3 Books Every Video Editor Needs
Have you read these three film classics?
If you’re a self-taught video editor (like me!), these are THE essential books you need to improve not only in skill, but in creativity and beyond!
1. Story by Robert Mckee
I *definitely* bought this because Will Smith said that everyone who wants to work in entertainment should read it. I was instantly glad I did, this book is like an awakening of creative energy and it inspired and enthralled me.
“A culture cannot evolve without honest, powerful storytelling. When a society repeatedly experiences glossy, hollowed-out, pseudo-stories, it degenerates. We need true satires and tragedies, dramas and comedies that shine a clean light into the dingy corners of the human psyche and society.”
2. In the Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch
A deep dive into video editing and offers a comforting, perspective to the common struggles that happens when you edit video for long hours…and the self doubt.
“So the queasy feeling n the pit of the stomach of every editor beginning a project is the recognition — conscious or not — of the immense number of choices he or she is facing. The numbers are so huge that there is no possibility of turning film editing into a kind of automated chess game, where all of the different options are evaluated before making a move. But electronic editing, more than the tradition mechanical methods, offers more and faster ways to cope with these super-astronomical numbers.”
3. The Art of the Cut By Steve Hullfish
If you buy one book on video editing, let it be this one. It covers EVERYTHING you ever need to know about video editing, and you learn it straight from the top 50 video editors themselves. Comprehensive is an understatement.
“I watch in order, because you can see how things develop. You can read between the lines.”
“I want to get a scene cut together so I can have something I can react to and hone.”
“You’ve got to cut the whole scene, look at it, then go back and work on the cuts.”
