While filmmaking is a collaborative enterprise, editing is the foundation of film art. All the other departments of filmmaking; screenwriting, directing, cinematography, music and sound, production design and acting, all exist to be brought together in the cutting room. Film is collaborative, only for the edit. Pre-production and production give the editor; the necessary pieces of the puzzle they need to make the film. The editor works with the footage, the sound and increasingly special effects, to bring the film to life. Editing is a craft that if done well becomes invisible. “We call it the invisible art, and it is. I mean the more invisible we are, the better we’re doing a good job” [The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004)]. However, this is often the reason why the art of editing is often overlooked and underappreciated. Silence of the Lambs (1991) editor Craig McKay agrees expressing that “unfortunately the invisible style of editing, made editors invisible and underappreciated” [The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004)]. The skill of an editor is measured by how well they have been able to bring the story to the audience, without the audience even realising that they have been drawn into a …show more content…
Dziga Vertov, a Ukrainian filmmaker, believed that cinematography is the foundation of the film art. Others such as David Kipen note the importance of the screenplay while Uta Hagen believes in the importance and the power of acting. This study however, aims to focus on the importance and the significance of the edit within the film industry. Books, journal articles, essays, and films have been researched in the undertaking of this hypothesis. The purpose of this literature review is to discuss the ideas of the main theorists that have influenced the direction of this