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| Her Name Was Moviola | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Howard Berry |
| Written by | Walter Murch |
| Produced by | Howard Berry |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | George Nicholls |
| Edited by | Howard Berry |
Production company | The Curators! |
Release date |
|
Running time | 70 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £60,000 |
Her Name Was Moviola is a 2024 English-language documentary film conceived and written by Walter Murch[1] and directed by Howard Berry. It stars Murch and his former assistant editor Dan Farrell, with appearances by Berry and film director Mike Leigh. The film features Murch and Farrell in a reconstruction of a 1970s film cutting room, demonstrating the techniques and tools used to edit films and audio in the pre-digital era on a Moviola[1]. Using rushes from two scenes from Leigh’s Mr Turner, the team also screen the finished edit for Leigh on Stanley Kubrick’s Steenbeck[2].
Murch conceived of the idea when he realised that no record existed of film editing on a Moviola, in detail and on camera[3]. Initially pitching the idea to USC[4], it was in 2020 when Murch and Berry were communicating that the idea arose once more, and Berry offered to make the film with Murch immediately.
Her Name Was Moviola debuted at the 2024 Sheffield DocFest to positive reviews[2][5][6].
Plot
editThe film begins with an explanation of the intended recreation before the separate 35mm picture and mag stripe audio reels arrive. Dan Farrell, as assistant editor, then proceeds to synch the rushes together, before they are screened to Murch on a Steenbeck. Returning back to the cutting room, Farrell adds edge numbers to both the picture and audio on an Acmade numbering machine and then breaks the reels into individual shots.
After a demonstration of how the Moviola works, Murch then proceeds to edit two scenes from Mr Turner with Farrell wasting him. Using an editing bench and Acmade synchroniser, as well as the titular Moviola, the pair cut the rushes down and discuss the process and considerations an editor goes through. Finally the finished edit is taken back the Steenbeck and presented to Mike Leigh, in order for Murch to receive feedback from "his director", in the way an editor would typically do so in a real film edit.[1]
Cast
edit- Walter Murch
- Dan Farrell
- Howard Berry
- Mike Leigh
Production
editDevelopment
editBerry's work as a historian of the studios in Elstree and Borehamwood[2] led him to creating The Elstree Project, to which Murch was a contributor[7]. Murch pitched the idea for Moviola to Berry in 2020, and the two agreed to make the film with Murch writing the treatment and Berry producing and directing. Murch provided Berry with a list of era-appropriate equipment to source, which was found in various places including eBay[8]. The hardest items to find were numbering tape and mag stripe film[1], with Berry finding the former via a donation from Pixar, and the latter from a Burbank-based supplier's last remaining stock[3].
Berry approached Mike Leigh to see if he would allow the pair to use footage from one of his films, in order to demonstrate the historical film editing methods, and after Murch and Berry explained the project in detail, Leigh allowed them full access to his work[3].
Unable to find a preview theatre capable of screening mag audio synched dailies on film, the decision was made to use a Steenbeck for the rushes review and the cut review with Mike Leigh. Berry has a long relationship with the Kubrick family[4], and had Kubrick's Steenbeck repaired as part of the film's budget so that it could be used in the film.[3]
The budget for the film was raised via crowdfunding on Indiegogo, and from sponsorship from funds at the University of Hertfordshire and Dolby Labs.[4]
Filming
editProduction began in August 2022, at BBC Elstree Centre. Filming of the dailies review, and final edit with Mike Leigh, were filmed in Childwickbury Manor — the home of the Kubrick family. Studio shots with Berry introducing the equipment were filmed at the University of Hertfordshire.
Release and reception
editInitial screening
editThe film premiered on 14 June at the 2024 Sheffield DocFest[9], with a second screening the following day.
Critical response
editCritics were impressed with the level of technical detail in the film, with praise given for how the process demonstrates the artistry required from a film editor[6] and attention to detail[2]. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian, in a four star review, recognised the "radical approach" by eschewing traditional interviews and archive material in favour of a full reconstruction and described the film as a "geekgasm"[2]. Other reviews remarked on the display of the symbiotic relationship between the assistant and editor[5], and the geeky but accessible nature in which the niche subject is presented[10].
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Her Name Was Moviola - An interview with Walter Murch about film editing with the Moviola by Oliver Peters - ProVideo Coalition". 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
- ^ a b c d e Bradshaw, Peter (2024-06-14). "Her Name Was Moviola review – ode to editing machine a geekgasm for analogue fans". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
- ^ a b c d "Howard Berry: Her Name Was Moviola - So The Theory Goes". film.sothetheorygoes.com. 2024-07-01. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
- ^ a b c Peters, Oliver (2023-01-01). "A Conversation with Walter Murch – Part 1". digitalfilms. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
- ^ a b Rebecca, Film Carnage- (2024-06-15). "Review: Her Name Was Moviola". FilmCarnage.com. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
- ^ a b "Her Name Was Moviola". REEL STEEL. 2024-06-14. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
- ^ "Interviews | The Elstree Project". Retrieved 2024-07-27.
- ^ Peters, Oliver (2023-01-01). "A Conversation with Walter Murch – Part 1". digitalfilms. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
- ^ "Her Name Was Moviola". www.sheffdocfest.com. 2024-06-14. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
- ^ Bushi, Ruth (2024-06-16). "Sheffield DocFest: Her Name was Moviola". The Haughty Culturist. Retrieved 2024-07-27.