Missing “Sex” and the City
Page 2 of 3
Sets in the City
Michael didn’t spend much time on set and at times felt a little cut off from the rest of the crew. “I’d hear about softball games when they posted the scores,” he joked. He was quick to add his isolation was mostly by choice. He’d gladly stop by with continuity stills or to answer questions about the 180? Rule or eyelines but mostly he needed to maintain his standing as an audience member to do the best possible job editing. “Sometimes they’d save time on set by moving a background rather than moving a whole lighting setup. I didn’t want to know that.” Michael needed to be able to judge how well shots cut without being influenced by the cheat. There were often little continuity questions. Michael and Wendey would often take advantage of the other’s eye, checking to see whether they’d get away with little tricks and intentional misdirections. As Michael so aptly put it, “Editing is an act of distraction.” The regular cast rarely gave them problems. It was the guest stars that couldn’t remember which way to turn from take to take. According to Michael, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon were remarkably consistent performers, mercifully aware of continuity issues. It was a good thing too. They worked on a relatively conservative shooting ratio of less than 20 to 1. Most times Michael had only three or four takes of a scene from which to choose. “The stars were very professional and showed up for every day of shooting with their four scenes of dialog memorized.” Happily, they stuck to the script verbatim, certainly an advantage when cutting dialog. Also important since, according to the show’s Executive Producer, sometimes director and oft-times writer Michael Patrick King, “It’s all about the words.”
Sex education
Cutting SATC was a learning process. When the first few shows were shot, they contained long moves through locations, setting the scenes and revealing the characters. Initial reaction indicated this languorous approach didn’t make the grade. The mantra quickly became, “keep it moving.” Get in, set up the situation, cut to a close-up for the joke and move on.
Michael’s method of cutting was to scan the available takes for each line of dialog and then start piecing the script together, always with an eye toward shortening scenes. Even after “finishing” edits he’d look back and see places to cut. “I’d watch a scene again and wonder how I ever thought I couldn’t lose more time, why I thought I needed those eight frames.” Luckily, HBO was flexible with show lengths, accepting even the occasional twenty-three minute half hour.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
I certainly don’t want to leave you with the impression that timing trumped all other considerations. The episode Michael chose to play for us during his presentation was #40, “All or Nothing,” directed by Charles McDougall. This episode clearly offered Michael a chance to stretch creatively and us a chance to examine his artistry.
McDougall’s known for being something of a perfectionist, prone to long days shooting miles of coverage, and what editor doesn’t love coverage? “I never had to reuse shots,” Michael beamed. In addition, McDougall worked in lots of business – using the blender, smoking, drinking and such. For all the issues of matching action, it’s still far better to have sequences and cutaways. McDougall also blessed Michael with something else editors love: Meaty, well designed transitions. Watch the episode and you’ll see a nice match on movement as Samantha’s head hitting the pillow matches to Carrie’s shoe hitting the bed. There’s also a lovely match on color as the chartreuse comforter Samantha pulls over her head match-dissolves through to the same color table linen in a China shop. Then there are two perfect transitions created by matching camera dollies, letting natural verticals “wipe” between frames. Episode #40 is also one of the few times flashbacks were ever used in the series. Several times memories of a recent dalliance with Big stop Carrie cold. The dreamy, steamy, very blue scenes are reinforced by an audio cocktail of heartbeats, tone and rumbling Michael created from sounds he found around the suite. Still, for all the added touches this episode displays, the cut doesn’t feel a frame too long or too short.
“All or Nothing” also stands as a testament to both the power of editing and the role of editor as a problem solver. Upon screening the director’s cut, it became clear to Michael Patrick King that the party sequence midway through the episode (originally ending with the line, “And then there were three.”) wasn’t nearly as powerful as the lost dog sequence that now wraps the episode. “Michael Patrick King often came to me posing questions like, ’Even though it was shot this way, even though all the blocking was this way, could we turn the show inside out?’ and then it was up to me to perform a miracle.” That’s exactly what happened here. Reordering the scenes required adding voice-overs to explain Samantha’s remarkable recovery and kissing a very cinematic midnight-in-Manhattan crane shot goodbye. All in all Michael’s changes to “All or Nothing” are seamless. I’ve now watched the episode several more times and it’s hard to imagine the show cut in the original scene order.
More than just a good time
After Michael Berenbaum’s presentation, he made his way out the big double doors of the hotel’s Gold Room and spent some time with the folks who’d gathered there. One person had questions about the secrecy surrounding the final episode and who had known what when. A student wanted to know specifics of Michael’s career, how he broke into the industry and how a young guy could get started. The kid said he had originally wanted to be an editor but had been leaning lately toward writing and directing. Michael offered a great truth. “You’ll be a better writer and director if you edit first.” When the conversation allowed, I asked him about something I’ve struggled with in my own work over the years. Sometimes, when I live and breathe an edit long enough, I begin to doubt my ability to step back and make unaffected choices. Michael pointed out that SATC’s edit flow always involved passing around copies, looking for feedback and approval from the writers, producers, the director and execs. His bright blue eyes sparkling, he recalled the only time when a cut made the rounds and didn’t generate a single suggestion – the final show. “After six years I finally got it right,” he laughed. Scanning the HBO message boards, reading the heartfelt farewells from thousands of sad Sex and the City viewers, confirms the fact that the entire cast and crew had been getting it right all along. The series was nothing short of a triumph. I’m pretty sure it’ll lead to more work.
Prev 1 2 3 Next
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
