Avid Editing, 6th Edition

3Trimming

So, if you were posed the question, “How do you know how long to hold a shot?” what would you say? It’s not as easy to answer as you might imagine. Even great editors often have trouble articulating exactly how they know how long to hold a shot, or when to cut. Matilde Bonnefoy, who edited Run Lola Run, was recently asked by my colleague Norm Hollyn how she knows when to cut. She explained that she watches the shot and when she feels it’s time, she says to herself, “. . . and now.” At that point she presses stop and cuts there. Many editors are even more vague than Ms. Bonnefoy and evasively answer, “Well, umm, you just know.”

In reality, sometimes it’s obvious how long to hold a shot. If the shot is of a specific action, you want to ...