The Global Art of Film Editing: Theory, History, and Practice

Course Title: The Global Art of Film Editing: Theory, History, and Practice

Course Description: This seminar explores the theoretical underpinnings, historical evolution, and diverse cultural expressions of film editing. From the foundational principles of Soviet Montage and Classical Hollywood continuity to contemporary and global innovations, students will critically analyze how editing shapes narrative, meaning, and audience experience. The course emphasizes critical thinking and discussion, grounded in key theoretical texts and case studies of influential editors and film movements.

Primary Texts (to be drawn from throughout the course, as assigned per week):

  • Murch, Walter. In the Blink of an Eye (Revised 2nd Edition).

  • Eisenstein, Sergei. Film Form: Essays in Film Theory.

  • Eisenstein, Sergei. The Film Sense.

  • Dmytryk, Edward. On Film Editing: An Introduction to the Art of Film Construction.

  • Oldham, Gabriella. First Cut: Conversations with Film Editors.

  • Oldham, Gabriella. First Cut 2: More Conversations with Film Editors.

  • Pearlman, Karen. Cutting Rhythms: Intuitive Film Editing.

  • Crittenden, Roger (Ed.). Fine Cuts: The Art of European Film Editing.

  • Billinge, Sam. The Practical Guide to Documentary Editing: Techniques for TV and Film.

  • O'Steen, Sam & Bobbie. Cut to the Chase: Forty-Five Years of Editing America's Favourite Movies. (For Hollywood practitioner insights)

  • Bartsch, Jeff. Edit Better: Hollywood-Tested Strategies for Powerful Video Editing. (For contemporary takes, use selectively for theoretical implications of practical advice)

Weekly Outline:

PART 1: FOUNDATIONS AND THE GRAMMAR OF EDITING

Week 1: What is Editing? The Invisible Art and the Editor's Mind

  • Topics: Defining editing beyond the technical. The psychological impact of the cut. The editor as the final storyteller. The relationship between perception, emotion, and editing choices.

  • Core Readings: Murch, In the Blink of an Eye (Introduction - Chapter 2).

  • Possible Additional Reading/Exploration: Selections from the Filmsupply article "On Film Editing: 11 Books Every Editor Should Read" for broad perspectives.

  • Screenings: Clips demonstrating the power of editing in conveying emotion and information (e.g., the opening of Up, the shower scene from Psycho).

Week 2: The Birth of Continuity – Early Cinema and Narrative Clarity

  • Topics: Pre-cursors to editing. The development of narrative editing (Porter, Griffith). Establishing the "rules" of continuity: 180-degree rule, match-on-action, eyeline match, shot-reverse-shot.

  • Core Readings: Dmytryk, On Film Editing (Chapters on basic principles and continuity).

  • Possible Additional Reading: Relevant chapters from a general film history text covering early cinema's development of narrative techniques.

  • Screenings: Clips from Edwin S. Porter (The Great Train Robbery), D.W. Griffith (The Birth of a Nation, Intolerance – focusing on editing innovations).

Week 3: Soviet Montage Theory – Editing as Collision and Construction

  • Topics: Eisenstein, Kuleshov, Pudovkin, Vertov. The Kuleshov Effect. Intellectual montage, metric, rhythmic, tonal, overtonal montage. Editing as a tool for political and ideological expression.

  • Core Readings: Eisenstein, Film Form (e.g., "A Dialectic Approach to Film Form," "Methods of Montage"). Eisenstein, The Film Sense (e.g., sections on montage).

  • Screenings: Battleship Potemkin (Odessa Steps sequence), Man with a Movie Camera, Kuleshov experiment recreations.

PART 2: CLASSICAL SYSTEMS AND THEIR EVOLUTION

Week 4: Classical Hollywood Editing – The Seamless Illusion

  • Topics: The refinement of continuity editing in the studio system. Pacing, rhythm, and scene construction in classical Hollywood. The role of the editor within the studio hierarchy. Maintaining narrative flow and character development through editing.

  • Core Readings: Dmytryk, On Film Editing. O'Steen, Cut to the Chase (for practical anecdotes illustrating classical principles).

  • Possible Additional Reading: Bordwell, Staiger, Thompson, The Classical Hollywood Cinema: Film Style & Mode of Production to 1960 (relevant chapters on editing).

  • Screenings: Scenes from classical Hollywood films known for strong narrative editing (e.g., Casablanca, His Girl Friday, a Hitchcock sequence).

Week 5: The Editor's Voice – Conversations and Craft (Hollywood Focus)

  • Topics: Insights from working editors. The collaborative relationship between director and editor. Creative problem-solving in the edit suite. How individual editors develop a style or approach.

  • Core Readings: Oldham, First Cut: Conversations with Film Editors.

  • Screenings: Focus on films edited by individuals discussed in Oldham's book, analyzing specific sequences.

