Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1492834
46 C I N E M O N T A G E B O O K R E V I E W A NEW BOOK EXAMINES POST-PRODUCTION AT THE REVOLUTIONARY STUDIO BEHIND 'TOY STORY' AND MORE INSIDE OUT By Betsy A. McLane A part from experimental works such as Andy Warhol's "Empire" (1965), editors are essential in ev- ery kind of filmmaking, and some would argue that Warhol's films would benefit from cutting. Pixar's first film, "Luxo Jr," (1986, written and directed by John Lasse- ter) also has no edits, but while "Empire" is 485 minutes long, "Luxo Jr." runs for only two. Still, two minutes is a long shot length in today's films, and to make Pixar the artistic and commercial force it is, edit- ing had to become a big part of its craft. In "Making the Cut at Pixar," Bill Kinder and Bobbie O'Steen reveal how in digital ani- mation, editors are essential in ways that go far deeper than traditional post-pro- duction roles. The authors' phrase for this, "Reframing the Editor," leads the book's introduction and perfectly describes how editing is now more than ever a critical part of filmmaking. The main theme of the book is that the combination of ever-advancing digital technologies together with the freeform collaborative style embraced at P ixar produced a new model for editing anima- tion, and by extension, all CGI. In this new world, film editors are involved from the story pitch onward and have a great deal more creative input than in traditional cell or stop motion animation. Kinder and O'Steen offer a detailed explanation of how this model developed by focusing on the individuals who originated and refined it. Bill Kinder was a key player in this process, coming to P ixar to work on its second feature, "A Bug's Life" (1998, co-directed by John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton) and continuing through "Monsters University" (2013, written and directed by Dan Scan- lon). Kinder's insider knowledge about how the company imagined and instituted its approach to computer animation is invalu- able. Co-author Bobbie O'Steen is the widow of one of Hollywood's renowned classical editors and longtime MPEG member Sam O'Steen. She is the author of several books about film editing and speaks regularly on the subject. The writing style in "Making the Cut at John Lasseter. P H OT O : P H OT O F E S T