Xena & Hercules Articles Archive

Working from the Pacific Renaissance offices in Los Angeles, California, Robert Field and fellow editor Jim Prior are the men responsible for getting the Xena footage received from New Zealand into the edited form we see on screen.

It's no easy job, and, talking from his home in Los Angeles, Field relished the opportunity to fill Xena fans in on the work involved in television editing. He turned first to the subject of the show's fifth season finale, Motherhood, which recently aired on US television screens.

"We received 22 tapes of shot footage," Field says of the amount of film he had to edit down into the episode. "I would guess we got about 18 hours of material from both Main and Second Unit. That's a lot for a 44 and a halfminute long episode, and I only had two and a half weeks to put the first cut together. Just to give you an idea, the first [or editor's] cut of that show was an hour long and had 1,334 video [or picture] edits. I normally average about 900 video edits per show. The final cut of Motherhood still had over 1,300 edits as well as 162 effects shots. Talk about a killer episode!"

Field expands on the editing process, explaining at what point he becomes involved in an individual episode. "I read the shooting draft, although on rare occasions I read earlier drafts. As the footage comes in, I cut it together by myself in whatever way I feel best presents the material and tells the story. When this is done, the `editor's cut' goes to the director. The director then comes to the cutting room and we make whatever changes are needed. This varies from director to director, because some are very thorough and go through everything, while others just `tweak' things here and there. We often just try to figure out how to cut the show down closer to broadcast length.

"I do not do any research before editing a show other than reading the script," he reveals. "I have virtually no contact with the writers regarding what they are writing, although we do say `hello' from time to time. On occasion, I will contact the director of an episode while I'm cutting it, usually to ask what the progression of an action sequence is if it is difficult to determine from the footage shot."

Field explains that he doesn't receive all the material for an episode in one go, but that each day's film footage is sent to him immediately from New Zealand. "Tapes come in every day, which is why they are called `dailies'," he explains, "although shipping snags sometimes alter that. These contain all the footage shot on any given day that the director has asked to be printed. Sometimes, scenes arrive in sections over several days or a complete scene may be received at one time. Some action sequences have been known to arrive in sections over several days or weeks depending on how huge and complicated the sequence might be. Second Unit footage always arrives after the Main Unit's as they start shooting several days after Main Unit has begun. A typical show might have eight days of Main Unit production while the Second Unit might shoot for a couple of weeks or more, depending on the show.

"Generally, I try not to work on a scene until I have all the footage for it, but time constraints sometimes affect that and I may have to edit a sequence before I get it all and then 're-cut' as the rest of the material comes in. This might be as simple as an insert of a sword being pulled from a sheath or very complicated fight coverage from the Second Unit."

Not only do Field and Prior receive numerous scenes which have to be cut or even dropped entirely, they are also sent different takes for each scene and must choose the one which best fits into the episode as a whole. "The ladder fight in Callisto had over 145 takes between the Main and Second Units," he says. "The hot-tub scene in A Day in the Life had only three takes, all of them `oners' [where the director decides to shoot a given scene in one take] of the same action.

"It all depends on the sequence," he continues. "A simple dialogue scene will have maybe five to 15 takes. These angles might include a master [wideangle] shot, medium shots and single close-ups. There may also be 'two-shots' [where two people are in the frame] either from the side or over the shoulder. A complicated action sequence will have many, many times that number of takes and camera angles.

"I recently completed an action sequence for Livia in which Xena fights Livia in a Roman arena. I had footage of the Roman Emperor in his box from various angles and various crowd shots, from both Main and Second Units, Gabrielle and friends watching from their position in a jail and Xena fighting her opponent, again from Main and Second Unit. This sequence covered the introduction of the arena, the presentation of the opponents, the fight itself, the aftermath and the conclusion. "We would have a shot here, for example, called Scene 26, Take I, covered by both an A and B camera for a close angle on the first camera and a wider angle on the second, which is pretty common. Let's say they shoot four takes of Scene 26 so that becomes 26/1 to 26/4. With both cameras, we now have eight takes on that set-up. The next camera set-up (for a change of angle) will be 26A Take 1, and so on. Once the alphabet gets used up, they switch to 26AA, then 26AB and so on. The fight in the arena went through to Take 26AE. You do the maths! And bear in mind that the alphabetic designation refers not to the number of takes for any given camera set-up, but just the camera angle [setup] itself. There may be only one take or as many as five or more. It just depends. Not all takes get 'printed' [put on tape], but most do. All I can say is, this sequence was a `killer' in terms of its size. When you consider that we are still `just' a television show with tight schedules, you can begin to appreciate what a large task it can be.

"The most challenging scenes are the ones where there is a huge amount of footage shot and the complexity of the sequence is staggering. Scenes like this are the ladder fight in Callisto or the War/Peace number from The Bitter Suite. One thing that needs to be kept in mind is that all sequences, as cut, are built from scratch. There are no 'roadmaps' or cutting notes that indicate what each and every shot will be and how long it will be on screen. It's an evolving process that develops as it progresses. You just have to feel your way along as you go."

There are also occasions when sections of episodes have to be re-shot or new material shot after an episode is completed. "I know that elements of the sequence where Gabrielle is giving birth to Hope in Gabrielle's Hope were re-shot," he says, "because [Executive Producer] Rob Tapert felt that the existing footage wasn't scary enough. So he went back and personally directed the additional material. In Punchlines, all the scenes between Gabrielle and Aphrodite were written and photographed after the show had first been shot and edited. itwas felt by all that the show needed some kind of framing device to help it along, but this type of circumstance is rare."

