Introduction

In this essay I will critically assess the early development and the purposes of film editing, including evidence and examples to support my opinions. I will begin by researching early development and pioneers involved in the development of film. I will then include the purposes of editing and why it is important for the audience to have a clear understanding of what is happening.

What is film editing?

Editing is a process involved the post-production part of filmmaking and could be argued to be the most important and crucial part of the process as a whole. Editing involves selecting appropriate shots and then combining those shots together to make a finished product with a story line. Editing is very important as it needs to be done so it is actually unnoticeable to the audience when they are watching, the objective is to make the story line so engaging and captivating that the viewer isn’t focusing on each cut, that they are focusing fully on the story line itself. Early filmmaking did not have the same techniques and editing as we do now, early films, most of the time, fast consisted fully of one continuous shot. An example of this type of edit is The Lumiere Brothers who created a short film of one continuous shot of workers leaving a factory in 1895. The reasons why early filmmakers where restricted to make better films was generally because of technology. At the time of early filmmaking, the camera that were used where big and had large film reels connected to them in order to catch what was happening within the film. This caused filmmakers to be limited in terms of what they could actually shoot and how much they could shoot as well. After the actual making of the film, the editing process had to be done which was very different to how editing is done now. In early film editing, it was known as analogue editing it was done by hand which meant it took and consumed a lot of time, the process involved was pausing the camera and moving it to the next shot, further on through the years, a technique called ‘splicing’ was introduced. Splicing was the technique were the editor had to physically cut the film reel and put it back together to make a shot, which was stereotypically seen as a woman’s job as it

was seen as ‘sewing’. Now, editing is digital and is created by using modern computers and progammes. This means that the editor is fully relied on, for everything, to create the final product. People like The Lumiere Brothers and Thomas Edison helped the development of editing as they both invented things to allow film to be developed. The Lumiere Brothers invented the Cinematographe, which was a projector that allowed the film to be shown on walls for people to see. Also, Thomas Edison invented the first motion picture Kinetoscope, which allowed people to see moving images for the first time and for these inventions, they became pioneers in the development of film editing. Both of these pioneers were crucial and important people in the early days of filming and editing as their inventions actually allowed their work to be watched by an audience, which most definitely played an important part in the development of editing.

Robert W. Paul created another step in the development of early film editing with his Theatograph, which allowed pictures to project onto a screen as the use of his Theatograph allowed development in cinemas and he started to establish continuity. Continuity editing is the predominant style of film editing and video editing in the post-production process of filmmaking of narrative films and television programs. The purpose of continuity editing is to smooth over the inherent discontinuity of the editing process and to establish a logical coherence between shots. Also, Robert Paul’s film ‘Come Along, Do’ in 1898 was one of the first films to feature more than shot. Editors can now break the rules when editing and make sure it looks normal. For

example, In Camera Editing is now used to gain time back when editing. In Camera Editing, is recording all the scenes in chronological order so that when it comes to editing, you already have all the scenes in the correct order, you just need to put them all together to create a final product. Also, Robert W. Paul’s film ‘Come Along, Do’ was an important film for using ‘shot variation’. Shot variation is the distance between the actor and the camera; for example, a close up shot is where the camera is just focusing on the face. In this case, this film used long and wide shots; the impact on the audience from this is that the narrative was further developed. A couple examples who have both used In Camera Editing are Alfred Hitchcock used the technique, particularly in Rope. Jean-Luc Godard also made use of it in his film Breathless. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-camera_editing). The main strength of ‘In Camera Editing’ is that when it comes to editing the footage, it will save time as they scenes are already in order for you, all that needs to be done is putting them together to create a final product. A limitation of this technique was that it took longer to actually shoot the film as it had to all be done in order, but this time could be got back when it comes to the editing process.

Development

In the early days of editing, it was very different to how editing is now and shot variation was rarely used as the technology used in early days of film caused people to be limited in terms of what they could film. This limited the narrative also because it was just constantly one variation of a shot, this could also mean that the audience could fully be engaged in the film. Also, following the action was more difficult to do, as they never had the equipment to follow the action and movement made by the actors. Nowadays there will be more than one camera at different angles to record and catch the action scene from different angles, where as in early film editing they may have only had one camera that had to stay in same place. Some early films where a crucial part in developing film editing. In this section, I will give examples and discuss some films that helped to develop film editing. ‘Come Along, Do!’ was important in film editing development because it was one of the earliest multi shot fiction films. It is a two shot film shot entirely on a constructed set and is thought to have been joined by a simple slice. The impact of this was that it was the beginning of films having more than one shot, which was starting to make the narrative and the story line in general more entertaining for the audience. This meant that any films being made in the future would use two shots rather than just one, which again, created a better and more entertaining narrative for the audience. ‘The Great Train Robbery’ was important in film editing development because the film used simple editing techniques where each scene is a single shot and the story is mostly linear, being one of the first narrative movies. Linear means that there was a clear story line that was shot and then shown in chorological order rather than having no order which meant there was no storyline, as directors started shooting in a linear fashion, it lead to films improving as there was a clear and direct storyline and narrative that the audience could understand without getting confused or bored. This film also caused an effect on the audience as in the film, the final shot of a gun being fired toward the camera; the audience thought they were actually going to be shot. The film ‘The Big Swallow’ directed by James Williamson in 1901 is important for the development of film editing as it has imaginative use of an extreme close up of a man advancing towards the camera, in perfect focus until this mouth appears to swallow the lens. It then cuts to the photographer who is apparently disappearing into a black hole, the effect of this is that it makes the audience feel scared and it

