Thursday 10 June 2004

The Australian Documentary Forum and ASDA
in association with AFC, AFTRS, Film Australia, Macquarie University and UTS
presents

Please send this PDF FLYER to anyone who may be interested.

We start with editing - for many, the editing room is where the documentary is made. Or is it?

Karen Pearlman will be our guest moderator this month. Karen is an editor and is currently writing and producing a Doctorate of Creative Arts with UTS on the art of editing, focusing particularly on rhythm.

The session will be organised around three main topics; Structure, Rhythm and the Director/Editor relationship. The following questions will give you an idea of the area we intend to cover with our panel of editors. Please come along to participate in the discussion from the audience - editors particularly welcome!

Structure

A doco editor is a key collaborator, a writer in a sense, collaboratively creating the structure. Structure is the organising principle of what may be the chaos of many hours of rushes. The structure of a doco is the realisation, in form, of its meaning - the way it is organised guides the viewer to understanding its story, message or intention.

How does an editor find, craft and realise structure?
* How much do editors use a script for documentary? Does the editor realise the script or find the material in the rushes or a combination of both?
* Do you work in small chunks and then the over all to create layers of structure? Can you decide on one layer, follow it and then add in another layer or do you need to know the whole plan before you start?
* What if what's best about the rushes, is not what the director originally intended to make a doco about or to structure the doco around? How do you go about showing a director what is really there if it is different from the script and original concept?
* Do you tend to make structure explicit, ie titles or dates or do you prefer to keep it more hidden?
* How does structure influence style?

Rhythm

Rhythm, in music, is roughly defined as everything to do with time as opposed to pitch. This helps us to approach the topic of rhythm in film, but the variables in film and music are very different. In film, the editor has to deal with time AND story, AND the qualities of image, the qualities of performances, movement, colour, shots size, tone, energy, and so on. I have found it useful to talk about three kinds of rhythm: visual, emotional and event rhythms.

Talking about 'visual' rhythm lets me look at rhythm at the level of the individual cut - what precisely gets juxtaposed with what to create a smooth flow or a collision. Emotional rhythm is more at the level of the performances, the 'scene' or section and the story, what is the rise and fall of emotion, how does the time spent in a certain emotional quality affect the audience.

Event rhythm works at the level of structure - how quickly do occurrences/events follow each other and why, as well as (which we probably will have covered in structure, I hope) which occurrence do we put first - if we start at the end of the story how does that change the pace of the whole, for example.

With questions, such as:
* Where do you find rhythms in rushes to guide you?
* How has the relationship of constructing structure with rhythm changed with since non-linear digital systems?
* When is pace determined and when does the rhythm start happening?
* Can rhythms change structure?
* Do you think you have a rhythmic 'signature'? Are you a 'fast cutter' a 'musical' cutter? A cutter who goes with movement or...

Director/Editor Relationships

* "Managing" your director, or your relationship. In doco, it is important to have respect for the material not just the vision, to see what is there and make the most of it even if it is not what the director intended. How does the relationship shift between realising the vision, interpreting the directors vision and finding the best story in the material?
* The space of the editing room, doesn't suit everyone. When does the director need to be there and when they need to stay away?
* What do you need from a director?
* What don't you want?
* Do you tell directors how you like to work or try to adapt to their methods?
* Best thing to remember to say to a director?
* One thing to remember never to say?

Being a Doco Editor now, Becoming an Editor now

* How do the challenges of changing technology and formats effect your process?
* How would you train an editor now? What qualities do you think a doco editor needs and how can they cultivate these qualities in themselves?
* Any advice for documentary editors and documentary makers just beginning the process of doco cutting?

These and many more questions will be explored.