Kirk Baxter
Encyclopedia
Kirk Baxter is an Australian film editor. His editing, with Angus Wall
, of the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
(directed by David Fincher
-2008) was nominated for the Academy Award for Film Editing
, the BAFTA Award for Best Editing
, and the American Cinema Editors Eddie Award.
Baxter was raised in Sydney, Australia and commenced his career as an editor there. He had been noted primarily for his work editing commercials, and co-founded a commercial editing firm named Final Cut. In 2004 he joined Wall's firm Rock Paper Scissors, which also does a good deal of commercial work. Baxter then worked with Wall and Fincher as an "additional editor" on the film Zodiac (2007); when Wall was chosen to edit The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, he proposed to Fincher that Baxter be the co-editor.
Both Zodiac and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button are studied as early examples of the possibilities of "all-digital" shooting of feature films with digital cameras. One important aspect of using digital cameras is that the director can view a scene immediately after it is recorded; as Fincher commented in an interview, "Dailies
almost always end up being disappointing, like the veil is pierced and you look at it for the first time and think, 'Oh my god, this is what I really have to work with.' But when you can see what you have as it's gathered, it can be a much less neurotic process." Intensive use of digital cameras changes the "workflow" of film editing. More generally, digital filmmaking creates new possibilities for film editing compared to the "cutting" of reels of physical film; among these possibilities are subtle changes in the timing of an actor's performance, and combining of two different takes of a given scene within a single frame. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has the additional novel element that the facial performances in many of the film's scenes were recorded independently of the body performances, and were combined to create the final film. Brad Pitt
's face performances for Button were used in all the scenes, but for many of the scenes a second actor's performance was used for the rest of Button's body.
Baxter was nominated (with Wall) and subsequently won the 2011 Oscar for Film Editing - for The Social Network
.
Angus Wall
Angus Wall is a film editor and film title designer. His editing, with Kirk Baxter, of the film The Social Network won the Academy Award for Film Editing...
, of the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (film)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a 2008 American fantasy-drama film directed by David Fincher. The screenplay by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord is loosely based on the 1922 short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald...
(directed by David Fincher
David Fincher
David Andrew Leo Fincher is an American film and music video director. Known for his dark and stylish thrillers, such as Seven , The Game , Fight Club , Panic Room , and Zodiac , Fincher received Academy Award nominations for Best Director for his 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and...
-2008) was nominated for the Academy Award for Film Editing
Academy Award for Film Editing
The Academy Award for Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since 1981, every film selected as Best Picture has also been nominated for the Film Editing...
, the BAFTA Award for Best Editing
BAFTA Award for Best Editing
The BAFTA Award for Best Editing is one of several annual awards presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . The film-voting members of the Academy select the five nominated films in each category; only the principal editor for each film are named, which excludes additional...
, and the American Cinema Editors Eddie Award.
Baxter was raised in Sydney, Australia and commenced his career as an editor there. He had been noted primarily for his work editing commercials, and co-founded a commercial editing firm named Final Cut. In 2004 he joined Wall's firm Rock Paper Scissors, which also does a good deal of commercial work. Baxter then worked with Wall and Fincher as an "additional editor" on the film Zodiac (2007); when Wall was chosen to edit The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, he proposed to Fincher that Baxter be the co-editor.
Both Zodiac and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button are studied as early examples of the possibilities of "all-digital" shooting of feature films with digital cameras. One important aspect of using digital cameras is that the director can view a scene immediately after it is recorded; as Fincher commented in an interview, "Dailies
Dailies
Dailies, in filmmaking, are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. They are so called because usually at the end of each day, that day's footage is developed, synched to sound, and printed on film in a batch for viewing the next day by the director and some members...
almost always end up being disappointing, like the veil is pierced and you look at it for the first time and think, 'Oh my god, this is what I really have to work with.' But when you can see what you have as it's gathered, it can be a much less neurotic process." Intensive use of digital cameras changes the "workflow" of film editing. More generally, digital filmmaking creates new possibilities for film editing compared to the "cutting" of reels of physical film; among these possibilities are subtle changes in the timing of an actor's performance, and combining of two different takes of a given scene within a single frame. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has the additional novel element that the facial performances in many of the film's scenes were recorded independently of the body performances, and were combined to create the final film. Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
's face performances for Button were used in all the scenes, but for many of the scenes a second actor's performance was used for the rest of Button's body.
Baxter was nominated (with Wall) and subsequently won the 2011 Oscar for Film Editing - for The Social Network
The Social Network
The Social Network is a 2010 American drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. Adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires, the film portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits...
.
Filmography (as editor)
The director of each film is indicated in parenthesis.- The Curious Case of Benjamin ButtonThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button (film)The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a 2008 American fantasy-drama film directed by David Fincher. The screenplay by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord is loosely based on the 1922 short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald...
(Dir. David FincherDavid FincherDavid Andrew Leo Fincher is an American film and music video director. Known for his dark and stylish thrillers, such as Seven , The Game , Fight Club , Panic Room , and Zodiac , Fincher received Academy Award nominations for Best Director for his 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and...
-2008; with Angus Wall) - The Social NetworkThe Social NetworkThe Social Network is a 2010 American drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. Adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires, the film portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits...
(Dir. David FincherDavid FincherDavid Andrew Leo Fincher is an American film and music video director. Known for his dark and stylish thrillers, such as Seven , The Game , Fight Club , Panic Room , and Zodiac , Fincher received Academy Award nominations for Best Director for his 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and...
-2010; with Angus Wall)