American Cinematographer - January 1998 - 100

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your

ability," he insists, "but I think

[filmmakers] should focus

on

the

they're telling rather than try¬
ing to keep up with what is 'techni¬
cally' perfect or state-of-the-art. Here
I am saying this to American
Cinematographer, but I really feel that
one of the
great problems with
American film is the overemphasis
on production values. It's the one
thing that can be controlled and per¬
fected, provided that you have
enough money, but it's also the most
obvious thing to get right. To be hon¬
est, I am sick of'the beautiful image.'
At this point, so what? And what is
'beautiful'? That can be anything.
story

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he

attests.

"We did small

test screen¬

ings and let the conversations after¬
wards run for hours, looking for any
comments that would help us focus
the material. When

editing

on an

then use our notes to
in about

a

we

later

were

Avid system,

we

could

create a new cut

week and do another

it

screening. We did this about 10
times, only locking the picture after

resources

had

makers]

audience. I would do that with any

are

content

spending. And a 'beauti¬
mean nothing if the

can

isn't there."

Dick credits co-editor/associ¬

with

no

two consecutive screenings
negative comments from the

feature; there's

an

intimacy about the

process that I really enjoy"
Dick believes that Sick is best

producer Dody Dorn with help¬
ing to shape the more than 100 hours
of compiled footage into what would
eventually become Sick. "The editor's
passion has to match that of the
director," Dick says, "and we had a
very
dynamic
relationship."
However, the duo's initial equipment

enjoyed in a theatrical setting.
"People's apprehension and fears
about what they might see in this
film are always worse that what they
ultimately do see," he reasons. "It's
like going to the doctor's office to get
a shot. There is so much
buildup that

far from what one could describe

[anticipated] points in the film you
see these people for who and
what they are."
Asked if Sick's often unsettling
sadomasochistic imagery caused him
to encounter any resistance from
companies he dealt with during the
film's production, Dick responds that
it was largely a non-issue. "There was
one company that agreed to work

ate

"dynamic." Dick recalls with a
laugh, "I had an old VHS linear edit¬
ing system that I did most of the
rough-cut on. And one has to have a
passion for and understanding of the
material when cutting on a linear
system. You have to really meditate
on whether you want to take four
hours to completely reassemble
something if you want to change one
cut. There's an agony about that
process which makes it more like cut¬
ting on film; everything becomes
precious and precise. But I'd
again.
"Since I didn't have a script, I
found that when I started creating

more

never

do that

certain dramatic

information.

Dick did extensive audience

testing with various assemblies of
Sick, even though this practice is
widely disdained by most filmmak¬
ers. "We found the
testing to be vital,"

of these so-called

as

from standard to track wheels? Are

and began

piecing them together."

we

was

Does your

40 of these sequences

'beautiful' shots, I know I could make
a whole film for what [other film¬
ful' shot

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some

scenes as if they were
stand-alone short films. I built 30 or

by cutting

arcs

within the

story, I was leaving out half the mate¬
rial. I therefore approached it again

it's almost anticlimactic, but at those
can

with

us

and then backed out

at

the

last minute," he says.

"I didn't make a
big deal about it, but it incensed me
that this same company would think
nothing of contributing to some of
the violent, regressive films that
come out of Hollywood, while Sick is
about integrity, bravery, and a loving,
consensual

relationship

completely hypocritical."

-

it

was

■
American Cinematographer - January 1998

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - January 1998
