Ed Center Recommended Reading

[In alphabetical order]

Art and Craft of Motion Picture Editing; Michael Hoggan, ACE – 2022, 2nd Edition, Routledge/Focal Press

Description:  This book explains the broader context of what the art and craft of motion picture editing entails, framing the creative acts of editing within an overall view of the production process and requirements for effective storytelling.  This book offers real experiences and advice from seasoned editors on the editing process, providing a detailed examination of filmmaking from the editor’s point of view and exploring how best to cultivate creative relationships with other areas of production to form the final personality of the film.

Art of the Cut: Conversations with and Film and TV Editors; Steve Hullfish, ACE – 2017, Routledge/Focal Press

Description: Art of the Cut provides an unprecedented look at the art and technique of contemporary film and television editing. It is a fascinating “virtual roundtable discussion” with more than 50 of the top editors from around the globe. Included in the discussion are the winners of more than a dozen Oscars for Best Editing and the nominees of more than 40, plus numerous Emmy winners and nominees.

This book shows how to create the funniest version of any scene, and provides the editor with an essential bag of tricks, as well as a practical guide on how to work as an editor in the film business. Also included is advice from comedy luminaries such as Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin), Alec Berg (Barry), Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat), Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm), JuliaLouis-Dreyfus (Veep), David Mandel (Veep), Jeff Schaffer (The League), and Krista Vernoff (Grey’s Anatomy).

Documentary Editing, Principles and Practices; Jacob Bricca, ACE – 2023 2nd Edition, Routledge/Focal Press

Description: This book offers clear and detailed strategies for tackling every stage of the documentary editing process, from organizing raw footage and building select reels to fine cutting and final export.  This book presents a step-by-step guide for how to turn seemingly shapeless footage into focused scenes, and how to craft a structure for a documentary of any length. The second edition includes a new standalone chapter on editing short documentaries, and has been thoroughly revised and updated.

First Cut: Conversations with Film Editors; Gabriella Oldham – 1992, University of California Press

Description: First Cut offers an opportunity to learn what film editing really is, and to learn from the source. Gabriella Oldham’s interviews with 23 award-winning film editors give a full picture of the complex art and craft of editing a film. Filled with animated anecdotes and detailed examples, and updated with a new preface, this book provides a comprehensive treatment of both documentary and feature film editing.

The Healthy Edit; John Rosenberg, ACE – 2010, Routledge/Focal Press

The Healthy Edit: Creative Editing Techniques for Perfecting Your Movie is a modern and comprehensive guide, akin to a doctor’s manual for filmmakers. John Rosenberg, ACE, MFA, an experienced Hollywood editor, skillfully blends the artistry and technical aspects of editing in this updated and revised edition. Drawing a captivating analogy between film editing and medicine, Rosenberg offers creative strategies to resuscitate ailing projects or elevate already thriving ones. What sets this book apart is its software-agnostic approach, making it accessible to editors and film students of all backgrounds. From addressing story inconsistencies to genre-specific structural issues, this guide serves as a trusted companion in the editing room.

In the Blink of an Eye; Walter Murch, ACE – 1995, Stillman-James Press

Description: In the Blink of an Eye is celebrated film editor Walter Murch’s vivid, multifaceted, thought — provoking essay on film editing. Starting with what might be the most basic editing question — Why do cuts work? — Murch treats the reader to a wonderful ride through the aesthetics and practical concerns of cutting film. Along the way, he offers his unique insights on such subjects as continuity and discontinuity in editing, dreaming, and reality; criteria for a good cut; the blink of the eye as an emotional cue; digital editing; and much more.

On Film Editing; Edward Dmytryk – 1984, Routledge/Focal Press

Description: In On Film Editing, director Edward Dmytryk explains, in clear and engaging terms, the principles of film editing. Using examples and anecdotes from almost five decades in the film industry, Dmytryk offers a masterclass in film and video editing. Written in an informal, “how-to-do-it” style, Dmytryk shares his expertise and experience in film editing in a precise and philosophical way, contending that all parties on the film crew―from the camera assistant to the producer and director―must understand film editing to produce a truly polished work.

Selected Takes: Film Editors on Editing; Vincent LoBrutto – 1991, Prager Publishers

Description: Interviews with 21 prominent feature film editors highlight this long-overdue look at the role of film editors, the importance of their work, and the nature of their craft. Organized to provide historical continuity and to trace professional collaborations among the subjects, Selected Takes features editors whose credits include such diverse films as Ben Hur, The French Connection, The Godfather, and E.T.

The Film Editing Room Handbook; Norman Hollyn, ACE – 2009, Lone Eagle Publishing

Description: The assistant film editor has many more responsibilities than simply helping to edit the picture. He or she must work with all the numerous members of the filmmaking team, juggle the demands of copious amounts of footage from various sources, keep notes during the shoot’s dailies screenings, process sound, oversee the creation of optical effects and integrate them in the editor’s workflow, and many more detail-oriented, simultaneous tasks that require skills on a technical and organizational level. Widely regarded as the guide for helping you get through it all, Norman Hollyn, editing whiz and longtime instructor, is the ultimate master at making the process fun while making you a pro.

The Technique of Film Editing; Karel Reisz and Gavin Millar – 2010. Focal Press

Description: First published in 1953, the original English version of the book was reprinted 13 times without a word being changed and in translation it has become the standard work on the subject in the Spanish Czech, Polish and Russian languages.  On publication the film director Anthony Asquith said “This book is an absolute must not only for film technicians but for every intelligent filmgoer’ and more recently it has been said that `it is probably the most successful film textbook in English, and has had a great influence on the technique of the cinema.”

The Technique of Film and Video Editing: Theory and Practice; Ken Dancyger – 2018, 6th Edition, Taylor Francis Company

Description: This updated sixth edition of The Technique of Film and Video Editing provides a detailed, precise look at the artistic and aesthetic principles and practices of editing for both picture and sound. Ken Dancyger puts into context the storytelling choices an editor will have to make against a background of theory, history, and practice across a range of genres, including action, comedy, drama, documentary and experimental forms, featuring analysis of dozens of classic and contemporary films. The sixth edition includes new chapters on the influence of other media on the editing form, on the importance of surprise in editing, on the contributions of Robert Altman to the art of editing, and on the experimental documentary.

Twilight for the Gods: The Art and History of Film Editing; Jack Tucker, ACE – 2018, Cognella Academic Publishing

Description: This is a passionate exploration of the important role played by editing in the process of film making and also a functional guide to using editing most effectively. This book explains how an editor is, in many ways, responsible for the final rewriting of a script–and that editing is in reality a pictorial form of writing.

When the Shooting Stops … the Cutting Begins; Ralph Rosenblum and Robert Karen – 1979, Da Cappo Press, Inc.

Description: The story of one of the most important and least-understood jobs in moviemaking–film editing–is here told by one of the wizards, Ralph Rosenblum, whose credentials include six Woody Allen films, as well as The Pawnbroker, The Producers, and Goodbye, Columbus. Rosenblum and journalist Robert Karen have written both a history of the profession and a personal account, a highly entertaining, instructive, and revelatory book that will make any reader a more aware movie-viewer.

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