"My approach to editing has always been strongly related to music. Part of my response is as a dancer, feeling the tempo of the music and reacting to it. What if there is no music? As editors, we are always dealing with tempo, whether there is music or not. The rhythm may be in the way an actor speaks...My choice of cutting point is made by feeling the pace and changing the image at a moment that fits into the rhythmic pattern." Film editor Paul Hirsch from his new book, "A Long Time Ago in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away"

As you may infer from the book title, Hirsch was one of a team of editors who worked on the first "Star Wars" film. He also edited "The Empire Strikes Back" and is celebrated for his extensive collaboration with director Brian De Palma. Hirsch's memoir is a combination of autobiography and textbook. I think he puts to rest the auteur theory as he describes the collaborative nature of the editing process. What is surprising, to me at least, is how much editors influence the soundtrack of a movie.

I write about film music in this week's featured article (divided into two parts so be sure to check out both). My viewpoint is that not every movie needs music and the quote above bolsters my argument. As Hirsch says, the visual image has a rhythm all its own whether accompanied by music or not. Composer Graeme Revell ("Sin City") once said there is way too much music in modern film so I think he would agree with Hirsch's statement, as I do.

The use of music in the creative process of filmmaking is a subject that needs more attention, though. Australian director Peter Weir ("Witness") would sometimes play recorded music for his actors as they were preparing for a scene. Consciously or not, Weir was using a method that harks back to the silent film era. Musicians were initially employed to block out extraneous noise during the early, and often chaotic, days of filmmaking. Mood musicians became an integral part of the process, however. They played a live music soundtrack during filming, helping to set the appropriate pace and emotional pitch for the subject matter.


Here's the latest article from the Drama Movies site at BellaOnline.com.

Film Music - Mortar or Frosting? Part Two
How does a music soundtrack add or detract from the success of a film? I examine six films, from different genres and time periods, to answer this question.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art307171.asp

Please visit dramamovies.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Drama Movies and follow me on Twitter(AngelaKPeterso1).


Angela K. Peterson, Drama Movies Editor
http://dramamovies.bellaonline.com