Editor Sven Budelmann discusses his work on the Oscar-nominated drama, and how his close collaboration with director Edward Berger led to creating a film that is as authentic and realistic as possible
By Contributor
Published: March 10, 2023 Updated: March 31, 2023
Editor Sven Budelmann discusses his work on the Oscar-nominated drama, and how his close collaboration with director Edward Berger led to creating a film that is as authentic and realistic as possible
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
All Quiet on the Western Front originated as a novel written by a German veteran of World War I, with themes including the pointlessness and chaos of war and its long-term traumatic effects on those who survive. It was first made into a film in 1930 by director Lewis Milestone, winning Academy Awards for Outstanding Production and Best Director and eventually being selected for the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. Today that film's editing, by Maurice Pivar, and cinematography, by Arthur Edeson are cited as early examples of filmmaking's recovery from the restrictions of the nascent sound era.
Edward Berger's 2022 edition of the story opened at the Toronto Film Festival and met with universal praise. Today's filmmaking tools help bring the tale to a new level of dramatic visual impact. Director of photography James Friend shot with an array of modern digital cameras, with his main tool the ARRI ALEXA 65, augmented by the ALEXA Mini LF when a more mobile camera was required. Both cameras use CODEX recording technology as part of a proven, rock-solid workflow. The large format sensors at the heart of these cameras helped put the audience through hell, says Friend, who also noted that the two cameras intercut seamlessly. Images were captured in LF Open Gate 4.5K format, with an array of spherical lenses, and cropped to a final aspect ratio of 2.39:1.
Editor Sven Budelmann came onto the project more than a year ahead of principal photography. His first task was to create a mood trailer with Berger to explore ideas and find the right tonality.
The basic approach was to shoot it almost as a documentary, as authentic and realistic as possible, says Budelmann. Instead of standard images of war, we put together images of beautiful nature and underscored that with a destructive score. We knew we could create tension with a combination of violence and beauty.
When it came to the actual edit, we used those silent moments of nature to control the dynamic of violence, because you can't maintain the maximum level of horror. You need to step back. When I finally got the first footage, which was the journey of the uniforms, I knew for certain that this film was going to be amazing.
An example of this tension is the scene where the main character is assigned the task of collecting dog tags from the dead. He steps on a pair of eyeglasses and realizes they belong to his friend, whose body he soon finds. After a long pause in the rain, he begins to cry. The camera tracks back and we cut to a beautiful, tree-lined landscape, says Budelmann. Nature doesn't care what's happening to these people. That helps to give some distance.
Budelmann says that the inherent power of the immersive images affects the editorial decisions at every cut. The quality and beauty are so high that it contrasts with the horrors depicted. We have dead bodies, and fighting, and then we have this beauty. James Friend did such an amazing job - each angle is perfect. Our thought was to use each shot only once. Each shot has a certain place within each scene. There's not much cutting back and forth to a previously seen angle, like in a standard dialog scene. The pace is not fast, so each cut becomes more important.
It's so important that we stay in close contact during shooting The X2X Media Group, owners of CODEX products and services, also facilitated communications and project management on the project through its PIX collaboration tools. For portions of the shoot done at the height of the Covid restrictions, Budelmann was working in Berlin. Meanwhile, Berger and Friend were proceeding with the shoot in the Czech Republic, where an abandoned Soviet-era airfield provided space for trenches and battlefields. An LED volume was also used at Barrandov Studios in Prague. At the end of each day, Budelmann's assistant would upload the day's work to PIX. After viewing the cuts, Berger would call Budelmann and discuss things on his drive home.
It was crucial to Budelmann to have as close an approximation of the final audio as possible. It's so important that we stay in close contact during the shooting, says Budelmann. To me, editing is the most creative part of filmmaking because it's not just about cutting the picture. It's about the whole package and how everything works together - the performance, sound and music. The editing room is the only place where you can manipulate all these elements at the same time. Usually in feature films, the dialogue determines the structure and length of shots. In All Quiet, there's not much talking. The cuts are often determined or affected by other elements - the sound design, for example. We did a lot of sound work in the editing. To get the right timing requires experimentation with every element.
After the shoot wrapped, Budelmann and Berger spent another five months fine-tuning the edit.
Budelmann made his first short films as a teenager, emulating scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark. That led to the opportunity to cut music videos, and by his early 20s, he was editing clips for top performers like Madonna and Garbage. When his directors segued into working on commercials, Budelmann followed, experimenting, and learning at every step. Eventually, he began to get opportuni
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
19/08/2026
World Cup Games Generate 84 Billion Minutes Across FOX, Fox Sports 1 and NBCU...
