STACK #186 Apr 2020

FILM FEATURE

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Working on the award-winning war masterpiece 1917 , Australian editor Lee Smith was set the daunting task of creating the illusion that the film was shot in one continuous, unbroken take. STACK asked him how it was done. Words Scott Hocking

A t the height of World War I, two young British soldiers are tasked with a high stakes mission requiring them to cross into enemy territory to deliver an urgent message that could save 1600 lives. 1917 is one of the most intense war films since Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk – the result of director Sam Mendes’ bold vision to capture the story in real time and create the impression it was filmed in one long, continuous shot, with the camera never leaving the protagonists. With this in mind, eagle-eyed viewers will no doubt be on the lookout for cuts, but the result is remarkably seamless and a testament to the skill of editor Lee Smith. When STACK speaks to Sydney-born Smith, he’s happy to be back home catching up with friends following a hectic awards season that saw 1917 receive the BAFTA for Best Film and Oscars for Cinematography, Sound Mixing and

among his most challenging and unconventional editing jobs to date. “It utilised parts of my brain I don’t think have ever been switched on before,” he says. “It was complicated in the extreme and just changed the whole dynamic as to how you edit a movie, and what timescale you do it. “This is kind of reverse timescale, because you’re doing everything you’d be doing in

Visual Effects. Of course there is the rather cruel irony that Smith couldn’t be nominated in the editing category, because that would have given the one-shot game away. “We laughed about that on numerous occasions,” he says. “Sam said, ‘I’m going to tell everyone you’re the unsung hero, which he did, to his credit. But not to worry; it was an extremely gratifying experience

post-production on a daily basis. And, importantly, trying to get a film that looks like it’s complete as you’re shooting it, because there’s no going back and it’s very difficult to change the film, which you can do quite easily in post on a conventional coverage film. You can’t do it on a film like this. “So the pressure was top- loaded for me. Even with all of our

and I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. It was one of my favourite films that I’ve worked on in my career.” With a body of work that includes the aforementioned Dunkirk , as well as Inception , The Dark Knight and Master and Commander , Smith, not surprisingly, counts 1917

it was complicated in the extreme...

24 APRIL 2020

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