In the Blink of an Eye: A Perspective on Film Editing

by Walter Murch

Book Overview

In the Blink of an Eye is celebrated film editor Walter Murch's vivid, multifaceted, thought -- provoking essay on film editing. Starting with what might be the most basic editing question -- Why do... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1879505622
• ISBN13: 9781879505629
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: Silman-James Press
• Length: 146 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Read this Book.

If you want to become a better editor read this book. It is only the theory, but it is extremely helpful and gives a ton of insight on how to be an actual editor.

Good to have on the bookshelf!!!

This was a good read. He mainly talks about how it was done back before digital. But it's nice to see that perspective. He covers nicely how important it is to make your cuts drive the story. How when you place your cuts it can set the mood sometimes.

Not a technical guide on HOW to edit, but a guide on HOW to APPROACH editing

Murch is brilliant, there is no doubt of that, and I found this book to be quite inspiring. It is certainly not a guide to how to operate an editing system, (be it analog or digital,) or even a means of telling you how to assemble wide shots and close ups into a cohesive narrative. It is about how Murch approaches a project. How he creates. Aspiring and seasoned editors alike can take much from this short work, and incorporate it into their own style and approach. I don't think that I will ever look at film the same way after his anecdote about blinking and editing "The Conversation." Many reviewers have mentioned that they expected more, (length, content, etc.) I wanted more myself, but I think Murch says all he needed to say. It is WELL worth the read. I suggest getting it from a library, reading it, and then deciding if you wish to add it to your own library. I now own a copy, and expect to consult it in future for every editing project that proves difficult.

I loved this book

It's like having a conversation with a really smart, educated and thoughtful person on a variety of topics relating to film. I feel angry with the people who gave it negative reviews because it's not a textbook about editing; it's not intended to be. Don't troll-rate a book because you don't know how to find a book on the subject you're looking for.

From another film editor

To merely explain "what film editing is" would be worth the price of this book, and what I expect when I read a book on film editing, but this book goes far beyond that. This book almost effortlessly explains "why film editing works," "how film editing works," and "what the human experience expects and wants from film editing." It does this in an engaging style, with a remarkably-few, well-chosen words. This is a truly great little book. It teaches some slippery concepts easily, with simple historical examples. (How filmmaking is like opera, or like music, or literature or art, for example.) Its concepts are clear, and they stick in the mind, and return to one later, usually while in the middle of doing something else. That means to me that not only my conscious mind understands what Mr. Murch has written, but my unconscious mind as well. I am very grateful for that, as my unconscious mind is my source. Mr. Walter Murch is not only one of the most gifted film editors ever, he has clearly thought and mulled and quantified what he knows in his bones, so that others can learn from it. Beethoven wrote great music, (and, according to Mr. Murch, was one of the fathers of cinema), but did Beethoven write a little book that explained what he was trying to do, or the principles behind it, or what he had learned about how it worked, and how to make future projects work in the same way? No, alas. I've read letters from Beethoven, but found his process elusive. Nothing wrong with that, his music certainly stands on its own, but how much better would it have been, to have some great little book like this one? To the film artist, this little book is a gift from God. A glimpse into the process of a very gifted man. It explains what the principles of film editing are, where to look for them, how they came about. All from a great artist in the form. As for my calling it a "little book," I mean no disrespect. It's hard to make something complex look easy, even harder to say that in only a few words. Its brevity is part of its genius.

read it with a blink of my eye. AMAZING!

I got this book in the mail and i finished reading it the same day. Walter Murch can write so compellingly well while delivering an exteremly great portrayal of the Artistry behind Editing Film.I'm so glad I purchased this book. Anybody who is interested in editing, should definitely read this.Movies to his credit include: Cold Mountain, English Patient, Apocalypse Now, Godfather III, Julia (ofcourse he's done more, but those are great popular choices)

From a film editor

OK I can't believe the guy who was looking for tips on how to put a scene together. I have been a film and commercial editor for 25 years and Mr. Murch's work is what all who have ever wanted to be an editor look up to. The joy of this book is that it doesn't delve into the nuts and bolts of editing-which is the worst part of my craft-but it focuses on the zen of editing, which is the true joy. I have had the opportunity to cut nine feature films in my life and before I started each one, I read "In the Blink of an Eye" to get me back in that feature film mindframe. God Bless Mr. Murch for his insights. As a fellow editor-and I struggle to live up to the bar you have raised for us-I can only bow down and thank Mr. Murch for passing on his knowledge to us.