On Film Editing

13

Dissolves: Why, How, and If

From time to time, certain techniques become fashionable and are considered “in” by filmmakers, including cutters. Every fad carries an inherent weakness which outweighs any possible benefit: A fashionable movement usually has one creator or trendsetter; all others are necessarily imitators or followers. In films, the fad is also self-indulgent, ignoring the viewer, who will usually react most favorably to the most effective technique rather than to one which happens to be chic. Beyond that, it limits the cutters’ options.

In films, the fashion phenomenon has surfaced in a number of ways, e.g., in the craze for indiscriminate camera movement and in the use of dissolves. Camera placement, whether mobile or static, ...