6.1 INTRODUCTION TO NON-FICTION

Non-fiction film presents a narrative of real-life events and facts. It covers a wide range of styles, formats and subject matter. One of the earliest forms of non-fiction motion picture was termed documentary. Scottish documentary pioneer John Grierson defined it as a ‘creative treatment of actuality.’ Early American film critic Pare Lorentz defines a documentary film as a “factual film which is dramatic.”

In the past, network television provided a platform for documentary films. On the whole however, they were not regarded as prime viewing material. The National Geographic Society first began its telecast on CBS Primetime Specials from 1964 until 1973. They presented informative documentaries covering a diverse range of subjects examining the natural world, wildlife, foreign cultures, exploration and other topics. Series like Victory at Sea (NBC 1952—Isaac Kleinerman—editor) and The Valiant Years (ABC 1960 —Aram Avakian, Walter Hess, Jean Oser, Lawrence Silk—editors) played an important role in establishing historic ‘compilation’ documentaries as a viable television genre.

Documentaries have always served a vital service to society. The persuasive power of non-fiction is undeniable. During World War II newsreels and propaganda films were produced to keep the public aware of that great conflict or to lift public morale. Examples include the series Why We Fight (Frank Capra—director; William Hornbeck, William A. Lyon—editors) and Memphis Belle (William Wyler—director). On the other hand, the Nazis swayed public opinion and rallied support with productions such as Triumph of the Will (Leni Riefenstahl—director and editor).

With the proliferation of cable during the 1980s, non-fiction films gained popularity. Because they were more economical to produce than dramatic films, they began to fill broadcast slots. From 1985 to 1995 the Discovery Channel popularized documentary television programming and focused primarily on science, technology and history. In recent years it has expanded into reality television and pseudo-scientific entertainment. Another major force promoting this genre has been HBO. Since its inception, HBO with Sheila Nevins at the helm has produced documentaries and docu-series that have examined new fields and braved new frontiers, championing films which examine unusual and controversial subjects. Films showcased were edgy, dramatic and provocative. Real Sex is an HBO original series exploring human sexuality in all its forms and even in reruns still draws a wide audience. These shows are broadcast without commercial breaks, allowing the audiences to stay focused and to enjoy the experience without distraction. The National Geographic Channel, the Discovery Channel and A&E have also helped popularize the documentary as a viable form of entertainment.

The parameters of non-fiction film are continually evolving and today cover many innovative new forms and styles. There are compilation films where segments from other movies are edited into a new show. 100 years, 100 movies was a series profiling ‘the hundred greatest movies’ chosen by the American Film Institute in 1998. Segments from the best feature films were montaged into ten themed episodes. Editors included Sue ‘Spyke’ Hirshon, Tim Preston, Diana Friedberg, Victor Livingston, Don Priess, Tom Donahue, Ali Grossman, Debra Light. Documentaries without words Baraka (Ron Fricke—director; David Aubrey, Ron Fricke, Mark Magidson—editors) and Koyaanisqatsi (Godfrey Reggio—director; Ron Fricke, Alton Walpole— editors) presented experimental compilations of different photographic techniques with compelling soundtracks highlighting music and effects and no commentary. ‘Mockumentaries’ are now an accepted satiric format popularized in films like Borat (Larry Charles—director; Craig Alpert, Peter Teschner, James Thomas—editors). Biographical and historical documentaries Eyes on the Prize series (Charles Scott, Betty Cicarelli, Jeanne Jordan, Lillian Benson, Thomas Ott, Daniel Eisenberg, Ann Bartholomew— editors) and The Civil War (Ken Burns—director; Paul Barnes, Tricia Reidy, Bruce Shaw—editors) tell their narratives by relying heavily on photographs and archival footage. Human rights are dealt with in Harlan County U.S.A. (Barbara Kopple—director; Nancy Baker, Mira Bank, Lora Hays, Mary Lampson—editors) and Don’t Look Back (D.A. Pennebaker—director and editor) covers Bob Dylan’s tour of Britain. These two films both provided important statements about society using a free, roving camera.

The popularity of non-fiction film is on the march. Feature length documentaries are rapidly finding a home on the theatrical circuit. They are attracting the attention of viewers with their provocative and compelling subjects. Fahrenheit 9/11 (Michael Moore—director; Kurt Engfeher, Woody Richman, Chris Seward—editors), Super Size Me (Morgan Spurlock— director; Stela Georgiva, Julie Bob Lombardi—editors), Food, Inc. (Robert Kenner—director; Kim Roberts—editor), BlackFish (Gabriela Cowperwaite —director; Eli B. Despres—editor), Religulous (Larry Charles—director; Jeff Groth, Christian Kinnard, Jeffrey M. Warner—editors), An Inconvenient Truth (Davis Guggenheim—director; Jay Cassidy, Dan Swietlik—editors), 20 Feet from Stardom (Morgan Neville—director; Douglas Blush, Kevin Klauber, Jason Zeldes—editors) and Citizenfour (Laura Poitras—director; Mathilde Bonnefoy—editor) are some of the more successful of this genre. They all deal with pertinent issues even though their format and storytelling techniques vary greatly. They all present information in an entertaining manner. That is key.

From the 1950s technological advances in smaller, lighter, handheld cameras together with more portable sound equipment changed the way films were made. The filmmaker was now able to capture events as they unfolded in the field. They were in the center of the action and could present the story with immediacy. Cameras recorded the subjects’ real emotions as they experienced them in a live situation. Conveying candid realism, a new movement known as cinema-verité was born. An offshoot of this genre gained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s and became known as reality television. This genre documents unscripted situations and actual occurrences. It often features a previously unknown cast. Often highly dramatized, it exposes real characters in vulnerable and intimate moments and caught in a floodgate of emotions. Reality shows have taken the non-fiction world to inventive new arenas of entertainment.

Non-fiction film has always played an important role in reflecting issues, portraying actual events, investigating truths and examining life in all its diversity on our planet. Whether told in the giant 70mm IMAX format or recorded on small digital devices it has become a way of sharing stories about our world. Smartphones, tablets and cameras all have digital capturing capabilities, giving everyone the tools to document extraordinary moments and occurrences in everyday life. Events can easily go viral on the internet as the world shares the excitement or drama of some unusual or breathtaking occurrence. Witness the events of the so-called ‘Arab Spring,’ for example. YouTube is a popular site for viewing real-life incidents posted by amateurs. Social media has made non-fiction immediately available to everyone. Today the cyber world is commanding a large swath of the public’s attention in TV’s multichannel, video-on-demand and streaming landscapes.

