Oscar Chat: Best Film Editing Nominee Kevin Tent on Cutting for Tone within the Descendants

Kevin Tent have been nominated for 3 ACE Eddies before winning this month for that Descendants, that the American Cinema Editors considered Best Edited Feature (Drama). Tents operate in the cutting room performed a huge role in placing The Descendants firmly within the drama category. The longtime collaborator with Alexander Payne Tent's other Eddie nods were for Sideways, About Schmidt and Election states much more comedy in the King family was shot than we have seen onscreen which getting rid of it simply felt right. Inside a couple of days, Tent will vie to find the best Film Editing Oscar the very first time. Movieline spoken with him about how exactly the films dramatic story joined together, the interest in the Academy and the plans for Oscar evening and beyond. How has honours season been dealing with you? TENT: It has been a great time. In addition to a little odd and strange because, especially becoming an editor, you do not usually end up the main attraction. I can not imagine what it should be like for stars like George [Clooney]. However for me, it's all regulated good just like they are saying, following the initial shock wears from you begin to think, Wow this is actually an recognition. Which is. That which was the collaborative process like about this film? TENT: Alexander [Payne] and that i work very close with one another. He loves the cutting room. Because he loves to say, "I shoot in order to edit." He's very collaborative. There's lots of backwards and forwards between us. People frequently request the way we use one another. It's difficult to explain. Editing is really and abstract exercise and that i don't enjoy to evaluate our process, but things i know is we shut the doorway, put our heads lower and start working. We simply keep searching in the footage and seeking different choices. We usually agree with what exactly are most powerful performances are and make moments around them. If something sucks we attempt to repair it or work out or make a move to mitigate its suckiness. What specific choices have you make early onto set a dark tone from the film? TENT: It grew to become pretty obvious in my experience in early stages it would become more of the drama than the usual comedy. The script was written with a lot more humor, and far from it was shot. But once we started cutting the humor, oftentimes felt forced and insensitive towards the tragedy the King family was dealing with. It isn't like from Day 1 we thought let us dump the humor. It had been a sluggish process. Because the film developed it grew to become apparent the humor was becoming less important. We still needed it, obviously. Otherwise we'd come with an incredibly bleak movie. But we needed to work to get at a kind of organic or natural balance between your two large aspects of the film the humor and also the drama. Therefore we just stored cutting and trimming till we've got towards the place that's the movie. Was there a scene or storytelling device that separated itself for you personally because the hardest or challenging about this film? TENT: I believe when i stated above obtaining the tone right really was a large challenge. So that as always pace was an problem, particularly the last third from the movie. The scene by which Matt King confronts John Speers by the pool house feels (towards the audience) such as the climax from the movie. But there is still an entire large slice of the film to complete. Plus we'd a 2 story lines moving along simultaneously: your dying and also the purchase from the family's land. The purchase was much greater than a subplot, and that we needed to ensure that it stays alive for that audience. So that all that being stated, keeping final results moving was very challenging. As well as ensuring it did not move too rapidly. We desired to make certain the crowd had time for you to absorb that which was happening from a psychological perspective. I am talking about, they understood that which was happening from the story perspective that wasn't complicated but permitting these to really feel was what we should were protective of. Who's associated you to definitely the ceremony? TENT: My spouse and 14-year-old boy 're going. My spouse is beside herself. She's so excited. My son's just a little dubious concerning the whole factor, however i know he will have fun. How's it going after this film? What is the next project? TENT: Mr. Payne is because of start his next movie in April. Hopefully that'll be our next outing. I can not wait. MORE 2012 OSCAR ROUNDTABLES AND CHATS Best Cinematography Best Costume Design Best Documentary Feature Best Foreign-Language Feature Best Animated Feature