Film Editing: Great Cuts Every Filmmaker and Movie Lover Must Know

This provides an ambitious and generalized overview on the most common cuts used in filmmaking. Unlike some others, I like the screen grabs. Why tell me about it when you can show me the picture? Plus, I'd rather see it than read it. Interestingly, I didn't care much for the author's other book, Cut by Cut, but I do like this one much better. However, there are some things that didn't make sense, and I'm not sure the author explains why she chose the types of cuts she did and why she categorized them the way she did. To give her credit, I would say she was attempting to break new ground and create a visual compendium of "cuts," but in doing so, I think she created some false classifications, which are misleading, confusing, or simply make no sense. Many of the cuts she describes accurately, but several seem miscategorized. I think she should have made a disclaimer that not every editor agrees on the terminology she uses or the classification system she uses as well. For instance, in Chapter 2, she makes the bold assertion that "Match cuts comprise the vast majority of cuts editors make." Is that really true? Well, it is if you accept her expansive definition of what constitutes a "match" cut. Traditionally, a match cut is usually for a cut where two things dissolve into one another because there is some graphic similarity between them. For instance, a classic match cut is in Space Odyssey 2001 when the caveman throws a bone in the air and it transitions into an orbiting spaceship. But in her book, she calls a cut a "match cut" if it matches in screen direction, eyeline direction, angle, framing, shape,and even lighting and color. The idea of a match cut on color is especially perplexing because the way she presents a color match has to do with color correcting of an entire film or scene and nothing really to do with editing per se. She also has a section on Rogue Cuts that really seem more like just errors in editing versus "cuts" you would need to know. For instance, one of the cuts she says you need to know is the "bad cut." She describes this as a cut that does not move the story forward and risks disengaging the audience. Is that a type of cut? It just seems like an error because obviously somebody thought it was a good cut or it wouldn't have been made in the first place. And at some level, a bad cut is a certain type of cut---maybe it is a straight cut or dissolve. She also seems to have muddled the distinction between a shot type and a cut, essentially classifying the shot type as the cut type. In this way, the book becomes theoretically and technically murky because she seems to have her own classification system for many of the cuts. I think this book is due for a revision and should be thought out more rigorously than she appears to have done it. The book does not really go into great depth at any level of editing, but mostly provides a simplified visual overview. Again, she is to be commended for putting this compendium together, but it is not without its shortcomings, some of which are major. Another little pet peeve I had about the book is that each chapter ends with what is called a "wrap up." And throughout the book, these are only one or two generic sentences that add little to the text as a whole. It just stood out as filler in my mind. And as an editor, she should know fluff when she sees it, so these sections should have been cut out and deleted altogether.

I have little experience with video editing. This book seems like a decent summary of common ways to put together different shots, that is, edit a movie.However, having watched thousands of movies, I feel like i already knew many of these cuts and the reasons editors use them. There were a few things that the author brought to my attention which I had never thought about before. I think there's some good information in here, but i do not think it's worth twenty dollars. Oh well. Teachers charge a lot more I guess generally. Maybe it's a bargain.My advice would be to watch a movie with a pause button near because many of the cuts in this movie are in every movie. You will probably not find all of them in one movie but if you watch a few movies and try to analyze the cuts, you will probably come up with the same answers.I suppose it will make a decent reference book if i ever need to jog my memory, and building a vocabulary of cuts will probably make them more handy when i need them.

When we watch a film we are usually carried along with the story and not very conscious of what goes into capturing our attention. We usually aren't aware of how the film was made, and when we are it's usually a sign that it wasn't made very well.With a lot of pictures and not too many words this book gives film buffs a huge insight into how movies work, especially how hundreds of small pieces of film, usually just a few seconds long, are put together to keep the story going forward. Putting these pieces together is called editing and Chandler is good at explaining it. (probably because she has done a lot of it.).Along with showing us what we are seeing on the screen she also supplies names for all the different types of `cuts'. Knowing the names will make you more aware of what you are seeing and make you sound smarter the next time you are talking about a movie.

I was a TV Minor in School. I am in my 40's and have seen a lot of movies in my lifetime. This book is written for a 1st year film student. I say written but its mostly just notes on different cuts. It was just an introduction to the theory of movie edits. I was really looking for more of a critique of edits and a list of do and don'ts. The majority of pics are in black and white and the resolution is very low (because it came from video) I gave it 3 stars because I did learn a couple of things, but for the most part unless you are young and new to moves I would not recommend for the purpose of trying to learn how to make raw footage into a well cut movie.

This is a beautiful book! It must have taken a long time to gather all the info and pictures! Gael must have invested a whole lot of work into creating this book. I am learning a lot from you, Gael. I love it that it is so visual. It is easy to understand, even if you have not studied editing in school. I have just invested into a professional camera. I will be making great videos soon! I recommend this book for everyone interested in film editing :) 5 stars!

I will admit that I am new to the editing scene, but this book helped illustrated what my mind instinctively wanted me to do. It helped me put into words and added substance to my process in an easy to understand method. I eventually watched all of the movies used (if I didn't know them already) which helped to cement what I learned. I sent me on a search for more great editing works and is a nice companion for completing my own first feature.

If you are looking to learn basic editing methods and the terminology of movie editing with multiple visual examples for each technique, this book is for you. With a plethora of examples from classics as well as a variety of movies released in the last decade, the book gave me a starting point for watching movies more analytically.

Check out the cover. No way are they real glasses!! And in a swimming cap? How random is that. Inside is lovely to know.

Libro davvero ben curato e molto completo, utilissimo per montatori e non solo (anche ovviamente per registi, o aspiranti tali, e per chi voglia semplicemente guardare un film in maniera più consapevole).Le immagini sono di buona qualità e i contenuti sono molto completi. Gli esempi sono tratti da film (spesso recenti) facili da reperire, e sono molto chiari, anche grazie alle descrizioni che accompagnano il singolo esempio e ogni capitolo.

This book covers the basic editing cuts fairly well. It's handy as a useful reference guide for Screen Editors thinking about the next cut in their own story. It is not an indepth training manual. That said Editing is more than just learning the software. The accessibility of NLE software these days means even graphic designers think they're Editors. This book will show them, that's clearly not the case and there's a lot more to think about than just pushing the buttons.

Es werden mit Fotos verschiedene "Cuts" dargelegt. Es ist eine gute Übersicht. Aber ich vermute einmal, dass es für solche in Ausbildung etwas knapp wäre, trotzdem noch wichtige Infos im Schnelllauf - aber für einen Anfänger wie mich eine gute Informationsquelle für "Cuts". Man achtet sich zumindest nachher mehr auf die Schnitte bei Filmen.

Good