What will distinguish your work as an editor from the amateur short clips uploaded to the internet will be the skill, craftsmanship and art that you bring. Each and every documentary film that you edit will be a journey into some aspect of life on earth and often far beyond. You will learn something new every day. With a sense of enquiry your life will be enriched beyond imagining. Being a documentary editor is a privilege. It will provide a highly rewarding and fulfilling career.

6.2 EDITING DOCUMENTARIES

Film editing is now something almost everyone can do at a simple level and enjoy it, but to take it to a higher level requires the same dedication and persistence that any art form does.

Walter Murch ACE

Every documentary film sets out to tell a story about an event, a person, a situation, or perhaps even a controversial issue concerning the world. How that story is told depends on how the film is crafted in the editing room. Footage can be cut many ways and lots of different stories can be cut from the same material. The editor has the capability of seeing all these possibilities but his position is to interpret and give voice to the intent of the director. Often he works with suggested guidelines or director’s notes. There is a form of documentary that is prewritten and will provide the editor with a guide script that will evolve during the editing and refining of the show.

To edit documentaries you need to bring along the skills you have acquired editing fiction. You will use them all. Everything discussed in previous chapters applies to cutting non-fiction. In addition, you will need to master sound editing. You will be more involved with the online process, mixing, color correction and general completion of the film than you would in most scripted fiction venues. A variety of different visual materials will form part of your palette. However, like editing scripted television, movies of the week or long-form features, your primary job is to tell the story in the most enter taining way you can with the material available to you.

• A strong sense of storytelling is the primary attribute that an editor can bring to the table. Understanding how to create a narrative arc that is compelling with a beginning, middle and an end is crucial. In fiction, the editors are given a script with all the action shot according to that final script. With non-fiction, many times there is no complete script only hours and hours of coverage. You have to craft a tantalizing and compelling story from the raw footage.

• The editor has many additional visual elements to aid the cutting process that are not commonly used in dramatic storytelling. Photographs, stock or archival footage, dramatic recreations, interviews, B-roll, animation, artwork, VFX and graphics are some of the tools available to help create the narrative. They need to be seamlessly integrated to highlight the story points.

• Unlike feature films or scripted television, the editor in non-fiction is often entirely responsible for creating the final soundscape of the production. Because of budgetary constraints in the non-fiction world, your responsibility will be to weave a finely balanced symphony using production tracks, interviews, MX, SFX, narration (voice-over—VO). The editor is the manipulator of what the viewer will see, hear, think and feel as the story unfolds.

Because of the vast scope and nature of documentaries, it is vital that you broaden your sensibilities to the world around you.

Cutting is a challenging task. Your instincts, tastes and knowledge of the world will be a great asset in your editorial decisions. With a heightened sense of awareness, you will accumulate a comprehensive kit of tools to draw on.

6.3 THE PROCESS BEGINS WITH THE SCRIPT

Scripted documentaries are written before the editing begins.

• The writing process commences with the producer/writer’s concept of a story he wants to tell. Before production, he conceives questions that will probe the subject matter. These will be posed to the interviewees.

• Once shot, the producer/writer has a transcript made of all the interviews. His task is to select relevant bites and piece the elements together. He uses his subjects’ voices to tell a story and redirects the beats with a written commentary interweaving the elements into a flowing narrative. This script is referred to as a ‘radio cut’ and becomes the guideline for the editor to begin crafting the film. You maintain the creative freedom to make your own visual and audio choices.

• The narration is often rewritten in the editing room when scenes are cut and sequences polished for the various screenings. A final draft of the narration will be refined before the show is locked. There are always last minute tweaks to be made to fit format and timing before recording and onlining. Be mindful that the script you are given is a blueprint for the completed production. Get used to the fact that the show is invariably rewritten and refined during the cut.

This style of documentary is often created for television networks as a single show or part of an ongoing series. Catering to advertisers’ needs, the networks created formats for their documentaries based on those designed for dramatic television shows. They often fill one- or even two-hour slots. The format follows a template of set lengths with commercial breaks inserted at particular time intervals.

• A standard one-hour format includes a tease or cold-open, followed by a Main Title sequence and four or five acts separated by bumpers and commercial breaks. End credits roll at the conclusion of the program. The body of the show will comprise selected interview bites interwoven with narration. Act outs are written in the form of mini-cliffhangers to entice audiences to return after the commercial break.

• Most shows incorporate a mix of production footage, interviews, B-roll, stock, archival footage, newsreels, clips from other feature films, photographs, graphics, VFX, artwork, reenactments as well as any other visual elements that the producer deems necessary to help flesh out the story. The different elements can be written into the script with directives for the editor.

If the scripted documentary is an independent production, then the director/ producer determines the format, length and style of the film. Subject matter can be as broad as human imagination will allow.

6.4 GET STARTED

Before getting started on your scripted documentary cut, determine if the film is a stand-alone production or part of a series. If part of a series, review completed episodes and take note of the style of cutting. Make sure you are comfortable with the task ahead and ask the producer about his editorial expectations.

• Like prepping for cutting episodic fiction, make sure you have all the elements used on other episodes digitized into your bins. Opening series titles and music, graphics, music that might be generic to the show, SFX with any special material used in previous cuts available to you through the shared media. (See previous chapters about having access to MX and SFX libraries.) All the same rules apply as you begin this journey.

• If it is a stand-alone production, you still follow the same prepping with regards to the media. Organize the bins and prepare for your assembly and cuts.

6.5 THE FORM OF THE SCRIPT

When you come onboard you will receive a script written by a writer or the producer of the show and approved by the network.

• Read through the script and get a feel for the story. The writer or producer might suggest visuals to cover specific bites or narration. Every writer or producer will have his own form of laying out a script, but all will present the basic information for you to follow.

• On scripted television producers call for tone meetings to discuss any issues related to the show. This is an opportunity for the editor to voice any concerns or thoughts he might have before he tackles the cut. So too with documentaries, it is key to discuss any issues you may foresee with your producer before you begin. He may have directives on a style or transitions, a tone for the show, or suggestions for the kind of music he envisages for the score. Split-screens or special transitions may be important. Make sure you understand any specific requirements before you begin the cut.

• Dramatic films use slates and a numbering system to identify everything shot. Slates might be used in non-fiction to identify an interviewee or to indicate a location but time codes (hours, minutes and seconds notated) are the feature most used to locate and organize material. All the interviews will be transcribed with time codes. The writer will indicate the time code of a selected bite on your script. This timesaver enables you to find the desired clip very quickly. B-roll will also be broken down by time code and a written description of the shots included in the clip.

