There’s a cliché in Hollywood that a film is made three times: once on the page in the form of a screenplay, the second time is on set when it’s shot with the director and actors, and the third time is in the editing bay. While any filmmaker can argue that each stage of “making” the movie is equally important, it’s in the edit where the story is finalized and often defined more by what is cut out than by what is left in.
Many of the industry’s greatest screenwriters started their careers as editors, including Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List, 1993), Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, 2000), and Joel Coen (No Country for Old Men, 2007). All three filmmakers have distinct visual styles, a knack for clear and concise storytelling and the ability to create effective pacing. These skills were no doubt formed and strengthened while spending hundreds of hours going over raw footage and slowly piecing it all together.
Final Draft’s Write On podcast recently interviewed Josh Salzberg, co-screenwriter (along with Shira Piven), for the new film The Performance, starring Jeremy Piven and Robert Carlyle, about a vaudeville dance troupe hired to perform in Nazi Germany. Salzberg shared how being an editor helped him learn the craft of screenwriting.
As a kid, Salzberg learned how to edit VHS tapes by connecting one VHS camera to another VHS camera. It was slow, grueling work, but it taught him an important lesson.
“It’s interesting because I didn’t have access to film. I did that in film school, but at that time, it really taught me the same principle: you have to be really specific about when you cut because it’s tape and there’s no undo button or anything like that,” says Salzberg.
Over time an editor develops an instinct for when to cut – whether it’s a line of dialogue, a reaction shot, or an entire subplot. This instinct is incredibly helpful in screenwriting, too. A great scene should end as soon as possible and not go on and on. For Salzberg, it’s his editing background that allows him to make those tough calls and confidently move on to the next part of the screenplay.
When he first came to Hollywood, Salzberg began his professional career reading scripts for directors like Ridley Scott and Alexander Payne. He later transitioned into film editing, where he worked with filmmakers like Adam McKay and Judd Apatow. These experiences taught him how to create visual stories that work on an emotional level.
“As editors, we’re constantly finding the story within the footage. It’s not just about cutting and pasting; it’s about understanding the emotional arc and ensuring that every moment contributes to the overall narrative,” he says.
By working with the raw footage, Salzberg learned how to shape actors’ performances and even strengthen how a character might be perceived by an audience. This knowledge directly informs his screenwriting process because he knows how to make a scene as powerful as possible. Less is usually more so, as a writer, Salzberg chooses words carefully and trusts his actors to express feelings without needing a ton of dialogue. It’s the old adage, “Show, don’t tell,” that serves both screenwriters and editors.
Another important editing lesson Salzberg employs in his screenwriting is taking the time to experiment, something that’s easy to do with today’s digital technology and software.
“It’s all about ideas and trying things. And I think sometimes it’s easy to be precious. Maybe as writers too, we can be precious about everything. But, you know, we’re not working on typewriters. We’re not working on film most of the time, so try everything and then erase it and do it all over again or save a new file,” he says.
By trying new things and experimenting with scenes, writers can let themselves go down the rabbit hole and discover all that’s possible. Salzberg encourages writers to create that bizarre, funny or totally bonkers scene and see if it helps your story or distracts from it. Sometimes, little nuggets of backstory can help the audience better understand a character’s motivation – and sometimes they’re not necessary – but the best way to find out is to give it a try.
It’s certainly not necessary to learn how to edit a film to be a great screenwriter, but it is incredibly beneficial if you can learn to think like an editor. Relying primarily on visuals and not dialogue to craft your stories can go a long way, as does knowing when to cut and move on to the next scene. Like any artform, taking risks and experimenting with your script can only make your story stronger. Nurture your inner editor and your storytelling instincts will only strengthen over time.