involves the audience as it makes it seems like he is going to swallow the audience as it mouth gets closer to the screen. This was crucial for the development of editing as it showed that directors and editors to experiment with shot variation and effects, to again, create a more interesting storyline and to evoke emotion out of the audience who is watching, in this case, a sense of being scared and feeling intense as you feel as though you’re going to be swallowed. ‘The Jazz Singer’ was the first feature-length movie audible dialogue. This was a crucial film to help the development as it meant that it was possible to have sound and music in a film, which lead to no more silent movies. It was also the first film musical. This movie was the decline of the silent film era. Each of these developments in different years, caused films to be constantly improved because inventions were always being made and improved.

Purposes

The purpose of editing is purely to create the story line in the film, which will then engage the audience and will create emotion and meaning within the film. Engaging the audience is a crucial part of editing as if you don’t engage the audience, then they will find the movie boring and will not watch to watch it. One way of engaging the audience is using pace and exciting scenes, often seen in actions films to keep the audience captivated and wanting to continue watching. An example of this is Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation directed by Christopher McQuarrie in 2015, when Tom Cruise is driving the car and sees the girl on the motorbike and chases her. The scene cuts from the girl on the motorbike to the car all the time to keep the audience entertained on what is happening. It then cuts to the top of the stairs where you are shown a group of people on motorbikes and it cuts to a point of view shot of someone on the motorbike so it is keeping the audience involved in the film. Filmmakers will use very fast cuts to engage the audience, and make them sit on the edge of their seat almost because how captivated in the storyline they are. A limitation of using very fast cuts is that if the cuts are to quick, it can make the audience feel

confused and uninterested, as there is too much happening at once. Another way to engage the audience is using action and/or movement scenes, like fight scenes. For example, in Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2, in the final fight scene with the Cullens and their witnesses against the Volturi. As soon as Carlisle was announced to be dead, the Cullen family began running to the Volturi and that’s when the fighting begins. The camera then cuts to the vampires with a straightforward shot, running, almost towards the camera, again engaging and involving the audience to keep them wanting to watch. It then cuts to a high angle establishing shot to allow the audience to see everything that is happening, but, also to create tension because in this particular scene, you can see the two groups of people, the Cullen’s are outnumbered by the Volturi which is clear to see because of this shot, also, you can see how the Volturi are all stood, which is in a line, almost creating a barrier to stop the Cullens getting through. The purpose of this is to engage the audience and evoke emotion as it is almost predicting the future because the Cullen’s are outnumbered and you would naturally think that the Volturi will win the fight, but it makes the audience want to carry on watching so they can see what happens. Also, close ups are extremely important to evoke emotion and allow the audience to fully understand exactly how the character is feeling, for example, in Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2, Aro, the leader of the Volturi can see your thoughts through holding your hand, so Alice gives him her hand so he can see what she is thinking, during this, is crossing over between them using close ups shots on their face to show the expression and to tell the audience how they’re feeling.Another way to engage the audience is using sound and music in films. This is often used in horror films when the killer is somewhere nearby and it cuts to the person who is most likely the victim and will continuously cut to somewhere else, for example, outside, another room to create tension but also it will have sound effects and music to create further tension. An example of a film is ‘Scream’ directed by Wes Craven in 1996. Also, ‘Scream’ uses a technique called motivated edit. Motivated edit is where it is showing the audience something and then cuts to something completely different but fits in

with the story. For example, in ‘Scream’ it is showing the character next to some doors, it then cuts to a swing outside which is moving, clearly telling the audience that something is out there. This causes the audience to be scared and aware of what is about to happen. Story telling is a crucial part in engaging the audience as it causes a sense of sympathy, empathy and general emotion for the audience. This can engage the audience as they could relate to the characters, or the storyline or just feel involved. An example of this is ‘A Little Bit Of Heaven’, where Cameron Diaz who plays the character of Marley Corbett. The story line is when a young woman uses humor to prevent matters from getting series but then has a life-changing visit with her doctor where she finds out she has terminal cancer. It cuts to Whoopi Goldberg who plays God and asks Marley to make 3 wishes. This is already captivating the audience because almost everyone has lost somebody to cancer so the audience can relate to this film. Two of the wishes are revealed early on the film but the third isn’t provided until near the end when Marley realizes herself that her final wish was to fall in love which is what she did before she passed away. The film then ends with her funeral. The editor specifically provided and withheld information in terms of the three wishes to keep the audience wanting to continue watching as they want to know her final wish and if it will come true. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Little_Bit_of_Heaven_(2011_film)

