Post written by the fabulous Florith.
Editing a scene is an important tool as an improviser, especially if you’re looking to start longform. But how do you know a scene is over? What are the things to keep in mind?
What is editing actually?
Great question! Editing in improv is ending the scene, just like a director says “cut” at the end of a take. In improv this can look many different ways depending on the format. It can be done by the players themselves (common in longform), or it can be done by a director or host who runs the game. What we’re talking about in this article is stepping into that external director role.
Editing as support
Editing is, in my view, inherently supportive of the performance and bridges the gap to the audience. As an editor, you have an outsider perspective and see what the audience is seeing, but you (likely) know the improvisers. So you have the unique position to support both of them. And if you edit the scene at the right moment, both the audience and performers should feel like they have a clear idea of the scene and feel like the scene ended on a high note. It is never about making yourself the center of attention as the editor.
However, players! Don’t run quite yet. It’s good to get an understanding of what is considered for edits. That way, you can be a bit more aware of why edits are called, and what you can do to make the editor’s life a little easier. That said, having an external editor means you can leave that pressure with them, and there’s one thing less to keep in mind!
Okay, so how do I do it?
Another great question! It is something that absolutely requires practice. A general rule of thumb is that you should always try to edit at a peak, where the energy is high. But to figure out when that is, here are some different things you can keep in mind:
End of a chapter
If a scene gets to a point where a chapter in a book would end, or a TV-episode, that is usually a good moment to end the scene. This can be that the main problem in the scene is resolved, the scene is moving to a new topic, a relationship is fully developed or there is a clear emotional shift. This means there is no more story to tell in this scene, and the show at large benefits from moving on to the next thing. A fresh new scene. So this is the time for an edit. If you do not edit on these beats, you are asking your players to kick-start something new, develop that into a new peak and find that new point to end the scene.
Completely heightened
If the scene depends on heightening (building on what has been brought on to increase the stakes of the scene), at some point you cannot go any further. Once you introduce the idea that your boss is the actual devil from actual hell, there’s not much that can top that. So this is once again where you should edit the scene. If you don’t edit it there, the players have to figure out a new angle, and we’re back where we started.
Player and audience comfort
Sometimes, scenes go places that either players themselves or the audience do not feel comfortable with. If there is clear discomfort that does not serve a story that’s being told, or themes are introduced that you have set collective boundaries on, you should always end the scene.
So what is the exact right time? In an ideal world, any of the above is combined with a great final punchline, laugh or emotional beat. That doesn’t always happen, but regardless, try to edit on that high! If the audience and performers feel like this was a fun moment, that’s the moment that lingers. Waiting for another build up, a new peak that hopefully surpasses the previous one can be a mistake.
And here’s the part where I’m gonna be slightly mean: every scene can call for a different variation of these things to keep in mind. The only way to get good at this is by practicing!
Practice
Want to practice this? Here are some things to try with your improv friends:
Feel the flow of a scene:
Let two players perform a scene of 5 minutes. Yes, with an actual timer. Those not playing can clap at moments they think are an edit. They don’t have to wait for a single edit, but rather, any time is alright. The players only stop at the end of the time.
What will likely happen here is that you see that scenes have multiple peaks. You’ll have a build up, a first peak, a cool down and then building up to that new peak. Sometimes, the second peak surpasses the first. Sometimes it will not. But there will likely be multiple good moments to edit.
Edit with consensus:
Let some people play a scene. The people not playing are in charge of the edit. They all raise their hand when they believe an edit is appropriate, but the edit is only called when all non-players agree and have their hand raised.
There are two ways that I’ve seen this go. Either there is a very clear moment where everyone agrees, or there might not be a clear consensus and the scene might linger for longer than you’d want because there is no agreement. It’s good to discuss what individuals thought regardless, to see if in hindsight there was a better point in the scene or if they feel confident they’d taken the best course of action.
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