The title of the book, "In the Blink of an Eye," refers to the idea that a film editor makes decisions in a very short amount of time, often in a fraction of a second. Murch argues that film editing is not just a technical process, but a highly creative and intuitive one, where the editor must make split-second decisions that can make or break a film.
: Page 106 often touches on the loss of the physical "resistance" of film. In the analog days, every cut had a physical cost and required a deliberate decision; digital editing removes that friction, which Murch suggests can lead to a "galaxy of winking dots" where the editor might lose sight of the emotional core. The Persistence of the Rule of Six in the blink of an eye walter murch pdf 106