The Eye is Quicker Read online

  This quandary led to the keeping of two elements while editing: Editorial Sync; and the producing of a single element for projection: Printer’s Sync. In Editorial Sync the editor ‘works’ Pix and Sd in direct correspondence. Whether mechanical or digital, the Pix and Sd are kept ‘alongside’ each other — one above the other in the computer’s Timeline configuration. There is no need for a Printer’s Sync modification in Video or Digital ‘projection.’

  In Printer’s Sync the final sound track is printed onto the edge of the picture, but to avoid having a staccato wavering in the audio, the laboratory prints the sound ahead of its corresponding frame of picture. This advance is 20 frames in 35mm, and 26 frames in 16mm. The looping of the film through the projector’s configuration of spools allows for a ‘tummy rubbing’ action around the sound (pin-less) spool — 20 or 26 frames ahead of the corresponding picture — while at the same time a ‘head tapping’ action occurs in the gate/shutter mechanism, projecting the picture.

  Image and Sound arrangements continue to be ‘deliberated’ as ever-perfecting innovations in digital sound and image advance. For the editor, creative obligations remain the same: Construct the scenes; craft the sequences; build a harmonious, and well (asymmetrically) balanced film.

  TIP: It is tremendously advantageous to make use of the ‘tummy rubbing’ concept of sound, to assist in the unifying of cuts: Sound Effects; Ambience, Dialogue; Music; or any combination, can help provide ‘convincing evidence’ of ‘real-life’ Ongoing Time. Don’t cut the Sound because you’ve made a cut in Picture; ambience — or any production recorded sound — from a preceding shot, should be carried across a cut, and ‘play’ (remain) until sync is (absolutely) needed. Often a cut will be perceived as ‘wrong’ when the ambient sound, cut at the very same moment, is troubling to the ear.

  A Sequence from Echoes, an SVA thesis film, provides an example of how Out-Of-Sync Dialogue and ‘Tummy-Rubbing’ keep a cut together. Leslie and Marco Arrive at Her Mother’s Farm: Jack, the mother’s boyfriend, and farm hand, stops feeding the cattle when he sees Marco approaching the house. Two shots were joined for the Jack Hurries to the Farm House scene:

  1. A Camera move takes us from a Close-Up of Jack’s hands distributing hay, to a Medium Close-Up of Jack ‘spotting’ Marco, to a Medium Shot of Jack starting to walk hurriedly toward the house.

  2. A Long Shot of Jack running toward the camera, and Marco.

  Synchronized Dialogue was recorded for the second shot:

  JACK

  Hey! Hey! Can I help you?

  The visual obviousness between Jack’s hurried walk and his running presented a problem. [Figure 19.9] The choice solution was to ‘distribute’ the two “Heys” on either side of the cut. The Incoming Long Shot was left intact; the second “Hey!” and “Can I help you?” in actual sync. The first “Hey!” was moved ahead to ‘play’ as Jack began his hurried walk. The camera is behind Jack: No lips are seen.

  Figure 19.9

  Echoes

  Director/Editor, Atsushi Funahashi

  HINT: When the lips of a speaking actor are not ‘fully’ visible, dialogue can be deleted, rearranged from its original order, or the pacing can be altered. The editor must, when necessary, be able to ‘Influence’ the performance rhythms.

  There are times when, though no lips are on camera, dialogue readings will generate an actor’s gesture of the head, arms, or hands; and such gestures ‘convince’ the editor that the filmed performance is ‘locked.’ But! Over the shoulder shots offer more extensive ‘influences’ than might be realized.

  In the over-the-shoulder shot from Midnight Family Dinner [Figure 19.10] Mary asks Joe, “How can you ask me a question like that?” Joe responds, “You’re a prostitute!”

  Figure 19.10

  More adaptable than meets the eye

  In one of my workshop classes it was agreed that Joe’s response would ‘play’ far better if delayed for several beats more than in the dailies. With the camera behind Mary, we ‘pulled’ her line up, so that she finished “… me a question like that?” earlier, giving Joe ‘more time’ to react with his eyes — the class was fond of Joe’s eyes — before answering. A problem came to light immediately: Mary made a strong gesture — her head nodding downward — on the opening word of her question, “How…”

  The solution: We ‘pulled’ the line way up, so that Mary’s strong nodding gesture was in ‘sync’ with “…that?” Joe had his long beat reaction/contemplation moment, just about equal to the total time it took Mary to ask her question.

