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57 Q1 2017 / CINEMONTAGE Jump Cut: How to Jump Start Your Career as a Film Editor by Lori Jane Coleman, ACE, and Diana Friedberg, ACE Focal Press, 2016 Paperback, 241 pages, $34.95 ISBN# 978-1-138-69135-3 by Betsy A. McLane I t would be easy to imagine that a book titled Jump Cut might be an analysis of early Godard, a study of the trick films of Georges Méliès, or even an argument about the precise definition of a jump cut (Does it have to move action in time or space? Can the term be applied when shifting from one character to another?). None of these, however, are the subject of the new book from Lori Jane Coleman, ACE, and Diana Friedberg, ACE. Its purpose is clear from the full title: Jump Cut: How to Jump Start Your Career as a Film Editor, the follow-up to the authors' successful 2010 publication, Make the Cut: A Guide to Becoming a Successful Assistant Editor in Film and TV. Both books grew out of their experiences as directors of the American Cinema Editor's (ACE) Internship Program from 1994 to 2014. Coleman and Friedberg — along with fellow editor William Gordean, ACE, who founded the Internship Program — were recipients of ACE's Heritage Award at the organization's 67th Eddie Awards in January. Since this highly competitive program accepts only two interns per year, the authors developed a lecture series in which the information available to the fortunate two could be presented to anyone who applied for the ACE program. This proved to be so popular that Coleman and Friedberg published their first guide, including not only lectures, but also observations from a variety of working assistant editors. Complete with charts, diagrams and technical information, Make the Cut became required in film schools and has been used throughout the profession. For every assistant who dreams of being a picture editor, this book is a must-read. The authors assess the possibilities and the probabilities of achieving this career "jump" in the main Hollywood entertainment categories of fiction features, episodic television, long-form television, scripted and unscripted documentaries, and reality shows. Their advice begins with general practice: Strive to lighten the editor's workload, show up early, stay late and remain aware of the politics of the production, remembering that what happens in the editing room stays in the editing room. There are also detailed specifics, such as, "It's boring to have air on the 'A' side of the cut as well as the 'B' side," and "One of the great uses of Doppler sound is letting it reach its apex on the cut," while working with scripted work. Documentary ideas include "Try mixing B-roll with recreations to realize a special effect" and "On every production, it is vital that you view all of your footage CUT/PRINT Prepare for the Bump Up to Editor CONTINUED ON PAGE 62 For every assistant who dreams of being a picture editor, this book is a must-read. The authors assess the possibilities and the probabilities of achieving this career "jump."