Cutting Rhythms

Cutting Rhythms

by Karen Pearlman
Released August 2012
Publisher(s): Focal Press
ISBN: 9781136059896

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Book description

How does a film editor make decisions about where and when to cut in order to make a film 'feel right'? Generally speaking, the answer is, 'it's intuitive', which is accurate but leaves one wanting to know more. Cutting Rhythms breaks down the definition of intuition to find that, even if rhythmic thinking is intuitive thinking, we can still say more than we 'just know.'

This book offers possibilities rather than prescriptions. It presents questions an editor or filmmaker can ask themselves about their work, and a clear and useful vocabulary for working with those questions. Cutting Rhythms makes ideas about rhythm in film editing clear and accessible, so that you can do more than just imitate editing you've seen on TV. With this book you'll develop your own sense of rhythm, refine our rhythmic shaping skills, and increase your creativity--and in so doing, become a better filmmaker.

Table of contents

  1. Front Cover
  2. Half Title
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Table of Contents
  6. PREFACE
  7. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  8. INTRODUCTION
  9. CHAPTER 1 Rhythmic Intuition
    1. Intuitive Thinking
    2. Perceiving Rhythm
    3. Actively Perceiving Rhythms
    4. Perceiving Rhythm in the Rushes or Dailies
    5. Mirroring Rhythm
    6. Being Rhythm
    7. Thinking Rhythmically
    8. Endnotes
  10. CHAPTER 2 Editing as Choreography
    1. Shifting the Discussion from Music to Movement
    2. Pulse
    3. Movement Phrases
    4. Phrasing Considerations
    5. Endnotes
  11. CHAPTER 3 Timing, Pacing, and Trajectory Phrasing
    1. Timing
    2. Pacing
    3. Trajectory Phrasing
    4. Endnotes
  12. CHAPTER 4 Tension, Release, and Synchronization
    1. Tension and Release
    2. Synchronization
    3. Case Study in Tension, Release, and Synchronization: Broadcast News
    4. Endnotes
  13. CHAPTER 5 Physical, Emotional, and Event Rhythms
    1. Three Kinds of Movement
    2. Endnotes
  14. CHAPTER 6 Physical Rhythm
    1. Rechoreographing
    2. Physical Storytelling
    3. Dancing Edits
    4. Singing the Rhythm
    5. Case Study: “Now” Scene from Thursday’s Fictions
    6. Endnotes
  15. CHAPTER 7 Emotional Rhythm
    1. Prepare, Action, Rest
    2. The Actor’s Actions
    3. Beats
    4. Case Study: The Hours
    5. Endnotes
  16. CHAPTER 8 Event Rhythm
    1. Shaping the Rhythm of Events
    2. Creating Structure and Rhythm Simultaneously
    3. Reintegrating Rhythms
    4. Case Study: The Godfather
    5. Case Study: Goodfellas
    6. Endnotes
  17. CHAPTER 9 Style
    1. Montage
    2. Decoupage
    3. Points along the Spectrum from Montage to Decoupage
    4. Collision
    5. Linkage
    6. Points along the Spectrum from Collision to Linkage
    7. Style Case Studies
    8. Contemporary Style: After the New Wave
    9. Conclusion
    10. Endnotes
  18. CHAPTER 10 Devices
    1. Parallel Action
    2. Parallel Action Case Studies
    3. Slow Motion
    4. Slow Motion Case Studies
    5. Fast Motion
    6. Two Quick Fast Motion Case Studies
    7. Mixed Motions and Speed Ramping
    8. Endnotes
  19. CHAPTER 11 Common Scenes
    1. Two-handers
    2. Two-hander Case Studies
    3. Summary—Two-handers
    4. Chases
    5. Chase Case Studies
    6. Summary—Chases
    7. Endnotes
  20. CHAPTER 12 Conclusion
    1. Endnotes
  21. BIBLIOGRAPHY
  22. INDEX

Product information

  • Title: Cutting Rhythms
  • Author(s): Karen Pearlman
  • Release date: August 2012
  • Publisher(s): Focal Press
  • ISBN: 9781136059896