A lot goes into making a film beyond what we see on screen. While actors and directors make the most of the spotlight, many other actors and technicians, depending on the size of the production, work tirelessly on and off the set to complete a project. As filmmaking develops around the world, new departments are being created in addition to traditional costume, music, cinematography, etc.
This News18 series is meant to celebrate off-screen stars, the people working behind the camera during production, as well as the various pre- and post-production jobs that are essential for a project to come to life .
From 1981 to 2021, every Best Picture winner, except Birdman, was nominated for editing at the prestigious Academy Awards, which is a testament to the fact that it’s one of the most important jobs in the filmmaking process. National Award winning editor Nitin Baid, who has several critically acclaimed films like Gangs Of Wasseypur, Masaan, Raazi, Gully Boy and Aazhi Dastaan, said but it is unfortunate that in our film industry a film editor is not given the same importance as they should be. Credit.
In this interview, Baid talks about the art of film editing in the beginning, the early days of his Bollywood career, and the “humble” pay gap and opportunity gap editors face in the industry. Conversation excerpts:
How did you get started in film editing?
I am from Calcutta. During my college days in Bangalore, a friend of mine was working on a corporate film and he told me that he wanted someone to help him and I obviously didn’t know anything about editing. And, that’s how I got my first experience of editing something in terms of storytelling, and meanwhile, I was also watching a lot of movies. So by this time I had come to know that I want to do something related to films. I eventually applied to Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) and did a two year course at Whistling Woods International in Mumbai. From there the first film where I got to work as an assistant was Gangs of Wasseypur. I met Neeraj while shooting for it and that’s how we worked together in Masaan.
How does a typical show proceed in the editing room?
To me, editing is like a piece of music that has a lot of variety because we’re playing it and a lot of people come together to help find the raw materials to make that piece. Too often, things that look amazing on paper never work out when it comes to the editing table. In Gully Boy, the train song, which appears at the end of the film, was originally in a different position on paper. One day, we were screening the film and I suggested what if we put this song at the end of the film after Ranveer Singh’s final performance and suddenly everything makes sense. Therefore, an editor’s job is to ensure that they are actually achieving the vision that their director intended and the screenwriter initiated.
Editing is one of the toughest jobs in the industry. Has it ever happened that you cut the same scene in many different ways?
I always do that. Today, you’re constantly working on any film with almost 200-hours of footage, so there’s always a way to create a scene in different ways. I always try these variations consistently. Even when I’m cutting a scene, I know we can do it that way too so I alternate versions at the same time and keep it because in a bigger picture, things change often. .
The great film editor Dede Allen said, “You get bitten by your stomach.” Would you agree with that?
For me, once I start looking at the big picture, what do I want to build and have we achieved what we set out to achieve.
You have worked with acclaimed filmmakers like Neeraj Ghaywan, Zoya Akhtar and Karan Johar in several projects – from Masaan to Gully Boy and Lust Stories. How did the director-editor relationship work for you?
The process is different with every director. But most certainly, if you work with a director more than once it becomes easier for you to understand their point of view. The editor eventually has to mingle with the director as the editor works towards the director’s vision by adding whatever knowledge the former has. Karan’s film making process is very different from Zoya and Neeraj’s film making process. Their rhythm and tempo are very different from each other.
Recently, there was an entire sequence before the start of Neeraj’s Geely Pachi in Ajibdi Dastan. Konkona Sensharma goes to buy a TV and at the end of the film she actually gets the TV. I was on a call with Neeraj and we were discussing the film and I said to him, ‘Do we really need this full opening and closing segment?’ When I actually put it together in the edit, Neeraj said, ‘You’re right! We don’t need this scene. Let us see the opening scene where she starts working in a factory and we straightaway end the film the moment she is having tea. So, these are very intuitive things. And, once you work on multiple projects simultaneously, you develop a balance and understanding. With Karan, he is much more commercial in terms of what he imagines. There is too much enthusiasm in everything that comes to him.
Every Best-Picture winner since 1981—except for 2014’s Birdman—was also nominated for film editing. This figure shows how important the role of a film editor is. Do you think he gets his due credit in our industry?
I started my career with Gangs of Wasseypur and from that time till today things have improved in a big way. This is also because the role of an editor has changed. We’re not just cutting specific footage anymore. There’s like about 200 hours of footage and someone is going through that 200 hours and constantly creating everything, so you have to value them. I am friends with a few international editors and there is a huge difference in how editing and sound skills are recognized there and here. There’s a belief that editing is a more comfortable job because people think, ‘Oh, you guys are sitting inside this room and you’re doing your work, it’s not that much of a hassle.’ So, I think there’s a long way to go in understanding the true value of editing, both in terms of the disparity in pay scales and how things run in circles in general.
Does this job pay well?
It has improved a lot. I’m a little lucky to be in a position right now where I have the luxury of moving on to certain things. I know a lot of people who are extremely talented, more talented than me who are not in that fortunate position. But what you would pay to a DOP (Director of Photography) or what you would pay to a Production Designer is very different from what you would get paid to an editor in terms of disparity. When it comes to the editor, the budget shrinks in a big way because you will invest in DOP thinking that you want your film to look good. I don’t know if these inequalities are going to change, it’s always going to be there because that’s how things work here. This is something I am really sad about, especially for people who are so talented and even for me. It’s just that I’m a little lucky that I can push a modest amount for a fixed fee that’s a bit decent compared to someone else who’s getting less.
But the pay disparity is huge. Even the team of stars—the team that comes with an actor—is such a huge expense in itself. I mean Star’s team is getting huge amount and you are editing the film and you are almost making the film and you are getting this number. It is very sad that people are not able to see what they need to invest in.
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