What the heck is film editing, anyway?

1 comment February 21st, 2008

Want to know what goes into an Academy Award nominated bit of film editing? Check out this well-done explanation of the process from Slate.com called “Oscar’s Obscure Category.” You have to sit through a short commercial first, but it’s worth it. There are telltale clips from the five nominees  THERE WILL BE BLOOD, INTO THE WILD, THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, plus expert commentary from film editor Mark Helfrich.

This is the sort of thing the Academy should do for most of the technical categories. It makes the awards more interesting if you actually know why the nominees were nominated.