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40 C I N E M O N T A G E B O O K R E V I E W By Betsy A. McLane R eaders of "The Art and Craft of Mo- tion Picture Editing" by Michael Hoggan, ACE, might be tempted to begin at the end rather than beginning of this slim volume. That might be a good choice since the Appendix, "Film Produc- tion's Historical Timeline," is a valuable addendum to a useful book. This list was compiled by Hoggan, Conrad Denke, Don- ald Petrie, Richard Leeman, Fred Ginsberg, and Joel Kranz in March 2020. They creat- ed a document that is much more than a simple chronology. It covers not only film, but also radio and television, noting in- ventions, technologies, important people, as well as all important patents and legal decisions. There is informed and good-hu- mored commentary, as in the highlights of 1890s-1920s: "Editing a film then was about fixing it if it broke, but discover- ing that technical capacity indicated the possibility of what editing could do." The timeline pays careful attention to the his- tory of unions, explaining that in 1934, the NBC radio network formed an in-house union (later NABET) to keep its employ- ees from being organized by the IBEW. The AUDIENCE REMEMBER YOUR A NEW BOOK LOOKS AT THE CRAFT OF PICTURE EDITING FROM A FRESH PERSPECTIVE timeline also links technical achievement with artistic landmarks, such as the first use of an optical printer in 1920, which ap- pears next to an entry about the birth of the Dada art movement that year. The con- nection may be subtle, but interesting in light of how optical printing became a core technique in experimental cinema. Many motion picture timelines are available, but this one, with its focus on produc - tion and the forces that affect it, does an excellent job of providing information without overload. "The Art and Craft of Motion Picture Editing" is conceived mainly as a text for teaching picture editing, but there are numerous tips and ideas that will interest many professionals in the field. Hoggan is a former President of American Cinema Editors and received Eddie and Emmy nominations for his work on the shows "Miami Vice" and "Homefront." He has been teaching Film Production and Motion Picture Editing since 1996 at California State University Northridge, where he also received undergraduate and graduate de- grees. These credentials, along with over 20 years of experience editing for television, make this book a helpful guide. Hoggan approaches editing from a per- spective slightly different than most. While other writing on the subject usually focuses on the creativity of editors, the working relationships of various people involved in making a film, or the nuts and bolts of cutting, Hoggan places his emphasis on "the evolution of practices in film production and editing with respect to the ever-chang- i n g ex p e c ta t i o n s o f t h e a u d i e n ce." A s the book demonstrates, understanding editing from the audience's perspective is essential to any successful film. This methodology is increasingly important in a changing media landscape that includes a seemingly endless variety of distribution and exhibition outlets. Filmmakers are challenged in countless ways as they navi- gate the different demands of IMAX-giant screen, traditional theatrical-big screen, television and streaming-medium screen, along with gaming, virtual reality -- and the sorry fact that many viewers now see a film only on a tiny cell phone screen. With these circumstances, it makes sense to keep in