Cutting Rhythms

Karen Pearlman, ASE, is a director, with Richard James Allen, of the multi-award-winning Physical TV Company where she directs, produces and edits drama, documentary, and dance film. Currently an Associate Professor in Screen Practice and Production at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, Karen is an accredited member and a former President of the Australian Screen Editors Guild. She is a five-time nominee and two-time winner for Best Editing at the Australian Screen Editors Guild Awards.

“Cutting Rhythms illuminates the things that expert editors know and practice but rarely put into words.”-Margaret Sixel, Academy Award-winning editor of Mad Max: Fury Road“For years, many experts have claimed that 'Good editing is invisible.' Karen Pearlman puts this fallacy to rest with a brilliant examination of the art of film editing from the inside out. Required reading for Editing Fellows at the American Film Institute Conservatory, this book reveals new insights on every pass. I consider it an essential text for anyone curious about how editors do what they do.”-Robert Ivison, ACE, Head of Editing Discipline, American Film Institute Conservatory “Karen Pearlman’s work, which advocates for the centrality of editors and editing in the filmmaking process, is an invaluable resource for the film industry, students, and film scholars.”-Su Friedrich, filmmaker and creator of the website "Edited By—Women Film Editors"“Karen Pearlman's profound understanding of movement, energy, trajectory phrasing, and even dance offers editors actionable tools to engage audiences on a deeper level. Her teachings will forever change how you approach storytelling.” -Sven Pape, ACE-nominated film editor and creator of “This Guy Edits"

• Introduction 1. From Intuition to Expertise 2. Watching, Sorting, Remembering, Selecting, and Composing 3. Editor as Choreographer – Time, Energy, and Movement 4. Timing, Pacing, and Trajectory Phrasing 5. Tension, Release, and Synchronization 6. Good Editing is Not Invisible 7. Physical Rhythm 8. Emotional Rhythm 9. Event Rhythm 10. Style 11. Collaboration and the Vulcan Mind Meld 12. Editing Thinking and Onscreen Drafting