when the editor has to fix it in post

#ferrisbuellersdayoff #ferrisbueller #videoessay

Ferris Bueller's Day Off, starring a young Matthew Broderick, is that movie that was always playing on TV at a friend's house as a kid. That I would always sit down and catch the last half of. That I would ask the name of and completely forget it by the time I left. But eventually I rediscovered it properly and fell in love with its angst. That's not what today's video is about, though. Today, I'm here to talk about how director John Hughes wrote the film in less than a week, and how legendary film editor Paul Hirsch saved Ferris Bueller's Day Off in the edit.

Written & edited by Danny Boyd

[CinemaStix]

Star Wars may not have actually been saved in the edit. Paul Hirsch himself has debunked that in interviews. But Ferris Bueller… was.

[tobybartels]

Ferris Bueller is a character that we've had in storytelling for as long as there have been stories: he's a trickster god.

[HiVizCamo]

"You're not dying, you just can't think of anything good to do", what a perfect line 👌

[blackmniac]

Fun fact: (5:45) the two dudes with the silly hats in the observation lounge are from cologne. Those are carnival club hats and they wore them in the scene because... well they were there, they decided to wear them while sight seeing in chicago. John Hughes loved the idea of just having them stand at the edge of the frame and have people wonder what's up with those guys and their silly hats.

[katehucks]

I think my favorite theory/interpretation of Ferris Bueller is that it’s a groundhog-day-style time loop, in which Ferris is trying to prevent Cameron from killing himself, and we’re watching the final version of the loop where he finally gets Cameron to break through his depression at the end of the day. Everything is so perfectly timed and so coincidentally perfect, as though figured out through countless trials-and-error… I know it’s not like the movie was written with this as some “secret” meaning, I just like it as an interpretation. It IS about Cameron. It always has been.

[adman]

After seeing this movie a dozen times, the one line that changed everything for me was when Sloan asks Ferris "You knew what you were doing when you got up this morning, didn't you?" It dawned on me that Ferris had this whole day planned out SPECIFICALLY so that Cameron would be able to survivor on his own two feet when they went away to different colleges. The ultimate act of a parent/bro, making sure their child/bro would be able to live without them.

[ShallowVA]

Whooaaa, I never knew about that cut pancreas scene! The way it's edited in the final film always gave me the impression that while Ferris was away, Cameron was cutting loose a bit, having fun, and messing with the snooty diners. It's not just editing, that's almost writing and directing through the edit! It takes a damn good editor and a trusting writer and director to make that work.

[ivyburrows]

I only just realised. Ferris calls Camerons home a Museum, but its in a museum (okay an art gallery, but Ferris does refer to it as a museum.) that Cameron connects to art, he sees himself. Its a parallel that after years of watching this film I never really caught till now.

[rex-racer]

We visited the Art Institute in Chicago a couple summers ago and there was a guy there who looked a bit like a young Alan Ruck (Cameron) and was actually wearing a Gordie Howe jersey. Needless to say, he caused quite a stir, and several of us snapped a photo of him standing in front of the Seurat painting. My wife and I had thoughts of mimicking the kiss in front of the Chagall stained glass, but thought better of it. My wife did capture my two sons and me with arms crossed standing in front of the sculptures though (which weren’t arranged at all like the movie). I know, it was all tourist garbage, but we did enjoy the art and the kids had fun. Ferris holds up really well a generation later, and is proof that editing might be the most important part of filmmaking. Another great video. John Hughes is a legend.

[chrisblake]

I always loved how achronological it was. Clearly a couple hours getting everyone out of school and moving, then the museum and a morning ballgame (?) then lunch and the parade, then another couple hours for the catharsis then getting everyone home. An arcade full of kids as Rooney hunts for Ferris while he's at the game, a work crew that spontaneously decides to paint a water tower before his sister goes home to discover his ruse, etc etc.

None of it makes sense but it still works because it is an archetypal day off, of course everything fits in.

[nickolasnewman]

My parents took me to see this for my 7th birthday in 1986. It has been and will always be one of my favorite memories with my parents. I lived in Chicago for 2 years, and this explanation you have provided about this being a love letter, has very much made my day sir. Thank you for putting this together.

[MumRah]

Yes, do the character and script analysis for this movie. Can't wait.

[ckeilah]

I once played hooky from work and on my "day off" I went out to see a movie. That movie was Ferris Bueller's Day Off! :-D

[mishmashmedley]

I'm one of those guys that grew up with this movie in the 80s. And this film was a large part of me and my formative years as I identified so much with Cameron, and I am glad you point out that it is more his story than Ferris'. I don't know if anyone else had a friend like Ferris, but I kind of did--not quite as fantastical, of course, but one of those guys who seemed to live a charmed life and for whom nothing went wrong. But the majority of the audience....yeah, we were all Cameron, stressed out and too worried about everything to enjoy some of the funnest years of your life before you have to become a responsible adult.
On a side note, I learned a lot of mannerisms and goofiness from this movie that I would watch over and over to practice and get them down. For example, the water drop sound Cam does, I watched over and over and practiced until I could get it right, and ended up annoying so many teachers with it.... Also, the Baseball scene where Cam chants "He can't hit, he can't hit, he can't hit, he can't hit, he can't hit" all ran together so fast you can barely understand what it is sometimes.
So, for all of us normal kids, no matter what generation we are from, 80s aughts or 20s, I hope people learn that it is ok to live a little now and then. You deserve it.

[it-s-a-mystery]

That fact about Paul Hirsch saying "You should only cut when absolutely necessary" explains why Ferris is such a comfy and relaxed film for me.

[hannahdeforest]

The older I get, the more I like this movie. It's so completely unhinged and ridiculous. It shouldn't have worked, but it did. Loved hearing a bit of the editing history, and I would really enjoy any character breakdowns you decide to post. Your stuff always fascinates and inspires me.

[PatricioMarino]

What are you doing here? Go, the video is over.

[mikeoveli]

After taking a film class, i am shocked that editing isn't up there with best movie and director.
The editor is the movie maker.

[antipusrises]

I completely forgot about the dreaded pan-and-scan until you mentioned it.

[The_Gallowglass]

Since nobody asked and I'm a weirdo⤵

0:04 Ohio street exit to River North from I-90. :D
Trees are bigger and a lot more of them since 1986 (38 years), but it is unmistakable. Hello John Hancock to the east. Green building...333 West Wacker Drive, and the Sears Tower.
4:33 South on LSD, the Little House on the Lakefront Trail in Lincoln Park. Lake Michigan is to the left of them (our right).
5:01 The Art Institute
5:20 Old Comiskey Park (White Sox Park) on the south side
5:43 They're still at Comiskey Park, but you can see people in Cubs attire, meaning it was supposed to be a cross town classic match between the White Sox and Cubs.
5:46 Up in the Skydeck of the Sears Tower
5:51 Art Institute, Auguste rodin, Statue, Ritratto di balzac "Portrait of Balzac", 1893
6:07 Dearborn and Adams, right across from the Chicago Picasso. The Berghoff, historic German restaurant is nextdoor.

You're welcome.