19/08/2026
July brought typical peak-holiday drops in viewership, driven primarily by viewers stepping away from screens and a visible decline in reach across both traditi...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Henry joins BCE as the company accelerates its commercial strategy and expands its international presence across the media, broadcast and technology markets. He...
19/08/2026
iWedia, a leading provider of software solutions for connected TV devices, today announced a major milestone in Android platform optimization with the successfu...
19/08/2026
NTP Technology announces that ST 2110-30 audio-over-IP connectivity with AES67 and RAVENNA capabilities is now available for the brand's world-class audio i...
19/08/2026
Net Insight has been selected to provide its Nimbra platform by the service provider Big Blue Marble, formerly ORS Group, as the core media transport solution f...
19/08/2026
LiveU has supported Coventry City FC and several other top-flight UK football clubs through one of their most demanding live production challenges of the year, ...
19/08/2026
Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF
Brie Clayton August 18, 2026
0 Comments
Filming endangered turtles required camera...
19/08/2026
Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control ...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Australia, implemented a comprehensive communications infrastructure that brin...
19/08/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will spotlight a major leap forward in remote guest con...
19/08/2026
Integrated platform melds media asset management, playout automation and newsroom workflows
EMAM, PlayBox Neo and SNEWS have officially launched Nuvex, a conne...
19/08/2026
Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen in...
19/08/2026
Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdr...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
SportStream 2026, a free three-day virtual event, will take place September 15-17. One registration provides access to all three days of live programming and on...
18/08/2026
BeckTV will introduce BeckFlow to the European market at IBC2026, demonstrated on the Providius stand (10.F53).
BeckFlow is a web-based schematic documentation...
18/08/2026
Boland Communications will introduce a SMPTE ST 2110 input option for its 4K monitors at IBC2026, along with a new 55-inch super-narrow bezel display for video ...
18/08/2026
Dolby Laboratories and the Seattle Seahawks have announced a partnership integrating Dolby OptiView into the Seahawks' live streaming coverage, making the S...
18/08/2026
For BMG Executive Producer of Sports Production, Graham Taylor, producing live s...
18/08/2026
TMRW Sports has appointed Rufus Hack as President of Golf, a newly created role in which he will lead the company's golf businesses including TGL presented ...
18/08/2026
SMT will provide race technology for FOX Sports' coverage of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. on August 23, when the NTT INDYCAR SERIES races ...
18/08/2026
The live, YouTube-native roundtables combine fan voices, credentialed reporters,...
18/08/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/08/2026
The industry legend sounds off on replacing the Heat's iconic Medusa score...
18/08/2026
William F. Rasmussen, the sports fan-turned broadcaster and entrepreneur whose out-of-the-box idea of a 24-hour cable sports network, ESPN, changed forever the ...
18/08/2026
DAZN Group has completed its acquisition of ViewLift, a provider of streaming and digital solutions for sports content owners. The acquisition was first announc...
18/08/2026
The American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) has added SI TV, Sports Illustrated's 24/7 streaming channel, as a broadcast partner for the remain...
18/08/2026
The Esports Foundation has announced that the inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC), originally scheduled for November 2026 in Riyadh, will be postponed to Novemb...
18/08/2026
Diversified has announced a new Global Managed Services Practice, consolidating the company's managed services capabilities into one organization. Rob Mello...
18/08/2026
Appear has completed a proof of concept with Thoroughbred Racing Productions (TRP), demonstrating multi-camera remote live production over bonded 5G cellular an...
18/08/2026
Riedel Communications has announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, ...
18/08/2026
Company launch with stereo-imaging tool
Panoramic is the debut release from Panorama Labs, a new company formed by mastering engineer Nicholas Di Lorenzo. C...
18/08/2026
Control software now available for older interfaces
Focusrite have just announced the launch of an update that extends Control 2 software support their Scar...
18/08/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
18/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/08/2026
Lightware announces an integration with SpectralBot that helps system integrators and AV operators troubleshoot faster using augmented reality (AR), AI-assisted...
18/08/2026
Command Frame for After Effects
Scott Black August 18, 2026
0 Comments
Free download, demonstrations, hands-on tests, and creator resources
Want to t...
18/08/2026
At Stand 14.A57, the data company will demonstrate GreenDot and IBM Aspera together, giving media and entertainment businesses real-time visibility of what thei...
Editor Sven Budelmann discusses his work on the Oscar-nominated drama, and how his close collaboration with director Edward Berger led to creating a film that is as authentic and realistic as possible
