At two enlightening discussions on Stage X at the International Photography Festival ‘Xposure’ on Friday (February 10), rising industry professionals heard from award-winning film editor Ahmed Hafez Younes and DOP/CSC Ahmed Al Morsy, one of the industry’s most accomplished cinematographers, on the fundamentals of cinematography and film editing.

During the two discussions titled ‘Cinematographer’s Blueprint to Success’ and ‘Introduction to Film Editing’, the two also turned the spotlight on latest developments in lighting, design and other practical tips offering hands-on guidance to those looking to forge a career in cinematography.

In his talk about the basics of film editing, Hafez noted that all human beings are “editors by nature”, further explaining that “editing is a natural act we use in our day-to-day lives to tell stories, convey emotion and communicate with one another.

Sharing how he identifies with famous filmmaker Martin Scorsese’s description of the editing process as “a spiritual move”, he ran the audience through basic techniques of film editing, and emphasised the importance of technical elements like sound and picture. As for the human element in film editing, he said the editor-director relationship was paramount, even though in his experience, “it has been a love-hate relationship”.

Hafez also shared a few tips from the popular book, Blink of an Eye, which has helped him throughout his career and told his audience to be mindful about things like the physical space in a scene and encouraged them to stay up to date with latest technologies and industry trends, and master things like the eye trace technique to control what the viewer sees.

“Editing is an invisible art and a good editor should be able to edit a film seamlessly, with a smooth flow”, he concluded.

The next guest on Stage X was one of the Arab world’s best DOPs, Egyptian cinematographer Ahmed Al Morsy who presented the final cuts of over 30 films, and snippets from multiple TV series including Marvel’s Moon Knight to give the audience a view of his 20-years career.

Encouraging the audience to live their stories, he noted, “We are not novelists who explain emotion through their writing. You need to be able to live the emotion you wish to convey using your cameras”.

During his comprehensive talk, Morsy offered aspiring and established cinematographers the tools and techniques needed to excel in the competitive world of film and television production, advising them to “know all the rules to break them”.

“Set yourself free to become limitless. Maintain a good reputation, build trust and make a good first impression,” he added.