Interviewing Johanna Scott allowed me some insight into the Australian editing world. Scott, who has been editing for over twenty years now, gained her experience through climbing the ladder –runner, assistant editor, junior editor, senior editor. For her, it was a slow slog though much anticipated and worth it. When asked about particular obstacles she had faced over her career (regarding gender), she said she did not feel she ‘had it worse’ than any of her editing peers around her. Her career was carved through natural progression and hard work.
The Screen Australia Gender Matters – Women in the Australian Film Industry (2015) states that between 2013/14 and 2014/15, 59% of documentary production teams that were successful in receiving funding consisted of at least 50% female teams (2015). This statistic, much higher than the 29% of feature production, is indicative of the higher female presence within the documentary field. Anecdotally, Scott has edited three full-length films total, two being documentary. The report focuses on producing, directing, and writing roles, and contains no specific data on editing. Perhaps since the editing role is not perceived as prolific in comparison to the others, it flies underneath the radar and is not given the same amount of attention. While they are a key part of the creative team, they are not seen as the head.
Lisa French outlines the importance of women centering women to enact social change in documentary filmmaking, “There are many films by women filmmakers about women who advocate for social justice, and through that alter the cultures in which they live” (2019). The documentary, I Used to Be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story (2018), edited by Scott and directed by Jessica Leski, centres around three main female voices. Although the film does not highlight more serious societal issues, it is a joyous piece which examines the niche of fangirling, and explores shame, adolescence, loss, and love. It offers validation to those who may feel similar. This film allows a respite from the typical serious issues often confronted by documentaries. Scott eagerly expressed her love for the film, and the pride she took in editing it.
On the process of editing, Scott spoke about finding a rhythm with the cuts and using intuition to discover what makes a scene ‘work’. She believes there is no ‘definitive cut’ and highlighted the role that collaboration plays. She spoke of the importance for her to spend some initial time alone with the rushes – to be a fresh eye to the production as a whole before working with the director. The tone of the film and therefore editing ‘style’ is “generally determined by the director when they work with all of the collaborators” (Pearlman, K 2019, p 153). Scott spoke about how the openings of films set the tone for the film as a whole and discussed working with director Eddie Martin on Have You Seen the Listers? (2017) and how they spent months refining the opening montage. The Lister film, which consisted of majority archival footage, follows the editing style that Pearlman would place high among the montage spectrum as well as the linkage spectrum. The opening in particular, contains cut-together footage of Australiana elements, linking seemingly separate images of the desert, and footy games for example, to ideas of Australia that the viewer might have, or constructing one that they may not.
Overall, I really enjoyed speaking with Scott and felt I learned so much about her editing process and the potential that cinema holds.
References
French, L 2019, ‘Women documentary filmmakers as transnational “advocate change agents”’, Cultura y representaciones sociales, vol. 7, no. 17, pp. 15-29.
Pearlman, K 2009, ‘Style’, in Cutting Rhythms: Shaping the Film Edit, Taylor & Francis, UK, pp. 153-180.
Screen Australia 2015, Gender matters: women in the Australian screen industry, Screen Australia, Australia.