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

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. This new 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. This edition also includes expanded coverage in technology, creative sound, point of view, and the long take. New case studies explore Whiplash (2014), Room (2015), Lincoln (2012), Tangerine (2015), The Beaches of Agnès (2008), American Sniper (2014), Son of Saul (2015), The Revenant (2015), and many more.

Acknowledgments Introduction to the Sixth Edition Section 1: History of Film Editing 1. The Silent Period 2. The Early Sound Film 3. The Influence of the Documentary 4. The Influence of the Popular Arts 5. The Influence of Other Media 6. Editors Who Became Directors 7. Experiments in Editing I: Alfred Hitchcock 8. Experiments in Editing II 9. New Techniques 10. International Advances 11. The Influence of Television and Theatre 12. New Challenges to Filmic Narrative Conventions 13. The MTV Influence on Editing I 14. The MTV Influence on Editing II 15. Changes of Pace 16. Appropriation of Style I 17. Appropriation of Style II 18. Appropriation of Style III Section 2: Goals of Editing 19. Editing for Narrative Clarity 20. Editing for Dramatic Emphasis 21. Editing for Subtext 22. Editing for Aesthetics Section 3: Editing for the Genre 23. Action 24. Dialog 25. Comedy 26. Editing for Surprise 27. Documentary 28. Imaginative Documentary 29. Innovations in Documentary I 30. Innovations in Documentary II 31. Innovations in Documentary III: The Experimental Documentary Section 4: Principles of Editing 32. The Picture Edit and Continuity 33. The Picture Edit and Pace 34. Ideas and Sound 35. The Sound Edit and Clarity 36. The Sound Edit and Creative Sound 37. Innovations of Sound 38. Nonlinear Editing and Digital Technology I 39. Nonlinear Editing and Digital Technology II 40. Conclusion Filmography Glossary Index

Ken Dancyger is a Professor of Film and Television at Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, as well as the author of numerous books on screenwriting, editing, and production, including Alternative Scriptwriting (with Jeff Rush) and Writing the Short Film (with Patricia Cooper), The Director’s Idea and Global Scriptwriting, all published by Routledge/Focal Press. Ken also conducts scriptwriting and editing workshops internationally.