The Facesmash scene definitely has showy editing. The Regatta scene might have been well edited, but I was too distracted by the amazing tilt/shift photography to really notice how well put together it was. I love how tilt/shift makes everything look minature.rain Bard wrote:The Social Network is not just people talking; there are at least two major scenes that showcase editing in a fairly flashy way- the Facemash scene and the crew race (two very dissimilarly-edited scenes by the way).
I think it's very very likely that Inception would have won the category if it had been nominated by the editors. Juggling all those different threads is impressive (unless you realize that this is often a function of the screenplay more than the editing). And it contains action scenes, whose editing generally seems to impress the average voter as well (which surely helps to explain why Bourne Ultimatum, Black Hawk Down and The Matrix were able to beat more broadly Academy-appreciated films in this category).
I hope I don't sound too condescending when I ask, rolo, have you ever tried editing film or video? If so, has it been to continuity? If you have, you'll know it's not as easy as it might seem. In fact, there's a significant school of thought, held especially fiercely among certain editors and directors, that the best editing doesn't announce itself at all; that it employs a kind of pacing of cuts and shot choices that puts audiences under a near-magical spell, where all they're aware of is the drama at hand; they notice the cuts so subliminally that they may as well be there in the room (or on the plane, or wherever) with the characters.
I suspect it was in this spirit that The King's Speech was nominated over something as "edit-y" as Inception. Personally I didn't find Hooper's film all that seamless, but for someone who was caught up more completely in the characters and drama, it may have felt like one of these near-magical editing feats.
I remember how happy I was when the smooth editing of WONDER BOYS was nominated. I love that type of editing, and have been annoyed with the trend of more quick cut editing combined with shaky camera work. CRASH is one of the best examples of this terrible style. I remember how outraged folks were last year when the smooth editing of UP IN THE AIR was passed over for the quick cut/jerky camera work of PRECIOUS.
So the editing branch did not like the smooth editing of UP IN THE AIR but did like the smooth editing of THE KING'S SPEECH? Just weird.