Customer Reviews

In the Blink of an Eye Revised 2nd Edition

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

OK I can't believe the guy who was looking for tips on how to put a scene together. I have been a film and commercial editor for 25 years and Mr. Murch's work is what all who have ever wanted to be an editor look up to. The joy of this book is that it doesn't delve into the nuts and bolts of editing-which is the worst part of my craft-but it focuses on the zen of editing, which is the true joy. I have had the opportunity to cut nine feature films in my life and before I started each one, I read "In the Blink of an Eye" to get me back in that feature film mindframe. God Bless Mr. Murch for his insights. As a fellow editor-and I struggle to live up to the bar you have raised for us-I can only bow down and thank Mr. Murch for passing on his knowledge to us.

One of the greatest image and aural montagists of our time is Walter Murch. What makes films like Apocalypse Now, The English Patient, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, or Julia great, just to name a few of Mr. Murch's masterpieces, is often the mostly invisible flow of time and mood. In this book Murch takes us inside the metaphysics of editing film and sound in a most understandable way. Any lover of film will appreciate the different sensibility and perspective than that we usually get from actors and directors. Any would be film editor better read this book to have any chance of rising above mediocrity.

Despite the admiration I have for Walter Murch, "In the Blink of an Eye" was a waste of money. The book is actually the transcript of a lecture he gave at a film school, and to his credit, it was not Murch who came up with the idea of marketing it as a full-length book. He did attempt to lengthen this edition by adding a section on digital editing, but still, the book falls short of expectation.

Murch's insights into film editing, both analog and digital, are valuable, and I would recommend picking up the book from the library or sitting down and reading it at your local bookstore - it really is that short, but it's not a keeper.

I bought this book hoping to get some real-world tips to editing - what makes a good cut and what doesn't, pacing, etc., etc., etc., but I came away with just one - cut when you blink. Murch's "blink theory" is interesting, but there's much more to editing than just that. I was looking for more from one of the best editors in the business.

Murch does discuss some of his own experiences while editing movies such as "Apocalypse Now" and "The English Patient", but doesn't really delve into the cutting itself and why he chose certain shots or cut a scene a certain way. The book also discusses the history of digital editing and its future but seems to focus on the attitudes of older directors and editors alike who seem to be afraid of change and insist, like Stephen Spielberg who bought up every Motorola editing system and hired enough technicians who can fix the ancient editors so that he will never have to fire up that computer, that "the old way" is better than the new one.

Murch seems to be in the middle of the debate. It is interesting to hear what he has to say, but it still seems to me to be rehashing the old joke about the grandparents who are unable to set the VCR. For those brought up on digital editing, it is only natural to sit down and touch a keyboard than experience what Murch believes is all important - standing up and touching the film itself.

If you're looking for a little bit of editing theory, a little bit of editing history, a little bit of personal experience, this book delivers, but if you're looking for a more in-depth discussion of editing in the 21st century, I recommend buying any Robert Rodriguez DVD, whether you like the movie or not, and listening to the commentary. Rodriguez not only gives tips on making a movie as a whole, but also how to film to edit, and how to cut scenes - all digitally.

This book was thoroughly enjoyable to read, but had very little advice on actual editing. It is very worth reading, if for nothing else, to hear the author's words (he is a god of editing). Nevertheless, I really wanted more on his ideas behind making cuts instead of abstract thoughts. His three pearls are: 1) Stand up when editing, 2) When a person blinks it is because they got the concept and are making a "mental cut", and that we are going to move into a time of digital editing, but must remember our past. There... I saved you the 10 dollars. Buy it to enjoy it, but don't expect it to teach more than I just revealed...

Murch delivers a short, but insightful analysis of film editing. The just of the title refers to Murch's theory that an eye blink is the equivalent of an edit. He found that when an audience is riveted they will seldom blink. His further studies led him to believe that an audience will generally blink when a film cut should be made. Whether true or not, it was truly thought provoking.

I also found his analysis of non-linear editing quite insightful. He goes a good way to explain the positive and the negative of editing on a computer versus the old cut and paste method. The computer oriented method offers quicker editing and fixing. When you physically cut film it cannot be undone without a lengthy ordeal. On a computer, you can quickly restore any changes.