  TIP: Mary and Joe’s dialogue reminds me that a cut from speaker to listener during ‘hearty conversation’ — anger, shouting/calling, broad (wide) mouth gestures — frequently demands Outgoing cuts at the moment of a ‘full mouth’: The mouth at, or near, ‘wide open.’

  Let’s take Reactions Speak Louder Than Words a pace ahead. Take auditory notice of sound(s) made by a character who is on camera (reaction shot), while another character is speaking. In fact, you may ‘notice’ not a thing! It is surprising how seldom any of several ‘life affirming’ sounds are used. I have made it a point to gather inhales, exhales, and throat clearings — even chortles and giggles — to be selectively used ‘with’ non-speaking, or prior to speaking, characters. It provides an authentic ‘feel’ to dialogue. That is, characters appear, and sound — sometimes not on camera, but still sounding — as if they are fully ‘alive’ and so, fully listening — an important enhancing item in editing dialogue. It provides an additional sound layer, building genuineness in ‘real-life’ Ongoing Time.

  There is no need for a DNA, tissue, or blood match. You can use a variety of such sounds randomly selected from different actors — the ‘transplants’ will seldom be ‘rejected.’

  Oh! And, lip smacking sounds? Gather them; they can be a most fitting addition to listener or speaker. Your mother’s admonitions notwithstanding, lip smacking is good!

  TWENTY

  who could

  ask for

  anything

  more

  “All art constantly aspires towards

  the condition of music.”

  — Walter Pater

  Dr. Leonard Lionnet, in his forthcoming book The Musical Eye: A Guide To Music For Filmmakers, writes, “In early cinema, music was used to reduce the anxiety of a captive audience of strangers, within the dark, enclosed theatre.”

  Throughout film history, the moving image and music have been so readily fixed, each to the other, as to raise the likelihood, that from the outset, the movie house’s piano accompaniment — in the silent film era — must have served as more than a ‘plan’ to muffle the projector’s ‘clickety-whirr.’ Music ‘soothingly’ harmonizes the rhythmic character of juxtaposed images.

  Sidney Lumet presented a simplification of all editing theory by declaring (perhaps he intoned) that good editing is “Nothing more than finding the right rhythms.”

  Editors keep ‘click-tracks’ (a form of cue track) on hand — a variety of music, or music-like recordings, usually with minimal, or no, melody, and unheard by an audience — to use (especially) when a scene, or larger structure, appears to evade rhythmic detection. Is there a more natural — or simple — way to divulge rhythm than through music — or musical elements?

  Without a thought you’ll tap your foot — a very natural reaction — to accompany music, and you’ll find the beat that you are easily in sync with. If you were to give conscious thought to the music, you’d be able to be more selective: Slow down, or speed up, your tapping beats while continuing to be ‘in sync’ with the music. We have all heard various arrangements, and performances of a song, and while we might have a particular favorite, we can appreciate that several possibilities do work well.

  I’ve described how beats provide an invaluable device for ‘finding’ scene and sequence structures. Beats get the editor to Tempo, or Pacing; and just as in a song, there are commonly several suitable arrangements. There is no singularly accepta
ble solution in the creation of a film — the editor is not ‘looking for’ the one and only rhythmic zenith — and that fact doesn’t make for editing discord or strife. The reality, and a great editing quandary, is not that there is a one and only best answer, but that there are a great many potentially middling answers to rule out.

  Ingmar Bergman said that he ‘feels’ his films are successful when “they are like a Bela Bartók symphony.” Since Bergman didn’t specify which film, or symphony, I’ll take it to mean that his “successful” films ‘match up’ with different Bartók symphonies — perhaps even different Bartók arrangements.

  A recent study has established a genetic connection — no formal music training is necessary — in humans that lets us immediately recognize discordant notes. In a way then, editors should be able to begin their careers with enormous potential: Being human — not chimps — they might be intuitively able to ‘sense’ flawed rhythms.

