Editor's Mind: Editor's Mind: Secrets From The Chopping Block

By Scott Goldman

Editor's mind is a book that is primarily about video editing as seen through the eyes of long time producer, director and editor Scott Goldman. While it is not an instructional book, it does touch upon many of the concepts that are involved in the world of editing. Most importantly, this book gives insight into the mindset of an editor or, for that matter, any creative process. According to Scott, all creativity rests in the mind, not in the tools.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Aug 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9781304490292

Book preview

Editor'sMind

SecretsfromtheChoppingBlock

ScottGoldman

Copyright©2021ScottGoldmanAllrightsreserved.

PublishedbyZenDigitals

ISBN-978-1-304-49029-2

Tableof Contents

Dedication      1

Preface      2

Acknowledgment      6

Chapter1 Get ToKnowMe      10

Chapter2Editors Mind      28

Chapter3Toolsofthe Trade      46

Chapter4WorkflowApproach      64

Chapter5ThinkAboutIt      79

Chapter6ShotSelection      93

Chapter7The MainShot      110

Chapter8The InitialTrim      125

Chapter9TweakingIt Down      140

Chapter10 ColorCorrection      156

Chapter11Audio      173

Chapter12 Final Cut      188

Chapter13 InClosing      203

Dedication

Thisbookisdedicatedtothemanywhohave

left us sooner than we would have liked forthem to have. While I may never understandthe design, I will always honor the designer.MarvinGoldman,BernardGoldman,MarthaGoldman, Arthur Rabinovitz, BernardRabinovitz,BelleBass,BinaBass,MitziBass,Sut Osofsky, Roz Perkins, Richie Perkins,AndrewPerkins,ElbaAleman,BarryKaplanandthemanyotherswhoImayhaveleftoffthislist...mayyourlightshineeternally.Youressencewillliveforeverinourhearts.

Preface

WhenIdecidedtowriteabook,Iwas

prettyunsureofwhatIwasgoingtowriteabout. I knew I was going to write about editingand some type of production. When I say sometype of production I mean focusing on one areaofproductionratherthanalloftheareasof

production

in

which

I

have

participated

throughoutmylifetime.Because,attheendof

theday,I

recordingmusician,

havespenttimeasaprofessional

studio      engineer,      music      producer,

videographer,

video

producer,

a

director,coloristandasaneditor.ButIthink

what'simportanttometobringacrosswillcomethroughinjustaboutanythingIwriteaboutbeingcreativeandthecreativeprocess.Attheendofthedaythat'sreallywhatitis.Alloftheseotherprocessesarejustthat.Theyare

2

processes.Theyareprocessesandchannels

throughwhichcreativity flows.

I believe that creativity comes from thewayyoulookatthingsandthewayyouinterpret things as well as the way you replicateandrepresentthosethings.Thepresentationmediumissecondary.Whetherit'sshooting

video,      writing      lyrics      for      a      song

music,whether      it's      the      mixing      oftheeditingofvideo...whatitreally

or      playing

music,      orboilsdown

toiscreatingsomethingthatanothercanrelate

to.I hopewiththisbook,I amabletodothat.

Ultimately, I decided to focus on videoediting.Manyofmymostrecognizedpublicaccomplishmentsresideinthatspace.Fromtelevision,tomovies,tocableandsomanymore arenas, editing has been my consistentmeans of expression and livelihood. Of course,there will be some parts of the book that aresomewhatjustobligatory.Forexample,Iwillbe

talking

about

some      of

the

basic

editing

software,aswellastalkingabouttypesof

shotsusedinvideographyandotherthingslike

3

that.Buthopefully,attheendoftheday,

essenceofwhatI'mtryingtocommunicatecomethrough.Andforme,thatessenceis

the

willto

trustyourselfandtrustwhoyouare.Betrueto

whoyouareandletthatguideyou.Lettheinternalvoicegowhereitwantsandthenreelitinwhereyouneedtoreelitin.Don'tallowexternalthingstocontrolyou.And,don'tallowtheopinionsofotherstosquashthethingsyoubelievein.That'snottosaydon'tplaywellwithothers.And,that'snottosaydon'tworkwellwithothers.And,that'scertainlynottosay,don'tletotherpeople'sideassharethesamevalidityasyourown.It'sacreativeprocessandotherpeoplearefantasticallycreativeaswell.ButwhatI'msayingistrustyourinstincts.Trustwhatyoufeelandtrustyourvision.That'swhatgivesyouyouroriginality.Andthereislittleworse,inmyopinion,thanlosingyouroriginality.

