 When you think of Mel Brooks, a lot probably comes to mind. He's one of the most important figures in 20th century comedy and the legacy of his work lives on today and continues to inspire thousands of creative people working. But what you probably don't focus on is his cinematic craft. He's someone who had complete control of his films. He wrote, directed, produced, starred, and wrote music for and helped edit almost all of his films. In an interview with the Director's Guild of America, Brooks said, It's always been my thinking that the final editor should always be the director and the director should always take a huge hand in editing. Thanks to the financial success of his early work, he was given almost complete control over all 11 of his films. And this unique position allowed him to experiment around, break the rules when necessary, and the result was something unique, original, and truly great. Today I want to break down a few sequences to look at some of the techniques that he has used to find out what Mel Brooks can teach us about editing. The first thing that's worth pointing out is that he likes to keep it long. In a lot of comedies, there's a tendency to switch back and forth between the best takes in a rather bland, shot-reverse, shot style. Brooks didn't do that. He liked to keep the camera rolling while his actors interacted with one another and also the set. Do you? I understand. I understand why you're shouting. This probably comes from his near-decade writing theater before his film career took off. He really liked the 8 to 12 second range, which, when done right, allows for the perfect setup and punchline. Take, for example, this scene from Blazing Saddles. The setup is the two railroad workers trapped in quicksand, and the punchline is that the overseers save the cart, not the two humans. But there's a third aspect to this and almost all of his jokes, which is the reaction. Brooks loves to place his characters in absurd scenarios and almost always focuses on the actor's reactions. This three-part structure to his jokes setup, punchline and reaction, allows for two jokes in one. Having all this contained in one take makes it feel efficient and honest. Just as impactful as what he doesn't show. He likes reactions so much that sometimes he won't even show the subject. Instead, he just focuses on an onlooker. I said, Gene, look at the camera slightly on the way up. Like, bring the audience into your private joke. Like, wink at them. He also really likes to use long takes for buildups to jokes. There's a great scene in High Anxiety, which features a conversation between Brooks and Howard Morris. Early on, the scene relies on an exaggerated individual performance from Morris, which is shot as a single. But as the scene progresses and as Brooks's character becomes an equally important part, it switches to a two shot so we can have a nice long buildup. These long takes help make this payoff much more rewarding. Bullshit! But he doesn't always stick to this rule. He's always willing to improvise. For example, in Young Frankenstein. My name, it's pronounced Frankenstein. Whenever the horse hears this, he does this. So he really likes that cutaway mid-conversation for the punchline of the horse. Brooks knows the power of a great punchline and he knows what kind of performance it takes to sell it in the best way to edit around that performance. When watching his films, it's easy to take for granted the direction in editing. The writing is great, the actors do a great job, but the direction helps tie everything together. He's using the most common tools of filmmaking and turning them on their head and making something truly great. You mustn't ever let a producer ever let a producer in the editing room. They're not bad people. They're just dumb people. Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed. Mel Brooks is probably my favorite comedic filmmaker ever. Even his films, which aren't as highly respected today, are still a whole lot of fun to revisit. In case you're new here, make sure you hit that subscribe button. I have a new video going up every Saturday. Last week I made a video about Shaun of the Dead and I put a link to that on the screen in case you're interested. Thanks for watching and I will see you next week.