Director: Michael Todd
Kinetic Films Inc. 1992. $79
Length: 14 minutes
Audience: Junior High, High School, Post-Secondary
Topics: news editing, journalistic ethics
The premise of The Edit, a drama with comic overtones, is that film and video footage is highly malleable material - and consequently that the editing process is full of potential pitfalls for overzealous filmmakers and unwary viewers. A television news reporter, determined to nail a political candidate for apparently shady business practices, gleefully cuts and shapes the interview he conducted in order to make as damning a case as possible. Not to be outwitted, the unscrupulous financier sends in a "mole" who re-edits the same material to create a very different story. The Edit lends itself to follow-up editing exercises with still photos, as well as lively discussions on issues of journalistic ethics and manipulation of news.
The Edit can be ordered online through Kinetic Video.