I hopeyouenjoy thisbook. As Iwritethis preface, I really don't know what is going tocomeoutjustyetbecauseIhaven't written

4

it.ButasIjustsaid,I'mgoing

to

do

what

I

andtrust the process.

do

5

Acknowledgment

TherearemanypeopleIwouldliketo

acknowledge not only in the creation of thisbook,butinmylife.TherearemanypeoplewithoutwhosecontributionIwouldneverbe

whoIamand

Iamthankfulthegifts,the

whereIam.Firstandforemost,

totheCreatorforgivingmetools,theinternalspark,and

everythingeslewithwhich I havebeen blessed.

Next, I want to thank my parents, mysisterandmybrother.Whiletheywerenotalways perfect, they certainly did the best theycould.But,iftheywereanydifferent,itisunlikelyIwouldhaveturnedoutthewayIdid.Soin thisregard, theyactually wereperfect.

6

InparticularIamthankfulformy

mother teaching me how to love. This was mymothersgreatestgifttome.Shedefinitelytaught thisbyexample.

IwanttogivehugeacknowledgmenttomywifeMagda.She'stheonethatseesthemethatnooneelsesees.Shegetsthegood,thebad,theugly,andeverythinginbetween.Sometimessheputsupwithitandsometimes

shedoesn't.But

supposed      to      be

I'msurethat'sthewayit's

and      am      fantastically      lucky

thatI chosetofly on thatoneparticular day.

I definitely want to thank my son Arturo.Arturofillsmyheartwitheverythingthatismagical in the world. God really knew what hewasdoingwiththeblessingofchildren.Thereissomethingthathappensthefirsttimeyoulook into your childs eyes. It is an indescribableexperience. The person Arturo is moves me andmovesmyhearteveryday.

I

really      want

to

thank

and

acknowledge

my

stepdaughter

Nathalie.

WithoutNathalieenteringmylifeIwouldhave

7

neverexperiencedthetypeofunselfishlove

that

transforms

someone

from

who

they

thoughttheywereintowhotheywantedtobe.

Theday

mylife,

this

my

amazingandbeautifulgirlentered

worldchanged.Withoutquestion,

ArturoandNathaliehavedrivenmetobecome

the manthat I am todayand that I strivetobe.

Professionally,

and      personally,      I

will

alwaysbethankfultomybestfriendMarc

Serota. Marc is an extraordinarily talented guy.We’ve been friends since the early days of mylife.Wehavegrowntogethercreativelyandmosteveryother way.

Ialso wantto thank myfriend LarryRosenbaumwhohasoftenbeenagroundingforce in my life.

I want to give specialacknowledgmenttomyearliestcreative cohorts. SteveMurphy,BillMurphy,MarkKnightand,inparticular,

James      Wisner      were

the      mostamazing

guystogrowup,tolearnwith,toexperiment

creativelywith,and tojusthang out with. I cannot overstate their importance in my life.

8

Averyspecialacknowledgmentalso

goestoBarryKaplan.Barrywasanamazingfriendandmentorwholeftthisworldwaytoearly.I willforeverbewatchingyoursmyfriend.

If you've been a part of my life for anylengthoftimeIwishtoacknowledgeyouaswell.Iacknowledgetheimportanceofwhoyou

arein

heart

my

life

and

I

thank

you

with

all

of

my

9

Chapter 1 Get ToKnowMe

OpeningScene

BorninBrookline,Massachusettstoa

modestfamily,I've

hadtheprivilegeoflivingin

multiple

differentThefirst

places.

Each      has

offered

me

opportunities      to      explore

ofmanyincludemoving

and      grow.

toasmallHightstown.

town

in

New      Jersey

named

Though      I

was      onlythreeorfouryearsold

when

we

moved

there,      the

town      left

an

indelibleimprintonmymindandonmylife.I

rememberitwasaprettysmalltown,buta

complete

town

that

had

everything      in

it

nonetheless.Idon’tquiterememberthetown

having

shoppingsightsto

tall

buildings

or

substantial

mallsastheyhavebecomefamiliar

seeintoday’ssociety.But,thetown

10

didnotneedany.Itmadeupforallithadinits

ownways.Itwastheclassicsmall

Americain the making.

