Asking to talk about editing without mentioning other movies is like trying to talk about music without mentioning any music.
It's like trying to talk about language without being able to talk about any specific words.
Asking "where and when to cut" is like asking "what and how to cook." Until you can answer the question, what do you want at the end, you can't know if you're getting rib roast or rhubarb pie.
Now, having said that, "Good Eats" is a wonderful show about the science of cooking. Once you have that under your belt, a lot of the recipes take care of themselves.
For something generally analogous, try taking a look at "Cinematic Storytelling: The 100 Most Powerful Film Conventions Every Filmmaker Must Know," by Jennifer van Sijll. I think this will be perfect for you. She covers each example of absolutely critical, foundational-level visual language in two pages. That's it. Two pages. I think that the most fidgety reader can stand two pages. Lots of pictures too.
I'm kind of kidding with you...except for the part about NEEDING to know history. A hyper-spazz skaterb0i video and an uber-elegant drama both have a visual language, with more elements in common than you might think. Gotta learn to talk before you can say anything.
Start with Jennifer's book.
Tim
Tim Wilson
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