Asked if there are any instances where an episode has been returned for a re-edit once the final 'cut' has been prepared, Field recalls one particular incident. "Rob Tapert once asked that a sequence in Mortal Beloved be changed while they were in the middle of doing the sound mix. That was a bit tricky because you can't change the length of the sequence at that point, only what happens in it. But we did it and it became a matter of shortening a shot and changing a short montage that came after. We did this by adjusting the lengths of other shots and adding a new one.

"For Motherhood, Rob [Tapert] had a twinge of conscience after the show was on-lined [locked] and they had already started the sound mix. He decided at that point that he missed a dialogue exchange between Xena and Ares, so I had to put it back in. The problem was, the episode was already locked, and I couldn't simply add the footage in because the show would then be too long. Additionally, Bernie Joyce wanted the footage in, but not to make the overall section longer so the sound work past that point would stay in its current sync. For this one, I tightened up all the shots leading up to and through the dialogue exchange and drastically shortened the exit shot of the sequence so it all fitted into the same space.

"Every cut of every show is saved, from the editor's cut to the final producer's cut," Field reveals. "Producer's cuts may be numerous, but the average is three. All uncut footage is saved in its original form as well. Eventually it is all delivered to the studio to be held in their vaults."

So, on average, how long does it take Field to complete an edit from receiving the film? "As long as it takes," he responds. "The rule of thumb is that the editor's cut should be complete within two or three days of getting in the last day's `dailies'. Obviously, with such complicated shows, this is not always possible. It also depends on how long Main and Second Units shoot. We have had shows where Main Unit shoots for 10 days and Second Unit for two to three weeks.

"The Bitter Suite took four and a half weeks to do the editor's cut," he says. "The Debt Parts I and II took five and a half weeks to cut as they were shot and cut simultaneously in this time frame we have to add nights and weekends to help get the show done in time.

"Every director has a very different way of shooting," Field remarks, "while the story itself often affects the style of the show as well. My approach to every show is the same. I try to let the material, the actual footage, speak to me and tell me how it needs and wants to be edited. I am sure I have some stylistic aspects that I personally bring to my editing as well, but generally I try to edit the footage in a way that seems best suited to its particular look and feel as well as for pace, timing, general dynamics and effectiveness.

"When I was editing A Fistful of Dinars I felt that, story-wise, it borrowed from both the Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns and Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark," he remarks. "It felt like a bit of an homage to both. But I can't say that knowledge affected my editing style or influenced how I approached the material. I can only say that I tried to do the best job I knew - which is always my direction.

"I have enjoyed all of the shows I have edited to some degree," Field acknowledges. "Some are certainly more successful than others, whether in story, performance or even editing. I have a particular fondness for The Greater Good, because it just seemed to work so well on so many levels. I loved A Day in the Life and I must also admit that I thought, overall, Ides of March was a terrific show from beginning to end. Still, my favourite part of that show starts with Xena and the prisoners escaping from the jail, Xena being hit by the Chakram and through to the end where Xena and Gabrielle's spirits reunite and float off into wherever. I am very proud of the work I did on that show. For me, The Debt, Parts I & II are two of the best shows we have ever done. I think they stand as shining examples of what is possible in a relatively low budget, syndicated television show, and I know they were very successful with the fans as well."

Asked whether he has any amusing anecdotes about behind-the-scenes life on Xena, Field does recall one rather strange incident. "Years ago I worked on A Fistful of Dinars, which was directed by Josh Becker. At one point during the director's cut, Josh turned to me and said, `You cut my pan out... why did you cut my pan out?' What had happened was, there is a scene where Xena and Petracles are trying to get to the ambrosia cave before Thersites does. The two of them come through this beaded curtain and stop. The camera then pans across this large room ending on a door that Thersites comes through holding Gabrielle at knifepoint.

"In the interest of time and pacing, I edited out the pan so that we cut from Xena and Petracles coming through the curtain directly to Thersites and Gaby coming in the door. When I explained my reasoning to Mr. Becker, he looked at me and said, `You just don't like good cinema, do you?' 1 have never stopped laughing about that one, and Rick Jacobson loves to tease me about it, even today Whenever 1 do something he disagrees with he asks me that infamous question!

"A more bizarre incident occurred while I was editing Ides of March," he continues. "The director, Ken Girotti, was in from Canada and we were working on the director's cut. It just happened that our final day of cutting fell on Good Friday. Generally, in late March or early April, the weather in Los Angeles is pretty temperate with clear skies and mild temperatures. This particular day was cloudy and rainy and by mid-afternoon we had tremendous thunderstorms in the area with streak lightning that reached from the thunderheads to the ground below. Usually in LA we have lightning that stays in the clouds. This was kind of a first. The director and I both agreed that it was all a bit weird editing the sequence where Xena and Gabrielle are being crucified, on Good Friday no less, in the middle of a huge thunderstorm. Pure coincidence? We'll never know!"

Field admits that he would love to edit a feature length Xena instalment should the show move into TV movies or films once the series proper ends. "If Xena were to be made into a feature film, I would be flattered and pleased if I were given the opportunity to edit it," he muses, "since there are many fine feature editors who would be available for a project of that size. Naturally, I feel I would have an advantage over any of them given my experience on the series, but the feature world operates in a different way to television. I can only hope for the best.

"I feel that making the jump to features sometime in the future is the most logical step for me to make in my career. But there is no way to predict how these things happen. I have enjoyed a wonderful working relationship with Rob Tapert and would eagerly accept whatever challenge he might throw my way.

"Maybe the young film student from UC Santa Cruz who one day dreamed of directing might just get that chance. Of course, it would probably scare the crap out of me!"

Rentoul, Ian. Field of Dreams. Official Xena Magazine. Issue 5 October 2000: pgs 51-55.