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Walter explained that one of the first things he does when he has the final script is to time it. He admits that this might seem to be an odd thing for an editor to do, especially as this task is the domain of the script supervisor, but he finds generating his own times to comparison an invaluable part of his process. Walter begins these readings stopwatch in hand and with his eyes half closed he enters a trance-like state to read through the entire script. He acts out each role and notes the time it took to complete each scene. It’s a long process, and one he repeats to confirm his findings—usually he’ll time the script a second time straightaway, then a week or so later he’ll return to the script to make sure nothing untoward happened.

The times he records are all entered into an elaborate FileMaker database, that he’s been refining for years—later during the afternoon session he’ll assert that he’s a “Mac person” to the gathered editors. Alongside Walter’s estimates, the database includes those made by the script supervisor, during preproduction and on the set during filming. To this he adds the duration of each scene after the first assembly. By comparing the data, Walter uses the database to track the progress of the film and help him predict the length of the film at any time. He joked with us that no one from the production asks to look at the information he’s compiling, even though it could help save the production time and money.

In Walter’s experience, if a first assembly is more than 1.3 times the intended length of the movie, then it cannot be edited down without a major intervention—it’s under such circumstances that entire subplots disappear! Walter likes to use analogies when he explains his ideas, and for this topic he referred both to the excess cloth that is cut away during a suit fitting, but also to organ removal, suicide pacts! When the first assembly of a film falls within the 30% ratio, then Walter is certain that the film can be trimmed to meet the target running time without major alterations to the structure of the script, it’s more a matter of trimming away the extra material until the jacket fits, or like going on a diet to lose a few pounds. If the assembly runs longer, then he believes the film requires major surgery, and it may have to lose a kidney. Under such circumstances the film will usually be able to survive, but the process is not without its risks. At that point though, when a film requires significant work like this, then he says, the task is to make each scene as good as it can possibly be, because each one is fighting for its right to remain in the picture. And if one scene succumbs it’s unlikely to be the only casualty, as others are usually affected, and they’ll be further sacrifices to be made.

To illustrate the point about how different scenes relate and what happens when you remove one, we looked at an example that didn’t make the theatrical version of the Cold Mountain (2003). The first assembly of film was around 5 hours and that meant that something major would have to happen to meet the running time of 2 hours 20 minutes required by Miramax. The scene was to occur while Inman (Jude Law) and Veasey (Philip Seymour Hoffman) have been captured and chained. They are taken into a small town where they encounter the Rebecca (Rasool J’Han), the slave girl who is now visibly pregnant. Veasey swears repentance and vows to escape to be with Rebecca and their child. As Walter explains it, the scene contains a number of problems. In terms of the main story arc, Inman suddenly seems defeated and no longer driven by his quest to return home to his beloved. Veasey speaks of contrition, but we’ve previously seen him engaged in group sex.

Cutting the scene would help solve some problems, but it raised issues of its own that needed to be addressed. For example, this particular scene featured an explicit reference to slavery, and with it gone, Murch was concerned about what the audience reaction would be to a film set during the Amercian Civil War that seemed to eschew the subject.* Philip Seymour Hoffman’s performance and character arc would also be significantly curtailed. The monet and time spent to create the scene would no longer be visible on the screen. The scene in which the prisoners attempt to escape would need to be significantly altered too. As shot, it is Veasey who is inspired to lead the charge to freedom. Without the previous scene, this action, and Inman’s reluctance to participate have no context. Fortunately, a slip in Jude Law’s reading of a line, meant that Murch could restructure the scene (with a little ADR) so that Inman could be made responsible without the need to reshoot. This made better sense in terms of the main narrative and it created a situation where his love had resulted in the death of others.

The morning session ended with questions from the audience, which Walter fielded for much longer than required. We finally retired for lunch 50 minutes later than scheduled!

• Whether or not the addition of the scene would have changed anything is impossible to tell, but on its release Cold Mountain was criticised for “whitewashing” history.