The Practical Guide to Documentary Editing Techniques for TV and Film

The Practical Guide to Documentary Editing sets out the techniques, the systems and the craft required to edit compelling professional documentary television and film. Working stage by stage through the postproduction process, author Sam Billinge explores project organization, assembling rushes, sequence editing, story structure, music and sound design, and the defining relationship between editor and director.

Written by a working documentary editor with over a decade?s worth of experience cutting films for major British and international broadcasters, The Practical Guide to Documentary Editing offers a unique introduction to the craft of documentary editing, and provides working and aspiring editors with the tools to master their craft in the innovative and fast-paced world of contemporary nonfiction television and film.

Acknowledgments

Introduction

• Preface
• The Power of Documentary
• Who are Film Editors and What Do They Do?

Part 1: The Fundamentals

• Storytelling 1.0
• Editing 1.0
• Setting Up the Edit
• Preparing to View Rushes
• Track Laying the Edit
• Viewing Interviews
• Viewing Actuality
• Viewing B-roll

Part 2: Starting to Edit

• Understanding the Task Ahead
• Deciding What to Cut First
• Appraising a New Scene
• Structuring a New Scene
• Ordering Interview Clips
• Trimming Interviews
• Working with Actuality
• Working with Voiceover
• Deciding Where Voiceover is Needed
• Voiceover Writing Basics
• Managing a Voiceover Record

Part 3: Picture Editing

• Visual Storytelling
• The Kuleshov Effect
• Types of Picture Sequence
• Types of Shot
• Structuring a Picture Sequence
• Sequencing Shots
• A Practical Method for Building a Sequence
• The Art of the Cut
• What Makes a Good Cut?
• What Shots Cut Well Together?
• Judging Pacing and the Rhythm of Sequences
• Enhancing the Visual Style of a Sequence
• Working with Cutaways
• Working with Stock Footage
• Working with Still Images

Part 4: Using Sound

• Working with Sound Design and Music
• Understanding Sound
• Working with Music
• Why We Use Music in Filmmaking
• Some Good Ways to Use Music
• A Practical Method for Working with Music
• Auditioning Music
• Composed, Library or Commercial Music?
• Working with a Composer
• Working with Library Music
• Working with Commercial Music

Part 5: Story Structure

• Ordering and Connecting Scenes
• Common Documentary Story Structures
• The Three-Act Structure
• The Episodic
• The Parallel Narrative
• Working with Shooting Scripts & Paper Edits
• Choosing a Running Order
• Scene Cards
• Working to a Deadline
• Making Improvements
• Viewing a Film for the First Time
• Working to a Final Duration
• Reaching Picture Lock

The Cutting Room Relationship

Workflow Summary

Conclusion

Glossary

Index

Sam Billinge, GBFTE is a documentary editor with more than a decade's worth of experience editing prime-time documentaries for British and international television.