Jaws Case Study & Verna Fields
Do you want to know why the shark looks realistic?
I made a comment, buried somewhere deep on Patton’s Instagram post about the film Jaws (1975; Directed by Steven Spielberg and edited by Verna Fields). This film catapulted Spielberg’s Hollywood career. Yet, how many of you have ever heard of Verna Fields? (Add your answer in the comments.) She isn’t well known, and he’s a global phenomenon.
Here is the clip where he credits her with making the shark look realistic. Here’s a direct quote:
“The shark would only look real in 36 frames, not 38 frames, and that two-frame difference was the difference between something really scary and something that looked like a great white floating turd.” ☠️ (OMG.) ☠️
It was HER decision to cut two frames earlier that made the movie realistic and scary. Think about that!
He was shooting 24 frames per second. Think of how much film that is in a 120-minute movie!
TWO FRAMES CAN MAKE OR BREAK A MOVIE!
So yes, while directors have a vision for a film and the editors are tasked with bringing that vision to light, the editors deserve credit when their effort fundamentally impacts the film’s narrative and success.*
#NotAllEditors — We can chat about this is a different post. But - quick note: different types of projects (indie, commercial, Hollywood, big budget, documentary, etc.) call for different types of editors and not all editors have power and agency over where to cut. Their decisions can, and often are, overruled by the directors, producers, studio, etc.
However, when the director trusts and respects their editor —→ magic like this can happen! This is why editors should be considered collaborative authors alongside the directors and what Patton Oswalt was referring to in his joke that started this whole thing. 😊
*Not So Fun Fact: Has anyone else heard this? Directors often get credit for the success of a movie and editors often get blamed for its failure?