breathing. The editor will notice how engrossed the audience is, but he’ll be more consumed by the times when he feels he’s lost them. When the audience is bored, annoyed, or confused, the magic bubble bursts, and no one knows those moments more acutely or feels more responsible for them than the editor.

  An editor has to be born with a strong sense of rhythm and an instinct for what looks good. He has to have a keen memory so that he can replay in his head all the film he’s seen, then visualize the sequence of cuts he’ll put together. He has to have a gut feeling for what works, be able to sense what’s in the audience’s hearts and minds. Only then will his cuts become those invisible transitions that grab viewers by the seat of their pants and keep them there.

  Digital technology has opened up mind-boggling possibilities for filmmakers and only time will tell how endless they may be. Audiences have also changed; along with a greater ability to absorb information than ever before, they now have a shorter attention span. But they still have the same need: to be told a story in the most interesting and involving way. The editor has evolved, too, and is allowed and even expected to break rules more often. However, he still has to learn the basic concepts and techniques of editing first, which he’ll only really master through trial and error. When he has done so, he’ll have the confidence to take chances and try some pretty crazy things — and it’s amazing how many times they actually work!

  All told, editing is a quirky combination of truth, trickery, and luck. When the editor reaps the best of all three, he can create movie magic

  CHAPTER 1

  * * *

  SETTING THE STAGE

  There are two stages of filmmaking that predate the “first cut” (when the editor puts the movie into the first complete chronology of scenes before fine-tuning begins). Both include the editor to various degrees.

  PREPRODUCTION

  In the stages when the director is rehearsing, doing script revisions, location scouting, casting — or even making costume, set design, and makeup decisions — the editor may or may not be a part of them. Because he’s not considered essential to these stages, the role the editor plays varies tremendou
sly. It depends on his interest in being involved, but more significantly on the egos and personalities of both the director and editor, and how that combination affects the depth of their relationship.

  SHOOTING

  The energy, sometimes even chaos, on the set, contrasts sharply with the controlled quiet of the cutting room. Some editors prefer to stay in their environment, in some cases just to keep their objectivity. There are also others who find that, by occasionally being on the set and observing the choices made, they have a better understanding of what the director wants. The confidence of the director is a real factor here. Some directors, especially first-timers, feel they need the technical expertise of the editor along with that of the cinematographer. In that case the editor may suggest shots, but he has to be careful not to step on the cinematographer’s toes.