How Editing Tells Lie

lucas souza

There is a long discussion about what is fiction and what is non-fiction, and major thing which separates both is Edit but I will use the term “Intention” instead of “Edit”.  

Fiction and Non-Fiction both are very largely discussed topic if I asked to explain both the terms in simpler manner then I would say:-

·       Fiction is something which we create and not true.

For Example:- Soap opera, Epic serial, Sitcom, Series, Countdown show, Tele Film, Cartoon Show, and Advertisement.

·       On the other hand Non-Fiction is considered to be true in nature. It is also accurate representation of story, data, idea, facts etc.

For Example: - Film, News, News Programme,  Documentary, Reality Show, Variety Show, Live Show etc.

“Cinema and Entertainment walks parallel to each other” and entertaining the audience should be primary agenda of any filmmaker, we can find entertainment in fiction as well as in nonfiction because we craft it. We try to make everything beautiful because we want to give best experience to our audience. 

Yes it’s true that nonfiction is something which is true in nature then what does that mean? The job of crafting is over? Or video editor is also a liar who makes a cut where he wanted?

The answer is no. As a cinema faculty our primary motive is to teach Craft to our students by keeping value of Art in mind.  I always try to make students understand about audience. While writing stories, script or in production and post production we always have to keep one thing in our mind that you are not the only audience. If your family members or friends appreciate your fiction Film or Documentary then it can be a feedback for you, because they can be good critic and measure to rectify few mistakes but those cannot be considered as your audience.

Real audiences are those who watch you anonymously, who invest time and sometime money just for some great experience. You don’t know at what time and at what mood a person starts watching your film, just in a hope of entertainment.

But why I am using word “Lie” in headline? Because we all use different editing technique to narrate different story, as a filmmaker we suppose to drag our audience somewhere where we wanted, into the world of excitement, thrill, fantasy etc. 

The recent success of “Patty Jenkins” directed “Wonder Woman” is perfect example of that. Showing a woman in power is definitely needed in society but it’s not real, in fact it’s not live in today’s world. Here Patty Jenkins is telling a story which is not true but he allows us to fantasize in that way, which leads to generate the excitement.

So director and editors is only liar? Who tries to enter into viewers mind?

No, everyone is telling lie in cinema by tweaking and treatment of the story.

Director decides where and how to start and when to say cut. Editor decides what to keep and what not. Script writer decides what to visualize, similarly cameraman shows his craft, what to keep and how long to keep something in frame and so as others also doing their job too.

So everyone is an editor in this entertainment industry, everyone crafting something special for their audience and everyone telling their lie artistically.