How to Edit for Better Pacing and Storytelling Part 2

Part 2 of my video series on merging The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions into a single film is now live (you can find Part 1 here). In it, I show how cutting unneeded information from the film, such as The Merovingian's causality talk, strengthens that specific scene and the character at the heart…

In Terms of Space

Think about this in terms of space. Without stars to provide light, There is dark. But stars are born; The dark simply is. In terms of space, The dark is the default, And it goes on forever. The dark is eternal. ...as the light of the stars is guided through dark space. Think about this…

How to Edit for Better Pacing and Storytelling

So, I just posted a new video to my YouTube channel, Reel Busy Editing, and what I show in it is how I re-edited The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions into a single film by cutting all the bloat present in both films. There was so much getting in the way of the story…

I Think I Just Wanted to Do a Film That Wasn’t an Action Movie

So, in my latest video, I wanted to show how subtracting one bit of dialogue from one scene in the 2000 film Cast Away could add a bit more emotional weight to that scene, and I also wanted to show how subtracting an entire reunion can add to the emotion of the ending of the…

Your Soul… er, Edit… is Mine!

Catchy title, eh? Anyway, I have a new Quick Change video up on my YouTube channel, Reel Busy Editing. If you want to see how a few small edits can make a big difference in a scene from the 1995 film Mortal Kombat, then click the play button on the video below. Enjoy! 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFqUZsIhEQA

Would This Character Say That?

Sometimes, I read a book or watch a movie, and a character will say a certain line of dialogue that will pull me out of the experience because I'll be scratching my head over why that character would say that line. That's definitely something we, as writers, have to be careful of: not allowing a…

Removing an Unnecessary Character Element

In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, one element of Kylo Ren's character is his penchant for throwing tantrums. He actually does it twice in the movie, which actually affects the movie negatively. The first time, his tantrum just gets in the way of an emergency that occurs on the Millennium Falcon. The second time, Kylo's…

Trying

I try. I try to do the things, the things other people do, do to feel right. Right? I try. I buy. They tell me to buy for myself. For myself, I share to try. I try. I try to share, but does anyone care, care to understand why, why I try, why I don't…

Taking the Clown Out of Finn

A couple of years ago, I wrote a blog post concerning what I referred to as The Tragedy of FN-2187. In that post, I talk about the poor execution of the character Finn in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy. In the first of my Taking the Mary Sue Out of Rey videos, I touched on…

Discover the Force

When they are born, a new generation will be nurtured in the fruits of the struggles and battles won before their time. When they are growing, a new generation will look to the skies and dream and hope and wish on never-ending fires above. When they are open, a new generation will absorb the rays…