How good is editing as a pathway to directing?

R

rc444

Well-known member
I'm a 28 year old film student. 90% of the class, would like to be a director (myself included). I've chosen editing as my 'bread and butter' job when I finish.

I was going to pursue cinematography, but I just felt that there is so many departments in cinematography, I'm worried I may get lost in the ladder. For me anyway, I felt that editing would be a more appropriate job to provide a quicker pathway into directing. When I say directing, I don't exclusively mean features, I mean docos, music videos, corporate jobs, anything really.

My only concern is that if I worked in editing, I would spend so long in a dark room that I would lose contact with the outside world (connections, networking etc, all the stuff necessary to help you out as a director). Perhaps I'm being naive. What does everyone thing?
 
There have been many times that I have been in the edit bay with my editor (on commercials) where we have said, "If only we had this one particular shot or cutaway." My editor said, "I can shoot it." He did. He ended up getting bid and awarded our next job as the director.
 
Editing is not a good path to directing. Writing or cinematography are better paths. As a writer, and a good one, not only can you write your own stuff to direct, but a lot of writers get a shot at directing. Tony Gilroy, writer of the Bourne series is a good example, he directed Michael Clayton.
 
I started out as an editor, and I feel it actually was a perfect way to get into directing. Editing teaches you beats, pacing, flow, which is crucial in both shot direction, and performance direction.
 
Well, I'm not certain how easy the jump from editor to director is careerwise - but I can say that Cyclone hit the nail on the head as to why I think it's a great skill for any aspiring director to spend some time on:

cyclone said:
There have been many times that I have been in the edit bay with my editor (on commercials) where we have said, "If only we had this one particular shot or cutaway."
Click to expand...

Editing forces you to sit down and truly examine your footage - and it becomes very obvious very quickly what you overshot, what was unnecessary to shoot, and what you're missing. I can honestly say that I feel I've learned more about shooting in terms of shot selection, coverage, and composition from editing than I have from shooting.

That said - yes, it can definitely hamper your opportunities for networking if you're stuck in a dark room somewhere (which is where I spend most of my time).

I know - not much help.
:)
 
being a professinal director and editor is "in my opinion" one of the most killing combinations in the industry, because lets say for example that you directed a commercial and then now the commercial is in its editing stages, you are sitting with your editor and you are just not liking what the result is, you just say"hey can I sit there for a while" and bamm! famous directors/editors include:
cubrick, scorsese spike lee etc.

bottom line is that you can be the director and editor for any given project but its a heavy heavy load, and very demanding
 
Ah, well editing does teach you what is missing from a film, which does make you a better director, but I still stand by editing being a not great pathway to get into directing. I started out editing before shooting, and being stuck in a darkroom definitely hampers the networking possibilities.

Production and Post tend to be very compartmentalized, while a film is shooting it's not unusual for an editor to be hundreds of miles away cutting while the film is shot. While the editor sees the mistakes and deficiencies of a shoot, you're also cut out of the onset learning phase, how to interact with each department, the hierarchy between departments... This is stuff you won't get in the edit room.

While it's good to get into editing you're going to need on set experience in the different departments if you want to direct.
 
as others have mentioned, you can learn a lot by editing. studying it will broaden your skill set as a director and will help you in visualizing the shots you want and how they will flow together.

as far as a pathway to becoming a director, i agree with isaac. writing and creating your own content is the most direct route.
 
This is a black and white issue... no gray areas :)

Hands down - editing prepares you better for directing than cinematography. Writing is also a good way. Cinematography is the way to FAIL at directing.

The numbers speak for themselves. The vast majority of cinematographers who try their hand at directing fail. Of course there are exceptions here and there (f.ex. Roeg), but by and large DPs make for absolutely miserable directors. Meanwhile, there are plenty of great directors who sprang from editing and a few from writing. Even acting is way, way, way a better preparation for directing. There is something - I suspect it has to do with a total lack of focus on story - about being a DP that warps your brain in such a way that you become incapable of directing. My strong recommendation would be to run as far away as fast as you can from cinematography if you want to direct.

As to contacts, that's a different ballgame. Interestingly, DPs, at least the bigger ones, almost all get a shot at directing - so in that way it's good... they get a chance. But they usually (like 99.999% of the time) blow it so horrendously badly that they're banished from directing again. The results of DPs directing are that bad.

Personally, I'd almost sooner hire a PA to direct than a DP :)

Bottom line: no contest - editing (or writing) is the way to go if you want to prepare for directing. AVOID cinematography AT ALL COSTS if you want to direct.
 
All the stated avenues can lead you to directing because a good director should have a grasp or knowledge of all of them...Sometimes it depends on what you want to direct...film, music video, television...I have seen awesome editing on a boring feature because the story sucks. If you want to do features, I believe that the best lead in would be a combination oF writing and editing...if you undestand editing and writing, you can write economically, get the right coverage, not write what you can't shoot, and create a experience that keeps an audience entertained for the duration of the project. Story or narrative editing is just as important as technical editing in fact the two should go hand in hand...Coming from a cinematography background is possible but I believe it would not be as good a primer...Overall, as I said earlier, my feeling is that to become a truly great filmmaker, you should eventually have an understanding of all areas of filmmaking...KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

Cheers,
Stan The Man
 
How can you effectively direct if you have no idea how something is going to be cut together? This is a rhetorical question.
 
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