Columns
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
Columns
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.” […]
Book Reviews
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. […]
Columns
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. […]
Columns
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. […]
Columns
When Editing Began: The Cut that Launched a Filmmaking Craft
By the time film pioneer Georges Méliès made this only slightly exaggerated claim, the making and exhibition of narrative film was establishing itself as a business separate from the variety stage and lecture circuit. As more people visited storefront theatres to see moving picture stories, they watched the art and craft of editing evolving on screens right before their eyes. […]
Book Reviews
The Talented Mr. Ridley:
First Bio on Filmmaker Scott
Sir Ridley Scott’s extraordinary career in television and motion pictures is long overdue for a thorough historical and critical examination. Today, with books on almost every imaginable cinematic subject popping up regularly, the lack of definitive writing on Scott seems an odd omission. […]
Columns
A Network State of Mind:
A Guide to Cultivating Job Opportunities
Each of our collective origin stories began with a singular decision, finding success in one of the most competitive job markets in the world: Hollywood. Your own personal journey might have started in high school A/V club, college or even later in life with the decision to change careers. […]
Book Reviews
School of Doc
Jacob Bricca’s book on editing documentary film is a how-to that is firmly lodged in the digital technology of 2018. While new in many ways, it employs basic editing logic and draws on timeless, as well as current, examples to illustrate editing skills. […]
Columns
Bernardo Bertolucci’s ‘Last Tango In Paris’
I fell in love with Last Tango in Paris in the summer of 1973 when I was 20 years old. But now, decades later, I’m sorry to say I’ve fallen out of love with the film much as one eventually discovers that Old Spice aftershave (and the guy who wore it) wasn’t that cool after all. […]
