Angus Wall
Encyclopedia
Angus Wall is a film editor and film title designer. His editing, with Kirk Baxter
, of the film The Social Network
(directed by David Fincher
-2010) won the Academy Award for Film Editing
. Additionally, his editing, with Baxter, of the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
(directed by Fincher-2008) was nominated for the Academy Award for Film Editing
, the BAFTA Award for Best Editing
, and the American Cinema Editors Eddie Award. Wall's title design work on the television series Carnivàle received an Emmy Award in 2004; his work on the series Rome
won the BAFTA Award in 2005.
Wall graduated from Bowdoin College
in 1988. 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."
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
. He became an "editorial consultant" on Fight Club
(1999), 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.
Wall and his firm are noted for being early adopters of all-digital filmmaking using digital cameras. 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." 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. 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.
Kirk Baxter
Kirk Baxter is an Australian film editor. His editing, with Angus Wall, of the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was nominated for the Academy Award for Film Editing, the BAFTA Award for Best Editing, and the American Cinema Editors Eddie Award.Baxter was raised in Sydney, Australia and...
, of the film The Social Network
The Social Network
The Social Network is a 2010 American drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. Adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires, the film portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits...
(directed by David Fincher
David Fincher
David Andrew Leo Fincher is an American film and music video director. Known for his dark and stylish thrillers, such as Seven , The Game , Fight Club , Panic Room , and Zodiac , Fincher received Academy Award nominations for Best Director for his 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and...
-2010) won the Academy Award for Film Editing
Academy Award for Film Editing
The Academy Award for Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since 1981, every film selected as Best Picture has also been nominated for the Film Editing...
. Additionally, his editing, with Baxter, of the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (film)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a 2008 American fantasy-drama film directed by David Fincher. The screenplay by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord is loosely based on the 1922 short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald...
(directed by Fincher-2008) was nominated for the Academy Award for Film Editing
Academy Award for Film Editing
The Academy Award for Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since 1981, every film selected as Best Picture has also been nominated for the Film Editing...
, the BAFTA Award for Best Editing
BAFTA Award for Best Editing
The BAFTA Award for Best Editing is one of several annual awards presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . The film-voting members of the Academy select the five nominated films in each category; only the principal editor for each film are named, which excludes additional...
, and the American Cinema Editors Eddie Award. Wall's title design work on the television series Carnivàle received an Emmy Award in 2004; his work on the series Rome
Rome (TV series)
Rome is a British-American–Italian historical drama television series created by Bruno Heller, John Milius and William J. MacDonald. The show's two seasons premiered in 2005 and 2007, and were later released on DVD. Rome is set in the 1st century BC, during Ancient Rome's transition from Republic...
won the BAFTA Award in 2005.
Wall graduated from Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College , founded in 1794, is an elite private liberal arts college located in the coastal Maine town of Brunswick, Maine. As of 2011, U.S. News and World Report ranks Bowdoin 6th among liberal arts colleges in the United States. At times, it was ranked as high as 4th in the country. It is...
in 1988. 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."
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
Se7en
Seven is a 1995 American thriller film, which also contains horror and neo-noir elements, directed by David Fincher and written by Andrew Kevin Walker. It was distributed by New Line Cinema and stars Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, R...
. He became an "editorial consultant" on Fight Club
Fight Club (film)
Fight Club is a 1999 American film based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. The film was directed by David Fincher and stars Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter. Norton plays the unnamed protagonist, an "everyman" who is discontented with his white-collar job...
(1999), 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.
Wall and his firm are noted for being early adopters of all-digital filmmaking using digital cameras. The film Zodiac
Zodiac (film)
Zodiac is a 2007 American mystery-thriller film directed by David Fincher and based on Robert Graysmith's non-fiction book of the same name. The Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros...
(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
Dailies
Dailies, in filmmaking, are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. They are so called because usually at the end of each day, that day's footage is developed, synched to sound, and printed on film in a batch for viewing the next day by the director and some members...
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." 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. 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
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
'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.
Filmography (as editor)
Wall's filmography is listed on the Rock Paper Scissors website. The director of each film is indicated in parenthesis.- The Social NetworkThe Social NetworkThe Social Network is a 2010 American drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. Adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires, the film portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits...
(2010) (Fincher-2010; with Kirk Baxter) - The Curious Case of Benjamin ButtonThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button (film)The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a 2008 American fantasy-drama film directed by David Fincher. The screenplay by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord is loosely based on the 1922 short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald...
(Fincher-2008; with Baxter) - ZodiacZodiac (film)Zodiac is a 2007 American mystery-thriller film directed by David Fincher and based on Robert Graysmith's non-fiction book of the same name. The Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros...
(Fincher-2007) - ThumbsuckerThumbsucker (film)Thumbsucker is a 2005 American comedy-drama film directed by Mike Mills adapted from the Walter Kirn novel of the same name. The movie focuses on teenager Justin Cobb and how he copes with his thumb sucking problem, and his experiments with hypnosis, sex and drugs.-Plot:Justin Cobb is a shy...
(MillsMike Mills (director)Michael C. "Mike" Mills is an American film and music video director and graphic designer. He is perhaps best known for his independent films Thumbsucker and Beginners.-Early life:...
-2005) - The Hire: Hostage (WooJohn WooJohn Woo Yu-Sen SBS is a Hong Kong-based film director and producer. Recognized for his stylised films of highly choreographed action sequences, Mexican standoffs, and use of slow-motion, Woo has directed several notable Hong Kong action films, among them, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Hard...
-2002; short) - Panic RoomPanic RoomPanic Room is a 2002 American thriller film directed by David Fincher and written by David Koepp. The film stars Jodie Foster, Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, Dwight Yoakam, Kristen Stewart, and Patrick Bauchau...
(Fincher-2002; with James Haygood) - Sunset StripSunset Strip (film)Sunset Strip is a 2000 American comedy-drama film directed by Adam Collis for 20th Century Fox. Randall Jahnson wrote the story, who previously examined the rock scene in his scripts for The Doors and Dudes, and he and Russell DeGrazier adapted the story into a screenplay.This comedy takes place in...
(CollisAdam CollisAdam Collis is an American filmmaker and actor. He attended the Duke University from 1986 to 1990 and the University of California, Los Angeles from 2007 to 2010. He also studied cinema at the University of Southern California from 1991 to 1997. Collis first work was the assistant director for the...
-2000; with Bruce CannonBruce CannonBruce Cannon is an American film editor whose credits include Four Brothers, Higher Learning, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Sunset Strip, Things We Lost in the Fire, Rosewood, Boyz n the Hood.-External links:...
) - Architecture of Reassurance (Mills-1999; short)