ABSTRACT
Storytelling is the most powerful and enduring means of communication. It has been fundamental to the development of society as far back as human history can be traced. Stories without conflict lack interest whilst conflicts without resolution leave us either disappointed or distressed. It follows then that conflict is the driving force of all good stories and that every story must involve conflict of some kind. Nearly all successful stories, from the earliest folk tales to the latest block-buster films, appear to share a singular common feature: a narrative arc that begins with a conflict between people or situations and ends in a successful resolution. The editor must help decide the direction in which to take the story from here on, choosing what to include, and crucially, what must be excluded to make the narrative clear and compelling. Rushes usually arrive in the edit as multiple individual clips.
