Editing The Wild Bunch (section)

===Filming===
[[File:Wild Bunch still opening scene.jpg|thumb|Peckinpah (far right) directs the opening scene as the Bunch ride into Starbuck.]]
The film was shot with the [[Anamorphic format|anamorphic]] process. Peckinpah and his cinematographer, [[Lucien Ballard]], also made use of telephoto lenses, that allowed for objects and people in both the background and foreground to be compressed in perspective. The effect is best seen in the shots where the Bunch makes the walk to Mapache's headquarters to free Angel. As they walk forward, a constant flow of people passes between them and the camera; most of the people in the foreground are as sharply focused as the Bunch.

By the time filming wrapped, Peckinpah had shot {{convert|333000|ft|m}} of film with 1,288 camera setups. Lombardo and Peckinpah remained in Mexico for six months editing the picture. After initial cuts, the opening gunfight sequence ran 21 minutes. By cutting frames from specific scenes and intercutting others, they were able to fine-cut the opening robbery down to five minutes. The creative montage became the model for the rest of the film and would "forever change the way movies would be made".<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Weddle|author-link= David Weddle| title=If They Move...Kill 'Em!| publisher=Grove Press |year = 1994|pages=356 | isbn= 0-8021-3776-8 }}</ref>

Peckinpah stated that one of his goals for the movie was to give the audience "some idea of what it is to be gunned down". A memorable incident occurred, to that end, as Peckinpah's crew were consulting him on the "gunfire" effects to be used in the film. Not satisfied with the results from the [[bullet hit squib|squib]]s his crew had brought for him, Peckinpah became exasperated and finally hollered: "That's not what I want! ''That's not what I want!''" He then grabbed a real revolver and fired it into a nearby wall. The gun empty, Peckinpah barked at his stunned crew: "THAT'S the effect I want!!"

He also had the gunfire sound effects changed for the film. Before, all gunshots in Warner Bros. movies sounded identical, regardless of the type of weapon being fired. Peckinpah insisted that each different type of firearm have its own specific sound effect when fired.<ref>{{cite book |first=Garner |last=Simmons | title=Peckinpah, A Portrait in Montage| publisher=University of Texas Press |year = 1982|pages=103 | isbn= 0-292-76493-6}}</ref>