The 'Art of Editing': Creative Practice and Pedagogy
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The ‘Art of Editing’: Creative Practice and Pedagogy By Jillian Holt Submitted in fulfillment for the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy, Swinburne University of Technology, 2015 Abstract The topic of my doctorate studies, The ‘Art of Editing’: creative practice and pedagogy, has been undertaken as practice-led/practice-based research, and leads to new insights into creativity in editing and the teaching of editing practice. The artifact is designed as an educational resource, structured around a series of interviews with prominent Australian screen editors who discuss the creative attributes of editing in reference to their practice, and in terms of defining editing as a craft or an art. The exegesis supports the artifact in reflecting on my practice as a film editor, and also opens up a scholarly debate on theoretical, historical and contemporary notions of the creative editing practice through investigating integrated theory and praxis pedagogy, contemporary teaching practice and strategies including studio-based learning and visual-aided learning in teaching creativity. i Acknowledgements Firstly I would like to acknowledge my primary supervisor Dr Josie Arnold and sincerely thank her for her ongoing academic support, encouragement and positive affirmation for my project throughout the tenure of my doctoral studies. I would also like to acknowledge my secondary supervisor Dr Jason Bainbridge, and scholarly film-editing advisor Dr Karen Pearlman, for their support and in acknowledging my topic as significant in terms of current industry practice and the pedagogy of editing practice. I would like to thank my academic editors Joan Howard and Carol Goudie for casting a discerning eye over my exegesis. In reference to the production of the artifact, I would like to thank the cinematographers Edward Goldner and Andrew Hickinbotham for recording the interviews, designer Sarah Davies for the DVD cover, and editor Sioux Currie for DVD authoring. Most importantly I would like to acknowledge and thank the editors I interviewed for the artifact – Mark Atkin, Jason Ballantine, Jill Bilcock, Dany Cooper, Luke Doolan, Jack Hutchings, Ken Sallows – who were so generous in offering me their time, enthusiasm for the project, and their illustrious knowledge and experience in speaking so passionately about their practice and all things related to creativity in editing. Finally I would like to thank my family for all their support throughout my years of study and most notably my sons Morgan and Sacha for their patience and companionship. ii Declaration by Candidate I declare that the content for examinable outcome submitted as a PhD by artifact and dissertation contains: no material which has been accepted for the award to the candidate of any other degree or diploma, except where due reference is made in the text of the examinable outcome; to the best of my knowledge contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text of the examinable outcome; where the work is based on joint research or publications, discloses the relative contributions of the respective workers or authors. The content of the exegesis was proof-read by professional editors Joan Howard and Carol Goudie. The work undertaken was in accordance with Current Australian Standards for Editing Practice and restricted to Standard D (Language and Illustrations) and Standard E (Completeness and Consistency). No advice was given on Standard C (Substance and Structure). Signed: Dated: iii Table of Contents Contents Section 1: An introduction to the project and the development of the artifact ................. 1 The Artifact .................................................................................................................. 1 Background for the project .......................................................................................... 2 The production of the artifact ....................................................................................... 6 Creative challenges in shooting and editing the interviews ......................................... 7 The Exegesis ............................................................................................................. 14 In Summary ............................................................................................................... 16 Section 2: Practice-Led/ Based Research: a reflection on practice based learning, practice theory and intuition .......................................................................................... 17 What Practice Led/ Based Research it offers me as a practitioner/ researcher? ...... 18 Autoethnography and self as research ...................................................................... 20 Making a research film .............................................................................................. 22 Reflective practice, practice theory and intuition ....................................................... 24 Intuition in editing ...................................................................................................... 26 In Summary: a reflection on practice-based learning and teaching creativity……….30 Section 3: The Art of Editing ......................................................................................... 31 Editing - the hidden art .............................................................................................. 31 A Brief History of Editing ........................................................................................... 33 Montage and mis-en-scene ....................................................................................... 40 The rise of the auteur and the impact on filmmaking today ....................................... 42 Film editing today ...................................................................................................... 44 How editors view their work in terms of art or craft ................................................... 46 In summary: good film, good editing ......................................................................... 50 Section 4: Looking at film editing through the prism of film theory ................................ 51 Where does editing sit as a ‘concept’ in terms of film theory? .................................. 52 There is no one predominant film theory ................................................................... 54 iv Where does film theory sit in terms of filmic investigation and analysis in practice- based studies? .......................................................................................................... 57 What insights did the early film theorist-practitioners bring to academic discourse as relevant to the practice of editing today? ................................................................... 60 Film Theory opens up the scholarly discussion on filmic investigation and representation of space, time, vision and meaning in cinematic text. ....................... 62 In summary: investigating editing through the prism of film theory ........................... 67 Section 5: Insights into teaching creative editing practice ............................................ 71 Creativity, can it be taught? ....................................................................................... 74 How editors learn their craft ...................................................................................... 79 Film schools are not a new concept .......................................................................... 82 The new film school ................................................................................................... 86 Film schools in Australia ............................................................................................ 87 In Summary: the challenge of teaching creative editing ............................................ 88 Section 6: The nexus of theory and practice in teaching creativity in editing ................ 91 The nexus of theory and practice .............................................................................. 91 Studio-based learning and collaboration in creativity ................................................ 93 Visual Aided Learning ............................................................................................... 96 In Summary: teaching creativity in editing ................................................................. 99 Section 7: In conclusion - The Art of Editing: creative practice and pedagogy ........... 100 References / Bibliography………………………………………………………………….104 Appendices ................................................................................................................. 110 Interview 1 – Ken Sallows ....................................................................................... 110 Interview 2 – Mark Atkin .......................................................................................... 121 Interview 3 – Dany Cooper ...................................................................................... 137 Interview 4 – Luke Doolan ....................................................................................... 145 Interview 5 – Jack Hutchings ................................................................................... 157 Interview 6 – Jill Bilcock .......................................................................................... 174 Interview 7 – Jason Ballantine ................................................................................