Nathaniel Dorksy’s poetic approach in describing film in his book Devotional Cinema was really unique. I thought the description of film as a “sculpture of light” was profound and as a creative mind, it inspired me a lot. We focus so much in the beginning of film school on style and elements within the frame, that we seem to overlook the meaningful spectacle itself of going to see a film. We had talked about this during our installations for experimental last year, and the thought is still bouncing around in my head. Furthermore, as an editor the article brought to my attention the balance of shots and cuts. Dorsky’s analysis of editing was a different outlook than most articles that I have read, and I found it entirely refreshing. Although the concept itself may be elementary, his explanations were very in-depth and made me look at my (hopefully) future job in a different way. Rather than focusing on finishing the film as a whole product on the timeline, Dorsky draws attention to the miniscule aspects of each individual piece (whether it be a shot or a single cut). Neither piece could function without the other. As an editor I consider myself to be a bit of a perfectionist, in that even the smallest detail that bothers me always has to be fixed. This editing section stressed the importance of every detail and validated the OCD-perfectionist feeling that I get when I am working on a piece. I also think that after having read this book, I will be more attune to the shot duration and the balance between shots and cuts. Overall, I thought this book was an interesting and enlightening read, and although I dread reading, I actually enjoyed it.
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