Art of the Cut

by Steve Hullfish

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 forty, plus numerous Emmy winners and nominees. Together they have over a thousand years of editing experience and have edited more than a thousand movies and TV shows.

Hullfish carefully curated over a hundred hours of interviews, organizing them into topics critical to editors everywhere, generating an extended conversation among colleagues. The discussions provide a broad spectrum of opinions that illustrate both similarities and differences in techniques and artistic approaches. Topics include rhythm, pacing, structure, storytelling and collaboration.

Interviewees include Margaret Sixel (Mad Max: Fury Road), Tom Cross (Whiplash, La La Land), Pietro Scalia (The Martian, JFK), Stephen Mirrione (The Revenant), Ann Coates (Lawrence of Arabia, Murder on the Orient Express), Joe Walker (12 Years a Slave, Sicario), Kelley Dixon (Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead), and many more.

Art of the Cut also includes in-line definitions of editing terminology, with a full glossary and five supplemental web chapters hosted online. This book is a treasure trove of valuable tradecraft for aspiring editors and a prized resource for high-level working professionals. The book's accessible language and great behind-the-scenes insight makes it a fascinating glimpse into the art of filmmaking for all fans of cinema.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 25, 2008

About the author

Stephen Hullfish has been an editor since 1983. He moved to Chicago 1985 where he worked on sports, comedy and cooking shows for SportsChannel and The Travel Channel. In 1992 he started working on Avid and was hired at Del Hall Video, where he primarily edited "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Investigative Reports," "The New Explorers" and "Cold Cases." In 1997 he was named an Avid Master Editor. In 2002 he started working for VeggieTales as an editor and producer and in 2004 began freelancing as a feature film editor, cutting films like "Overcomer," Courageous," "War Room," "Champion," "My Brother's Keeper" and "Clinton Inc." His Art of the Cut podcast and interview series started in 2014. He has interviewed over 300 editors including nearly every Oscar winner of the last 30 years.

Reviews

[Alex Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm currently studying Film Production at university and in my second year, I did the editing option, while getting a A3 for the first assignment I got a lower grade for the second assignment which hurt by overall grade for the unit. I really wanted to get better at editing and I'm going to do Advanced Editing for my final year option weighting at 20%.
There was tons of (good) books on editing which took to task the theory and software functions/shortcuts etc but what I was missing was a guide to the 'personal' experience of actually cutting character, building scenes and creating an inticing experience.
Art of the Cut was exactly what I needed! Not just editors from before but editors in the prime of their careers NOW!
The book has many informative, fascinating and revealing insights about editing, including things which I already knew but helped understand better in a new context but also aspects of approaching cutting which I didnt even consider before and after reading the book with many a pen, highlighters and marking pages specifically, I fell 100% more confident going into AE.

[Nina Staum · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have very rarely felt so much as if a book was speaking directly to me. The idea of being able to look at the Avid bins of real Hollywood editors is like seeing the inside of a famous person's house. I loved the different perspectives and the true sense that there are many ways to work. Although many topics ran towards consensus, Hullfish doesn't flinch from putting contradictory methods and viewpoints right next to each other.

It's a lot and best read in pieces. I've already loaned it out and am planning to go through it when I get it back to find inspiring quotes for my editing workshop.

[Pranay Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Film Editing Bible - No. 3

Phenomenal Phenomenal Phenomenal

My one and only complaint with this book (because of which I wasn’t able to give it 5 stars) is that I don’t like the way it was structured. Editing is all about the flow, the rhythm of the film, here because of similar but very varied comments of renowned and talented editors, each section loses coherence and a lot of the information gets repeated (although great knowledge given multiple times isn’t bad but it becomes a painstaking process while reading).

[Clint · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very specifically for film and television editors, and in that regard it's a treasure trove. However, as an editor who doesn't get to work with that type of content, I couldn't really get into the book despite picking it up and putting down several times over the course of FIVE YEARS. To that end, I can only really recommend this book (over, say, Hullfish's Youtube channel which is much more bite-sized) if you're a serious editor of long-form scripted content.

[Ivan Savić · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good insight into the editing techinques of top end editors. It doesn't cover basic editing, like "cut on action", it is more oriented on general editing experience and workflow. The word that appears the most is FEEL. All of the editing is based on how you feel it shoud be, there are no rules to do it.

[Michał · Rating 4 out of 5]

Editors are usually a quiet and out-of-the-spotlight bunch. Here you've got the most creative brains in the world engaging in a well-structured discussion about editing. Tons of wisdom and a joy to read.

[Butts McKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful! Learned a lot.

[Collin Hotchkiss · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great resource for editors looking to understand the others’ processes. Ironically, the way the interviews are edited together is distracting. Worth a read despite its flaws.

[Andy Clarich-Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

High gospel for aspiring editors and seasoned vets alike. I’m in the former category and highlighted so much of this book.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great insights in here.

[Mike Amelang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Opened my eyes to a lot. Still haven't been through the case studies with individual colorists.