Students cut films into artful shorts

Displaying feature films condensed into five cohesive minutes, four students demonstrated their talent with film editing in the Art Gallery. The artists edited the films into shorts that captured the essence and overall conception of the motion pictures.The Art of the Cut exhibit was featured on Feb. 25 before the screening of Encore!, highlights from the 2009 PCC Film Festival.

Inspired by students from the Moscow Film Academy in the 1920s, Professor Rachel Pearl created a project for her editing students. They were to cut and edit a film smoothly down to five minutes of scenes reflecting their own interpretations of the main theme and message.

The four films displayed were "Collateral" edited by Leo Mendoza, "Citizen Kane" edited by Manuel Negrete, "Bonnie and Clyde" edited by Brittany Yasutake and "Apocalypse Now" edited by Tamas Mezares.

Taking a two-hour movie and cutting it down into five minutes that still encapsulate the intensity of the film takes more time than one may imagine.

Negrete said it took him "at least 15 hours" to completely edit "Citizen Kane" but added: "Its a classic, I knew it was going to be hard."

Mendoza said that editing the film was tedious but also fun.

"Trying to compress a story that was already told so well [was difficult]," he said about his project, "but I think what helped me was knowing the story beforehand since 'Collateral' is one of my favorite movies."

Cinema Program Director Lindsey Jang said, "It seems an almost impossible and difficult task-- editing a two hour film into five minutes."

"It's precisely this high level of difficulty that greatly develops their filmmaking skills. It's amazing what these students are able to design and learn," Jang said.

The Art of the Cut exhibit will be available for viewing in the Art Gallery until Saturday.