Timeline Analog 3. John Buck

      Dedication

      The Timeline books are dedicated to Adrian Ettlinger (1925 – 2013)

      Adrian was a brilliant engineer, ground breaking inventor, astute observer and a much loved father during his life and career. In retirement he was a friend, advisor and mentor to me. Adrian is without question the father of nonlinear digital editing and his contributions to the editing field have been recognised by industry bodies and editors alike.

      Thank you Adrian, rest in peace.

      Foreword by Ralph Guggenheim

       “You can recognize the pioneers by the arrows in their backs.”

       - Popular saying.

      With this volume, we are midstream in the saga of editing techniques and technology. As you work your way through this carefully researched history (in itself, a timeline), it can be easy to lose sight of the achievements of the people who inhabit these volumes. Hindsight dims the brilliance of their work. What seems intuitive to us today wasn’t so clear or obvious when these ideas first sprang from their imaginations.

      They navigated a sea of conflicting issues: What the available technology could deliver; What new technology was on the horizon; What customers could afford. And those “arrows” in their backs? Would customers be willing to adapt and change or would they sabotage new ideas in an attempt to hang onto the status quo? The “random walk” across decades of products and development in these pages is, in fact, the tale of visionaries who sought a solution to a specific need. They wanted to reduce the effort required to take a story from idea to screen, and unlock creative opportunities for the storytellers, the directors and editors.

      In 1979, George Lucas was frustrated that the films he wanted to make were hobbled by antiquated tools that limited his vision. Forty of us were recruited to establish a research division at Lucasfilm (the team doubled by 1986). Our mission – to bring advanced digital techniques to film production.

      We were not the only hub of innovation attacking these problems. There were many others – some collaborators, some competitors. We were all invested in achieving that watershed moment. When we started, hardly any films were made with any form of computer assistance. Today, no film is made without digital technology.

      The potential for ongoing development and advancement stretches endlessly to a horizon beyond our view. Each technical innovation frees artists and creators to imagine new stories and more immersive experiences. There’s a lot to mine in these books. They offer us the opportunity to learn from this past in order to cut a path to newer and better techniques in the future.

      Ralph Guggenheim Project Lead, Lucasfilm’s EditDroid (1980-1985)

      Preface

      In the spring of 1924, a small Germany company Lyta Cinema Works built the first dedicated editing device. A few months later the American made Moviola went on sale in Hollywood and become a huge success but it was sixty five years before a digital equivalent arrived for professionals.

      In the intervening years individuals, and teams imagined tools that could join images together in the blink of an eye. They trialled technology, experimented with the impossible, quit secure jobs for the unknown, and ran out of money. All the while, they tried to ship the best editing product possible. For many years their stories went untold.

      Hoping to solve an amicable dispute with Boris Yamnitsky, who had just acquired Media 100, I found myself at the local library staring at books that talked about 'how to' edit but not how editing came to be. My casual conversation was now a niggling annoyance.

      I turned to the web and found two names listed in submissions to the U.S Patent Office about electronic editing. Adrian Ettlinger and William Warner.

      One had created something called the CBS RAVE and the other, Avid. They graciously took my phone calls, retold stories of electronic editing’s rich history, and connected me with lesser known individuals who had created the tools we use today. Adrian and Bill not only helped, but they actively encouraged me. Bill made time to talk, linked me to others and poured me coffee in his kitchen.

      Adrian braved the wet streets of Manhattan to tell me, over lunch at the Chiam, about a remarkable period of innovation. My part-time quest changed again when two key contributors passed away. Art Schneider and Jack Calaway both made huge contributions to editing, yet their efforts had gone largely unheralded. I decided to record the history of editing because it fades.

      Timeline zigs and zags from people to places, within companies, across continents. People's lives rarely run from A to B. Former Xerox scientist David Canfield Smith told me:

      “In any revolution, technological or otherwise, there are interesting characters. In fact, the characters often are the story”.

      Thanks

      The Timeline Analog book series would not have been possible without the help of many people. Everyone has my appreciation and a few people deserve an extra shout out.

      Candace Machein sent her father’s files to make sure Kurt was remembered. Joe Roizen’s family did likewise. Tom Werner, Bob Pargee and David Crosthwait shared material that others had trashed while Carter Elliot bundled up pamphlets and drove them to Fedex. Marc Wanamaker shared his amazing Hollywood archive. Egon Gräfen discovered archived KEM material, Heidi Heftburger found the best Svilova images, Ekaterina Gracheva did the same with Russian filmmakers.

      Bernd Perplies helped with German inventors while Håkan Lindberg shared his images of editing in Sweden, and Christelle Naili sourced the long lost Italian Moritone. Pauline Duclaud-Lacoste ensured her great great grandfather Georges Méliès was honored, while Bob Phillips shared his own photos of Jack Mullin and Bing Crosby.

      Thanks to Mark Tuchman for sharing the EditDroid and Guggenheim photographs. Thanks to David K Helmly for Hitchcock and Premiere memories. Sumio Yamamoto and Kyoko Takahashi found materials in Toshiba’s vaults. Tarek Atrissi designed the book, and Sharleen Chen created the outstanding cover.

      Brett Wayn chimed in measured advice. Gene Simon, John Delmont, and Barry Guisinger added humor to their notes just when I needed it. Loran Kary, Glenn Reid, Nick Schlott and Ralf Berger patiently explained the challenges of writing software code.

      Steven Cohen reminded me, “Editors are people, editing systems are the tools, don’t mix that up".

      Phil Hodgetts gave good advice, John Maizels opened doors, Ron Barker pushed me to try harder, and Chet Schuler insisted on getting it right. Bruce Rady, Bernie Laramie and Bill Hogan remembered when others forgot.

      The ladies at the Jerzy Toeplitz Library inside the AFTRS in Sydney found dozens of books, manuscripts, articles and trade magazines to check facts. The team at Stanford University had everything set for my short visit. Al Alcorn, Steve Wozniak and Steve Mayer replied when their inboxes must be full every day.

      The people who invented desktop video Eric Peters, Jeff Bedell, Tyler Peppel, Carl Calabria, Ivan Maltz and Randy Ubillos answered all of my questions, many that they had heard before, with a smile. They never let me doubt my plan. I have to tip my hat to the text editors, Bob Glover and Gary Buck. They volunteered to read this book over and over, and diligently worked through the raw manuscript, corrected it and made great improvements.

      Dave Pretty taught me more about filmmaking, and business at Marketforce in a month, than a college course had in a year. Max Pepper explained the value of a flatbed as we cut dozens of lemonade and burger commercials. Ross McDonald rescued me from an unemployment office and gave me a job. Drew Gibson taught me the BVE ropes.

      My long time friend Dan Flanagan pushed me to apply for a job in broadcast news. It was advice that changed my life. I owe John Rudd a lifetime of thanks for hiring me at TVW7, and giving me the freedom to experiment.

      Fellow editors Ray Furness, Nick Glover