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In the Blink of an Eye

In the Blink of an Eye - Main image
$11.9 $17 In stock

Category: Art of Play

In the Blink of an Eye is celebrated editor Walter Murch’s vivid, multifaceted, thought-provoking essay of film editing. Starting with what might seem to be the most basic editing question—Why do cuts work?—he treats the reader to a marvelous ‘ride’ through the esthetics and practical concerns of cutting film. Along the way, he offers his insights on such subjects as continuity and discontinuity in editing, dreaming, and real life; the criteria of a good cut; and the blink of an eye as both an analog to and an emotional cue for the cut. New to this second edition is Murch’s lengthy meditation on the current state of digital editing.

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Customer Reviews (4.2 / 5 · 5 reviews)

Daniel Y. ★★★★★

The way Murch connects film editing to human perception and even architecture of thought is genuinely mind-opening—I read the whole thing in one sitting. His breakdown of why certain cuts feel seamless versus jarring gave me a completely new lens for watching movies.

Stella ★★★★★

Murch frames the "why do cuts work?" question so cleverly that even a non-editor like me followed every twist, and his writing on the blink-of-an-eye moment made me see jump cuts totally differently.

Claire R. ★★★★★

Murch’s chapter on why a cut works—not just where to make it—finally made editing click for me; the way he ties visual rhythm to blinking is something I’ll never unsee. It reads like a filmmaker thinking out loud, which is exactly what I wanted.

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