Goldenberg: WE'RE STORYTELLERS.
WE'RE TRYING TO TAKE, YOU KNOW,
THE SCRIPT AND THE FOOTAGE THAT WE'RE GIVEN
AND TELL A STORY IN THE BEST, MOST EFFICIENT WAY POSSIBLE.
WE'RE DOING THE FINAL REWRITE OF THE SCRIPT,
WE'RE DECIDING WHAT STAYS IN, WHAT GOES OUT,
WHAT PERFORMANCES TO USE, WHAT THINGS TO ACCENT,
WHAT EMOTIONS TO TRY AND HIGHLIGHT.
SO IT'S THE FINAL, YOU KNOW, LAYERING OF THE STORY.
EVERYTHING I LEARNED AS AN EDITOR,
I LEARNED FROM MICHAEL KAHN,
AND HIS BIG THING WAS,
"GIVE ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE WRONG.
LET ME TRY THINGS. LET ME MAKE MISTAKES.
DON'T PERSECUTE ME FOR IT."
I MEAN, YOU MAKE DISCOVERIES ALONG THE WAY THAT WAY.
WHEN I WORK WITH A DIRECTOR, I TRY AND ADAPT
TO ANY WAY THEY WANT TO WORK.
FOR INSTANCE, WHEN I WORK WITH BEN AFFLECK,
HE SITS NEXT TO ME ALL DAY LONG.
I MEAN, WE JUST CUT THE FILM TOGETHER.
HE'S THERE GENERALLY FROM WHEN I GET THERE TO WHEN I LEAVE.
WITH KATHRYN BIGELOW, SHE'S AROUND ALL THE TIME,
BUT IT'S MUCH MORE, "I TRUST YOU.
YOU'RE THE EDITOR.
EDIT THE FILM," WHICH IS INCREDIBLY FREEING,
BUT ALSO REALLY SCARY.
SHE HAS AN INCREDIBLE WAY OF COMING IN, SEEING THINGS,
SAYING FIVE WORDS THAT MEAN EVERYTHING.
I DO INVOLVE MY ASSISTANTS A LOT.
I LIKE TO TRAIN MY ASSISTANTS
TO BECOME EDITORS LIKE I WAS TRAINED,
LIKE MICHAEL KAHN DID FOR ME,
BUT HAVING SOMEBODY IN THE ROOM HELPS, TOO.
JUST, SORT OF, HAVING A BODY IN THERE,
YOU SEE THINGS MORE CLEARLY SOMETIMES THAN YOU WOULD
BECAUSE I THINK THAT IS
THE TOUGHEST THING ABOUT BEING AN EDITOR.
I MEAN, I SEE THESE SCENES HUNDREDS OF TIMES,
AND KEEPING YOUR PERSPECTIVE
ABOUT WHETHER CHANGES ARE GOOD, NOTES ARE GOOD,
YOU'RE GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRE--
IS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT THE JOB.
I COME IN REALLY EARLY. I WATCH ALL THE DAILIES.
I WATCH THEM AT LEAST ONCE -- TRY AND WATCH THEM TWICE --
MAKE NOTES ABOUT PERFORMANCE.
I DO A LOT OF BREAKING THE PERFORMANCES DOWN LINE-BY-LINE
SO I CAN COMPARE PERFORMANCES AGAINST EACH OTHER,
AND I'LL WRITE DOWN NOTES ABOUT EVERYTHING I LIKE
OR DON'T LIKE ABOUT A PARTICULAR SHOT
JUST ANYTHING THAT MIGHT BE VISUALLY INTERESTING --
PERFORMANCE, OF COURSE.
BY THE TIME I START CUTTING,
I'VE PRETTY MUCH MEMORIZED THE FILM.
I KNOW WHAT EVERY SHOT IS. I KNOW WHAT EVERY ANGLE IS.
I KNOW WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY.
I KNOW WHERE I'M COMING FROM. I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING TO.
SO BY THE TIME I'M CUTTING,
YOU KNOW, I'VE DONE ALL THIS, WHAT I CALL, HOMEWORK,
WHICH IS SOMETIMES INCREDIBLY, PAINSTAKINGLY,
YOU KNOW, MIND-NUMBING.
MICHAEL KAHN REFERS TO IT AS LOSING YOUR FOREBRAIN,
MEANING JUST LET YOURSELF GO.
IT BECOMES LIKE A BIG PUZZLE.
YOU DO ONE SCENE AT A TIME,
AND THEN, AS THE PIECES FIT TOGETHER,
YOU MAKE BIGGER SECTIONS, LONGER,
TILL, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN THROUGH THE WHOLE FILM
AND I HAVE AN ASSEMBLY.
BUT THEN STARTS THE SHAPING OF IT --
KIND OF LIKE A SCULPTURE.
YOU TAKE A LITTLE OFF HERE, A LITTLE OFF THERE,
UNTIL YOU FIND YOU'RE HIGHLIGHTING
THE THINGS YOU WANT TO HIGHLIGHT,
YOU'RE TELLING THE STORY YOU WANT TO TELL
IN THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY.
CREATIVITY IS THE ABILITY TO THINK FREELY, YOU KNOW,
IS TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX,
IS TO THINK IN A WAY THAT'S NOT CONSTRAINED BY ANYTHING.
THE BEST STORY I CAN TELL ABOUT THAT
IS ABOUT WHEN I WAS WORKING WITH MICHAEL MANN.
AND I SAID, "WELL, WHY DON'T WE JUST,
YOU KNOW, WE CAN CUT FROM HERE TO HERE.
IT WOULD WORK PERFECTLY."
HE SAID, "WELL, THAT WOULD BE EASY.
WE WANT TO DO IT IN AN INTERESTING WAY
AND A DIFFERENT WAY," YOU KNOW.
BUT YOU DON'T WANT TO DO IT DIFFERENT TO THE POINT
WHERE YOU'RE CALLING ATTENTION TO THE EDITING,
BUT YOU WANT TO DO IT DIFFERENT
WHERE IT KEEPS THE AUDIENCE FEELING FRESH.
I THINK GOOD EDITING IS SEAMLESS AND INVISIBLE.
AND IT CAN BE REALLY OVERT
AND YOU CAN HAVE REALLY, YOU KNOW, EXTREME EDITING,
BUT YOU DON'T EVER WANT THEM TO COME OUT OF THE STORY.
YOU DON'T EVER LET THE AUDIENCE
FEEL LIKE THEY'RE WATCHING A MOVIE.
YOU WANT TO JUST HAVE THEM TOTALLY IMMERSED.
SO, TO ME, IT'S INVISIBLE, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN
YOU CAN'T DO REALLY INTERESTING
AND DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, KINDS OF CUTTING.
I JUST FEEL LIKE I'M HAVING FUN.
GET TO TELL STORIES AND GET TO TRY AND SHAPE
AND TAKE THINGS THAT, LIKE, LOOK ORDINARY
AND MAKE THEM INTO SOMETHING SPECIAL.
I'LL WATCH A SCENE
THAT'S EITHER EMOTIONAL OR IT MAY BE FUNNY
AND I FEEL LIKE, ALL OF A SUDDEN,
I REALIZE I'M LAUGHING OR I EVEN CRY SOMETIMES,
YOU KNOW, LIKE A REGULAR AUDIENCE
WHILE I'M DOING IT,
SO I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE I FOUND THIS THING THAT I LOVE
AND THAT IT'S A JOB.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE I WOULD DO,
SO THAT'S PROBABLY WHY I DO IT.