IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE NEW EDN: New Edition

I have bought this while studying Editing & Post Production at university following the suggestion of my lecturer. A very good recommendation. It's a great essay on the art of editing written by a revered editor. I now work as an editor in tv drama and Walter Murch is someone you need to know. Also quoting this book is always a good thing to do when meeting fellow editors.

A great book for people of all skill levels and interests in film - even just movie buffs! Walter offers both the very interesting origins of physical film editing as well as the dawn of the digital movie age, and the crossover techniques that still exist today with the likes of Spielberg. At the very least there is some great info on editing techniques and understanding when to cut a shot and how to understand confident and nervous acting. There's something for everyone!

I eye opener hence the pin. Read if you want to learn about the science of cinema creation. Make you realise how the film or media make tell a story through visual provoking emotions and influence.

I found this book a bit like Marmite; sometimes I loved it, sometimes I wanted to roll around in it, oh wait . . . While it is a bit old school and probably aimed at feature film editing, there are some great ideas in there (the main one being represented by the title) that have definitely helped me in my editing since reading it.

Good buy

I'm still reading this, but what I've read so far gives a great insight into what goes into a movie. It won't necessarily improve your own editing, or film making, but it may do. And it is an interesting read. It also makes you realise that the editors name should be more prominent within the credits.

An excellent book, easy to digest and understand and opens your eyes (scuse) to way more than just edit techniques and psychology. my third copy of this book as I keep giving them away. It saved me when I began teaching editing and taught me a lot when I was learning.

This, although in its 2nd edition is very theoretical. Which is quite good for the theory of editing. It tells you what to look out for when putting a movie together. It does meander on 'splicing' which refers to celluloid film and not digital within a computer. The last few added pages refer to digital editing, but still a good read if you are a fan of the films that Walter Murch has actually edited. These are referred to quite often through out this book. If you have no concept of cutting and splicing the old way, give it a miss and find something appropriate for you. I bought this for my students to read and it just didn't blow their skirts up.

Esse livro é muito gostoso de ser lido e nos coloca dentro da cabeça de um dos gênios do cinema.

A Very Eye Opening Book!

I think the ability of the writer to express certain ideas and emotions that drive the editing process to very clear wording is impeccable. This is a book that is fast to consume and go through it’s not a heavy read and a good start to navigate the thought process behind things and the storytelling is pretty good.

As others mentioned, this book always makes the list in discussions about learning how to edit effectively. The reason is simple - it ticks all of the boxes - brief (but thorough), deep (but approachable and easy to understand), theoretical and philosophical (but still practical), and authoritative (but not condescending). Murch's advice is rooted in his experience as an Oscar-winning editor-in-chief on dozens of films. He shares the wisdom of his experiences freely and incisively, including his transition from pure analogue to the film/digital hybrid approach much in use at the start of this century. He explains why cuts work (and why they don't), how any editor can use the information of the material to find the "right" cut, and an immensely practical set of guidelines for evaluating any edit (the Rule of Six). Ignore the gainsayers' comments about the "outdated" section on film versus digital. Murch's description of his adoption of a digital workflow and his examination of its strengths and weaknesses are invaluable today. I particularly appreciate his observations of the pitfalls introduced by the immediacy and convenience of digital shooting and editing - a lack of planning, a failure to look into and through the film (as the audience will see it in a theater), and the increasingly solitary nature of production (versus the intensely collaborative world of the film age). The Golden Age was great for a reason, and he gives good advice on keeping those higher principles in your work while you edit on your Mac or PC the footage shot on your sub-$10,000 camera. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in film production!