Week 6: European Art Cinema and Challenges to Continuity

  • Topics: Post-WWII European cinema. Italian Neorealism (long takes, deemphasizing overt editing). French New Wave (jump cuts, breaking continuity, self-reflexivity – Godard, Truffaut). Other European innovators.

  • Core Readings: Crittenden, Fine Cuts: The Art of European Film Editing (selections on French New Wave, Italian Neorealism).

  • Possible Additional Reading: Essays on Godard's editing, Bazin's theories on realism and the long take.

  • Screenings: Breathless, The 400 Blows, Bicycle Thieves.

PART 3: DIVERSE FORMS AND GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

Week 7: Rhythms, Pacing, and Intuition in Editing

  • Topics: Beyond rules – the "feel" of editing. How editors use intuition. The musicality of editing. How rhythm and pacing create specific emotional and physiological responses in the audience.

  • Core Readings: Pearlman, Cutting Rhythms: Intuitive Film Editing. Murch, In the Blink of an Eye (revisit chapters on rhythm and the "Rule of Six").

  • Screenings: Scenes known for their distinct rhythmic qualities (e.g., action sequences from Mad Max: Fury Road, the editing rhythms in a Wong Kar-wai film).

Week 8: Editing Documentary – Shaping Reality

  • Topics: The ethics of documentary editing. Constructing narratives from unscripted footage. Working with interviews, archival material, and vérité footage. The editor's role in finding the story. Different modes of documentary and their editing styles.

  • Core Readings: Billinge, The Practical Guide to Documentary Editing.

  • Possible Additional Reading: Selections from Michael Rabiger's Directing the Documentary or Patricia Aufderheide's Documentary Film: A Very Short Introduction.

  • Screenings: Clips from diverse documentaries (e.g., Manakamana, Hoop Dreams, Exit Through the Gift Shop, an Errol Morris film).

Week 9: Expanding the Frame – Editing in Asian Cinemas (Example Focus)

  • Topics: Introduction to editing traditions beyond the West. Focus on one or two key Asian cinemas (e.g., Japan: Ozu's "pillow shots" and compositional editing vs. Kurosawa's dynamic action editing; India: Bollywood's narrative structures and rhythmic editing; Hong Kong action cinema). Considering cultural influences on pacing and storytelling.

  • Core Readings: TBD. Scholarly articles or book chapters on "film editing in Japanese cinema," "Bollywood editing styles," etc.

    • Possible starting point for research: David Bordwell on Asian cinema (e.g., Ozu and the Poetics of Cinema, Planet Hong Kong).

  • Screenings: Tokyo Story (Ozu), Seven Samurai (Kurosawa), a classic Bollywood film, a John Woo action sequence.

Week 10: Further Global Perspectives – Editing in African, Latin American, or Middle Eastern Cinemas

  • Topics: Continue exploring non-Western editing aesthetics. Focus on distinctive styles, thematic concerns, and historical contexts of filmmaking in another region. Consider "Third Cinema" and its impact on editing approaches.

  • Core Readings: TBD.

    • Possible starting point for research: "Teshome Gabriel and Third Cinema," articles on Ousmane Sembène, Glauber Rocha, or contemporary filmmakers from these regions.

  • Screenings: Films like Xala (Sembène), Memories of Underdevelopment (Alea), A Separation (Farhadi), or other representative works.

PART 4: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AND SYNTHESIS

Week 11: The Digital Age – Technology's Impact on Editing Aesthetics & The Editor's Evolving Role

  • Topics: How NLEs changed the process and potentially the product. The influence of music videos, commercials, and online content on editing styles. Preditor roles. The democratization of editing tools.

  • Core Readings: Oldham, First Cut 2: More Conversations with Film Editors (for contemporary perspectives). Bartsch, Edit Better (perhaps chapter introductions/conclusions about modern workflows). Revisit Murch for any updates or digital-age reflections.

  • Possible Additional Reading: Articles on "post-cinema" or the impact of digital technology on film form.

  • Screenings: Examples of films with distinctly digital-era editing, or discuss how iconic older films might be cut differently today.

Week 12: Synthesis – The Future of Editing & Student Presentations

  • Topics: Review of major themes. The enduring principles vs. evolving techniques. What makes "good" editing? The editor as author/co-author. Student presentations of final analytical papers or projects.

  • Readings: Concluding thoughts from Murch or other key texts.

  • Activity: Final paper presentations, discussion of emerging trends (VR editing, AI in post-production).

Suggested Assignments:

  • Weekly Response Papers/Discussion Posts: Short reflections on readings and screenings.

  • Clip Analysis Presentations: Students select and analyze a short film clip, applying concepts from the course.

  • Midterm Essay: A comparative analysis of editing styles in two different films or movements.

  • Final Research Paper: In-depth study of a specific editor, editing technique, national cinema's editing style, or theoretical problem in film editing.