From what I understand, and someone will correct me if I'm way off, the negative
cutter organizes the "raw" recordings into the final cut. So, after hundreds of
hours worth of "film", and pre and post and finish and whatever, when the
director says "I want this part here, and then this part, and then the close-up
of his face, and then the reverse, and then camera C, and then camera A, and
then the overhead", the negative takes the whatever (film, negatives, digital
files) and arranges them in order.

In practice, the finesse probably comes from maybe the way in which one cut
switches to another (I'm sure it's not always a sudden flip).

As for noticing it, that's the big joke. Virtually anybody worth anything will
say that you can't notice the negative cutter's work any more than you can
notice the lunch-truck's work, or the accountant's work. But of all the great
movies and really emotionally fun and entertaining movies, they tend to be Mo
Henry's work. Now, maybe it's not that we notice Mo's work; maybe it's that
when good movies are made, they hire the best negative cutters. Maybe Mo turns
down jobs with inferior movies. Maybe Mo only permits her name to be used in
the good ones. I don't know. But, all that said, I really hope the next movie
I see is a Mo Henry movie. I guess I'll find out this weekend.

More importantly, the negative cutter is really the queen of the universe -- a
title we still await in the credits.

Bryan

----- Original Message -----
From: Wendy "Flew the Coop Aviary and Art Studio"
To: mohenryfanclub@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2009 9:13 PM
Subject: [Mo Henry Fan Club] Negative cutting





Ok, I've been a Mo fan for years now. But I have to say, I really don't quite
get what a negative cutter is and how you can see the results of their work.What
should I be looking for? I've always just delighted in waiting till the end of
the credits to see her name come up (though I was certain she was a he for the
longest time LOL ) I hate to look this stupid but I can't help it-how can you
see the difference between negative cutters?
Thanks, Wendy





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