Preliminary Research: Paul Machliss

After looking at Thelma Schoonmaker's approach to editing, I wanted to see a different perspective on more technical aspects of editing. That Person was Paul Machliss who has edited for some of my favorite Edgar Wright films and the main thing that captures my attention is the use of transitions. Getting the right transitions was a big struggle of mine when I edited my first project.

Opening scene from Baby Driver (2017)

I found two things very interesting from this opening scene in Baby Driver that Paul Machliss edited. One was the way that the film cut from scene to scene on the beat of the soundtrack. The editing plays around the diegetic sound in the film in order to transition from shot to shot. This sound is used heavily to introduce the set of characters. As soon as the beat hits, we cut to a new character's face. Things are very punctual and organized. I also noted down the amount of cuts that are taking place within this short time span. It makes sense to me that a lot of cuts occur during the getaway portion as that is an intense situation that only feels more intense with the more cuts you make. However, before the heist officially takes place and the robbers are just entering the bank, we get scenes of Baby in the car messing around that are full of cuts. It mimics that high-intensity feeling you would get from the chase without it actually happening which I took as the editing getting the viewer ready for the events that will transpire. A partial thing I noticed was the use of a person's legs as a wipe transition. 

One shot from Baby Driver

There is this one shot in the film that is seen a little while later that helped me better understand what editing was. There were a lot of behind-the-scenes decisions that created the scene here that I thought were important. This scene has no cuts as that was the main objective when shooting the shot however there was still a lot done in the editing room to perfect the scene. 

Words from Edgar Wright discussing the scene in an interview with Ain't It Cool News

The scene had lots of work down to it like added text and color that is very evident in the scene but would create too much of a problem if done practically. Editing allows for these ideas to come to life such as the changing heart color near the end to symbolize the love that Baby is feeling and graffiti on the walls that display the lyrics that are being heard. It adds emphasis on the effect of music and sound in the film. 

Series of scenes from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World showing off its unique transistors

In these scenes from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, there is a unique type of transition between scenes that I have rarely seen anywhere else. It looks like characters just teleport to new areas as they maintain a similar interaction from the scene before. This is seen with Scott as he looks straight ahead with an empty expression that is then interrupted by the next scene where that expression acts as the beginning. It happens again when Stephen Stills begins walking away after Scott asks him a question where we are in a new environment with him answering that question. Finally, there is a wipe transition similar to one in Baby Driver where someone walking is used to transition to the next scene. Things are kept natural and hidden as opposed to super obvious cuts to get to the next scene. 

The main thing I learned from researching Paul Machliss is what one can do in terms of cutting or transitioning from one shot to another. He uses natural elements within the film and its story in order to go from one shot to another. In Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, there are a lot of instances where characters hold a position and then go to another shot where they have the same position. There is the use of intense light from the sun to fade into other shots as well. The main thing is that the transitions look natural and aren't tacky. Unorthodox methods used like texting going from scene to scene in Scott Pilgrim or cutting on the beats of the music in Baby Driver actually fit within the world of the film so it still looks natural. You should plan around specific transitions so that when it comes time to edit, your transition between shots should be seamless and fit within the context of the movie. 

This research also helped me understand what editing truly is. It's not just about cutting shots together but also altering shots to get a desired outcome. In the one shot scene, Wright speaks about the fact that were prepared to cut to separate one shots together in order to create the scene they wanted but that would take away from the fact it's supposed to be one continuous shot. He also speaks on the fact they can take one of their shots and just adjust it to get that same scene which is what ended up occurring. There are multiple ways to go about things but it's about how you alter these individual shots to get you there.