Editing as Empathy

There's something about editing that intrigues me more than any other aspect of filmmaking. Much time is spent coordinating the many moving pieces of a film, giving it a certain "look" through setting, performances, and cinematographic style. But the lifeblood of a film, the energy it has, the momentum, the driving action... it seems to me that editing is needed to fulfill their potential. What, then, is the unique magic of editing?

Empathy.

The film editor works in the medium of empathy. Without empathy, the editor will be unable to connect ideas, themes, and emotions together comprehensively. Without empathy, editing is paint-by-numbers. All of the tricks of editing--the effect of montage, use of rhythm and emotion--require empathy. And the editor is uniquely called to practice empathy on a spectrum of people--from the production team, to the subject, to the audience. The editor offers an open hand to lead the viewer into the story.

Empathy is the name of the instinct that guides editing. And, empathy guides rhythm as well.

Consider a close friend who is suffering. Would you dominate the conversation? No... instead, a rhythm of listening, accepting, and consoling would be appropriate. Empathy in conversation is so rarely found in the words you say to the other; it's in the way you look at them. Non-verbal signals communicate your attentiveness and desire to understand and share their feelings.

Films have the ability to immerse the viewer in many natural and instinctual patterns of behavior, such as the human ability to read facial expressions. Though many of us struggle in various social situations, the evolutionary advantage of being able to read faces has made it a largely instinctual impulse. Editors craft the scene to provide this information to the viewer.

When we watch people on screen, we feel a connection to them. And that's because we have time. Time to watch their faces before they speak... and time to watch them afterwards. Editors have to decide: how much time do I give this emotion? Tony Zhou

In films, time often translates to silence (show, don't tell). We watch the face of a man who just lost his wife to cancer and we don't need dialogue to understand. At the extreme end of this, Chris McCaleb has said "Sometimes you can cut an entire page of dialogue out because maybe a character is saying it in a look." The sentiment being, there is power in a look.

Using empathy in film means giving the people on screen time to express their emotions and, simultaneously, giving the audience time to connect with them. That is the unique magic of editing.