Films also use manipulation of diegetic time and space, This is where, in a film, the editor changes the speed of which the film goes to show the audience a long period of time into a relatively short time. Films use this to skip through hours, days or even months. A good example of this would be the new version of ‘The Karate Kid’. Through the time he learns to train, it speeds up to make it last about 15 minutes, when it would have lasted days or even weeks. As it lets the audience know it’s been a long period of time, it also allows the director and editor to add more footage into the film as it’s shortened down what would have been a long piece of film, showing the days/weeks of training day by day. https://ashleighevers.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/manipulation-of-diegetic-time-and-space/

Furthermore, a film example of elliptical editing is Batman Begins. In this film, there is a scene where a man is on a

journey somewhere and although it would originally take hours to arrive at the destination he is walking towards, it transforms into one and a half minutes. It uses shot variation and close ups and shows him walking but will the cut to another shot where he has progressed in his journey or he has arrived somewhere else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpJGC13TG6k

Conventions and techniques of editing.

This part of the essay, I will be discussing the techniques that are used in films and TV shows to create a narrative and a story line and it make it looks aesthetically pleasing for the audience to watch.

Continuity Editing – Continuity of editing is the predominant style of film editing and video editing in the post-production process of filmmaking of narrative films and television programs. For example, the film Twilight, when the vampires are running, it shows the scenes from different angles but keeping the scene continuous, this is achieved by linking all the different shots together so it creates a seamless outcome. It should be that the audience doesn’t think about what is happening and is just concentrating on the scene, which is important so that the audience does not get confused when watching. The purpose of continuity editing is too smooth over the inherent discontinuity of the editing process and to create coherence between shots.

Motivated - A motivated edit is when the scene cuts to another scene or object that was not in the previous science. Can be used in horror films, for example Scream, it shows the phone and then does a upwards pan up to the character when she is on the phone and the camera is facing her and the doors are behind, then the next shot is the swing in the garden slowly swinging, suggesting someone is out there which draws the audience in and will make them wanting to continue watching. This technique can be used in horror films to increase tension.

Montage - This technique is used in film editing in which a series of short shots are editing into a sequence to condense space, time and information. For example, Dirty Dancing uses this technique to show the woman’s improvement in dancing using only a few shots. This technique is used to condense space, time and information so the viewer doesn’t get bored and they constantly intrigued in the film. Montages also inform the audience. Russian montage/Soviet montage is an approach to understanding and creating cinema that relies heavily upon editing. One main characteristic of Soviet Montage films is the downplaying of individual characters in the center of attention. For example, In Eisenstein's film Strike there is only one character named individually in the entire film. Also, the main purpose of Hollywood montage is so reduce time and space, particularly in films such as Dirty Dancing and Pretty Woman.

http://cinetext.philo.at/reports/sv.html

Jump Cutting - A jump cut is an example of the elliptical style of editing where one shot seems to be abruptly interrupted. The background will change while the individuals stay the same. For example, in the film Royal Tenenbaums when the actor is cutting his hair, it uses very short clips rather than long shots. Jump Cutting is used to show disorientation or state of mind of a character. Jump cutting is used in this film is to show the process of his appearance in quicker times.

Parallel Editing/ Cross Cutting - Parallel editing is a technique used to portray multiple lines of action, occurring in different places, simultaneously. A cross cut is where two scenes are intercut which are happening at the same time but then join together at the end. A film example is Inception directed by Christopher Nolan in 2010, to show someone in a hotel rushing, but then another scene of a car chase but both of the scenes link in

some way. Parallel editing is used to add interest and excitement to an otherwise boring sequence. Parallel editing is often applied to create suspense.

180-degree rule - The 180-degree rule is a basic guideline regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene. The 180-degree rule is used so that the viewer doesn’t get confused when watching. The only time you can cross the line is if you show it on camera to the viewer. A film example is Mad Max Fury Road, during a fight scene, an actor on a motorbike is flying through the air on the left side, it then cuts to Max who is shooting at the person on the motorbike looking to his left so it constantly stays on the left side.