A storyline is written in the AUDIO column interweaving narration and bites while suggested visuals are indicated in the VIDEO column. The time codes and digital card numbers for interviews and suggested B-roll are also noted for the editor.

Here is a sample of a layout for a scripted documentary.

This writer has clearly visualized how his story should flow with the visuals. The last interview bite has slashes marked which indicates that the writer has lost some words in the middle of the bite. The second part of the bite is from another part of the interview and the time code is indicated.

6.6 VIEW THE MATERIAL

You always have tight deadlines to meet. The aim is to be able find material easily and make creative choices quickly. Be very familiar with your footage.

• View all the material. Scroll through the B-roll, stock footage, stills and other media that has been digitized into the system. It is vital to have intimate knowledge of all the elements you have been given. When cutting fiction the editor usually only views the selected takes and, if he has time, will review the outs in search of alternate readings for lines. In non-fiction editing situations, it is essential that you are familiar with and sometimes even memorize all the footage. These are the colors of your palette with which you create your art.

• You will receive transcripts of the interviews in a binder with time codes marked throughout. Do not waste time reviewing all the interviews on the screen if your script already indicates the exact bites you need to use. These, as noted in 6.5, will have corresponding time codes marked in your script for easy reference. If you find during editing that a story point needs further highlighting, then the transcripts in the binder will become handy for finding the additional bites rapidly.

Remember in the editing room deadlines drive the activity. You are always looking for shortcuts to speed up your editing pace particularly with regard to finding material. Tensions mount when you are racing to finish. Be in control and know where all your material is located.

6.7 ORGANIZE THE MEDIA

Be smart and spend extra time upfront organizing your media on your desktop. This will save you hours of search time during editing.

• Organization is key to cutting non-fiction. If you do not have an assis tant who has organized your material, you will need to create bins and separate the material labeling each element: INTERVIEWS, STILLS, B-ROLL, STOCK FOOTAGE, RECREATIONS, ART-WORK, ANIMATION, GRAPHICS and so on. Create bins for your cuts. Decide how you want to label and number all versions of your cuts. Generally you will follow systems set up for dramatic cutting but it is up to you to choose the labeling system that suits your needs.

• Break down the B-roll into ten-minute segments. This will allow you to scroll rapidly through footage when looking for an appropriate cutaway. Breaking the B-roll down into individual shots and labeling each one is labor-intensive and unproductive. It will also slow down your search processes. You may have to load up fifty individual shots to find a three second cut. A waste of time.

• When viewing footage indicate your selects with markers. These are easy to see on a timeline or in the source monitor. Write comments where necessary. Highlight the eye candy. Keep notes with ideas where specific shots could be used. If you have time, write up physical cards and pin them on a board in your room.

• Review the still images (e.g. photographs or newspaper cuttings) and see that they are all clearly and correctly labeled. These static images are low-resolution placeholders for editor’s use only. You will create your own zooms or pans on these shots in the computer. Later they will be replaced with high-resolution versions on a motion-control macrophotography unit or rostrum camera.

• Check any recreations or dramatizations and determine where they fit into the story. Sometimes these dramatic reenactments can be enhanced with special visual effects. The action can be slowed down, ramped, or color-drained. They can be layered under a still. These are creative decisions you will make as you work through the cut.

• The producers view potential stock footage and order temp footage with visible time code. When the show is locked the final selects—matching your cuts—will be ordered from the stock house and will replace the temp footage before the online.

• In most non-fiction shows the editor is responsible for creating the soundscape. Establish a SFX library that you can easily access.

– If provided by the production house, is it digitized into your system?

– Has it been properly labeled so that you can find specific sounds easily?

– Does your assistant have an extra library that you could access as well?

• Make sure you have a choice of different whooshes, which are helpful to punctuate dramatic moments or help emphasize dissolves and transitions. The library should be separated into categories and every sound identified for speedy access. Choosing the right SFX is vital. It gives the film a sense of authenticity.

• Determine what MX is to be used for the production.

– Has a library been set aside for your use?

– Has it been categorized for quick referencing?

• Classify cues into broad groups like dramatic, stings, ethnic, world music, jazz, pop, tones and other headings. As with fiction editing, if a composer has been hired to score the show, check whether he has any tracks from other films you can temp in before he writes the score. Talk with the producer about the tone and mood of the show. Keep your music track varied, interesting and relevant to the intention of the film.

• Series have established graphics that are repeated in every episode. There will be a Main Title sequence with music and a lower third banner over which to superimpose the name of the speaker (interviewee) and his or her designated title, sometimes referred to as an affiliation. Make sure you have them digitized.

• You need to create temp banners to indicate components like commercial, end title, missing shot, temp graphic and stock footage. Put them all in the Graphics bin. These will be used in place of the footage not yet available.

Now that you have organized your bins and have become very familiar with all the footage and elements at your disposal, read your script and have understood the story you are about to tell, you are ready to begin the assembly.

6.8 CREATE THE ASSEMBLY

Before you begin to make cuts, you need to create an assembly of the whole show based on the script you have been given.

• Find the bites from each interview as indicated in the script. Use the time code referenced in the transcripts to guide you to an approximate position of the bite in the dailies. Subclip the selected statement and place it in the Interview Selects bin or choose a name you prefer to use. Label it with the name of the person speaking. Follow this with the first three words of his statement. Add some dots and then add the last three words of his sentence. This gives a quick visual guide to the beginning and end of the bite.

• Go through the script and pull all the bites for each person and label them. Create a group of subclips of every interviewee with each bite clearly marked. The writer might have chosen to combine several statements from an interviewee to make a story point. Do not get stuck if the sentences do not follow each other in the footage. You can always use the transcripts to find the second part of the bite if the time code is not indicated. You can group each interviewee together in the bin or you can rearrange them as they appear sequentially in the script. Decide what works best for you.

• You are responsible for creating the temporary narration or scratch track, which will be replaced by a professional narrator’s voice when the show is locked. If your voice is not suitable, find someone around you who can give a read at a moderate pace with good inflections. Do not rush the delivery. Record the voice-over in your editing room.

• Begin your assembly by laying down the narration on your timeline. Cut in the bites according to the script leaving at least two seconds of black between the narration and the bite. These pauses will be adjusted as you mold your cut.

