Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/637797
48 CINEMONTAGE / Q1 2016 more than one motivation. Often the way it works is that a smaller motivation leads to a big motivation, leads to a bigger motivation; as stakes ramp up, things become important on different levels. That can work effectively. Also, there can be a main motivation and then corollary feelings about things that contribute to the same desire. But if you have story threads and beats that say, "He's doing it because of this. And then, well, he's also doing it because of this other thing. And in case you are wondering why he's doing it, he's also doing it because of this…" That's when it becomes a problem, when we just sort of seem to be piling on. So you want to be clear, and it takes experience and a little bit of trial and error. The process of editing is a lot like the process of writing, where you sometimes just have to put the thing together and feel it out and say, "What does this make me think? Does this work properly this way? No, it doesn't, let's rework that." That happens in editing quite a bit, where you are rebalancing what the forces of drama are in the scenes and arcs. CM: What sort of footage did you get from Hillcoat? Is it pretty malleable material? DT: Quite malleable. With most people these days, especially shooting with Alexa, there's a lot more footage. Material is gathered and then put together in the cutting room. In assembly, I will pick what I think the best, most interesting bits are, and will see how much of that sticks to the end — usually a good bit of it. I think John did a great job with Triple 9 by blending drama and action. I think there's some fun action, but also some compelling drama — and even some comedy. It's not a blend you often get. CM: How do you feel about the increasing tendency for directors to shoot so much footage and just send it to editorial? DT: My experience is that increasingly, decisions are being made more in the cutting room and less on the set. It costs no more money now to shoot 20 minutes of something than it does to shoot two minutes of something. I think we get a lot more unscripted and vérité moments in all sorts of movies. I've had so much footage on some of these projects that it can be overwhelming. It's exciting to have that many options but it's also, "Well, we have this many options..." It really makes the dailies process and choosing things from the beginning quite important, because you can't replace everything all the time, and you have to start somewhere. It's your sensibility and your state of mind that are going to dictate how the Triple 9. Open Road Films