6 Rules of Good Editing According to Oscar Winning Editor Walter Murch

The "Rule of Six", a concept from his book "In the Blink of An Eye", lays out the essential rules that are found in every well edited film and how they can inform the decisions of anyone learning how to edit a film.

The six different "criteria" that make a good cut in a well edited film are emotion, story, rhythm, eye trace, 2D plane of screen, and 3D space. Each one weighs differently in priority when editing a film, with emotion being the most important of criteria.

Emotion: This was the first rule before it was written down. Of the most important is how you want the audience to feel. This concept informs all the other rules on the list when choosing shot length, angle, & spatial orientation. If all else fails, use emotion.

Story: Does the edit/scene move the story forward? A scene doesn't always move the story forward but might reveal elements of character. When refining a cut of a film, the scenes that don't drive the story forward are usually cut first, but could make the film stronger.

Rhythm: Timing is everything. Like the creation of music, cutting on a rhythm is essential for establishing the pacing of the film. If the rhythm is there, the audience usually will not notice other technical inconsistencies.

Eye Trace: How does the cut influence the audiences focus in the frame? When cutting a shot to another shot the audience will need to follow the action & making sure that their eyes don't have to jump around the frame to find the action is important. There are exceptions.

2D Plane of Screen: This rule follows the principals of planarity within the world of the film. Filmmakers must consider 3D space being transposed into 2D planes using the 180 degree rule. All of this is to orientate the audience with the spatial location of characters.

3D Space: Is the cut used to establish character spatial relationship with each other and the location around them. Using the 180 degree rule helps to ground characters and give the illusion of existing in a 3D space.

In conclusion, the ideal cut will be one that satisfies all six criteria at once. The breakdown of considerations in pie chart form: (51%) Emotion, (23%) Story, (10%) Rhythm, (7%) Eye Trace, (5%) 2D Plane, & (4%) 3D Space. If nothing else, consider the emotion of the audience.

You may not know the iconic editor & sound designer Walter Murch by name, but you have probably seen his work on "Apocalypse Now", "Ghost", and "The English Patient" to name a few.