You now have a radio cut or a spine for your show. If over-length, it leaves room to trim as you feel fit. You need to report an assembly that is under-length to your producer. He will then take appropriate action to add more material to bring it up to time. The narration will undergo many changes during your cut, which you will record, lay in and notate in your script as you work.

With your bins organized, MX and SFX at your disposal, and a radio cut on your timeline, you’re now ready to edit the show.

6.9 MAKE THE FIRST CUT

Where to begin?

This is a daunting decision facing any editor. As in any fiction venue, making the first cut is always the hardest. In episodic television or on a Movie of the Week (MOW), you cut sequences as they are shot, mostly out of continuity. The same applies to dramatic feature films. You begin cuts with the material on hand.

On scripted documentary shows you have all the footage in the bins. You have a radio cut assembled. You can logically start cutting from the beginning of the story.

Listen to the opening lines of the spine and decide how best to grab your audience’s attention. Set a tone for the story you are about to tell.

6.10 EDITOR’S CUT

Once you have made your first cut you are on the road to creating your Editor’s Cut. All the guidelines for cutting fiction as described in Part One and Part Two apply to cutting non-fiction. MX and SFX are all handled in the same way. Cutting rules are cutting rules. Transfer your past experiences of cutting fiction to the non-fiction world. Make the film entertaining. Be tasteful in your choices. Make your cut informative in as elevating a manner as possible. This is key to keeping your audience glued to the screen.

At all times, keep your viewers involved on an emotional level. Rely on your reactions to the material to guide your choices. Trust your instincts. If something moves you, it will invariably move your viewer. Heighten the emotional impact with the use of appropriate MX. Build the tension and create climaxes where necessary. Create ebb and flow to the rhythm of your piece. You are the one who manipulates the story and gives cadence to the finished film. Every editor will ultimately contribute his talents to achieving these ends.

• Work systematically through the radio cut embellishing the spine with all the cutaways, B-roll and whatever elements you have at your disposal. Tighten the bites taking out all the “umms” and “aahs,” air, fluffs and phrases that you feel detract from the point the interviewee is making. Keep the bites smart and sharp. Remove any point that is not well articulated. Remember, if it is essential to the story it can always be written as a VO.

• Remember to checkerboard your production tracks and interviews on audio A1 and A2 and keep the VO on a separate track, A3. Use A4 and A5 for SFX and A6 and further tracks for MX. This is a guide as each show will have different requirements. Keep all narration on a separate track for ease of mixing.

• You have to ensure that your narrative is working and it may be up to you to write or suggest a new line. If you are uncomfortable writing, ask the producer/writer to rework the wording for you. Record the fix and lay it down on the scratch track. Update your script with the new additions. Invariably the rough cut will be over-length giving you room to modify bites and adjust the narration. Keep track of all your narration changes and notate them on the script.

• Allow the show to breathe. Open it up. Let the lyrical moments play out. Don’t make it so dense that it confuses or, even worse, bores your audience. Remember with fiction, the drama and action is written into the script and the coverage allows the editor to make it work to its full potential. In non-fiction, it is up to the editor to create the drama that will make the viewer’s journey exciting and engaging. Use moments to influence the audience’s involvement emotionally or intellectually. Let your creativity shine in those breathing spaces.

• The tease precedes the title sequence. It is a good idea not to cut the tease till you have completed your rough cut. By then you will be even more familiar with your material and you will have a better sense of which bites or shots will make the most impactful opening.

• Insert your still images when appropriate. Make your digital moves in your editing system to heighten the story elements. Plan movement on all stills for emotional, dramatic and intellectual impact. Images of your characters and events have to come to life. They represent real people and real locations. You are dramatizing their story, recreating events in their life or revealing their personalities. The zoom, pan, tilt, or other movement heightens the emotional and intellectual reaction to the image. Where appropriate, allow the audio track to guide the timing. Keep your zooms and pans even-paced and smooth.

– A zoom into a character’s eyes will lead the audience into the window of their soul. The camera movement could be accompanied with a dramatized line of the character speaking. The emotional impact could be further enhanced by the use of a sustained musical note.

– A static long shot of a house will act much like an establishing shot on a dramatic film. It sets the scene. Use movement with purpose. Zoom in if you want to take the audience into the interior or pull out, if you are ending a sequence and want to take the audience out of the action.

• Make sure there is a consistency of style throughout your show. Try and keep the speed of your zooms or pans uniform where appropriate. This adds to the continuity, style and fluidity of the visuals. However, if you are creating a special action sequence, you will need fast moves and whip pans to help create the illusion of action.

– A still of a battlefield can be dramatized by using many CUs from the image. With short cuts, fast zooms in and out, and whiplash pans accompanied by appropriate SFX, you can simulate action with dramatic force.

• Some editors like to cut on the camera move to keep the visuals active and the scene energetic. Others like to leave a handle before the camera moves begin. Ken Burns, in The Civil War documentary series, lingered on his photographs and used slow-paced camera zooms and pans to engage his audience. It worked superbly. Measure how you cut on moves with relation to the pacing and the mood of your show.

• Cut in reenactments and decide on the best way to present them. This is a creative choice usually left to the editor.

– Do you want to slo-mo them, partially drain color from them, or do you want to layer them over a still image?

– Do you want to accompany the images using just SFX or maybe use only music to stir the emotions?

• Use these embellishments to the best effect. Dramatic recreations are nuggets of gold that bring the film to life adding excitement and visual interest to the story.

• Create montages if necessary, using either MX or SFX or both to highlight a story point. Cutting a series of beautiful images together with gentle music will create a lyrical sequence. A fast cutting montage with gripping music and appropriate SFX creates a tense action sequence.

• Enhance your cut with creative beats utilizing all your elements. Ensure you have selected the best eye candy from the B-roll to enhance the overall look of the show. Experiment with split screens, picture in picture, or other visual FX in your toolbox. Transitions become an important stylistic in a show. Check with your producer if your ideas are acceptable before you get too deep into the cut. Do not be afraid to take risks but cover your tracks.

• If special VFX are scripted, use temp images or add a banner to indicate a shot is missing. Replace it when you receive the final footage from a VFX house. Banners remind you and your assistant to chase material that you need to complete the cut.

Some editors prefer to cut their music and add all the SFX as they edit sequences. Others prefer to do a visual pass on the whole show first, concentrating on making the story work. Then they go back to the top of the cut to integrate all the music and SFX. Find what works best for you in the given situation and time restraints.

