2003 Denise Haslem article by Melanie Sandford

[Matthew]

I caught up with Denise the day before she took off for the Gove Peninsular in Arnhem Land where she’ll be living for the next six months. She’s working on a film about law and order issues in the Yirrkala community.

Over the past twenty years Denise has edited some of the best documentaries to come out of Australia, “Tosca- A Tale of Love Torture”, “MABO- Life of an Island Man”, “Hatred”, “Aeroplane Dance”, “For All The World To See” to name just a few.

“I’ve been really lucky to work with people who know me well and know what my contribution is. People who don’t feel threatened when I have an idea that’s beyond just the cutting of shots together”. People like Trevor Graham. Her current project will be the fifth documentary Denise has cut for Trevor and the second she has produced for him. Denise likes to discuss the style and story with the Director before the shoot. There will be plenty of opportunity during the next six months as Denise is sharing a house with Trevor, his wife and co producer/writer Rose Hesp and baby Angelita. The cutting room will be set up in the Yirrkala community council offices.

The cutting room for Denise is “like a sculptor’s studio where you chip away at the block of marble in front of you until you begin to see the form and then you follow the grain, slowly carving and finessing. Some people equate it with cooking, putting all the ingredients together, I don’t because I’m not much of a cook. And there are no sure fire recipes. Each project has different requirements”. She told me that despite recent trends, she still likes to view the rushes with the director. “In rushes you’re the first audience, and if something jumps out at you and it works, then you have to hang onto that, you have to listen to that. Sometimes the director says ’this is the key moment of the film’ and you’re sitting blank faced and it’s not working. Then you have to figure out another way of making it work or somehow getting what the director wants from something else”.

“I prefer to assemble the rushes in a really rough form first, this can take about 4 or 5 weeks depending on the amount of material supplied, usually without the director. I don’t mind the director being there as long as they understand that this is a really broad brush stroke period and I will make the scenes work later on... I like the first assembly to be manageable and not run too long. Then I really start to work the material, moving sequences around, dropping things, finding the essence. Between the assembly and the rough cut I love the director to be there a lot. This is when really good arguments and discussions about the ideas in the film can happen. Trevor and I have had a few fights in the cutting room, but lots of good things come out of them. Out of the conflict often come creative solutions.”

Denise has worked all around Australia including in the bush, but this is the first time she has taken an edit room with her. She and Trevor decided to move the cutting room “On Site” so they can consult with the community about the ideas and the portrayal of the people as the film is being constructed. Language is another consideration and that way translations can be done on the spot. The Avid DV Express that Film Australia acquired should be perfect for this situation especially when people from the community want copies of ceremonies and other activities they perform for the camera. Denise will miss the easy access to colleagues for screenings. She believes they can be really helpful “particularly if you’re not certain if something is working or not”. For Denise criticism, as painful as it can be, is a constructive part of the process.

When it comes to screenings with the broadcasters she says: “You’ve always got to support the vision of the director. Occasionally the director needs to hear the more brutal comments an EP or broadcaster can deliver, I tend to be more diplomatic than them and sometimes a director can’t hear what I have to say”.

“It does affect the film in the end if you don’t get on with the director which occasionally happens. But with most films I’ve edited it’s hard at the end of it to say who made what decision”. Denise has edited well over 100 hours of screen time and many of the films she worked on have won national and international awards. “When I look back on the films I don’t think “oh, that was a beautiful cut. I’m looking to see if the story and structure work”. Denise started out studying architecture at Sydney Uni and a lot of what she learnt about form and structure, she has been able to translate into the editing room. “Some directors, the less experienced ones, think that editors just are there to put one shot next to another. They don’t understand that editing is so much more. It’s intensely creative”.

With that Denise continued packing her 4WD for the long drive to Arnhem Land, which she’ll be sharing with her dog Lucy.

Good Luck Denise.