The Importance of Intention

A Conversation With Heist Editor Barbara Tulliver

by Phillip Williams | Published February 3, 2007

Film editor Barbara Tulliver had at one time contemplated a career in theater. She studied lighting design for the stage and later got the chance to ply her craft in summer stock and numerous off-off Broadway productions. Her move to the cutting room came quite by chance, but there she found a creative outlet that suited her-a good match for the critical training gained in the lighting booth. Starting in commercials as an assistant editor, she stepped over into features and did her time as an apprentice, finally assisting on such films as David Mamet's House of Games in 1987 and Milos Forman's Valmont in 1989.

When Mamet's regular editor Trudy Ship was unavailable to work on Homicide (1991), Barbara, by then a familiar face in Mamet's company, got her big break when he invited her to cut the picture herself. Since then she has edited a steady stream of films for the prolific writer/director, including Oleanna (1994), The Spanish Prisoner (1997), The Winslow Boy (1999), State and Main (2000) and this season's latest, Heist. She also cut Hard Eight for Paul Thomas Anderson in 1997 and is currently in production on M. Night Shyamalan's new picture, Signs, slated for release in 2002.

Phillip Williams (MM): Do you think that, since Homicide, David Mamet's approach to working with an editor has evolved at all?

Barbara Tulliver (BT): No, I think it was a great transition. When he did House of Games-his first film-he worked with Trudy Ship; they had a great relationship and it evolved in such way that when I came in, I worked so similarly to Trudy (having been her assistant)-all the things that we did were identical. As David and I worked together we developed a way of working that has a certain shorthand. I don't think it's changed much, but again, he's only had me and Trudy to work with.

MM: Mamet seems to be someone who thinks a great deal about the moviemaking process ahead of time. Is the approach that you're going to take fairly well thought out before you enter the cutting room? Has he given you specific notes to follow or do you start out bringing your own take to the material?

BT: Yeah, I give it my own take and then we work together. I sit in on dailies and he'll tell me his thoughts. He'll give me performance choices-but I think [at that point] he's so concentrated on shooting, (which at that point most directors are), that I have that opportunity to give him my own take. This is just in terms of giving him a good first cut, rather than cutting anything out of the picture. Then he can get a really good feel for the film and we go in and begin working together. We're very open with each other. For me it's a rewarding experience because we have a great dialogue with each other and we're very open to trying out whatever will work.

MM: Do you request shots from time to time during production to make a given scene work?

BT: Yes, and I would do that with any director. I think David expects that from me. If something isn't working, I'll show it to him and we'll talk about it. It's always hard to cover completely everything that you may need. Nobody likes re-shooting (laughs), so you try to get everything that's needed before you get to the cutting room.

MM: Does David work with storyboards?

BT: No. He may storyboard some sequences, but not the whole film, though he did earlier on [in his career]. Not since I've worked with him as an editor, though. We talk a lot about the script beforehand; he'll be very generous and say "Read the script, and if anything's going to end up on the editing room floor, let me know so that we don't have to shoot it. We only have seven weeks (laughs) so I don't want to waste my time.' And of course we agree sometimes and don't agree other times.

MM: Was Heist unique for you as an editor in any way?

BT: It was unique because there was a lot more that David was able to do because he had a larger shooting schedule and a larger budget, which made it possible for him to do a lot more things; he was able to provide a lot more to cut with. On a low budget film, when you're doing 30 set ups a day, you don't have much time, and you have to be very particular about what you give your time to or not. So [on Heist], he was able to cover things a little differently than he had in the past; the opportunity was there. That was great for both of us.

MM: It's interesting that you mention low budgets, as a film like The Winslow Boy doesn't look like there was any lack of money.

BT: But when you think about it, it's one set, really. For four weeks we shot in one house, with four or five characters. That cuts down your budget right there.

MM: Watching a Mamet film, you feel like he has been a great student of film-that he has looked at the work of other moviemakers, like Hitchcock, and absorbed lessons from their work.

BT: He has an enormous amount of knowledge, seen an enormous amount of films and read a great deal of literature. He knows a lot; he's a great 'studier.'

MM: Were multiple cameras used a good deal on Heist?

BT: Quite a bit, because there were several action sequences and a lot B camera footage was necessary. Or, if they had a short amount of time to shoot a scene, they'd use a B camera to speed up shooting.

MM: Considering that this was the first action film for both you and David, did you look to any other films for reference?

BT: No, I've seen a lot of action/adventure films. I like them, but here I was really just looking at what David gave me to cut. I don't think that I studied any more than that.

MM: Did you find yourself cutting out a lot of material, or was there a fairly tight ratio between what was shot and what you used?

BT: I think there was a pretty close relationship. We ended up cutting out some things that in the end we thought weren't working because either the stunt didn't work, or the gag didn't work or we didn't need it because of everything else that was going on.

MM: Heist involves a pretty manageable cast in terms of size. Would it be true to say that the more characters in a film the harder your job is as an editor?

BT: No.

MM: So, with something like Oleanna, where there are only a few characters, is the challenge to keep the film moving and keep people interested?

BT: With two characters like that, yes. It's really hard trying to create shots. We talked a lot about trying to keep the camera moving as much as possible so that you're not just stuck in a ping pong match of two people exchanging dialogue. That had to be very carefully crafted; that was really, really hard.

But really the challenge for me is just telling David's story, or anybody's story, in just the way they want it to be told, no matter the of characters. I mean, David writes characters so well, it's all so well integrated that, in a film like State and Main, with its many story lines, it's all so well-crafted that it makes sense as we go in and out of people's lives. He choreographs really well from the get-go.

Heist (2001)
State and Main (2000)
Story of a Bad Boy (1999)
The Winslow Boy (1999)
The Spanish Prisoner (1997)
Hard Eight (1997)
Oleanna (1994)
Where the Rivers Flow North (1993)
Homicide (1991)
Valmont (1989)
Things Change (1988)
Hello Again (1987)
House of Games (1987)
Places in the Heart (1984)

COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT

POST A COMMENT

OUR PRIVACY POLICY | We will not publish or sell or share your email address or other personal information. Read more.

Name:
Email:
URL:

Type the word you see below:

Comment:

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?

SITE DELIVERY OPTIONS

Home | Latest Headlines
Screenwriting | Producing | Directing | Acting | Cinematography | Editing | Distribution | Education | Festivals | Locations
Listings | Archives | HOP Interviews | Blogs | Forums | Contests | Subscriptions | Advertising

About | Site Map | Privacy Policy | Contact

© 2008 MovieMaker Magazine

Web site design by Hop Studios