Inside The Cover
Book Reviews
Review by Marie D. Jones
The Eye Is Quicker: Film Editing: Making a Good Film Better
By Richard D. Pepperman
Michael Wiese Productions
March, 2004
350 pp.
Film related
Amazon.com price: $19.57
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
It has been said that the eye of the film editor sees the greater vision, and that the skill of film editing is about so much more than just figuring out what stays and what goes. It is about finding the soul of the film itself. The editor's job is outlined and explored in
The Eye Is Quicker - Film Editing: Making A Good Film Better by Richard D. Pepperman, teacher and thesis advisor at The School of Visual Arts.
This comprehensive book about the many aspects of editing film covers all the basics, as well as much advanced material, assuring its place as the ultimate field guide for editors. Using many actual sequences from produced films as visual examples to accompany the text, this book presents the reader with all the necessary principles, theories and strategies used by the best film editors to achieve the clarity and rhythm of the materials they are working with. From the most simple of tips and techniques designed to make the editing process easier, to specific ways to determine what shots and scenes add to or take away from the polished end result, to the illuminating ways even an editor can make an actor's performance look better, it is all here.
Chapters include discussions of edited beats creating just the right rhythm to a film, using juxtaposition and transition properly, finding the true emotion of a scene with proper cuts, letting go of unnecessary scenes (even ones you really, really want to keep!), getting the reaction shot right, where best to open and end a scene, finding the scene's context, understanding basic editing theory, the art behind the techniques, the use of jump cuts and classic cuts, perceptible and imperceptible structures and their relationship to time references, synching dialog to a shot for the best effect, and so very much more.
Imagine taking a master class on film editing in the privacy of your own home, or wherever you plan to read this book, and that is exactly what you get with "The Eye Is Quicker." I am not a film editor, but found this book fascinating and intriguing, having before had no idea just how much difference a cut or two can make to the pacing and direction of a film. As a screenwriter, I found this book to be almost as educational as many screenwriting books have been for helping me understand the importance of solid story structure, dialogue, pacing and master scenes. Directors will also greatly benefit from this how-to must-have, as will cinematographers.
Future film editors will carry this book with them like a Bible, for it provides a foundation for the art of editing in an easy-to-understand style that won't have their heads spinning with too much tech-talk, yet it also engages the reader with anecdotes, personal insights and industry experiences that illuminate the power of editing and its influence on the movies we have all come to know and love.
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Marie D. Jones writes screenplays as well as fiction,
articles and essays for several national publications. Her new book is LOOKING
FOR GOD IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES (Paraview Press). She is the creator of an
award-winning children's video, PIG TALES, and has written and produced several
direct-to-video projects in national distribution. Her greatest creation is her
toddler son, Max, co-created by hubby Ron. They live in San Marcos, California.