Toputitinperspective,had only two middle schools andhighschool.Butwhenitcameto

townofan

Hightstown

onepublicsportsand

activitieslikethat,theywereplentiful.Soallin

all,it

smallknew

wasaprettycoolplacetogrowup.The

sizeofthetownmeantalmosteverybodyeverybody,oratleastknewtheirfamily

name.Nobodylivedfar,andifyouhadacool

groupoffriendslikeIdid,you

withthemallthetime.  Ihadfriendsandaroundeightother

couldhangout

around5

guyswho

core

hungwere

out

with

us      pretty

often

too.

We

always      playing      baseball,      basketball,      football,

capturetheflag,prisonersofwar,andjust

about

any      other      sport

or

contact      game

imaginable.Imean,wehadenoughofusto

always have two full teams. We basically hungout daily. Andon days when someoneditchedor was busy with schoolwork, we would inviteotherkidsfromneighboringareastojoinus

11

andplay.Theywouldhappilyoblige,andwe

wouldspendawaytheentireeveningplayingwithkidsthatwedidnotevenknowacoupleof

hours

intoand

before.      By

thetimedaytransitioned

night

we

had

become

wellacquainted

had      all      multiplied

ourfriends.That      was

the

funoflivingina

small

We

town.Everybody

hadabsolutelyhadnoreligious

embraced

everybody.

noideawhatracismwas.We

separations.

havingfun.wasstilla

Wewerejustamixedbagofkids

Thiswasdespitethefactthatit

verydividedAmericaatthetime.

Mychildhoodwasveryjovialandfun.Infact,

itwasoneofthebesttimesofmy life.

Of      all      the      good      things      living      in      a

smalltownbrought,muchofitcrashedwitha

singleevent.Myparentsdecidedto

whenIwasaroundeightyearsold.backthenwerenotcommonyet.So,

splitup

Divorcesyoucan

onlyimaginehowthestorymusthavebeen

receivedbythelocals.Itspreadlikewildfire,andloandbehold,Istartedlosingfriends.

12

SomeofthefriendsthatIhungoutwithwere

notallowedtohangoutwithmeanymore.Itwasasthoughtheirparentsthoughtdivorce

was      like      a      flu

spread      around.

understandasa

that      could

be      caught      and

pretty      tough      to

This

was

youngkid.

Butthe

effect

was

very

real.

I

rememberconsciously

developinga

shellaroundmyselfandmyheart

thatwouldthen takedecadestoputdown.

So anyway, at 15, I decided to move toFloridatolivewithmydad.ItwastherethatImetaguynamedJamesWisnerwithwhomIgot really close. James wrote some of the mostamazing music I had ever heard. One day heapproachedme.HehadheardthatIwrotelyrics and asked if he could see some. I showedhim a few things and he asked if he could takethem. I told him that Iwould write somethingnewinstead.Sohegavemeatapewithacoupleofsongswithoutlyrics.Theywereawesome. That night I played around with a fewlyrical ideas and gave them to James the nextday.Aroundtwodayslater,hebroughtmea

13

tapeofoneofthesongsthathehadadded

mylyricsto.      It

totallyblew

recording

meaway.The

and      James’wentbackto

quality

of      the

musicianship      wereamazing.I

James’house

wherehehadafullrecording

Heplayedmeanotherofthe

studioset

ideasand

up.

sungmylyricsalong.Ittoo,was

amazing.      This      wasthe

beginning

of

many

years      of      a      writing

andmusic

had      some

past.      But

production

production

thiscaused

partnership.

experience

metorise

I

in

to

had

my

anewlevel.Thismademe

embracewhereIwasvulnerableratherthantry

tohideit.Inthis,Iwaslearningtofeelmorecomfortableandconfidentinexpressingmyself

creatively.

particular

EversinceIwas

awareness      of      my

young,Ihada

unique      creativeblessing,            I      was

abilities.Be      it      a      gift      or      a

alwaysabletoseethings      from      a      creative

perspective.

Creativity

also

came

very

easily      for      meandIcould      seeinfiniteangles

and options to things.

14

So      anyway,

James

and

I

worked

togetheronmusic.Ourindividualtalentsand

creativity seemed like a match made in heaven.We were putting out music with passion and asenseofduty.Ourmusicwasverywellreceived

by

our

peers

as

well.

We

were

highly

appreciated

reallytouch

and

people.called

our

music

seemed

to

Jameswas

playingguitar

in

aband

Figment.

Figment

started

playingand

recording      the      music      James      and

I

werewriting.Mynotplayingintheband