Grammar of the Edit

This is a handy little guide, that is deceptively simple and yet embodies a great deal of the wisdom accumulated over years of classical filmmaking. Basically what you can find here is a set of simple rules for what will "cut well" together. It avoids, wisely, addressing anything about the technology of editing which will change rapidly while the basic "grammar rules" of how to put together shots in ways that flow and convey simple meanings effortlessly will remain. It will be useful for cameramen and directors (and home video enthusiasts) as a guide in shooting elements that the editor will be able, later, to put together into a coherent story form. It will also serve for the beginning editor as a convenient distillation of the principles they should take into account in order to avoid jarring the audience and taking them out of the story. There are numerous ways in which the rules described here can be broken and have been broken to powerful effect throughout the history of cinema, but I think the author is right to suggest that in such cases the power of such effects rests upon the fact that the editor was well aware that he or she was breaking the rules and wanted the effect upon the audience that would result from the jarring or unsettling feeling of something not quite natural being done. This is not the only or ultimate guide to editing, just as Strunk and White's Elements of Style is not the ultimate guide to composing sentences. There is much that is left out of this guide, as the author's primary aim seems to have been to catalog simply but completely at least the uncontroversial and widely accepted principles of composing shots and editing them together. For alternatives and exceptions and when to use them and how to plan for them, you really would need to look elsewhere. For what it is, though, this book is well written and clear and well worth reading as a beginner and returning to for reminders even when it feels as though it has become old hat.

This little book is wonderful. It is crammed full of information, whith chapters about the fundamentals of video, including excellent descriptions of camera angles, framing and editing principles. It is formatted almost as a list of things you have to know, with the concepts on the left side, and very clear illustrations on the right. I can't think of another book that is so well suited for the beginning student of camera and editing. I highly recommend it.