Phase 2: Narrative Craft
Week 13 of 52 · Day 85–91
Editing Dialogue — The Basics
Learning Objective
Master the fundamentals of cutting a two-person dialogue scene.
This Week
The dialogue scene is the workhorse of narrative filmmaking. The editor's job is to find the rhythm of the conversation, to reveal the subtext beneath the words, and to guide the audience's attention to the most emotionally significant moment at every beat. The classic technique is shot-reverse-shot, but the best editors know when to break this pattern for maximum impact.
Daily Practice
Edit a two-person dialogue scene three different ways: once cutting on every line of dialogue, once holding on one character for extended periods, and once cutting primarily to reaction shots. (45–60 min)
Weekly Challenge
Edit a 3-minute dialogue scene from EditStock. Focus on using reaction shots to reveal subtext — what are the characters not saying?