On Film Editing

7

Keep It Fresh and Fast with the Overlap

Cutters, on the whole, are a conscientious lot, but inevitably some are ignorant, some are careless, and some are lazy. The first condition is lamentable, the second correctible, but the third is unforgivable. The lazy cutter cheats not only his director, his producer, and his employer, but he also cheats the viewer. A cutter who cuts “straight across” because overlapping takes more time and greater effort (which it certainly does) puts out a film which falls short of its potential.

Let us take a simple example—our old acquaintance, the exit-entrance cut. Quite a few working editors and almost all amateurs will allow the actor to make a full exit in the first cut and then hold the scene a number of frames ...