Angus Wall

Last updated
Angus Wall
Born
Angus Alexander Wall

(1967-03-15) March 15, 1967 (age 56)
Education Bowdoin College (BA)
Occupations
  • Film editor
  • title designer

Angus Alexander Wall (born March 15, 1967) [1] is a film editor and film title designer. He and fellow film editor Kirk Baxter won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing for the David Fincher film The Social Network (2010) and again the next year for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011). He and Baxter were nominated the Academy Award for Best Film Editing, the BAFTA Award for Best Editing, and the American Cinema Editors Eddie Award for the 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button , also directed by David Fincher. Wall's title design work on the HBO television series Carnivàle and Game of Thrones both received Emmy Awards in 2004 and 2011, respectively, [2] and his work on the series Rome 's titles was nominated for the BAFTA Award in 2005. [3]

Contents

Life and career

Wall graduated from Woodberry Forest School in Virginia in 1984. [4] He then earned a BA from Bowdoin College in 1988. [5] In 1992, he and Linda Carlson started the firm Rock Paper Scissors, which has become "a respected West Hollywood creative editorial house known for its commercial work for such clients as BMW, HP, and Nike." [6]

Wall's relationship with the director David Fincher extends back to 1988, when Wall entered the entertainment industry. Wall had edited some commercials directed by David Fincher, and he edited the titles for Fincher's film Se7en . [7] He became an "editorial consultant" on Fight Club (1999), [7] which was edited by James Haygood, and he then co-edited Panic Room (2002) with Haygood. While Wall became the sole editor credited on Zodiac (2007), Kirk Baxter worked with him as an "additional editor". Wall proposed to Fincher that Baxter be the co-editor for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. [8]

Wall and his firm are noted for being early adopters of all-digital filmmaking using digital cameras. [9] [10] [11] The film Zodiac (2007), which was directed by Fincher and edited by Wall, is noted as "the first major motion picture created without using film or tape," although some parts of the film were shot with conventional cameras. One important aspect of using digital cameras is that the director can view a scene immediately after it is recorded; as Fincher commented in an interview, "Dailies almost always end up being disappointing, like the veil is pierced and you look at it for the first time and think, 'Oh my god, this is what I really have to work with.' But when you can see what you have as it's gathered, it can be a much less neurotic process." [12] Digital filmmaking also creates new possibilities for film editing compared to the "cutting" of reels of physical film; among these possibilities are subtle changes in the timing of an actor's performance, and combining of two different takes of a given scene within a single frame. [13] The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has the additional novel element that the facial performances in many of the film's scenes were recorded independently of the body performances, and were combined to create the final film. Brad Pitt's face performances for Button were used in all the scenes, but for many of the scenes a second actor's performance was used for the rest of Button's body. [14]

Filmography (as editor)

YearFilmDirectorNotes
1995 Seven David Fincher Title designer only
1999 Fight Club Editorial consultant
Architecture of Reassurance Mike Mills Short film
2000 Sunset Strip Adam Collis Title designer only
2002 Panic Room David Fincher Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing
The Hire: Hostage John Woo Short film
2005 Thumbsucker Mike Mills
2007 Zodiac David Fincher Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing
2008 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Nominated—Academy Award for Best Film Editing
Nominated—ACE Eddie for Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Editing
2010 The Social Network Academy Award for Best Film Editing
ACE Eddie for Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic
BAFTA Award for Best Editing
Nominated—Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Best Film Editing
Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Editing
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Editing
2011 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Academy Award for Best Film Editing
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Editing
Nominated—ACE Eddie for Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic

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References

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  2. "Emmy Award database: Angus Wall" . Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  3. "BAFTA Awards database: 2005 Titles" . Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  4. "Woodberry Alumnus wins Oscar for film editing". Woodberry Forest School . 28 February 2011. Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  5. "And the Oscar Goes to...Angus Wall '88 (Los Angeles Times)". Archived from the original on 2011-03-06. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
  6. Peters, Oliver (January 25, 2007). ""Zodiac": Solving Tapeless Mysteries". Videography. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved March 12, 2009.
  7. 1 2 "Rock Paper Scissors: Angus Wall's works". Archived from the original on 28 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-19.
  8. Caranicas, Peter (February 6, 2009). "Editing duos realize helmers' visions". Variety.
  9. "Workflow on Fincher's all digital film: Zodiac". fxguide. October 24, 2006.
  10. Goldman, Michael (August 1, 2006). "Going Tapeless". DigitalContentProducer.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-30.
  11. Kunkes, Michael (March–April 2007). "'Zodiac' Sign: Angus Wall on the Cusp of FILMMAKING'S FUTURE". Editors Guild Magazine. 28 (2).
  12. Taubin, Amy (May 2007). "Nerds on a Wire". Sight & Sound .
  13. Debruge, Peter (February 12, 2009). "Editors cover tracks with digital tricks". Variety. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
  14. Debruge, Peter (January 7, 2009). "Complex 'Case' for 'Button' editors: Baxter, Wall describe intricate process". Variety. Retrieved 2009-03-07.