Learning good editing from bad editing

Several years ago I wanted to learn web design, and there was this website that stated you could learn good design by learning how bad designers designed. The site was right, and I never learned anything half as well in the digital design world as I did by viewing horrific web pages.

When it comes to editing, I rely on a bank of images, edits, whathaveyou that I've stored in my head by watching tv and films over the years. I don't consciously refer to this backlog of edits, but this backlog fuels my editing instinct. As I study editing, I learn the technical wording to what I'm thinking of, what I'm doing, labelling what's wrong with an edit other than "I'm not sure, but it doesn't feel right". So yes, I edit largely by instinct, and I think it's served me well over the years.

So recently I worked for a film festival where amateur entries are encouraged. I saw a NUMBER of bad films. And bad on many levels. I also saw some great films. But throughout the process, I found myself with my head in my hands, just groaning at the ineptitude of the editing. I can ignore shoddy camera work, heinous sound, bad acting, but bad editing? They say everyone thinks they're an editor if they own an editing software. And I've acknowledged this to be true of course. It's why rates for editors haven't gone up in 10 years. Everyone can edit. Why pay a "professional" more? But by watching all these movies, you're hit with the hard reality. "No, really, everyone DOES think they're an editor." And that thought was rather stomach turning.

I admit, I'm an editing snob. I call out edits I hate. I praise edits that work. But when it's bad all around, when the pacing is off, when the sound mix is disastrous, I can't resist shouting at the monitor that the editor is awful. They're a computer operator, not an editor. Editing is an ART, there's a certain amount of instinct that goes into editing that cannot be taught.

I had a conversation with another editor the other day about what can be taught and what cannot. Sure, technique and theory and history can be taught to anyone. But I maintain that pacing cannot be taught. The moment of the edit where it feels right, even if you're violating several rules of editing, can't really be taught. I've seen fantastic technical FCP editors who have no sense of pacing. I've seen pacing mavens who can't cut in FCP for their lives. Guess what, at least FCP can be taught.

So it's frustrating. That's all I guess I really wanted to say!