Conversing about The Conversations

After reading the first chapter of Michael Ondaatje's The Conversations, a series of interviews with expert film editor Walter Murch, my appreciation for the hours of work and compilation that go into the making of any film has definitely grown. 

It would have been a lot easier to follow the dialogue had I seen many of the movies they were talking about. Even so, I found the first chapter really interesting. 

It's amazing how many different people contribute to the whole film making process. I had never even considered the editor as a major component, which he or she clearly is. 

I also found it really interesting that women were largely the first editors in the film business. It makes sense, though, that editing would originally be considered a woman's task, similar to knitting and stitching. They cut and weave the film together in a delicate process. Its cool that woman had such an influential role so early on, even if they did not get proper recognition for it. 

Reading The Conversations made me eager to go out and rent a whole bunch of movies. It also made me eager to start testing out my film-making skills in the upcoming project. Hopefully my group and I are up to the task.