Editing is complicated because you always have to be thinking of the big picture – what's the story – and what structure, what moments best tell it. But you also have to build that structure scene by scene and each scene has to work on its own terms. You can cut a scene that works really well by itself, but it doesn't set up the rest of the story. So you have to constantly edit for the scene and the whole movie at the same time.

I cut all kinds of material – drama, music video, advertising, business and promotional videos, and documentary. The same principles of editing always apply, whether its a thirty second TV commericial or a feature documentary.

The one big difference with long-form documentary is the challenge of organizing the footage properly. This type of cutting is a marathon, not a sprint. Proper preparation at the beginning of things has a big pay-off at the end.

Kent Moorhead

Kent Moorhead cutting in his
Mississippi AVID suitein 2000

Kent Moorhead

kmoorh@aol.com
In Europe call: +46 762 34 35 69
In US: 662-816-7253 (mobile)

The Most Segregated Hour Oxford, Mississippi. 1962

Kent Moorhead – 35 years of editing experience

Final Cut Pro Editor since 2005.
Also experienced with Aftereffects, Soundtrack Pro, Apple Color and Photoshop

AVID Editor since 1996.  

Video Editor from 1993 to 1996, including work as On-line Editor.

Film Editor, 1975 to 1993.

The Most Segregated Hour had scenes built from archival film and other scenes made from cinema vérité filming. There were also many interviews.

Editing requires viewing large amounts of footage and making the best choice for each shot. In documentary this means having a system for logging material that allows you to track shots according to both content and powerful emotional moments.

I also edit drama. With drama you usually have a script and a continuity log from the set. But you still have to be able to evaluate the performances in order to cut an effective scene. I've photographed many dramatic films, and also worked on some as a director. Plus I've been to the theatre a lot. All this helps when it comes to cutting drama – it means I know what to look for in a perfomance.

Mae Bertha Carter talks about segregated schools

Radishes & Butter  Educational drama in French

Hector Escalera talks about "YouthALIVE!",  a museum training program for at-risk youth.

Coffee Cakes a la Française   Educational drama in French

Mississippi Remembers WWII was a low budget doc for public TV that used lots of archival stills. I built pan and zoom camera moves using Boris FX.

Adventures in Pizza was a reality TV doc made entirely from cinema vérité footage. It meant finding a story in 50 hours of raw footage.

Working Together for Our Children –Understanding the classroom and the teacher's approach is essential to editing this kind of educational film.

Cool Breeze was a music video with over 65 camera set-ups. The on-set playback audio didn't sync up with the camera, so I had to visually lip sync it in post.