7 Directing Tips For Collaborating With Film Editors
Film editors are like the unsung heroes of the filmmaking process. These media magicians take bits of film from different shots, spend countless hours finding the proper timing, and piecing everything together like a jigsaw puzzle to create an emotional rollercoaster for the audience.
Because film editing is a magical process in which you can make or break a project, I wanted to share seven directing tips for collaborating with film editors based on my experiences and best practices, so you can guide your film and video editors in creating the best possible version of your project!
Table of contents:
Tip 1—Watch All the raw footage at least once.
I once read a beautiful quote about filmmaking: “Write the film you want to write. Shoot the film you can, and edit the film you have.”
The idea behind this one-liner is that you should write your script or concept without limitations, film the project while working with the financial and productional restrictions you have to deal with and cut the project together with the footage you were able to capture.
As you can imagine, there will be a significant difference between the script and the final result, especially when your budget is limited and your ambitions are sky-high!
Now, when it comes to editing the film you have, I think there are two ways to cut a project. None of them is right or wrong. It all comes down to personal preferences.
The first option to edit a film project.
The first option is to go through the edit intuitively and decide what comes next. You start building a narrative from the ground up without watching all the raw footage first.
If you choose this approach, you might end up with something that flows naturally, something entirely different from what you initially set out to do, or you might get stuck on a dead-end because you don't have the bird's view of what's in the bucket of raw footage.
The second option to edit a film project.
The second option to edit a film project is to watch all the raw footage at least once by yourself before starting the puzzle with the film editor.
Whether you can choose this strategy, of course, depends on the deadline of the project, but this approach allows you to look at the entire landscape of raw data, select the stuff you'd like to work with, and take out some of the unknowns.
As you aren't going to use most of the footage, some people consider the second option a complete waste of time, but I don't see it that way.
This second approach helps to better understand the amount of raw footage versus the intended duration of the project. It helps to familiarise yourself with potential story structures, find connections between shots that weren't necessarily there in the first place, and discover possible new transitions between scenes or sequences.
If you take the second approach, I can guarantee you will find so many little surprises!
Tip 2—Let the editor run with the footage first.
My second directing tip for collaborating with film editors is to let the editor run with the footage first to create the first cut before you jump into the edit suite with them because the editor has a fresh perspective on all the footage and might come up with something you never thought of before.
In my experience, a good film editor usually cuts the project’s first version as scripted, shot-listed, storyboarded, or outlined as in the director’s treatment. And usually, that version sucks, big time! That’s because the script or concept was written without limitations but shot with limitations.
a terrible, heartbreaking experience.
The first cut of a project is usually too long and boring, and stuff you thought would work brilliantly doesn’t work at all. Watching that first version of your project is generally a terrible, heartbreaking experience. Even when I sliced projects myself, watching the first version was depressing.
My advice: embrace that the first version sucks, and don’t lose your enthusiasm for the project. The reason this first version sucks big time has nothing to do with the film editor’s skills or your ability to direct a film project, but with the fact that you haven’t found a variation that works for the project yet, that’s hidden within the mountain of raw footage.
Tip 3—Edit on paper before editing in the software.
You might think that editing and constructing a story is mainly done behind the computer, but in my experience, designing a narrative for a film project is never done on a timeline.
Let me tell you why via a personal anecdote about when I first used this technique.
Editing The First Hardwell documentary.
In 2013 I started cutting the first Hardwell documentary, which was never shot to be a feature-length documentary. The hard drives filled with raw material consisted mainly of the footage used for music promos, music videos, festival after movies, and other music-driven projects.
Cutting a coherent story out of this mountain of raw data was not an easy task. To help me with this quest, I asked my good friend and Cinematographer Aziz to join me in the editing room.
contemplating potential storylines
Because Aziz was a professional smoker, we spent a lot of time outside my office building to feed his nicotine addiction and sponsor the Marlboro brand.
What I liked so much about being outside together with him was that it allowed our brains to step away from the buttons and contemplate the potential storylines. Instead of just trying to hammer it together in front of a screen, we discussed potential options and visualized the scenes in our minds before we started cutting them on the computer.
Eventually, short smoking breaks turned into hourly long smoking sessions and walks to the nearby gas station to buy more cigarettes and discuss new ways to design the narrative spine of our film.
Looking back at that project, I honestly believe that we edited that first Hardwell documentary entirely in our heads on the stairs in front of my office building.
When we had found another potential storyline or idea, we would run back inside, write it down on post-its and whiteboards, and try it out in the video editing software. Once we hit another wall, it was time for another 'ciggie,' as Aziz referred to these smoking breaks.
the jungle of raw footage
It might be obvious to jump behind the computer straight away and start cutting, but what I’ve noticed is that I'll quickly get lost in the jungle of raw footage. You'll deviate in some direction and hit a dead end after a while because you cannot see the big picture anymore.
To avoid getting stuck on rabbit trails, you preferably want to keep a birds-eye view as much as possible. You can write down scenes and particular important moments on post-its, stick them to a wall, the window, or something else, and rearrange them in as many different ways as possible before touching your mouse.
Designing a narrative on paper takes it out of your head and allows you to look at it from a distance. It helps to understand where essential things happen, discover ways to create a buildup that leads up to those vital plot points and find narrative variations you would never have seen.
