Picture Boards, Walter Murch Style

A while back I read through Walter Murch's In the Blink of an Eye. I found the book highly inspirational and informative, and have begin to utilise some of the techniques shared by Murch in the New Bird editing process. Primarily, I have done this through the creation of picture boards; having captured and imported all of the raw footage on each format, I took screenshots of every moment in every shot worth considering in the first assembly. From these, I created a large stack of A4 picture boards - while time-consuming, this will be rewarding in the edit. I am very pleased with the way they have turned out, and have already put them to good use in constructing an introductory sequence for New Bird (see below). Editing notes have been in the form of markings on the picture boards themselves, which has saved precious time reading through noted and trying to associate them with any part of over 100GB of footage. This alternative method has involved circling the best takes, noting letter codes (N for main narrative, G for graffiti inserts etc.) and marking up which takes feature certain people.

A particular sentiment Walter Murch shares is that editing is akin to the blinking of an eye, one that resonates with me and I will try to remember when cutting my own work. The methods of Murch are detailed further in Behind the Scene, a book by a different author chronicling the editing of Cold Mountain, by Murch, on Final Cut Pro. I am currently half way through this long book, and have already learnt a lot about Walter Murch and his way of working. The more I read, the more I find Murch's methodology falls in line with my own preferences and tastes.

Seems I've found a new filmmaking role model!