Insights into teaching creativity in editing

ABSTRACT In my experience, teaching film editing has always presented a challenge in terms of aligning the creative with technical expertise. The technology, as a tangible commodity, is essentially taught in an experiential learning environment by engaging students in hands-on practical exercises to learn the software and basic editing technique. The challenge of teaching the creative editing practice is less tangible in that it requires a great deal of contextualising in terms of content and problem solving, as aligned with ‘creative outcomes’. This paper will explore the challenge of teaching creativity in editing and in doing so I will discuss editing as a ‘hidden art’, and the more abstract phenomena of intuition, rhythm and pacing as aligned with creative outcomes. Furthermore, I will discuss ‘best practice’ in teaching editing in reference to the nexus of theory and practice, the collaborative nature of teaching creativity in a studio-based environment, and the development of the teaching resource The Art of Editing: Australian Screen Editors Discuss Creativity in Editing, that offers new insights into teaching creativity in editing.