Leave your first cut long giving room for producers to make lifts and cuts. Receiving notes from others are par for the course. Don’t take criticism personally. And remember, you don’t want to be in the position where you have to add time. It is only when the network approves the show that you need to fine cut and polish to time and specs.

Some general pointers to guide you along the way:

• Plunge right in and complete your first editor’s cut. Review and recut till you are happy that the sequences flow and the story works. Incorporate the MX and SFX and create a soundtrack seamlessly blending one aural element into another. Adjust visuals where necessary to work with the soundtrack.

• If you have time, cut alternates and view which version works best. Overtime might be necessary until you refine your skills. Hard work and long hours are par for the course. The challenge is to finish a cut, meet the deadlines and present a show that reflects your best efforts.

• Schedules for the cut could vary from one week to a month or more depending on the size, scope and budget of the production. There is never enough time to linger in the editing room. With tight schedules and deadlines looming, choices have to be rapid.

• As in episodic dramatic television shows, you have act outs before the commercial breaks. Use a good music sting to create tension for the cliffhanger. Punctuate the moment. Fade out on your visual as you allow the cue to echo into the black.

• Some shows include an on-camera host who introduces the story, appears again after commercial breaks and does the wrap-up at the end of the production. This may be prewritten and is shot during production. Often the host’s voice will provide the VO for the show. In some cases the host’s on-camera appearance is only written once the first cut is completed. Leave scene missing banners in your cut until you receive the footage.

Watch the show many times to check the story flow and make sure it is as tight as you can make it. If you are happy with your cut, insert all the necessary graphics, format and prepare for a screening with the producers. It seems easy but the road to getting to the editor’s cut is long and arduous.

Before a formal screening, mix the levels ensuring that the narration is audible and clear throughout the cut. Do not drown what is being said. Keep the MX and SFX low under the narration and bring it up when there is no VO. The MX should be mixed for dramatic effect. The SFX must punch in where needed. You are the conductor of your orchestra. Balance the levels. The cut and soundtrack must be seamless before you invite anyone to view. Always make the best presentation you can. Working as an editor requires passion, patience and perseverance.

There are so many options and choices to be made during the editing process that in the beginning it can be overwhelming. As you gain more experience or work repeatedly with certain directors/producers, you begin to understand how to interpret their vision. You will begin to grasp the subtext of what the director is trying to convey. You will gain speed in decision-making and will be able to complete cuts in shorter periods of time. You will develop your instincts knowing what is needed to make a scene work or what should be added to finesse a special moment onscreen. As you gain confidence in your skills, getting to the finishing line will be easier. You will find that you learn something new on every show. The process never ends.

6.11 INTERVIEWS

There is an art to cutting an interview. An audience quickly tunes out when they have to stare at what is known as a talking head, which is usually a medium shot of the interviewee.

• Generally the rule is not to stay on the person talking onscreen for very long unless he is really compelling. When you first see the interviewee, hold his image long enough to identify him with a lower third title. Cut away at an appropriate part of his bite and choose whether you want to come back to him onscreen for a few seconds to wrap up his statement. Use cutaways or other material that will best illustrate what he is discussing to cover his bite.

• If you have two different talking heads butted together make sure it does not jar or bump. If it does, use a transitional cutaway to smooth the cut. In this case, do not let the second talking head speak for too long before you bring him onscreen so he can be identified with a chyron.

• After characters have been introduced in the show you can use only their voices over appropriate illustrative visuals. You can also string various interviewee bites together over a montage if collectively their statements propel the narrative. Some documentaries use the interviews as voice-overs only and never cut to faces. They are, however, identified onscreen with a chyron allowing the audience to follow who is talking.

• Earlier in the book, we suggested rules for cutting dialog (see Chapter 4.1). Finding the cutting points in interview bites follows similar guidelines. When cutting away from a face, always try and cut at the end of the phrase. If you come back to the talking head after using cutaways, cut back to the interviewee at the beginning of a phrase. Use the natural speech patterns to create the rhythm of the cut.

There are many creative ways you can improve and strengthen the story. Use the frankenbite technique to create something new. This is a term adapted to describe pasting words together from different statements to create a new phrase. Sometimes you need to cobble words together to clean up bad sound. In documentaries you should not cut words together to change the meaning or the intent of what someone said. In reality editing however, you might have the freedom to make the characters say things you wish them to express.

Be creative in making the best possible narrative from the material. If an interviewee really does not cut the cloth and it is impossible to edit around his bites, eliminate him from the show. Of course, always get the approval of your producer before doing this or justify your actions when questioned. If the person delivers relevant information, it can always be transcribed in the narration.

6.12 LOWER THIRDS AND CHYRONS

In documentaries onscreen identification of the interviewee and his affiliation are placed on a special graphic. These lower third titles are created on a colored background for quick and easy viewing. Each show or series has their own template for the graphic. The producer will give you the correct spelling of each name and job title or affiliation. Enter it in the required font, size and color. Check your spelling.

There is a method to placing the lower third title.

• When you first see an interviewee leave him onscreen for at least five to six seconds. Let the audience see and feel the character before cutting away from him at the end of a phrase. Allow him to begin his statement and find a rhythmic moment to apply the graphic to the shot. As a rule of thumb, fade up the lower third for ten frames, hold the title card for three seconds and then fade out for ten frames. This gives the audience enough time to read the information. Lower thirds can cut in and out with the shot if the interviewee is only onscreen for three seconds.

• If you dissolve from the interviewee to the next cut, dissolve the title off with him. Do not identify the character again in the same act unless there is a specific request to do so. A lower third will reapply when you see the person for the first time in the next act after the commercial break.

• Should the interviewee speak a foreign language, a translation in the form of visual text (chyron) indicates what is being said. Create the translation sentence by sentence in the title tool and save it in a bin. As the interviewee says a line onscreen, place the matching text in the lower third of the screen. Fade up the title for 10 frames and hold it for as long as it takes to say the line onscreen. Fade out (10 frames) or cut to the next chyron for the next sentence.

• Choose appropriate font styles to enhance your storytelling when using a chyron to set a location or a time. A title with a font of an old fashioned typewriter with each letter appearing onscreen one-by-one, accompanied by the sound of the clicking of a typewriter key, could endorse a feeling of being set in the past. Similarly a hi-tech font indicating a place or a date could set the scene for action in the future.

