Order In Chaos

Order In Chaos
Storytelling and editing in documentary film

Order in Chaos is the new book by award-winning film editor Niels Pagh Andersen, where he opens the door to his editing room and to his own story. Based on Andersen’s 40-year career, it offers a unique insight into his personal perspective on the art of editing and storytelling in documentary film.

The book introduces the reader to the principles and methods of creative editing, and dives deep into the editing processes of 8 films that Andersen has edited. The focus is on the process of creation, and on questions such as: How do you find a story in chaotic material from reality? How does the film find it’s emotional expression and tone? How does the dialogue between director and editor affect the final film?

Through the e-book, the reader gets access not only to exclusive clips from the 8 films, but also filmed conversations on the editing process between Andersen and the films’ directors, providing a rare look behind the scenes of some of the most significant documentaries in recent times.

The 8 films are:

Dying – a Part of Living (Dola Bonfils)
The German Secret (Lars Johansson)
Flying – Confessions of a Free Woman (Jennifer Fox)
The 3 Rooms of Melancholia (Pirjo Honkasalo)
The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer)
The Look of Silence (Joshua Oppenheimer)
Mogadishu Soldier (Torstein Grude)
Human Flow (Ai Weiwei)

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Niels Pagh Andersen Danish Film editor (b. 1958)

Niels Pagh Andersen started his career as an assistant in fiction film when he was 16 years old. Since 1979 he has worked as a film editor and has edited more than 250 widely different films.

Among them the fiction films The Pathfinder (Academy Award Nominee) and Everlasting Moments (Golden Globe Nominee), and the documentaries The Act of Killing and The look of Silence (both Academy Award Nominees).

Besides his work as an editor, Andersen lectures and teaches at workshops, film festivals, film schools and universities around the world and also works as a supervising editor.

In 2005, Andersen won the prestigious Danish lifetime achievement award, The Roos Prize, for his outstanding achievements in documentary filmmaking.

In 2012, he became Professor in Editing at The Norwegian Film School.

Andersen is a founding member of Rough Cut Service, a network of international editors with a focus on strengthening editing in documentary films and the role of the editor.