Preface

It all started with a blade, in dimly lit rooms with chinagraph pencils and rickety hand-driven winders. There were no dissolves, no effects, just cuts. And masterpieces were created.

Chaplin, Eisenstein, Welles, Capra, Wilder, Hitchcock — each and every one of these great directors worked with far less sophisticated equipment than you and I, and, yet, truly great films were made.

It may have all started with a blade, yet in the modern world editing takes place on sophisticated work stations with more power than the computers used to send men to the moon! And the cost of these work stations has plummeted to an all time low. With nothing more than a DV camera, Firewire Mac and Final Cut Pro, one has tools which are infinitely superior to filmmakers of previous generations.

Yet, no matter how great the tools, it is essential to understand the principles of filmmaking. The limitations are no longer access to equipment or technology. It all comes down to skill and craftsmanship.