The software, in the end, is just a tool to transfer your creative thoughts and ideas into a graphic representation and discover if your ideas actually work.
So, if you want to save yourself and the editor time on the execution of the edit, try to do the logistics on paper first and figure out how to jump from one sequence to another.
tip 4—start Editing The Story at the end.
When editing a project, the big question is: “Where do you start?” One way is to pick a shot, scene, or line of dialogue that stands out for you, but I believe there is another, more efficient way.
Like going on a physical journey somewhere, you can start by defining the destination first and work backward from there. This works so well because when you know where you want to go, you can plan how to get there.
Editing works the same way for me. If the editor and I know where we want to go, we can design the structure that leads up to that point. It doesn't mean that we now know how and where every cut should be, but it helps us to understand what events, scenes, shots, or sequences we need to display to build the narrative structure.
Once you've decided how the scene or sequences should end, you can use this backward workflow and pinpoint which elements within the raw footage will help you build the story's architecture.
Tip 5—kill your darlings.
I can’t write about cutting better films and collaborating with film editors without incorporating one of the biggest clichés you’ll ever hear in the creative industry—kill your darlings.
In my opinion, a cliché is a cliché for a reason, and the principle of killing your darlings is no exception. It’s just so legit! Killing your darlings comes down to cutting away your favorite shots, sequences, and scenes if they don’t contribute to the bigger picture.
The advantage of collaborating with an editor is that they have an objective point of view regarding the raw footage. They don’t know how much time, tools, and effort it took to make that money shot.
If something is just there because you think it looks good or because you know how much effort, pain, and money was involved with creating that particular shot, then it’s better to leave it out. Those unnecessary things make the projects feel too lengthy, too slow, or not flow at all.
When you’re unsure whether you have to keep a shot or scene on your timeline, try cutting it out. If the scene, sequence, and overall story survive without it, you don’t need it. Put it back in if you feel like it has lost something.
The rule is: ‘When in doubt, try cutting it out.’
Tip 6—Take lots of breaks.
One of the most challenging things about editing, especially with longer formats, is staying objective.
Getting stuck in the creative tunnel.
After watching something dozens and dozens of times, I sometimes feel burned out by the footage. Things that initially made me laugh aren’t funny anymore, and emotional moments no longer have the same effect.
I suddenly start doubting every shot, cut, rhythm, pacing, and musical choice. In the edit suite, we will start making changes because they suddenly make everything feel fresh and different again. And often, these changes don’t necessarily make sense.
Once you get stuck in that creative tunnel, my advice is to walk away for at least 15 minutes. Get your blood flowing by taking a walk, doing some stretching, pushups, pull-ups, having a cup of coffee, or splashing some water on your face.
Watch your project in a different setting on a different screen with an audience.
It usually helps to make an export, step away from the editing console, and watch the export on the phone, in the car, or at home. It suddenly will feel fresh again by watching it on a different display in a different setting.
I’ve also experienced that it can help to show the edit to someone else who wasn’t involved with the project or do a test screening. When you do, you suddenly see the project entirely differently. You’ll be way more judgemental, although, minutes before, you had a completely different opinion about it.
It’s pure magic!
It can also help to try something entirely different, like watching the film in black and white, without audio, or switching the order of the shots or the scenes.
I believe it's essential to stay objective because if what you’re putting together doesn’t trigger you emotionally, how can it affect people who will be watching it once it’s finished?
Tip 7—be a perfectionist.
James C. Collins, American Researcher, Author, Speaker, and Business Consultant, once quoted:
"Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. We don't have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don't have a great government, principally because we have a good government. Few people attain great lives, largely because it is so easy to settle for a good life."
Everything has to be technically correct.
This idea goes the same for filmmaking. To cut better films while collaborating with a film editor, 'good' is not enough. You need to be a perfectionist while striving for the best potential outcome for the project within the timeframe given to you.
Everything has to be technically correct. Every word in the titles, subtitles, logos, and lower thirds should be spelled correctly. All the frame rates should be equal, and all the shots should be perfectly centered. Make sure that everything that leaves the film editor’s computer is as great as it can be.
keep going until the project is crystallized.
I believe as the director, you must drill down on every tiny detail on the timeline and keep going until the project is crystallized. In my experience, you'll know it immediately when you reach that point because suddenly everything will feel right. All the puzzle pieces will match and line up perfectly.
'Good' should be just your starting point. 90% is just not good enough. You must get as close to 100% as possible. Keep refining, improving, and playing with it until you run out of time.
I usually get to that point when I live and breathe the project daily. You can only understand this once you're in the middle of it. You have to be so involved with the material that you feel that every extra frame makes the cut feel off.
Final Thoughts On Working With Film Editors.
So, there you have it! My seven tips for collaborating with film editors. Of course, every project has a different budget, deadline, and productional requirements and will require a different approach, but I hope these seven tips will be some form of guiding light for collaborating in the editing suite.
The best way to find an editor you click with is to do your online research, ask for recommendations, and then take the time to meet or chat with them on the phone and see if there’s a click. From there, it’s all about communication and working together towards a common goal: making your film the best it can be.
