Oscar 2016 - Film Editing

"The Big Short" is the reason why I decided I must write an entry this year for "film editing". I don't remember when I've seen a movie where the editing has the impact it has here. I also don't think there is any better way to edit this film than what I've seen. The frequency of the cuts, the movement of the focus, the transition between scenes, absolutely everything fully supports the economic thriller nuance that makes this movie watchable, and which also brings it on a very different level compared to another story about the 2008 crisis - "Margin Call". Of course, there's a different point of looking at the facts in the two films, but somehow ironically the full two years development of the event in "The Big Short" is much more engaging than the 24 hours of the crash climax in "Margin Call". And the secret for that stays in the editing. If doesn't win the award this year it really means that the Oscars are unfair ( sort of obvious already, right? :) ).
"Mad Max: Fury Road" is probably the most serious candidate to the first in the list. By definition, a movie full of action can't be good if the editing isn't at least decent. "Mad Max"'s editing is more than decent. It also sets a tone that manages to keep the movie in a constantly alert state, but without making it tiring.
"The Revenant" is probably the most close candidate to the first in the list :) (got the nuance?). Unfortunately the editing here gets in the shadow of the camera work. And somehow doesn't catch your eye. In any case, if you pay enough attention, you'll get some really nice connections between scenes, as the sequence explained below, which deserve the full appreciation.
"Spotlight" is a sort of a light "Big Short" for editing (actually ultra light). Having in common the real story context, and a subject that develops over a long period of time ending in a climax, the comparison is inevitable even though the subject is totally different. Unfortunately we also have big difference in the editing ...
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is the "fill the list" entry here. I'm not gonna spend more time on this one ...

Oscar 2015 - Editing

I decided to change a bit the order of my entries, comparing to the one used in the last years when I kept it relatively similar (well .. on the sections where I managed to post something). Not that I have a specific reason for this, but I realized that I don't have yet any other section where I've seen all the nominees. So, editing today ...

"Boyhood" is the expected winner here (as on many other sections ...). I'm not in the mood to talk about the movie now. It's a very overrated one, including the editing. The only thing to appreciate (and again, this applies to many other sections) is that the movie was shot across a 12 years span and who's credited for editing (Sandra Adair) probably had a much tougher job than usual to bind consistently all the material. Call me mean, but I don't see anything else here ...
"The Imitation Game" has a nice editing. I would even say it's a good example of the main criteria that make a movie visually appealing in a cinema: the cinematography and/or the editing, in this case being mostly the 2nd part. Some of the direct passings between the different time periods left me a bit confused for a short moment and I think they could've been integrated a bit better. Overall is, however, quite ok, and even if I'm not really a fan of a story split on two different temporal threads I think in this case was the best approach. Still, I always thought that Goldenberg's editing is a bit "old school" ("Heat", "Seabiscuit", etc), maybe excepting "Argo", in the sense that I don't see that "edge" that makes a difference ...
"The Grand Budapest Hotel" has the most interesting editing from what we have here. I don't know how much credit in this has Barney Pilling, the editor, and how much Wes Anderson (the director), but I think it's the most representative movie for the latter concerning his specific style (also met in "Moonrise Kingdom" or "Fantastic Mr. Fox") = short scenes, quick alternations over repetitive frames, etc. The effect is a very peculiar one keeping an alert feeling, given mostly by the editing (+ the sound), which is in direct contrast with a constant calm (again very specific)kept by the script/story no matter how tensed the movie situations get to be.

"Whiplash" has probably the same chances as the previous nomination to steal the Oscar here. I guess the editing is the most significant aspect to be noticed in this movie. So significant that it's ... well, obvious compared to the rest (yep, I'm mean again). To be fair though it is a good editing ... especially considering that we're talking about a "musical drama" ( seems I can't stop bashing this, so I should move on :) ).
"American Sniper" looks for me as the outsider here, even though we're talking about a war movie which normally has an extremely favorable context for this section. What can I say ... the movie has a decent editing. I've actually been impressed by an alternation between two scenes happening at quite a distance from each other, and connected through a phone line (if you see the movie, you'll know what I'm talking about). The problem is a different one for this movie, and is augmented by the editing as it is also by the acting, script or directing. But, let's leave this for another time ;) ...

Oscar 2014 - Film Editing

I'm definitely not in my best shape for writing (I know, I'm saying this a lot, but now's really without the ""). So, I'll just do a lightning pass through the editing section, to get it checked on the list.

"American Hustle" is the first of the nominees. Alphabetically. A story about corruption (more or less) from the New Jersey's beginning of the '80s. I didn't know how did this movie get on this category up to watching half of it. After that, I started to get the reasons. Solid ones. Even so, it was still after one full half ...

"Captain Phillips" is probably the only movie that can snatch the editing Oscar from "Gravity". One reason is that this is the best aspect of the entire movie. And since the editing Oscar tends to get to either action films, or real life adapted stories .. with a lot of action ... To be fair, the movie is quite nicely cut, and the editing is after all the hidden reason why you're still caught by what's going on, knowing the ending from the beginning ...

