Video Response: "How Does an Editor Think and Feel?"

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    When to cut. It's something that most film editors don't really think about or even consider, as we usually just go by what our emotions and brains tell us. In order to make a brilliant cut, you need to make it seem almost invisible, in a way that the audience doesn't even notice it or think about it afterwards. Where maybe even you, as the editor, don't even notice it after watching it through.

    At the beginning of this video, Tony explains how someone had asked him what his editing techniques are and how he knows when to cut. I thought about this myself, as editors, we really just don't know how to answer that question. Our brains automatically tell us how we want the video or film to flow. If an actor is throwing a rock into a lake, we could show a clip of them actually throwing it, and then most likely cut to a clip of where the rock splashes into the water. It all has to do with emotions and common sense.

    The first aspect of editing Tony discusses is the actor's eyes, "the eyes tell you the emotion of the scene". As you're editing, you usually wait for a change in the actors eyes before cutting a clip, as the audience automatically understands what an actor is thinking just by looking at their eyes. Also, another important factor, is the time in which you give the audience to see the actor's emotions. Just four seconds can make a huge difference. For example, if an actor is supposed to be sad, then lowers their eyebrows and gets angry, and then you cut to them knocking something off of a table, you wouldn't cut the shot before they lower their eyebrows. You would need to show the audience that they're switching from being sad to getting mad at whatever situation they're in. (Though, I really liked the comparison between the clip of Luke Skywalker and the clip of Ant-Man in the video.)

    You can utilize cutting in films to convey certain emotions as well. Like if an actor is stressing out about something, you show them walking around or moving quickly, with quick, jarring cuts. Or making the audience uncomfortable, with close up shots that go on just a bit too long.

    Gosh, I really loved watching this video, as it's something that I've never considered before! I've always just cut clips based on instincts and put scenes together based on how they flow and how nice they would look while watching them. The psychology of watching films, and now editing them, is so fascinating to me.