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	N.Y. EditFest 2009 by Gordon Burkell ............................................................................................... Thursday, July 23, 2009; 9:53 AM Gordon Burkell, a C.C.E. Executive Board member, and owner/operator of the fantastic website www.artoftheguillotine.com , ventured to his 2nd A.C.E. organized EditFest, this time in New York. We asked Gordon to give us a summary idea of what someone who goes to EditFest could look forward to: EditFest took place on June 12th and 13th 2009 and was the first Edit Fest held in New York. To start off it’s important to mention that Thelma Schoonmaker did not make it to the event. She was scheduled to talk Saturday in the final panel titled Feature Editing: From Dailies to Delivery. However, she was apparently on a tight deadline for her current film. So she was working Saturday to make the deadline. This was definitely upsetting for some of the younger editors who admire her work and had come to see her speak. But in an industry that is constantly tightening the reigns of time on post workers they should learn this unfortunate lesson now. Your schedules will be tight and sacrifices must be made. Generously, the American Cinema Editors and the Manhattan Edit Workshop, who hosted this event, offered to have everyone out for beer and pizza that night to make up for Thelma’s absence. The overall event was still a great success, as there were many other hosting editors who are at the top of their game and were able to give insight into their approach to editing. By far the most engaging and exciting panel was the Documentary Panel titled: The Documentary Edit: The Process of Discovering the Truth. An interesting title as it encouraged the editors to discuss the issue surrounding documented reality and ethics. As the talks continued they addressed how they approached cutting. The speakers on this panel were lively, funny and engaging and included Tom Atkin as the moderator, Robert Eisenhardt, A.C.E., Tom Haneke, Sam Pollard, Karen Schmeer, A.C.E. and Lawrence Silk A.C.E. Karen Schmeer (Mr. Death, The Fog of War) gave fantastic insight into her work. The key idea she put forward is that in real estate it’s location, location, location. In documentary it’s character, character, character. Tom Haneke (My Generation, American Teen) was probably the most excited to share his ideas, bringing with him a film that he produced for an earlier talk he gave. The film showed the progression of a documentary scene from the feature documentary, My Generation. A great example of how the scene changes and progresses in the editing room. Sam Pollard, who cuts for Spike Lee on many projects, was quite funny and very engaging. He talked about the importance of music for him while he cuts and how he would start a film by going through his musical catalogue or going to the library to find the perfect piece of music to get him in the mood. Sam also pointed out that as an editor in documentaries you have to realize you may fail many times before the cut begins to work and he encouraged everyone to just keep cutting until you get it right. I feel that the audience was not expecting such an exciting talk about documentaries. Many had been looking forward to the feature talk but after the doc talk there was a buzz in the air. Another great panel was the comedy panel titled The Art of Cutting Comedy: What’s So Funny? This panel was moderated by Josh Apter, the founder of Manhattan Edit Workshops, and included Michael Berenbaum, A.C.E., Anne McCabe, Stephen Rotter, Troy Takaki, A.C.E., and Jeffrey Wolf, A.C.E. This was the first panel on Saturday and was a great way to set up the day, putting everyone in a good mood. At last year’s Edit Fest, Craig Alpert (Pineapple Express, 40 Year Old Virgin) gave some great insight into editing comedy with the need to test the audience and record their reactions onto an audio track and placing the sound into the films guide track. They watch the film with this serving as the laugh track. You can use it to recut a scene that isn’t working based on the audience’s laughter or in some cases the lack thereof. I was hoping New York’s panel would be just as insightful. Troy Takaki, A.C.E. (Fool’s Gold, Stick it, Hitch), who was quite a spark on the stage, talked about how if the comedy isn’t in the material it’s not on the screen and the inherent problems. He explained you may have to work a scene over and over until it’s funny, what you find funny might not be funny to an audience so it is best to test it with friends, a reminder of the Alpert discussion last year. Michael Berenbaum, A.C.E. (Sex and the City, Nurse Jackie) shared his comedic side when he showed a clip of two characters from Sex and the City, fighting. Michael prepped us by saying that we were about to witness a fight between two of the main female characters. The lights dimmed, the curtain opened, and the screen projected the title card: Michael Berenbaum Sex and the City Clip One. All of a sudden we see the wolfman and Frankenstein fighting. Josh, the moderator, yells out “that‘s not the clip” and when the lights go up Berenbaum put the mic to his mouth and said “Heads are gonna roll” with a sly smile. There were other highlights in the show such as when Alexander Hall, a part of the panel: Editing Television: Small Picture, Big Screen, stated that talking about editing is like dancing about architecture. His co-panelists agreed and added that as an editor on TV comedies one needs to go back to the writers to get input. I can already hear all the editors gasp as they read that last line but the panel explained that the writers know what’s funny and can give you great insight into why a particular joke is funny or why a particular character might act a certain way. Kate Sanford, A.C.E. (The Wire, Management), also pointed out that the relationship with a director on TV show is like a Las Vegas wedding, it lasts four days. She got a good laugh but it also makes sense since directors in TV are usually hired guns. In the end it was a great event with valuable insight into editing process and the industry. In the coming weeks The Manhattan Edit Workshop (www.mewshop.com), the group who co-hosted the event, and The Art of the Guillotine (www.artoftheguillotine.com) will be posting the audio and video from the event. As for Edit Fest LA? Who knows what’s coming but expect to hear some great wisdom from the likes of Joel Cox, Mark Livolsi and Steven Rosenbloom.


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