In the Blink of an Eye: A Perspective on Film Editing

by Walter Murch, Francis Ford Coppola (Foreword by)

Overview

In the Blink of an Eye is celebrated editor Walter Murch's vivid, multifaceted, thought-provoking essay of film editing. Starting with what might seem to be the most basic editing question -- Why do cuts work? -- he treats the reader to a marvelous "ride" through the esthetics and practical concerns of cutting film. Along the way, he offers his insights on such subjects as continuity and discontinuity in editing, dreaming, and real life; the criteria of a good cut; and the blink of the eye as both an analog to and an emotional cue for the cut. New to this second edition is Murch's lengthy meditation on the current state of digital editing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781879505629
Publisher:	Silman-James Pr
Publication date:	08/01/2001
Edition description:	REVISED
Pages:	120
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d)

Table of Contents

	Foreword	ix
	Preface to the Second Edition	xi
	Preface	xiii
	Cuts and Shadow Cuts	1
	Why Do Cuts Work?	5
	"Cut Out the Bad Bits"	10
	Most with the Least	15
	The Rule of Six	17
	Misdirection	21
	Seeing Around the Edge of the Frame	23
	Dreaming in Pairs	26
	Team Work: Multiple Editors	29
	The Decisive Moment	32
	Methods and Machines: Marble and Clay	43
	Test Screenings: Referred Pain	52
	Don't Worry, It's Only a Movie	57
	Dragnet	64
	A Galaxy of Winking Dots	70
	Afterword: Digital Film Editing: Past, Present, and Imagined Future	73