  Finding Lumet’s “right rhythm” is not exactly the same as ‘hearing’ a discordant measure. A musical note doesn’t have to be an inept ‘ping’ to be detected as ‘wrong.’ It’s a somewhat subtle proposition to ‘create’ just the right note, when no single note is a ‘clinker.’ The “right rhythm” in a film is to be discovered — don’t discount that it is a rhythmic blend in image and sound — sandwiched somewhere between the intrinsic rhythm of a shot, and the emotional subtext(s) of a moment, a scene, a sequence, and the film’s form. This is not necessarily a traditional two slices of bread sandwich, nor a three-slice club. How many slices is a question to be answered within the context(s) of the film.

  TIP & HINT: The rhythms to be determined in a dialogue scene are about subtext. Understanding subtext is your guide to “the right rhythm.” If possible, don’t consider this an intellectual discovery of a film’s theme(s) or message(s). Subtext is — best left — emotional. More about subtext in a few beats.

  The most assumed remedy for getting to rhythm — as in tempo or pacing — is to make frequent, to very frequent, cuts; to ‘hold’ shots long, or very long; or to ‘mathematically’ calculate a series of shots, producing matching beats. These seldom work, because lots of cuts, or fewer cuts, have little to do with discovering effective rhythm. Realize that the number of frames from any one shot has little in common with the identical number of frames from another. What is significant is the ‘busyness’ of a (shot) composition — how quickly can our eyes place the focal point. This is often determined by whether the shot is an Establishing Shot; a Close-Up; whether the shot includes action, or is static; the influence of lens choices — the number and frequency of lens variations — which alter the eyes’ perception of spatial relationships, and ‘take’ some eye ‘fixing’ time. Of course, what matters most is the combination of shots: Critical choices in the constructed order, and the eyes’ familiarity with shots — how readily the eyes can recall an image.

  Morant, Witton, and Handcock Meet Major Thomas scene from Breaker Morant is made up of 44 cuts, which occur in two minutes — three of the cuts alone ‘cover’ 30 seconds. This is an unusually brisk tempo for a four character (dialogue) scene. Yet, the scene is neither frantic, nor chaotic in its rhythm(s). Five set-ups are used for the four characters. [Figure 20.1] Our eyes ‘read’ the shots quickly — they are limited, visually logical, and easily familiar.

  Figure 20.1

  HINT & TIP: I have used Breaker Morant, and this particular scene several times. Get to see the film; rent the tape or DVD. It is among the finest works; and serves as a significant learning ‘tool.’

  HINT: There is also something to be said for the way visual logic plays an unmistakable part in this scene: Physical Action motivates the Establishing (Master) Shot. The scene also offers a significant example of Rhythm/Subtext as cited in “Ask Gertrude Stein”: in this case, questions ‘unhappily’ answered.

  I have found that young editors — and students — are quick to sense that something is wrong with a grouping of shots whenever rhythmic conflict occurs. This may be proof of our innate abilities to catch a sour note, or two. What is worth mentioning is the inexperienced editor’s often-inaccurate evaluation: He misinterprets the source of the ‘sour note.’

  Several years ago, a thesis student went nearly barmy by an adjustment I made to ‘fix’ a cut that he complained was ‘off.’ Following my effort, we screened four cuts leading up to, and including, the cut that troubled him.

  HINT: It is of paramount importance to screen ‘lead-up’ moments — that might mean several dozen beats, or more — to any area that has proved ‘disturbing,’ or been recently ‘retuned.’ Not doing so would be the equivalent of a composer listening to but a single note: If there is no context, how can you find a ‘right’ rhythm?

  “Ooh!” The student was elated. “You fixed the cut.” I told him I hadn’t touched the cut; that I had shortened a shot two cuts earlier. The student examined the trim I held in my hand. It wasn’t the 16 or so frames from the shot he was certain was the culprit. He looked at me, and again at the trim — it was from the earlier shot. Skepticism showed in his eyes: He had witnessed editing ‘magic’; or was it voodoo?

