In yesterday's article, I used the William Tell trailer as an example of an edit, based on a formula that serves the art of editing but does not serve the edit itself.
I get it, though.
I never said I never fell into this trap myself and I don't imply that I am not falling into this trap anymore.
But, through the years, I have sharpened my skills of:
- mindfulness > I have developed all sorts of bells and whistles that as soon as I step into the trap, start ringing and warning me of the danger*.
- getting out of the trap > I find ways to change course and 'spice things up' even if I use old formulas so I present a fresh approach.
The *danger is becoming a technical editor rather than a creative, unwillingly!
And don't get me wrong here.
I looove being technical.
Knowing that my edits are technically sound relaxes me, gives me confidence and frees me to enjoy being creative.
The tricky part is to be technical consciously, not unconsciously... which leads to two things:
- Be mindful about it.
- Know how to get out of the trap.
And in the case of the William Tell trailer, they failed to address these two points.
- Either they didn't realise they were trapped following an overused formula, or
- They did that on purpose, but they didn't know how to break free from the trap, by changing the style midway through the edit.
[ few suggestions based on the same edit:
Just after 0:57 sec and until 1:30, change the music to a more melodic or lyrical track. Use the interesting sequence from 1:30 to 1:35, use the same melodic track until the end of the trailer, and - of course - lose the sound effect of a bullet when William Tell is shooting a crossbow. It is not a Trust me, I know what I am doing - 357 Sledgehammer, it's a crossbow.]
Don't serve the craft of editing.
Serve the edit itself.
As trailer editors, our goal is to attract and retain audiences!
Achieving the goals, either using known techniques or innovative approaches, means we have succeeded.
So we need to be resourceful and flexible.
Know the formulas but be able to break free from them, too.
In other words...
Cut Free!
-Yannis
