Popcorn, Dailies and Guinness: John Sayles on the Making of ‘Secret of Roan Inish’
Since making his first independent film, “The Return of the Secaucus Seven,” Sayles has established a unique relationship with the industry. […]
Columns
Whisky, Sax and Darth Vader: How Phil McGowan Dressed Up His Home Mixing Bay
McGowan has tricked out his home mixing bay with various mementos from his past, including the old audio equipment he used to learn his craft, his diploma from Boston’s fabled Berklee College of Music and an impressive collection of Scotch whisky he acquired during his travels. […]
Andrew Davis’ ‘The Fugitive’
At my high school, admission to advanced placement (AP) classes was by invitation only. I tried four times to be admitted into AP English. The head of the department, a sour and exhausted woman named Ms. Gallagher, eventually told me, “I wouldn’t feel good about myself if I encouraged you to pursue something at which you won’t succeed.” […]
Ron Bochar on ‘Angels in America’
In 2003, after sound editor, sound designer and re-recording mixer Ron Bochar, CAS, completed work on Mike Nichols’ miniseries Angels in America, he felt good about what he and his sound colleagues had accomplished. He felt so good, in fact, that part of him wished he could simply call it a career. […]
A screenwriter walks into an edit suite…
The back cover of Writing for the Cut: Shaping Your Script for Cinema asks the potential reader, “Will you make the cut?” The copy goes on to declare — in a line sure to appeal to anyone working in post-production — “Editing Is What Makes a Movie.” This is not a new idea, but Greg Loftin is the first to write a guide that clearly outlines how a screenwriter, as he sits at the computer, can and should consider what the editor will find when she sits at hers. […]
Anne Goursaud on ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’
“My first thought was, ‘Oh God, this is perfect material for Francis — he’s going to do a fantastic job with this,” remembers editor Anne Goursaud, ACE, regarding Bram Stoker’s 1897 horror novel Dracula. […]
Pimp My Bay: Scott Wesley Ross
Pimp My Bay: Assistant Editor Scott Wesley Ross’ Editing Suite at Hula Post, Burbank, CA […]
Who Were the True Auteurs in Post-Production? Ask the Monitor Man
George Larkin offers a startling premise in the book Post-Production and the Invisible Revolution of Filmmaking: From the Silent Era to Synchronized Sound, one that may delight some readers while offending others. He states the fact that post-production work is critical to all filmmaking but takes that fact further, stressing that post is the major driver of film creation, eclipsing all else. […]
Beth Stiller on Los Angeles Lakers Road Telecasts
Beth Stiller is not a professional basketball player. She isn’t known for shooting from the three-point line or for scoring fast-break points. In fact, she prefers surfing to basketball. But, for about eight years in the late 1990s and 2000s, Stiller found herself on the road with the Los Angeles Lakers. […]
The Long Journey to Overnight Success
I don’t remember exactly how I fell in love with storytelling. Perhaps it was because I was read to as a child — a lot. Editing is a different story. I first touched an Avid in 1999 as a summer intern in the creative services department at McDonald’s (yes, that one), and was hooked. I returned to Ball State University and would spend nights in the college editing bays, cutting anything I could, powered by Cherry Coke and Hostess frosted honey buns. […]