Murch, though, feels that the necessity of rolling through raw footage on a movieola sometimes led to better shot selection during his re-edits. When editors digitize what they initially like, they limit themselves to the other takes that might make more sense after a rough cut is made. Interesting.

These are just some of the many jewels offered in this short work.

Murch is brilliant, there is no doubt of that, and I found this book to be quite inspiring. It is certainly not a guide to how to operate an editing system, (be it analog or digital,) or even a means of telling you how to assemble wide shots and close ups into a cohesive narrative.

It is about how Murch approaches a project. How he creates. Aspiring and seasoned editors alike can take much from this short work, and incorporate it into their own style and approach. I don't think that I will ever look at film the same way after his anecdote about blinking and editing "The Conversation."

Many reviewers have mentioned that they expected more, (length, content, etc.) I wanted more myself, but I think Murch says all he needed to say. It is WELL worth the read. I suggest getting it from a library, reading it, and then deciding if you wish to add it to your own library.

I now own a copy, and expect to consult it in future for every editing project that proves difficult.

It's like having a conversation with a really smart, educated and thoughtful person on a variety of topics relating to film. I feel angry with the people who gave it negative reviews because it's not a textbook about editing; it's not intended to be. Don't troll-rate a book because you don't know how to find a book on the subject you're looking for.

To merely explain "what film editing is" would be worth the price of this book, and
what I expect when I read a book on film editing, but this book goes far beyond that.

This book almost effortlessly explains "why film editing works," "how film editing works,"
and "what the human experience expects and wants from film editing."

It does this in an engaging style, with a remarkably-few,
well-chosen words. This is a truly great little book.

It teaches some slippery concepts easily, with simple historical examples.
(How filmmaking is like opera, or like music, or literature or art, for example.)

Its concepts are clear, and they stick in the mind, and return
to one later, usually while in the middle of doing something else.

That means to me that not only my conscious mind
understands what Mr. Murch has written, but my
unconscious mind as well.

I am very grateful for that, as
my unconscious mind is my source.

Mr. Walter Murch is not only one of the most gifted film editors ever,
he has clearly thought and mulled and quantified what he knows in his bones,
so that others can learn from it.

Beethoven wrote great music, (and, according to Mr. Murch, was one of
the fathers of cinema), but did Beethoven write a little book that explained
what he was trying to do, or the principles behind it, or what he had learned
about how it worked, and how to make future projects work in the same way?

No, alas. I've read letters from Beethoven, but found
his process elusive. Nothing wrong with that, his music
certainly stands on its own, but how much better would
it have been, to have some great little book like this one?

To the film artist, this little book is a gift from God.
A glimpse into the process of a very gifted man.

It explains what the principles of film editing are,
where to look for them, how they came about.
All from a great artist in the form.

As for my calling it a "little book," I mean no disrespect.
It's hard to make something complex look easy, even harder
to say that in only a few words.

Its brevity is part of its genius.

This book lies on the fence between a biography book and a conversation between a mentor and his apprentice. Walter Murch is known for his career as an editor and sound designer on movies like "Apocolypse Now" (original and "redux"), "The Conversation," "American Graffiti," "The Godfather (pt 2 & 3)," "Ghost," "The English Patient," and "The Talented Mr. Ripley."

I completely enjoyed this book, and highly recommended it to anyone who is interested in film/video editing. Murch gives advice to those people who are curious about the business, and insight to those who simply enjoy watching movies. This book was required reading for a video editing class I attended in college, and it's one of those rare college "textbooks" I greatly enjoyed reading from cover to cover. For me this is one of those books that I wouldn't mind reading again just for the heck of it. I hope you will enjoy it as well.

I got this book in the mail and i finished reading it the same day. Walter Murch can write so compellingly well while delivering an exteremly great portrayal of the Artistry behind Editing Film.

I'm so glad I purchased this book. Anybody who is interested in editing, should definitely read this.

Movies to his credit include: Cold Mountain, English Patient, Apocalypse Now, Godfather III, Julia (ofcourse he's done more, but those are great popular choices)