Customer Reviews

The Technique of Film and Video Editing: History, Theory, and Practice

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This book will give you a general history of editing. Also you will find in "Editing for the genre" section examples of different film editing "styles" for different genres. Honestly the principles of editing section is very weak. Also the non linear editing topic is not covered in depth. The name can be confusing for some people: This book is NOT about the technique and There is almost nothing on "video" in it. It is about creative and aesthetical sides of editing with examples from well known directors like Kubrick, Hitchcock etc.

film, video, non-linear, linear - it's all pictures and sound. This book was everything i was looking for. It's not an explanation of how to edit. It's about how to think, how to dig deep inside your feelings and appy those feelings to the work you do. Forget the technicalities, forget the jargon, this is about asking yourself the question - what do i want the viewer to feel? It inspires you to think beyond what you know. I have been editing for a number of years - i am a better editor after reading this book.

Now in an updated and expanded third edition, The Technique Of Film And Video Editing: History, Theory, And Practice by Ken Dancyger (Professor of Film and Television, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University) provides a thoroughly "reader friendly" introduction and survey of proven editing techniques and how those techniques influence the editing process, as well as presenting the history, theory, and aesthetics of editing in film and video. Nicely organized into three major sections (History of Film Editing; Editing for the Genre); and Principles of Editing), The Technique Of Film And Video Editing is enhanced with the inclusion of "Cutting Room Procedures", a filmography, a glossary, a selected bibliography for further study, and a comprehensive index. No film school or academic library film/video production instructional collection can be considered complete without the inclusion of The Technique Of Film And Video Editing as a core reference. Also very highly recommended for film students and aspiring film makers from Focal Press is Blain Brown's Cinematography: Image Making For Cinematographers, Directors, And Videographers (02-40805003, $44.99).

I just read a chapter from this book on DMN. Maybe the author has something interesting to say or maybe some new insights - I'll never know. The writing is so poor that each sentence needs to be dissected to be understood.

"In the world of the music video, real place is far less important. In fact, they are not as important as references to other media and other forms, to the landscapes of science fiction, and to the horror film." Huh? I'm guessing that "they" means "real place" and therefore should been "it is not as important..." But I am not sure that is what he meant. I've seen bad writing like this in user forums but never in a book. Did he have an editor?

I do have a book to recommend, though for the author, The Elements of Style. When you master that, try again but this time with an editor.