IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE

This is a book written by Walter Murch and it talks about the principles and perspectives of editing. I have broken it down to what I have learnt from the different chapters.

The Rule Of Six

1. Emotion                                                51%
2. Story                                                     23%
3. Rhythm                                                 10%
4. Eye-trace                                                7%
5. Two-dimensional plane of screen          5%
6. Three-dimensional space of action        4%

These six criteria's are what make a good cut. You work your way up starting for three-dimensional space and ending with emotion. This is because emotion is the hardest thing to define (how you want the audiences to feel). If you start by creating a three-dimensional space then the two-dimensional plane of screen and then eye trace and then rhythm and then story and then the emotion will all fall into place. 

Sometimes you can satisfy all six criteria's and sometimes you cant. This means you will have to sacrifice something in-order for the film to work. As you can see, there are values next to each criteria. Emotion and story are worth far more than the other four criteria's but the first three are the most important. If the emotion is true and the story is great with the right rhythm, the audience tend to be unaware of the editorial problems (eye space, two-dimensional plane and three-dimensional space).

Reading this chapter has made me aware of my own mistakes in editing. When editing 'The Movement', I tried to start at the top and work my way down which proved to be unsuccessful and the film did not work. I will apply these principles to my next edit (Flatline) and I believe if I follow this structure, I will be able to make a better cut.

Misdirection

Chris Hall is always mentioning the audience. He asks us, what do you want you audiences to feel? What kind of story do you want tell them? 

Walter Murch describes the role of editor as the job of Houdini. Houdini was a magician and he created a sense of wonder and he would make you look to the left instead of looking to the right. This is the skill that an editor can do, does do and should do. 

As an editor, you have the power to control the audience and make them see what you want them to see. A magician never reveals his secrets and so should you. Use the six criteria's above to hide the magic trick and at the same create a sense a wonder. 

These are some of the questions you should be asking yourself when editing. As Murch (Murch 2001) says "If you keep this in mind..., then you are a kind of magician".

• What is the audience going to be thinking at any particular moment?
• Where are they going to be looking at?
• What do you want them to think about?
• what do they need to think about?

Reference

MURCH, Walter. (2001) In the blink of an eye: a perspective on film editing. 2nd ed., United States: Silman-James Press,U.S.