Diamond in the rough (cut)

I have been working on a rough cut of Broken Heart Boy with my editor for the past week. Editing is vital to a film, and can make or break a story. It truly is a second pass, a second draft to the film's narrative.

One of the few positions women have been able to break into in the film industry is editing. Originally, women were allowed to edit because it was a position that many deemed uncreative. It was even compared to sewing, as though editing was just another chore apart of homemaking. However, as I get deeper into post-production, editing is not simply a mechanical process of putting the film together, but a whole other opportunity to tell the story.

Dede Allen is a pioneer when it comes to women in editing. According to A conversation with Dede Allen on editorsguild.com, Dede Allen was told "she would never make it as an editor because she wasn't strong enough to carry the film." I am a product of the digital film making age, but this comment still astounds me that Dede Allen had to prove she was strong enough to carry the film before she could even edit it. She further learned to edit "while working as an assistant to a sound editor who drank too much, (she would finish his work when he was too inebriated)." As a result, she is not only one of the most influential women editors, but helped define a transition in editing, breaking out of standard Hollywood editing and incorporating French New Wave techniques. An example of this is from the film Bonnie and Clyde.



The scene builds tension, starting off calmly and building to the final climax when Bonnie and Clyde are killed. Each shot has a purpose, its placement in the scene thought-out like a game of chess. Editing is truly an art form, essential to a great movie.