CineMontage

Q1 2023

Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1492834

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 46 of 59

SEE PAGE 55 47 S P R I N G Q 1 I S S U E B O O K R E V I E W Pixar" is breezy and colloquial, which can be fun but occasionally muddles meaning. The book has seven major chapters with titles such as "Story, Story, Story…Edistorial" and "EDIT FIRST, Shoot Later: Layout." In the Table of Contents, these headings are followed by short statements, such as, "How does a film editor help write a story? The essential exchange between editor and story artist," and "Where is the editor when the set is virtual? The editor's role in layout and camera." The only other items in the table of contents are the lists of accompa- nying online videos; there is no mention of the many subheads or case studies that appear throughout. Readers who have the book in hand are able to access the video content at the com- panion website www.routledge.com/cw/ Kinder. The 40 video shorts are designed to illustrate the book's content, and there are additional exclusive interviews with Pixar editors, directors, producers, and others. These are valuable, although some of the very short interviews could easily have been transcribed into the book, eliminating the need to click back and forth. The web- site also offers color versions of the text's still photos. This is fortunate since pub- lisher Focal Press, as is its general practice, offers often-muddy black-and-white stills in the book. "Making the Cut at Pixar" works best as a text for professionals and serious stu- dents of editing. The lack of a full table of contents signals a sometimes confusing presentation of important material, especially for non-ed- itors. The book may also be too advanced for beginning filmmakers, and bewildering to readers without solid knowledge of film production history. It includes compari- sons between traditional live-action editing and traditional animation editing, mixed with comparisons of those two crafts with digital animation editing as developed at Pixar. However, unless the reader has a clear understanding of earlier editing con- ventions, the truly revolutionary aspects of PIXAR's approach might be lost, espe- cially since these differences are referred to throughout the book. The same problem applies to the cor- porate, financial and personnel history of Pixar. Those are clearly not the subject of The book works best as a text for professionals and serious students.

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of CineMontage - Q1 2023