One of the golden rules is to keep the eyes and the mouth clean. Do not cover them with lettering. Shift the positioning of the title to make the adjustment. Lower thirds usually do just that—they are placed on the lower third of the screen. Use a font and color that can be read easily. Usually white or yellow are strong colors for reading over backgrounds. Use a drop-shadow on the titles if it makes the wording stand out and easier to read. If the person is speaking poor English, has poor diction, or there is a noisy production track, use the chyron to paraphrase or translate what is being said.

An alternate for using a chyron where the track is not clear is to have a VO repeat the lines. Let the interviewee begin his statement, fade his voice to a low level and then introduce an actor’s voice reading his statement. This technique works well if the interviewee is speaking a foreign language. The dramatic effect can be further enhanced if the actor pronounces the words with the appropriate foreign accent. It lends authenticity to the scene.

Every choice you make in the editing room contributes to the overall story of the film.

6.13 STOCK FOOTAGE AND STILLS

Stock footage is obtained from a stock house specializing in licensing clips for public use. It could be from a library or an archive or could be sourced from personal home movies. It could even be clips from feature films essential to the subject of the documentary. The producers view potential shots, make selects and order a low-resolution digital version with visual time code to use during editing.

• The editor chooses the portions of the stock he wishes to use in the cut. Licensing the footage is costly and is often charged by the second. Be aware that using it extensively can become very expensive. If the post supervisor says your choices exceed the stock budget, look for other visuals that can replace some of your choices. If you feel that your selects are vital to your cut, fight to keep the footage and compromise for cost somewhere else.

• When you lock the show, the hi-resolution version of your selects will be ordered from the library or archive and will replace the time-coded working copy before the online takes place. Sometimes the stock footage could be home movies shot by a character in your film and the footage might be free. Check on the sources of your stock before incorporating it into your cut.

• Still images may be sourced and licensed from various libraries or may constitute photographs that belong to a character associated with the show. In this case, make sure there is permission to use them freely before including them. All paintings and artwork are also licensed from commercial sources like the Getty Library. Stills can be imported into your project as JPEGS, TIFS or PNGs. Design different camera moves on the images by using your program tools. Because of budgetary limitations on documentaries, check if the producers have a limit on the amount of stills you can incorporate. If you are over-budget on usage, be creative and use the same image in different ways. Always be mindful of the budget of the show and adapt your creativity to fit the monetary limitations.

• Try to create a pleasing visual flow. Historical black and white photographs which have been assembled from various sources may vary greatly in quality and color. Consider adding a sepia tone to give uniformity to the shots. Old color photographs may have faded due to age. A possible corrective device could be to drain all the color and present them as black and white images. Similarly, if you have historical black and white stock footage, sometimes adding a sepia tone or a color will improve the look of the scenes. Experiment to present the most pleasing visual results. Be creative with your options.

• Historical and biblical shows rely heavily on artwork or paintings to tell their stories. Washington Crossing the Delaware, portraits of Queen Elizabeth I, the Spanish Armada in flames, Moses on Mount Sinai, Jesus on the Cross, are just a few of the iconic paintings and images that producers rely on to illustrate their productions. If artwork is drawn from many sources, try and keep oil paintings grouped with oil paintings and etchings with a montage of similarly styled etchings. It is visually more pleasing. Try not to juxtapose different art styles next to each other. Aim to maintain a visual fluidity throughout your cut.

When the show is locked the post supervisor will replicate the moves you have created in your system. The final shooting will be completed on a professional rostrum camera. These may be done in-house or in a post production facility. The motion control enables smooth and carefully paced pans, tilts, zooms and even multiple moves over the smallest of pictures. These actions will emulate the exact timings you have created in your cut. The hi-resolution images will replace your temp stills before the show is onlined.

Unlike the scripted world of fiction editing, when the show locks you may be required to make a cue sheet with the timings of all the stock or archival footage you have used in the show. Indicate the source of the footage (keep this clearly marked in your bins) and the lengths used. Stills used must be listed and, depending on their licensing rights, the number of times used in the show. Exact requirements will vary from show to show depending on the deal struck by the producers with the licensing houses. Check what specs are required for wrapping your show. On higher budget shows this task may be assigned to an assistant editor or a post production supervisor.

6.14 MUSIC AND SOUND EFFECTS

Everything discussed with reference to music editing in previous chapters applies to working with music in documentaries (see Chapter 4.18). Music plays a major role in the storytelling. It drives the narrative through a variety of moods. It sets the scene. It builds bridges between interviews, archival footage or reenactment montages. It can be used as source music or the underscore can be applied to enhance tension or set a tone. A lyric from a song can be utilized to propel the narrative or evoke a deep emotion. A sting can punctuate a dramatic moment. The music track is the driving force that helps sway the emotions of an audience. All documentary music may be scored or licensed from a library or could be a combination of both. Sometimes the producers rely on the editors to find needle drops for most of the show but will have a composer at hand to score sections that require special musical attention. On some network or cable documentary series which turn over a show a week, budgets will allow for a designated composer to improve on some of the cues selected by the editor.

• Using music effectively will elevate your cut. Because you will be playing music under the voice it needs to be harmonious. Be aware that certain sounds do clash with the human voice. A single instrument sometimes jars with speech whereas rhythmic passages with no lead instrumentation will flow along with it. Experiment with the music to see that it subtly strengthens your intentions.

• Introduce unusual instruments. It can produce unexpected effects while amplifying what you are trying to convey. A slide guitar or a wailing harmonica will make that arid desert look even more remote. Unusual sounds immediately evoke deep emotional responses.

• Scenes with tension will benefit from thumping drumbeats. Use musical sounds that will intensify the drama.

• To set a tone or mood play a few bars of your cue with appropriate visuals before you add a voice-over.

• Don’t forget to use your music thematically where applicable. Introduce melodies and instruments to signify ideas or characters or events. Use a melody played on a single instrument and amplify its effect by increasing the instrumentation to a large orchestra for the climax. Allow the larger sound to play under the end credits.

• Music can also add humor to your scene if used in a comical fashion. Glissandos on the piano or cymbal crashes can provide a surprising counterpoint to a visual. A series of atonal chords can create a jarring moment. Make your music work for you.

Because of small budgets for documentaries, you will probably not have a music editor to help with your selects. The score will be reliant on your tastes, choices and decisions. You are the music editor.

