For my communications class, we've been assigned The Conversations, a text about film editing that is, in actuality, a conversation between friends Walter Murch (an Academy Award-winning sound mixer) and author Michael Ondaatje.
Ondaatje. Good luck pronouncing and spelling that. I think I'm just going to copy and paste his name whenever I need it.
Anyway, it's a really interesting book about the process of film editing. From the average consumer's perspective, the most important part of a movie is the finished product. We see the actors and special effects, hear the music and voiceovers. But, I know I've always wondered what goes on behind the scenes.
Have you?
Coincidently, I'm also taking a screenwriting class this semester, and this book adds another perspective to my film education. If you've never heard of Walter Murch, you've probably heard of, or seen, some of his movies:
Apocalypse Now, Ghost, Cold Mountain, The Godfather Part III, and The English Patient, among others.
What's really neat about this text is that Murch has also worked with some very famous names, including Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. It gives such a fascinating inside look to the world of film, which I've always been interested in. It's so much more than the finished product...the real work happens after the actors go home and the editors sit down with hours upon hours of footage.
If you think about it, they're the real stars.
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