There is a film in your head. Then you sit down in the edit, open the footage, and the film that's actually there is a different film. What you do next is the entire job.

I've produced 25 independent feature films and edited a lot of them, including The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain, which earned me an Independent Spirit Award nomination for editing. This is what three of those edits taught me, plus the exact way I set up a cut so you find your film instead of drowning in it.

The edit is not where you finish the film. The edit is where you find out what film you have.

THREE FILMS, THREE LESSONS

THE KILLING OF KENNETH CHAMBERLAIN: stop protecting things. One apartment, one continuous event, and an audience that already knows the ending. All you have is when you cut and how long you stay. Duration is a performance choice. And when you're cutting yourself, you don't get a vote.

THE RITUAL (Al Pacino, Dan Stevens, Abigail Cowen): let the editor beat the writer. I have a story credit on the film and I edited it, which sounds efficient and is actually a trap. The writer has reasons. The editor only asks if the scene is alive. And with actors at that level, choosing takes isn't quality control. It's authorship.

SOLITARY (in the cut right now): the assembly is supposed to be bad. You wouldn't look at a pile of lumber and call the house bad. Watch the whole thing once, touch nothing, and write down two things: where you got bored and where you leaned in.

HOW I SET UP A CUT
1. Watch and log everything before you cut anything
2. String-outs before scenes
3. Name things like a stranger has to find them
4. Never overwrite a version
5. Passes have jobs: assembly, structure, scene work, rhythm, finishing

CHAPTERS
00:00 There is a film in your head
01:11 Film one: The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain
04:00 Film two: The Ritual
06:23 Film three: Solitary
08:06 How I actually set up a cut
09:45 Three films, three lessons
10:51 The edit is the last rewrite

START HERE
How to write a screenplay you can actually produce → How to Write a Screenplay You Can Actually...
How I finance films with no money → How To Finance An Indie Film When You Have...
The full series, in order → The Indie Film Method

THE COURSE
The Indie Film Method: the complete system, 11 modules, 100+ lessons, lifetime access. The Editing module walks through the full workflow: organizing a feature, the pass structure, working with a director, cutting performance, and how to know when you're finished instead of just tired → https://theindiefilmmethod.com

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