"Dallas Buyers Club" is another movie that I don't know how it got here. There are some nice cuts, especially in the beginning, or towards the end, but not much in the rest. As a general summary, we have the real story of a HIV patient who managed somehow = mostly self-medicated, to survive for 7 years after an estimation of 30 days to live. Overall, I found slightly radical the movie position ( ironically that I'm writing this today :) ) despite the fact that generally speaking I'm quite on the same line of thought. But let's develop another time ;) ...

"Gravity" again ( I'm starting to lose count ... ) I have to say, and admit that it deserves it, has the best chances for an Oscar here. It's useless to get into the deep details. I prefer the clip below. Although not as long as the full 17 minutes opening scene, it should be enough to show how good are woven the individual takes in order to create the impression of a continuous flow ...

"12 Years a Slave", which ends the nominees list, is another real story, of a free guy who got enslaved for 12 years. Although it may sound ironic - and it's not, the main merit I see in the editing of this movie is that the 12 years seem to be 12 years. Meaning that we have a bit too many lengths .. but I guess the script is the main part "guilty" for this. I couldn't find something very relevant for this topic, so I'll just go for the clip below ...

Oscar 2013 - Film Editing

Besides sound and cinematography, the film editing is one of the categories where I actually like to make a prediction and talk extensively over it. I don't really have the necessary disposition this year and I've already rambled enough in my previous post, so we'll see what comes up. Besides that, the configuration for 2013 is not that complicated ...

"Argo" is the first nomination here. For me it's the best editing in the list. As main argument, as I was saying in a previous entry, the story is not extremely alert (except the ending) but this aspect is "hidden" behind the editing which doesn't let you feel any unnecessary length. On top of this I would also add the opening scene, very nicely done (we have a sequence of alternating drawn storyboards with real footage setting the start context). Although sufficiently short to pass maybe unnoticed and not more impressive probably than a documentary sequence, the effect of immersion in the movie atmosphere is excellent = if it didn't catch you already after this, I don't know what can get your attention besides the ending. Still, it seems that the awards favorite for this category is another movie, at the other end of the list. Which movie is not far at all from what we have here, but we'll talk later about it. I stay pro "Argo" anyway ...

"Life of Pi" sits well in any technical department, but the editing is sort of eclipsed by the cinematography and VFX. Ironically, this is favored by the editing :) But let me leave more experienced people to explain how stuff is done ...

"Lincoln" has the same editor as most of Spielberg's movies, namely Michael Kahn. And if we add a third name - Janusz Kaminski, for cinematography, it becomes obvious why pretty much every Spielberg movie have a quite similar "flow", especially on the visual side, that got better in time up to a level that doesn't ever get below good. From good to best there is still some space though :P ...

"Silver Linings Playbook" appears again on a category where I'm a bit surprised by the nomination (let me keep in mind though that we're talking about Oscar .. = the stuff here is decent, not necessarily the best). Well .. the movie "flows" ok. A few words from the editor are available in the clip below. Still, due to the nature of the genre, a comedy is clearly not favored here in front of dramas, or of movies with more action ...

"Zero Dark Thirty" is on the other side of the list, as I was saying in the beginning. With a subject that we can say it's in the same subgenre - dramatizing of a story based on a secret operation that went on in the Orient involving CIA. Well, compared to "Argo" the story of finding Bin Laden has something different that matters pretty much here - the lengths of several years in real time. But the movies do not differ that much considering the rhythm of the story flow. And guess what .. we have the same editor (William Goldenberg). Who like I said has big chances here. To be fair, I have to admit that the editing is quite as good as "Argo". But I can still stay objective - pro "Argo" - based on the fact that there the editing helps the script ( a main passage, quite long that must be cut properly to keep you focused ), here is somehow the opposite or at least not like that ( variation of several shorter phases from a several years long story ).

Oscar 2012 - Film Editing

There is said that at the Oscars the award for film editing announced the final one for best movie. I have no idea where I heard that, and I don't really believe it (a clear example: last year wasn't like this .. and still .. this year sounds more plausible). But let's check out the nominees ...

"The Artist" is I guess the best placed here. First, it's something different from the rest because the cuts in the scenes for the written inserts is something you see only in a silent movie. To that add also the air of the '20s at the way the scenes flow under your eyes. More exactly .. the line of the story in this movie is unrolled especially through the editing, not having any lines and it's something sufficiently well done so you won't feel the need for any dialogue (= short scenes + fast switching between frames). And to add something more (well .. let's say so) with one exception I'm pretty disappointed by the rest of the nominees here, so I don't see much competition.



I wrote about "The Descendants" last month. I don't remember saying anything about the editing. That's because, like the rest of the more technical aspects (having as exception the score & sound) is not that obvious. The only scene that stuck into my head (and that's also probably the reason why there is a clip with it + they included in the trailer) in which you can "feel" a bit the effect of what the editing does is obviously an alert one.