Spot the cues and make decisions about when the cues will begin and end. Listen to the songs in the library and use the quick reference titles and descriptions you will find listed with the CD. For example, from a music library album entitled Epic Adventure, the CD lists its cues under the following categories:

The subcategory of MAGICAL, ADVENTURE, EXCITEMENT include cues with the following titles, duration and description:

These titles, timings and descriptions immediately suggest the orchestration, mood and tone of the piece. Use this as a guide to begin your search for picking cues. Listen to different tracks. Find the score or song that will resonate for the scene. Very large orchestras with soaring melodies do not always play well in a documentary. Sometimes small groups or a single instrument will be more effective. Experiment with different cues and decide which is the most appropriate.

The length of the song indicated is useful information. Often long needle drops will have varying moods or rhythms in one piece. The extra length of the song might require that you edit selected parts to fit your visuals. On the other hand, you might need a cue that is 1 minute 5 seconds and the needle drop is only 30 seconds. View all the information to help make selections. With experience, you will learn to find potential cues very rapidly.

Trim the sequence or add shots to fit the music. Cut on beats. This adds a good rhythm to your piece. As you gain expertise you will find that you can drop in music with minimal adjustments to the picture because the rhythm of the score synchronizes perfectly with your cuts.

Be familiar with different instruments. Know the sounds they make and the mood they evoke. The solo cello or oboe stirs the heart. A didgeridoo or an Andean flute conjures up a mysterious ambience. A French horn is haunting. Cultivate knowledge of classical music from Baroque to contemporary. If someone asks you to use a Vivaldi, John Adams, or Gyorgy Legeti-style cue, you must understand the request. If asked by your director to lay in Beethoven’s Ode to Joy over a wonderful sunset montage, do not be in a position where you have to ask, “What is that?” You will not be invited back.

If you are lucky enough to have a composer for your show, lay in a temp track that can be emulated in the final score. Use needle drops that you know the composer can replicate closely when scoring. A hundred-piece orchestra with male choirs and a solo soprano voice will definitely not fit the music budget for a documentary. If he has cues from other shows available, use them as a guide if it works for your project.

• A composer’s original score can enhance themes, characters and ideas. Give suggestions for using a leitmotif, which can be developed as the show progresses. A simple melody played as a piano solo could be developed by a cello in another sequence to convey a different mood. These ideas should be represented in your temp track. Discuss your concepts during the spotting session with the director and composer and see if he can score what you have in mind.

• If you have a recurring visual element like an empty train traveling through a landscape to, say, a World War II Nazi concentration camp, establish a haunting musical association for this image. If the film is set in the rainforests of Africa and poachers are approaching unsuspecting animals, use a drumming motif to create tension when you cut to the threat of the poachers. Make your music work for you in subtle ways. It adds power and heightens the audience’s emotional experience.

• As discussed earlier (see Chapter 3.7), try layering your music tracks to create a particular sound or an ambience that you visualize. A tone on one track can be melded with a melody played on a single instrument laid on another track. Mix the levels for the desired effect. You will be amazed at how you can play with your music to create something totally original and fitting.

• Master music edits. Know when and how to cut on the beat or bar. The visuals might require two different moods in the same sequence. To achieve this you need to meld two different music cues seamlessly together. Dissolving music cues can work if done smoothly on the beat of the music. Sometimes just a two-frame dissolve can soften and ease a music cut.

• Every needle drop has a finale, a coda, or an ending. If you are using a section of the music from the beginning of a cue but want it to end to button up a sequence, you will need to use the finale from the end of the same cue. Lay in the music from the head of the cue on a track. Line up the finale of the same cue on another audio track from the tail of the shot where you need it to end. Use the visual wave-form on your system to guide you on the downbeat where you want to cut. Shift the tracks so you line up the downbeats on both tracks. Make the cut joining the two segments of music. The cut should be perfect. Giving an ending to your music is a great way to punctuate the end of a sequence. Even lift the sound level slightly as the cue rings out. Develop an ear for cutting music. Practice make perfect.

Vary the style and pacing of the music to keep the soundtrack dynamic. The audience will switch off if they have to listen to the same tone on a track for an hour. Apart from anything, it cheapens the show. Interweave the MX with the SFX, narration and production sound to create an audio spectrum.

One of the things that needs to be understood fully is that film is a medium of image and sound. And they are of equal importance. Know it, understand it and master it. The editor usually is responsible for laying in all the SFX. On larger budget scripted shows, there are sound editors who create the soundscape for the film once the show is locked. Often they use your temp tracks as a guide enhancing the sounds for the utmost dramatic effect. In the documentary world, your soundscape is the one that will live on the show.

When selecting SFX, make careful and correct choices. Learn how to track sound. Listen to the world. Stand in your garden at night, close your eyes and become aware of the myriad of sounds that you hear. Night cicadas, distant traffic rumble, a police siren passing by in the distance, rustling of leaves as the wind gently disturbs the trees, a dog bark. Note them down. This is the level of complexity you have to recreate in your editing to create authentic soundscapes. Also be aware that there are many variations of a generic sound. The ocean is not just an ocean. It has many moods and devi ations. A visual of a placid sea does not require the sound of waves thunderously crashing on rocks. The sound of waves lapping on a shore is different to the sound of waves lapping against the side of a fishing boat in a storm. The sound of a limousine car engine starting up is different to that of a racing car. Airplane engines all have different sounds. Be accurate in your choices for you can be sure that someone out there will recognize an incorrectly used sound. With many options at your disposal you can avoid errors in your selections. Make your soundscape as authentic as you can.

Also learn to use specific sounds to create and punctuate the drama of the story. Explore cutting sequences using only SFX for dramatic effect.

• The call of an African Fisheagle is an iconic sound used for evoking the African bushveld. Shutters banging against a clapboard house on a lonely seashore, a cry of a coyote in the open desert, the trumpeting of an elephant on the Serengeti, a fire engine siren echoing in the night, a foghorn blast on a misty night—all these sounds, when placed judiciously in your timeline, provide powerful tools for punching story details and evoking emotional responses.

• A war sequence will comprise densely edited SFX on many tracks. Prompted by the visuals, lay in as many sounds as you can—human cries, cannon blasts, explosions, guns firing, sirens blaring and tanks rolling by. Create a textured and exciting soundtrack to accompany the picture. Lay them on as many tracks as required checker-boarding them as you go. When you are satisfied that you have added every sound that you deem necessary, mix all these tracks down blending all the effects to create a dynamic soundscape. Add the mixdown to your cut. This becomes a more efficient way of screening cuts. For the final mix, you can always replace your original sounds for the dubbing mixer so he can create a more polished and finessed track.

Once the show is turned over to the post producer, the dubbing stage mixer might make further additions or changes to SFX tracks. Don’t be offended or take it personally, because remember everyone is trying to make this the best show possible.