  Louise Bryant Interviews Jack Reed scene from Reds gives us an example of Sync and Rhythm achievement — quite a bit of editing magic! The scene is commonly called the Coffee Cup scene. [Figure 20.2]

  Louise asks about Jack’s views on world politics, economics, and the recent outbreak of World War I. The dialogue for Jack’s answers had not been written when the scene was shot; and so Jack paced back and forth ‘improvising’ declarations by number, “27…28…”, to be ‘fixed in the editing’ with the later recorded dialogue. The scene ‘plays’ as an all night recitation over cup, after cup, after cup of coffee. At times Jack’s voice segues upon itself.

  Figure 20.2

  Inventive Cutting: No Sync Dialogue and All Night Rhythms

  HINT & TIP: If you don’t get a “mental hiccup” at a ‘troubling’ cut, you can bet that you’ve ‘heard’ a rhythmic discord. The solution is frequently found several ‘notes’ back. You’ll start to appreciate Sidney Lumet’s counsel.

  HINT: Remember that rhythm — as does visual logic — exists in an individual shot; and accordingly, an effective rhythm(s) might be found in any single cut: the sure impact of an Extreme Long Shot joined to an Extreme Close-Up.

  Rhythm/Subtext:

  It matters little that credible readings are provided by actors, you can still find yourself without dialogue. You’ll do little more than begin to approach dialogue with a back-and-forth assembly of speaker and listener/responder. For dialogue to be truly ‘correct’ — rich and full and alive — it must possess emotional subtext.

  It is not enough to know what a character says. Anyone reading the script could tell you that! The ‘why’ is what matters in both statement, and response, and reaction. And, if we know — or feel — the answers to these questions, what’s rhythm got to do with it?

  Maya Stops at the Store To Pay scene from Nowhere, Now Here gives a perfect example.

  Maya — who has inherited a cottage in Finland from her great aunt — returns to the local grocery to pay for provisions she’d purchased earlier. Kaisa, the store clerk, had trusted her to “pay later.”

  MAYA (holding money)

  I came to pay!

  Maya hands the money to Kaisa.

  MAYA (continued)

  Did you know what my Great Aunt did for a living?

  In one picture she looks like she was one tough lady

  KAISA

  I think she ran a farm, and had some cows. Then

  she sold the farm and moved to the cottage. That’s

  where she lived all year long for 30 years.

  MAYA

  It must be that Finnish sisu / hear about!

  [Sisu is a Finnish expression meaning strength; toughness.]

  KAISA

  Must be. We’re having a party tonight. You should come.

  Anneli is making food, and there’ll
be lots of dancing.

  The readings of the lines were reasonably credible. But, when cut together it was apparent that the scene was not in the ‘right rhythm.’ A couple of problems with subtext(s) — there was little to none — had to be remedied:

  1. Maya did not come to the store only to pay. She wanted information about her great aunt. Although eager for answers, how quick — or bold — would she be to ask a (stranger) store clerk? How can that subtext be rhythmically interpreted?

  2. Kaisa hardly knows Maya. Why would she invite her to a party? But, she does — read the script! How can we make this work? How can a rhythmic adjustment find the emotional subtext — or motivation?

  The subtext of the first problem required at least a bit of a hesitation on Maya’s part to take her from the Showing Her Honesty beat to the I Have a Question beat. This was simple to do: A pause was ‘added’ between the first of Maya’s lines and the second “I came to pay” and “Did you know what my Great Aunt…?” A shot of Kaisa, putting the money into the register added one beat, and a cut back to Maya — allowing her actual, though very brief, pause between her lines — added another beat. During the extra beats, the audience can ‘read’ Maya’s face: She is here for something else; and she is uncomfortable, and hesitant.

  HINT: Thinking/Feeling: The audience wants to know, “What is it?” This is so much better than “Can I ask you a question?”

  The rhythmic interpretation to establish a subtext for the second ‘problem’ required a little more dramatic insight, and finesse.

  Kaisa’s lines — in response to “It must be that Finnish sisu I hear about” — were correct, but in recitation only. Dramatically, it seemed necessary to have Kaisa take delight in Maya’s effort at Finnish vernacular. Her amusement would motivate the party invitation. An outtake was found in which the actress playing Kaisa missed a line, and began to laugh. Her laughing face formed just the ‘right’ emotional subtext beat. A cut back to a smiling Maya demonstrated pleasure in making comfortable contact. [Figure 20.3] Only then does Kaisa offer the welcoming — to her Finnish village — party invitation.