I liked the editing in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". It's sufficiently "helpful" for keeping the cold air and in the same time tensed that the movie has. And for looks a bit above what the same team (Angus Wall & Kirk Baxter) managed to do last year when they got the Oscar for "The Social Network". If I should choose according to my liking a movie from here it would be pretty hard to decide between this one and "The Artist". Dar obiectiv vorbind parca as merge pe varianta muta ;)



"Hugo" has as editor the all-time movie collaborator of Scorsese and a recognized name in this area: Thelma Schoonmaker. And this should mean two things: 1. there are clearly chances for an Oscar 2. if we look at the films the nominee has in her CV starting from before "Raging Bull" (as a sole example) and we make a comparison ... the chances here are mostly due inertia. But still "The Artist" has more.



Finally we have "Moneyball". Where I see no reason to be here besides filling the number of five nominees. I didn't even found (again ... after "the sound" entry) a clip to be very appropriate ...



Next time = very soon, something more interesting considering this year's nominees -> cinematography ;)

Oscar 2011 - Film Editing

Like I said last time this one is the aspect that might save or bury a film's cinematography, and with it most of the final visual aspect of the entire production. If the cinematography gives the movie the visual feeling = warm, cold, open, closed, etc, the editing is the the technical category which gives probably the most of the general feeling of the movie. And yes, in this is comprised also the sound mixing for aranging the final audio track, but usually the film editing is considered more important at the Oscars. As far as I know statistically speaking I think it's the one which is the most often associated with the best picture (having the same winner). I don't think it will happen this year though. Anyway, I find really hard to predict the winner here. Let's see which are the movies that got nominated ...

"Black Swan" - I believe this is the movie that will get the prize. Excellent editing, which enhances a lot the sense of tension, the dark atmosphere and completes it to give the image of dementia put on screen. Generally it's useless too comment the editing to much - the main aspect to follow is how it's built the scene from the individual shots, the way these follow one another and the length/for how much time. I didn't manage to find a better clip than the next one to show these, but it's suggestive enough about the movie look & feel.

"The Fighter" - it's the movie that I consider to be on the bottom of the grid here. The editing is ok, but it doesn't have anything special besides the boxing scenes. And that's the type of scene which has in itself more power to enhance the editing appearance than the editing does for the scene. Anyway .. I'm not an expert :). Unfortunately the most appropriate clip I found it's "embedding disabled", so sorry again for the extra click (it seems I didn't manage to get rid of this even without any "Inception" today :) ):

"The King's Speech" - I've already said it last time, here the editing helps a lot the cinematography. Below is the final scene of the movie (I don't know for how long it will last on YouTube), scene that I think it's one of the best in the entire film - also for the cinematography (which reaches a peek here), but I kept it for editing :) because I believe that it's more representative for the movie. Anyway, if above I was saying something about scenes that give a push to the editing, to say it so = have enough context to get something interesting from them, "The King's Speech" as a whole movie it's entirely the opposite to that. The story is calm, slow paced, without much action and that's not helping in this category, so even if it's ok the editing is under a certain threshold compared to other movies nominated here.

"127 Hours" - from my point of view has the best editing, but unfortunately this year is a bit of an outsider at the Oscars. I would really like to be wrong with the prediction here and to see it getting the award. I already wrote in the blog entry about the movie and I will say it again: for me it seems awfully challenging to try making a 90 minutes movie having as main scene a guy stuck under a boulder, and one of the key factors in managing to getting it done it's definitely the editing. Well .. the reason for "127 Hours" it's not really expected to win here is besides that there are more popular movies in competition, the fact that the editing (unlike "The King's Speech") is helped pretty much by the cinematography (which didn't receive an Oscar nomination, but it had it's share at BAFTA and in other places) = I'm pretty sure that the editor had quite a lot of choice to pick from the shots taken given the variety we see in the movie. Even so, I'll stick to the opinion that it's superior to the other titles.

"The Social Network" - it's probably the second on the favorites list (although many are saying it's the first and it already got the BAFTA for editing). As I mentioned, it's a hard to predict category because as I see it there are pretty 50/50 split chances among this one and "Black Swan" and I have some hope that I'll see a surprise from "127 Hours" :). The reason I'm placing this a little bit after "Black Swan" as chances is for one part related with the actual quality - even though it's an excellent editing that completes some lacks on the cinematography (which again I don't even know how come it got nominated) it still seems it's not really at the same level with the work in "Black Swan". On the second part, if the Academy wants to give another Oscar to "Black Swan" besides the one which is the most sure to bet on in the Awards night (for leading actress of course), I think they will have editing as the first choice. But, going back to "The Social Network" one of the nice parts is that despite having again a pretty much actionless movie, the editing manages to speed up the pace:

First entry next week - adapted script ;)