6.15 CREATIVE TIPS

Editing documentary films will test your abilities. You could find you are lacking coverage to illustrate some story beats. Hard-pressed to come up with solutions, stretch your creative talents and solve the issue in a way that not only works, but elevates your cut.

• Use shots evocatively. A windswept beach speaks wonders about lone liness, for instance. Atmospheric landscapes often perform miracles. Suggestive imagery can be more exciting than a literal shot. Blowing autumn leaves with an accompanying SFX could be used to illustrate the fact that time has passed or someone has died. Don’t be afraid to be poetic. Make intelligent and imaginative choices.

• A hole in the story can be fixed with added narration or a new bite from a character. If you are stuck, discuss other possibilities with your producer. Suggestions for low budget recreations or simple dramatic inserts often remedy a problem.

Your resourceful input is what differentiates your talents from others. For some, a shot of a waterfall is a stock shot establishing a location. The imaginative editor will take this image and build a lyrical or dramatic sequence around it to create a mood or a special moment fitting and integral to the story.

A moment of foreboding can be created in a short montage:

Always let your imagination soar above the literal when telling your story. You are the craftsman and you have the liberty to make magic with the material. Feel empowered, it is expected of you.

Every shot must contribute and further the story in some way. Check yourself by asking:

6.16 COMPLETE THE CUTS

Cutting scripted documentary shows for network, cable, or the internet follows the same procedures as cutting scripted fiction. You will create the editor’s cut, producer’s cut, network cut and the online version. If, however, you are working on an independent scripted documentary, you can create your cuts and name them as you wish. You will find that old habits are hard to suppress and you will more than likely end up using the same naming of cuts. Always remember to save backups of all your versions. You might want to revert to an older cut or use something you had created in an earlier version.

On independent productions, you will probably be responsible for overseeing the online, the mixing, the color correction, final titling, lower thirds and other steps necessary to complete the post production process. Your schedules will consequently be longer and, depending on the project, you may have more time to experiment with cuts.

As in all fiction venues, the editor creates the first interpretation of the story in the editor’s cut.

There are always last minute changes, additions and fixes to tweak before the producers arrive in your room to screen. Be prepared ahead of time so you are calm, collected and ready to screen. No doubt you will be nervous and filled with trepidation when you have someone view your efforts for the first time. Get used to it. Having an audience watch and react to your cut is humbling. You can immediately gauge reactions and feel the air when things are not working. Cuts you thought were brilliant can fall flat with an audience.

Always be able to defend your edits and choices if challenged. Offer alternative solutions to problems if asked. Demonstrate great attitude and take notes graciously. Be pleasant. Remember it is all about the show and not about you. You are the facilitator in this collaborative art. If there is a problem with the story or the visuals, the team will work together to find a solution. Everyone is trying to make the best show possible.

There will be a list of notes to address, which you will tackle immediately. Notes could cover any aspect of the show: find extra footage, stock, stills, or coverage of any nature; rewrite narration; change out a music cue; fix an incorrect title; or even replace a dissolve with a cut. Everyone in the room watching always wants to voice an opinion. You have a couple of days to make the changes.

When you have reworked the show and the creases are ironed out, prepare your producer’s cut for another screening. You will be given a couple of days to address further tweaks before the show is readied for the network viewing. This is your network cut. The assistant will make an output with visible time code or will stream the show to the network for review and comments. In the best of circumstances they will love it. But that is not always the case. If there are notes, you will be given time to address them. Once a network cut is approved you will be ready to make final adjustments, get the show to time and specs, lock and prep for the online.

6.17 ONLINE AND MIXING

After network notes, the editor makes the final tweaks. All temp stock is replaced with the final footage. Check that the time codes match the time coded digital working version and then do a visual check making sure all the sound syncs with the images. A good tip is to cut in the high-resolution stock on video V2 above the lo-resolution version on V1 so that you can toggle back and forth checking that the new shots match frame by frame. Replace the temp stills with the new images shot on a rostrum camera. Be prepared to make small visual or sound adjustments where necessary. If a composer has created the score, you will lay it in and make any picture fixes necessary to accommodate variants in the music timings. To record the final narration, the assistant times the scratch track for each sentence. The producer ensures that the professional voice reads and records his lines to time. A timed script is given to the talent to read.

Here is a sample layout for the narration timings the director will use to guide the actor during the recording of the final commentary.

The final narration track is laid in replacing the temp VO. Sometimes minor visual adjustments have to be made to accommodate variations of delivery. Keep all the narration on a separate track as once the dubbing mixer has set the level of the voice, he needs make no further changes unless he hits a snag. It speeds up processes.

As sound editor, there are generally clean-up tasks you have to complete before the mix.

• Remove any background or unwanted noises on the production tracks. Use ambience or room tone (recorded on set) to cover the holes in the interviews, smooth any bumps on cuts and to create a background atmosphere. Always be aware of what you see and what you hear. One is just as important as the other.

When every last detail has been checked and the show is in accordance with network specs precisely, lock the show.

• To prepare for an audio turnover you have to organize your sound tracks correctly. The stems of different types of audio have to be split to specific tracks. Production tracks (interviews, host on camera, dramatic recreations, B-roll, etc.) usually reside on Audio 1 and 2. Narration or VO is laid on Audio 3. SFX resides on 4 with MX on 5 and 6. Additional tracks can be added in this pecking order. Each set of tracks has to be output separately.

• Onlining the locked show follows similar procedures used for dramatic episodic television. The assistant prepares an EDL for the locked show, a reference QuickTime file with audio and burn-in information and a framing chart. He does the audio turnovers and preps the film for mixing. All the sound tracks are output flat as AIFF files with the keyframes removed. All the levels will have to be recreated during the mix.

• In documentaries as with scripted television, the post producer will control the final mix and oversee the completion of the film. There is usually limited time in the sessions to review and recreate every detail the editor has so lovingly laid in. Many details and nuances of his sound design will probably be lost as the dubbing mixer applies his talents to adjust the SFX as he sees fit. This is very disappointing when you watch your show and feel that they missed many of those special cues and sounds you sweated over. It is not customary for the editor to be involved in the final mix. It is time to let your show go.

• As in features and long-form television, if you are cutting an independent scripted documentary you will oversee all the final steps to completing your show. Together with your director, you will have final control on how the film will ultimately look and sound.

Now that your show has been delivered, you wait with bated breath to see your efforts televised or screened as you begin the challenges of cutting your next documentary.