25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you want a career in the film industry, I highly recommend this book., July 26, 2005
This review is from: Cut by Cut: Editing Your Film or Video (Paperback)
I am an assistant (and sometimes still an apprentice) editor. When my Academy Award winning editor/boss told me to get this book, I didn't believe him. I knew how to run the Avid in my sleep and was getting jobs. But he was using it and recommending it to everyone he knew and then it was reviewed in this month's (July/August) Editors Guild magazine by a guy I trust. So I ordered it. Now I am recommending it. It covers everything you want to know about editing but were afraid to ask. It talks about the process and why editor's cut, not just how to digitize (it covers that generally) and how to get a job (I agree.) It has lots of useful charts and tables of all the stuff that you forget to remember such as formats, aspect ratios, film-to-tape conversion and vice versa. The author has clearly been in the editing trenches. I like her humorous tidbits and historical references like how R2D2 got his name. She also covers film - syncing, cutlists, neg cutting, etc. thoroughly which freaks the computer generation like me sometimes just as much as digital stuff can freaks older editors and directors. The film information as well as the digital, Web, DVD, and tape processes she so thoroughly details, have been invaluable to me in my work, paid and non. Speaking of which, gotta get back to my web film!
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book, but for limited audience, May 6, 2005
This review is from: Cut by Cut: Editing Your Film or Video (Paperback)
The book is very well written. It is well organized, clear and consise. It gives an excellent overview of the entire workflow of editing in both the digital and film realms. It also does a nice job comparing the two mediums. The tables scattered throughout the book are quite helpful and an effective way at allowing one to compare and contrast the items being discussed.
The limit too the books potential though is that most of its discussions are in a summary nature. Its like a tasting menu at a fine restaurant. Everything presented to you is wonderful, but it leaves you unsatisifed and wanting more. There is just not much there to entice one to return to this book later. The technical materials it does cover are those you would hope most people who call themself an editor would be know; as a result it does not serve much function as a reference material. Thus, this book is best served as an introduction to editing for the novice editor. But in that role it does a fine job. Especially by including discussions of job finding strategies, web sites, and dealing with bad situations in the workplace.
So if you're an experienced editor looking for an interesting read about editing (which so many are because its so rare to find one) stick to Walter Murch and Gabriella Oldham. If you're looking to break out into the editing world though, definitely give this book a read through (especially all you digital only folks, this will help you appreciate the film end of the spectrum). I also highly recommond this book, or at least parts of it, for producers, directors and cinematographers. Maybe then the production end might be a little more mindful of their demands on the post production end (though probably not).
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cut By Cut, February 24, 2005
This review is from: Cut by Cut: Editing Your Film or Video (Paperback)
Cut By Cut
Reviewed by Jack Tucker, A.C.E.
As one who teaches editing at several universities, including Long Beach State and UCLA, I am familiar with a number of books, both current and otherwise, on the subject. Some of them I have used in conjunction with my courses. Gael Chandler's book is a welcome addition to this library of editing lore. Besides describing the details of the editing process, the book also features many quotes and tips from established editors. Finally we have a comprehensive text on the subject for every student of editing, written in an understandable manner without sacrificing content. It is what God and DeMille intended.
I met Gael Chandler several years ago when she was teaching a Final Cut Pro class. She is a pioneer of electronic editing dating back to the Ediflex. After getting to know me, she asked if I would review a couple of chapters to the book she was writing, and give comment, on working on film since Film Editing on the Moviola is one of the classes that I teach. This I was happy to do and I allowed her to shoot stills of my editing equipment. Since that time I have been eager to see if the finished book would pass muster and I'm pleased to report that it does.
Beginning with her forward that describes the significance of "persistence of vision," the anomaly to which we all owe our careers, and continuing with Director Brian Levant's comment that "...editors are the most skilled, happiest people I've ever known," Chandler goes on to describe in detail our craft which she notes, "...is both magical and mundane." She demonstrates an extensive knowledge of the post production process.
The book is geared towards the beginning editor, but the more seasoned professional can still make use of its many charts and tables. The fact that she includes both film and video makes her book comprehensive. There is a lot of film information included that is not readily found anywhere else and for novice editors this is important.
In describing the three video systems (NTSC, PAL and SECAM) in a footnote she recounts the joke among the techs as to what each system represents. NTSC is Never Twice the Same Color, while PAL equates to Pay A Lot and SECAM is reduced to System Essentially Contrary to American Method. This humor adds to the readability of the volume.
Chandler also goes into why we make cuts, though many current filmmakers seem to think one should cut merely for the sake of cutting. She recounts the late Edward Dmytryk's comment, "...cutting should always be conceived to show the viewer what he should see at every point in the film." As anything we do in editing does, this book is written from the heart by someone who cares about the craft they have pursued for a lifetime.
For the beginner there is advice on how to find work, join the union and make contacts. She lays it out as methodically as she does the steps of the editing process and emphasizes that, "...it's not what you know, but who you know."
Gael Chandler sums it up beautifully with this paragraph. "Editing is not for the wimp, space case, or the indifferent. You need stamina and desire to see you through. Keep your passion for your career, loved ones, and pursuit of happiness in balance when following an editing path and you'lll be surprised where it leads you."
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