Film Editing: The Art of the Expressive

Film Editing provides an introduction to the craft of editing in the non-silent film. In clear and accessible language, Valerie Orpen considers editing as an expressive strategy rather than a mere technique. She reveals that editing can be approached and studied in a similar way to other aspects of film. Traditionally, studies on editing or montage tend to focus on silent cinema, yet this book claims that an examination of editing should also consider the role of the soundtrack. The aim of Film Editing is to examine the way in which editing can make meaning. The book addresses editing as part of a wider context and as a crucial element of the overarching design and vision of a film. Consequently, this book incorporates other parameters, such as mise-en-sc ne, framing, sound, genre, history, and performance. By examining a number of mainstream and art films, such as Godard's A bout de souffle, Hitchcock's Rear Window, and Scorsese's Raging Bull, Film Editing seeks to dispel the notion that editing is necessarily polarized as continuity versus discontinuity.

Valerie Orpen is lecturer in French cinema at the University of Manchester.