Sacrifices. Imagine scouring through hours and hours of footage to finally reject most of it and retain just a minute of material. This is a decision that film editors, especially in the digital age, have to often take on the edit table. Kripakaran P, the editor of the recent Vijay Kumar-starrer Fight Club, is basking in all the appreciation coming his way for the film. An editor’s work is less about what makes it onscreen and more about what is left behind in the edit table, and Kripakaran has a foolproof way of ensuring only what is needed makes it to the final cut.
“Few filmmakers are clear about what they want, and they are ruthless when it comes to chopping off scenes. However, many a time, I have to tell filmmakers to not feel so connected with their scenes, and to look at the bigger picture. Of course, we can’t be too blunt and hurtful about it either. I understand the time, effort, blood, and sweat that goes behind making a film, and I need to respect that sentiment too. But my job description is clear, and I have to adhere to it. Editors are always judgmental people, and we judge ourselves first. I judge myself to ensure people don’t end up judging me,” says Kripakaran.
Despite starting in cinema wanting to be a director, Kripakaran is glad he chose the path of editing. “I was directing, editing, and acting in my short films, and I observed how I could rectify a lot of errors in the edit table. I had immense clarity and confidence due to my editing, and learning this art helped me know more about film aesthetics,” says the editor, who strongly believes that his job is to shape and enhance what is essentially the director’s vision.
“For instance, director Abbas A Rahmath was clear that Fight Club should be an edit-based film. He wanted to make it technically very strong. The film has a very simple one-line, and everything hinged on the presentation. The edit room became a fight club of sorts as we had a lot of fights and arguments, constructive of course, to ensure we came up with the best possible output.”
Over the course of this interview, many a time, Kripakaran went on a tangent to explain what entails editing and the challenges that come with this profession. “When I read the script, I make notes on the best possible scene duration, the cuts we could explore, and more. While watching the script get translated on screen, my mind will start designing the final output. At times, the audience not realising the edit pattern is a success, and at other times, the flashy edits being appreciated are the success. Each film decides the edit for itself, and I believe my style of editing will come through too for the discerning audience,” says Kripakaran.
Gone are the days when editors or their ilk were away from the limelight. Look at the fan following certain video editors who specialise in doing mashups for their matinee idol’s birthdays or a cult film’s anniversary enjoy on social media. “Honestly, a director approached me with a project after being impressed with a wedding mashup video I made for him. So, I do understand how there are so many potential editors out there. In fact, after the release of Fight Club, I had an influx of followers on social media, and most of them were aspiring editors.
So, they are my competition too. To survive in this competitive world, it is important to push ourselves into the limelight,” says Kripakaran, quickly adding that competition is always welcome, but they need to understand the cornerstone of having a prolonged career in cinema. “Self-confidence, perseverance, and financial independence. Honestly, it isn’t a lucrative profession, and for the first couple of years, an editing intern might not get paid much. You need passion, yes, but to prolong that passion, you need to understand instant gratification in cinema is very rare.”
However, Kripakaran does emphasise that sacrifice and survival in cinema shouldn’t be glorified in the long run. “Many tell me that editors are some of the most underpaid technicians in cinema, and I can’t help but agree. It is disappointing that editors are forced to think of survival. That is something that must change,” shares an optimistic Kripakaran. “An editor’s job doesn’t just end with the film’s release. For instance, Fight Club was released a month back, and even now I am editing it for the TV audience. There have been times when the director and I give each other a farewell hug, and five hours later, we would return to the edit table. Of course, we work out of interest and our commitment, but it will be nice to see the compensation outweigh the survival.”