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  • Editing's Future is Unwritten

    Editing's Future is Unwritten

    August 31, 2010, 1:16 pm
    So, you’ve viewed The Arcade Fire video directed by Chris Milk and edited, yes edited, by Livio Sanchez. When I first viewed this music video my mouth fell to the floor, when I viewed it again I couldn’t help but think about Ronald Bergan’s biography about Sergei Eisenstein titled: Eisenstein: A Life in Conflict. In this book there is a brief an idea Eisenstein had about how viewers should view the screen.

    If you have a moment, before you read this blog go check out this music video by Arcade Fire. To view it you’ll need Google Chrome.

    Now that we’re all on the same page let’s discuss the editing. The video didn’t have much editing at all. Or did it? Things are shifting and I suspect that we editors, along with post FX teams, will be the ones required to heed this change, as projects continue to evolve.

    This blog is just a list of my ideas that came to me late last night after viewing this video. How is this going to affect editors?
    Editing's Future is Unwritten
    The Frame Issue Rises

    So, you’ve viewed The Arcade Fire video directed by Chris Milk and edited, yes edited, by Livio Sanchez. When I first viewed this music video my mouth fell to the floor, when I viewed it again I couldn’t help but think about Ronald Bergan’s biography about Sergei Eisenstein titled: Eisenstein: A Life in Conflict. In this book there is a brief an idea Eisenstein had about how viewers should view the screen. The idea, which Eisenstein never ran with, was having the screen be tall not wide. The viewer would view the screen similar to reading Chinese writing top to bottom.

    In the early days of cinema there were many experiments exploring how the audience sees the screen. The directors would try to focus the audience by blacking out the rest of the screen.
    Editing's Future is Unwritten
    It’s almost 100 years later and here we are doing something similar. This time the director and editor worked with programmers who knew HTML 5 and JavaScript to create framings to focus the audience’s attention.
    Editing's Future is Unwritten
    They used the users computer screen as the main screen and the Chrome browser as the content. The content then popped on and off to get our attention and the screen’s dimensions were predetermined.

    The editor in this instance would have to work closely with the web team to determine where on the screen the images and pop out boxes would appear. What will be too distracting? What would be missed? How can we make sure that this box doesn’t distract from that box?
    The user determines the content

    As editors, we are usually given content and then we must mold it or restructure it so that the story works. In this case the post team worked with the Google Maps API to determine what many of the shots were. Working with the director the editor would have to go through what the shots would be "in theory", since this content is run through Google Maps the framing and angle choice are change for each screening.

    As the editor we would have to sit back and accept that each viewer’s inputted data would change the video. So our choice of angle is extremely important since we need to make sure everyone is as engaged as possible.
    The Future is Interaction

    First, the user fills in their childhood address and they watch a music video that uses images from that street. Next, they write a message to be found by other people and digital birds interact with this message. Finally, digital trees appear to burst out of the street they lived on. This immediately engages the as they watch their neighborhood be manipulated by the ‚Äòfilm’. This is their town, their house, their message. It is their film. This is even reiterated when after the video is over there is a button to ‚Äòrewatch your film’.
    Editing's Future is Unwritten
    As the editor the only way to get this interaction on a web project would be through, HTML 5, JavaScript or AJAX which uses JavaScript.
    Editing's Future is Unwritten
    The editor with HTML and JavaScript capabilities is king

    The complexity of a project of this nature and scope is daunting. However, the involvement of the internet to make this content change based on the viewer could quite possibly mean that in the future, editors with knowledge of HTML 5 and JavaScript may be in much more demand. Yet another platform to explore.

    The ability to understand and work with your post team and web programmers is going to become key. Understanding what your director wants and how it can be executed will make you a valuable player in this potential future. For example, this project used the Google Maps API but what about one that uses the Facebook API or the Twitter API, one that incorporates a viewers ability to interact with their friends in online communities. Both API’s are quite user friendly and can be used with basic knowledge of HTML and Javascript, depending on how involved you want to get of course.

    As this video gets more and more popular, don’t be surprised when a director calls and says ‚ÄòI want that!’ Be prepared. Here comes change.

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    • Other Postings By Member
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    • Editor's Technique Infographic
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    • POST CHAT TONIGHT ONLINE
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    • Adobe CS5 Education DVD Review
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    • What The Odessa Steps look like Today
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    • Working with Composers
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      January 27, 2011, 11:37 am
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    • A Gift For Editors
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      A Gift For Editors

      December 25, 2010, 8:26 am
      Ken Sallows, A.S.E., the great Australian film editor, sent the original opening to In the Blink of an Eye. Here's the story behind it and the pdf.

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