FEATURE

David Kleiler

THE BUSKER AND ITS EDITING TEAM

Hollywood feature films have always had a team of editors, under the direction of a single editor.  Local editor and filmmaker Alice Stone was on the editing team for Jonathan Demme’s SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.  On the independent front, even though Brad Anderson gets the editing credit (as he does for all his films) for NEXT STOP WONDERLAND, local editors Steve Gentile and Lisa Faircloth Carey worked on it as well. 

Scenes from THE BUSKER, Seamus with his violin and Seamus and Ruby on the street. Photos courtesy of Director Stephen Croke.

Lower budgeted independent films often take a different approach. Since such films usually cannot afford the “day rate” of a typical editor, and if it can get someone to cut his rate at the start, these editors often must leave the project for more lucrative gigs to which they have previously committed. They are replaced by someone else who might be between projects. On the other hand, a producer must find someone to assemble a rough cut at a lower rate, then hire  someone to do the fine cut. The situation is often further complicated by having most of the emotional, creative and financial resources having gone into the development and shooting of the project, while post production,(and marketing) have usually been underestimated both in terms of cost and time. But it is in circumstances like these that the role of editors is most important.

THE BUSKER, an independent feature shot mostly in Lowell, Mass., by writer/director Steven Croke, is a good case in point. The story involves a l3-year old violin prodigy whose father is accidentally shot and killed in a racially motivated attack. The teenager takes to the streets with his violin where he becomes a busker. He develops a relationship with a young black girl and is discovered by a man with connections to a London music school, where he wants the prodigy to develop.  In lesser hands than Croke’s, the film could pass for an After School special. But with its beautiful camerawork, (Lowell has never looked better) fine acting, and evolving music track, it has a chance of doing well on the festival circuit, in spite of the fact that it is a “tweener,” a good film that is not edgy enough for the art house circuit nor big enough for the megaplexes. I’m sure that audiences who get to see it will find it very satisfying.

That’s where the editing team comes in. The first cut I saw almost a year ago had some pacing issues, a little too much dialogue and not enough music. The latest cut I saw revealed a substantially improved film.

The first editor was Chi-Ho Lee, a Boston University graduate who teaches Final Cut Pro, and has a reputation as a great technician. Besides lots of commercial and local television work, he also edited David Rothauser’s DIARY OF SACCO AND VANZETTI, which has shown in festivals and aired on WGBH.

Chi-Ho has to leave because of other professional commitments, including teaching demands, so I introduced Steve to veteran editor Loren Miller to fine tune the project.  Loren edited the student films that put Boston University’s film program on the map. He edited the Oscar nominated KUDZU (with Jimmy Carter and James Dickey),  the Oscar-winning KARL HESS, and the fabulous I REMEMBER BARBRA, a very funny and poignant film about people who grew up in Barbra Streisand’s old Brooklyn neighborhood.  Just as HIGH NOON was supposed to have been made in the editing room, so was I REMEMBER BARBRA. Something of a maverick, Loren likes  creative challenges. He’s also selective about his work. I’ve known him to turn down a paying project that didn’t seem to provide enough of a challenge. Furthermore, since THE BUSKER is about music, Loren brought in Don Wilkens, head of the film music program at Berklee College of music. As good as the film is turning out to be, its success may come in part from the sound track.

Steve enjoys the working relationship he has with his editors, and is good at listening to, most often taking their advice. The last cut that was shown at a recent fund-raiser, has grown tighter and has gotten rid of a distracting subplot or two. At a dinner he had with them in Davis Square, Steve was reminded of the old adage that any film has three versions, the one that was written, the one that was shot, and the one that is edited.

I used to emphasize the importance of the relationship between the director and his cinematographer. After having watched the evolution of THE BUSKER, I’ve truly come to understand the importance of the editor. THE BUSKER has a good shot at success, but thanks will certainly have to go to his editors: Chi-Ho Lee and Loren Miller.  

David Kleiler is the President of Local Sightings and Executive Director of The Boston Underground Film Festival.