Project research: Walter Murch

Walter Murch is one of the most famous film and sound editors. During his many years of career, he worked with greatest directors like Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas and won three Academy Awards. He was the only one person in history who win two Oscars for sound and image editing for one film, 'The English Patient'. According to Roger Ebert (2011) he is "the most respected film editor and sound designer in the modern cinema."

Walter Murch. Photo by Wiola Łabędź

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One of Murch's trademarks is that he edits in a standing position; he himself compares the film editing process to brain surgery or cooking - due to the standing position of surgeons and cooks while working. What's interesting is when he writes scripts, he does it lying down, thanks to which, as he claims, he can 'separate his editing mind from his creating mind' (Ondaatje and Murch, 2002). Like Murch, I prefer to create while lying down, but unlike him, I can't imagine editing while standing because I can't focus and my efficiency declines.

In addition to editing films standing up and collecting subsequent Academy Award nominations, Murch also became famous for introducing new technologies such as a computerized mixing console or electronic editing method - using the Avid system. As technology develops, it also changes the systems it works on.  For example in 2003, Murch edited 'Cold Mountain' on Apple's sub-$1000 Final Cut Pro software using off the shelf Power Mac G4 computers, and he was nominated for an Academy Award (Koppelman, 2005). In this way, he proved that he does not need expensive professional equipment to create good quality films. This is an inspiration for me to look for new solutions and learn new technologies that can make my work easier and improve the quality of my films. 

Reference

Ebert, R. (2011). Why 3D doesn’t work and never will. Case closed. /Roger Ebert . [online] https://www.rogerebert.com/. Available at: https://www.rogerebert.com/roger-ebert/why-3d-doesnt-work-and-never-will-case-closed [Accessed 1 Nov. 2023].

Ondaatje, M. and Murch, W. (2002). The conversations : Walter Murch and the art of editing film. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Koppelman, C. (2005). Behind the seen : how Walter Murch edited Cold Mountain using Apple’s final cut pro and what this means for cinema. Berkeley, Calif.: New Riders.