Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/501792
38 CINEMONTAGE / SPRING 2015 multiple scenes, which happens more than you might think," he continues. "This is where there's a slight deviation from editor to editor. Eric, for example, likes to have markers whenever there is a reset or bump in dialogue during the take. Dave, on the other hand, likes any resets to be sub-clipped out from the master, which results in more clips within his scene bins." That said, Stuyvesant points out, "No one is trying to reinvent the wheel. Each editor has his preferences and quirks, but the overall structure of the edit projects is pretty similar, and we all strive for clarity and organization, making any project easy to navigate. We're all great at communicating with one another too, and Jennifer, Benni, Ryan and I collaborate on organization and maintaining our shared media." SETTING THE TONE The complexity of the show's developing plot lines and the way they are woven into the greater Marvel universe was illustrated as Season One wound down last spring, when events in the Marvel feature Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014) directly impacted the storyline in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. by changing the very nature and direction of the title organization upon which the show is based: S.H.I.E.L.D., an acronym for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. Those kind of curveballs and other plot developments are discussed in weekly "tone meetings" with writers, directors and producers — meetings to which editors are not typically invited. But here, such meetings are essential in keeping editors updated on a constantly evolving creative landscape. "It's incredibly valuable to sit in on tone meetings," Charson says. "Many nuances and details that you might not grasp just from reading the script alone are shared in those meetings, along with other things transpiring in the larger Marvel universe. As an editor, you are a bit of a fly on the wall in there. It's an opportunity to hear all the subtext thoroughly explained." Litman adds that the meetings are also crucial because they help editors understand exactly what producers want — not only from each episode, but from each scene — and provide hints about how they can best balance the show's pace between keeping it brisk overall and "playing out moments" when they are of sufficient importance. "I take detailed notes at those meetings," he adds. "When a key moment is happening, we like to play it out. Usually, I find that the contrast from fast pace to letting things play out a bit allows those moments to happen better, to give the viewer a chance to breathe. If there is an emotional scene, like one of the ones I cut this season where Agent Phil Coulson [Clark Gregg] is interacting with Skye [Chloe Bennet] in a way he hadn't done before — more fatherly. I let that play out longer and it turned out to be more effective, but that's because it contrasts with the typical pace." Another editing theme, according to Crabtree, is to pay homage to the show's comic book roots, when feasible. One way to do this, he says, is to periodically position shots to somewhat resemble the style of actual Ryan R. Moos. Kelly Stuyvesant.