Major Project - Advantages of being a Cinematographer and Editor

In this post I want to talk a little but about being a cinematographer and an editor at the same time and the type of advantages that this could bring based on a bit of research and some personal experience. Being a cinematographer and an editor is a very common type of combination for small crews, freelancers and amateurs in general. It can be a very rewarding experience but it can also become a very hard one to control and deal with if you don't know how they can be connected and take advantage of them to make your life and work easier. The most common thing the happens in this case, is that you shoot and you edit, there is no one in between, which already gives you a massive advantage, because as you shoot you can start thinking of how you are going to edit. It doesn't matter the type of production you are doing, wether it is a low budget one or a multi-millionaire one, the collaboration between roles is a fact and what makes you better than anyone else, is the vision you have in order to make other roles easier by making yours.

I started doing a bit of research to see what kind of elements to look for and what kind of things that I have been currently doing in the past, could do better and this is when I came across with some tips and statements from people that are cinematographers and editors at the same time as well. The first thing I did was making sure I understood through research the difference between both roles and even more importantly, their objective and reason of existence:

The cinematographer, also known as the director of photography (D.P.), is responsible for photographing the motion picture and overseeing the camera crew and lighting team. On low-budget films, the D.P. might be the sole person responsible for lighting and may also act as the camera operator. The cinematographer’s primary responsibility occurs during the principal photography stage of production, but they must also spend a great deal of effort during prep and may even oversee the color grading during post production.

The editor, on the other hand, mostly works during post-production by taking the shot footage and making decisions on how to best put the project together. During principal photography, the editor’s main responsibility is to organize the dailies and sync the sound. On larger productions, you’ll have an entire team of people handling picture edit, sound and color grading, but on smaller films, you may have a single person responsible for all of the post-production. The final product is in the hands of the editor.

It seems that these two critical jobs would not overlap. The DP shoots and the editor takes the footage and turns it into a movie. However, the one phase where they should collaborate is pre-production, which Alfred Hitchcock considered to be the most important stage of filmmaking.

Some low budget filmmakers prefer to do one or both of these jobs in addition to directing, as it saves money and resources and is often perceived as preserving the director’s vision. However, it is better to have different people serve as the DP and editor. The DP will carry out the director’s wishes with lighting schemes and angles, but can also offer a second set of eyes to make sure all of the technical aspects of the shots are completed while the director focuses on the overall picture, including talent, art direction, continuity, etc. An editor brings in objectivity to post-production and can “kill the darlings,” cutting shots and scenes that the director can’t bear to part with but need to go for the sake of the film.

http://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/effective-pre-production-collaboration-between-the-cinematographer-and-editor/

Being an editor and a cinematographer helps a lot as well during the pre-production stage, specially the shot list making, because that way you can start visualizing the story from the beginning and not only imagine how you are going to shoot it, but also how are going to cut it and all that can only be possible with the involvement of the editor from the beginning.

The down part about it, is that you as a person become to attached to the movie, being too biased towards a shot because you want it in the edit and also loses one of the most key factors of an editor, which is being a fresh pair of eyes and someone completely unattached to the film. This is probably one of the things I struggled the most when editing and filming, but in the end I managed to get there slowly. 

Editors are storytellers, but from a technical end. They know how the pieces fit together to effectively communicate dramatic and emotional expression to the audience, as well as determining proper pacing of the story. All films will benefit if the editor is involved in the early stages of planning, working with the cinematographer so that both are on the same page about how the director wants the story to unfold visually.

The last point I researched on, was how to correct problems or more likely, avoid, on early stages in order to make the work easier. I found a very useful statement from Danny Greer who is a professional video editor, cinematographer and blogger:

One of the biggest problems facing filmmakers is whether or not the footage they shoot will actually cut well together. A lot rides on this, including consistent performance from the actors and continuity of props, costumes, hair and makeup, actor placement, etc. The director of photography needs to worry about camera placement and gathering appropriate footage that the editor can use.

For instance, the camera crew has to adhere to the 180 degree rule, otherwise editing becomes much more difficult. The D.P. and camera operator should be aware of this, yet mistakes are constantly made that require the editor to “fix it in post.” With the editor’s help in pre-production, shots can be properly planned to avoid these types of situations. While it’s easy for the D.P. to pass off problems to the editor to handle after photography is completed, doing so can create problems that are detrimental to the finished film. You don’t want to have to salvage a scene through clumsy editing. It’s better to have the scene play out naturally without any distracting edits that pull the audience out of the story.

Additionally, an editor can identify other potential editing problems ahead of time and suggest supplementary ideas for coverage. For instance, if the director is planning an extended take, an editor can see opportunities for alternate shots to cut to in case the extended take doesn’t work. The editor can also point out places where insert shots and cutaways can be used for the best effect.

I personally believe that being both is a very tough but amazing experience and this has helped a lot, from shot list to visual effects, working on both can make a lot of things easier.