Splicing - Splicing is the cutting and then joining of two bits of film. Stereotypically in the early days of editing when an editor would physically cut the film reel and stick it back together.

Transitions - A transition can be used to suit the mood of the film narrative. Transitions can be used to invoke emotions. Examples of transitions are fade, dissolve and wipe. Transitions are used to cut between shots but having an effect in between.

Cutaways - Cutaway shot is the interruption of a continuously filmed action by inserting a view of something else. A film example is The Godfather when Michael is telling Kay about his father’s relationship with singer Johnny Fontaine. It happens right after Michael says, “That’s a true story.” Cutaway shots are used in dramatic films to adjust the pace of the main action, to conceal the deletion of some unwanted part of the main shot, or to allow the joining of parts of two versions of that shot. The effect of this on the audience is that is makes the viewer confused and intrigued of what is going to happen.

Point of view shot - A camera shot which shows the viewpoint from a particular subject. Usually from the characters point of view. A film example is Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2, when Bella wakes up as a vampire; her eyesight is much better so it shows you what she can see. Point of view shots can

be used to involve the viewer as it can be as though the viewer is also looking at what the character is looking at. The impact of this on the audience is that Bella has always wanted to be a vampire since she met Edward so she could live forever with him, and the fact that once she has turned into a vampire and we can see everything she is seeing for the first time, it invokes emotion as she will be finally be what she always wanted. Also, a point of view shot was important in this particular scene as once Bella wakes up as a vampire, she is seeing herself as a completely different person and by using a point of view shot here, we can also see that which engages the audience to keep them involved.

Shot reverse shot - Shot Reverse Shot is where one character is shown looking at another character and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other. A film example is The Hunger Games when Peter and Katniss are talking and it shows you them both. In the scene, Katniss enters Peter’s room as he is looking out the window and begins talking to him and it always cuts to show you either Peter or Katniss when either of them is talking. So, when Katniss is talking, the camera is showing her and then when Peter is talking it will show him. Shot reverse shot is used to show people talking so you can see both people talking rather than just one.

Editing rhythm - Pace of the edit. Long takes are simply shots that extend for a long period of time before cutting to the next shot.Quick cuts are used to heighten drama and speed. Long takes can be used to build suspense or capture the attention of the audience without breaking their concentration by cutting the film and quick cuts are used to heighten drama and speed. A film example is Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2, during the final fight scene; the cut are very quick to show the different parts of the fight and shows you everything that is happening by using quick cuts.

Multiple points of view - Multiple points of view are where something is happening in a scene involving multiple characters. We will see what is happening with one character and then the camera will cut to another character followed by another character if there is another and so on. It shows a

scene from the point of view of all the characters involved. An example of multiple points of view is in Iron Man, directed by Jon Favreau in 2008; it constantly cuts between each character and their point of view.

Cutting to soundtrack - Cutting to soundtrack is when the pace of the cuts are motivated by how fast the song is. This technique can invoke emotion but also excite the viewer depending on the pace of the shots and the song. Also, this technique is particularly used in music videos. For example, One Direction – Drag Me Down. Also, a film example is Taken, during the car chase scene, when Liam Neeson’s character is chasing someone involved in the kidnapping of his daughter; the music dramatically changes to a more intense sound which links in with the action happening on screen. The faster the action, the faster the music. This has a huge impact on the audience as it invokes emotion depending on the pace and speed of the music and makes the film more captivating and intriguing.

Conclusion

From my perspective, I think editing is the most important and crucial process of making a film/TV show. The reason I think this is because you could give two different editors the same shots and takes and they would both come out with a different final product because they have their different perspectives on things and how they would like to see it if it was them watching the film. So, I think editing is the most important as, the edit, is the final thing that the audience will see. However, the post-production process of making a film/TV show is also extremely important as that takes up to 70% of the making of the whole project. The post-production includes things like writing the script, camera techniques, and camera angles, how things should look on the screen. Also, another very important factor for the making of a film/TV show is the music/and/or sound effects because without music or sound effects, there would hardly be any emotion, excitement or intensity and the audience would just feel bored and not want to continue watching.

Editors are debated whether they are artists or storytellers, from my personal opinion, I believe they are both. Editors are artists because generally, artists start with nothing but a plan, editors start with nothing but clips and a vision, artists then create a final product from their vision for an audience to see and that is exactly what editors do, editors start with clips and then create a final product, usually film or TV programme for an audience to see. However, I can also see and understand why people call editors story tellers, this is because although the story is already in front of them in clip form, they have to then choose the appropriate clips and everything in-between. If you gave three different editors the same clips, there would be three completely different outcomes and that is because each editor sees things differently and creates a story with the clips they are given. So, I believe editors are artists and storytellers and are the most important in terms of creating a project.