Hello and welcome to the first edition of our new monthly newsletter The Cutting Room Dozen. Once a month I’m going to collate links to my 12 favorite editing or filmmaking related articles, videos, podcasts or interviews that I’ve come across over the past month.

For this first edition I’ve pulled together my favorite content from the past year.

#1 - Editing the original Top Gun​

Here’s a great behind the scenes look at the challenges of editing a major motion picture and a great insight into how many of them (flight scenes aside) are issues faced by Editors at all budget levels.

#2 - Kirk Baxter on his favourite scene in Mindhunter S2​

Oscar-winning Editor, and frequent Fincher collaborator Kirk Baxter discusses editing his favourite scene from the second season of Mindhunter.

#3 - Thank Your For Not Cutting - Part 1 and Part 2​

When and where to cut is a question Editors are constantly asking themselves, but editing is not just about how short a shot should be, but how long it can be. This pair of Fandor videos explores examples of long takes and what they can do that a chopped up sequence often won’t.

#4 – Interrogation Scenes – Part 1 and Part 2​

Although not focused specifically on editing, this set of videos is a really interesting look at how to build and shape a scene that is a common feature of a crime thriller or procedural.

#5 - Hank Corwin​

Filmmaker U interviews Hank Corwin, Editor of Natural Born Killers (1994), The New World (2005), The Tree of Life (2011), The Big Short (2015), and Don’t Look Up (2021), amongst others. The discussion covers topics such as finding truthful performances, building relationships with Directors, self-doubt, the benefits of sitting with an audience for screenings, and treading the fine line between too funny and not funny enough.

#6 - Saving Private Ryan’s Sound Design​

Saving Private Ryan is well-known for how immersive its scenes of storming the Normandy beaches are, and Sound Design played a major role in that. Sound Designer Gary Rydstrom breaks down the elements which built the audio landscape, and talks about how a commitment to realism contributed to the film’s success.

#7 - ‘Ford v Ferrari’ Sound Editors Explain Mixing Sound for Film​

Any discussion of the craft categories at film award shows will at some point involve the question “what’s the difference between Sound Editing and Sound Mixing?”. Don Sylvester and David Giammarco explain exactly that and more, exploring some of the choices they made crafting the sound design and sound mix for Ford v Ferrari.

#8 - How ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ Editor Heightened the Tension of Competitive Chess​

Michelle Tesoro explains how she made sure that the chess scenes worked for both professional chess players and the uninitiated, and how she treated moves during the chess games as lines of dialogue.

#9 - What can Agatha Christie teach you about editing?​

A film’s central question may drive the narrative across the film as a whole, but on a scene-by-scene basis, what is it that keeps viewers watching? Film Editing Pro explores exactly that.

#10 - Dune’s Editing​

Winner of last year’s Oscar for Best Editing, Joe Walker is one of our finest film editors, and Thomas Flight’s video explores some of the reasons why that is.

#11 - Hidden Histories: The Story of Women Film Editors​

There is a long and storied history of female editors, but much like editing in general, many contributions are downplayed or completely ignored. Su Friedrich’s archive Edited By sets out to document the work of female editors across the whole scope of filmmaking, both historically and geographically.

#12 - Meet the People Who Grind Out the Best Movie Trailers in the World​

Less about the technique of editing trailers, this article is focused more on the industry of trailer editing. It looks at how they come about, how different companies and individuals are involved, and how the need for trailers and “trailer moments” influences other areas of filmmaking.

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On The Site

We’ve recently launched our first downloadable online course, so if you’re interested in learning how to edit scripted drama scenes to a professional standard, head on over and check out Shaping a Scene. It’s available for enrolment now until April 20th, currently with a discounted launch price.

Enjoy!

Neil

​The Cutting Room​

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