Editing

is in many ways a process of

trial and error.

At a

macro level

it is the decision of exactly where in time to
make an

edit

in order to invisibly change from one shot to another or
to create a bridge from one part of the story to the next. At a

project level

it
is the decision on which of an almost infinite number of possible paths you should follow at every stage of the program to tell the story as clearly, effectively and appropriately as possible, so that the sum becomes far more than the individual parts - and the program moves absolutely seamlessly.

Every edit we make has a sweet spot where it becomes invisible, it demands a cut, dissolve or transition that enhances the timing of the program and accentuates the style you are trying to create . . . you can hit this the first time or you can spend an hour trying to make a single edit work. The same holds true for choosing the combination of shots and audio that best work at any point - you can try twenty alternatives and never get it perfect or consistently hit the right one the first time.

An editor's ability to see many moves ahead in order to build a story that works, versus one that needs revision after revision before reaching a compromise, is - quite simply - his art.

It is what gives him the ability to try the unusual or risk the seemingly insane and somehow come out of the ordeal with a piece which looks amazing and works beautifully - and hopefully screams "award-winner"... and you either have this sort of 'first try creativity' or you spend many hours trying to work out "winning formulas" instead.

Good editing

is not just a process, it is simply magic in a big box . . .

(and our big boxes are Apple MacPros with 8 processors, loads of RAM, very fast and very large RAID drive arrays, AJA and Blackmagic input and output cards, with full audio capabilities, running

Final Cut

and/or Avid edit software, just for starters...)