Understand the Development and Principles of Editing.

Editing is the art of linking different scenes together taken of a film to create a narrative. This process involves the editor selecting and combining shots into sequences, which results in a finished movie.

Development

In early film there was not much editing as the editing was simple as there was not much development at the time. In the early film was very little shot variation. The shot variation was very little because in their time they did not have any knowledge of cutting films. The camera would also just follow the action. This can be seen in the Lumiere Brothers first motion picture, La Sortie de l'Usine. They devised the first camera and a projector called the Cinematographe and used it to make their first film where it was just one long continuous shot with no sound or editing. In the film you can see that it was in black and white since it was one of the first film made and was really old, if you look closely in the video you can notice that it keeps skipping every 2 seconds or less. But since it was one of the first films ever I think this was very successful. This film may seem boring because all it show was them walking out the factory and there isn’t a story behind it, but in the early years everyone would see it as a big accomplishment. They would have also used In-camera editing this was pioneered before splicing, the directors would just pause the movie and then set the next shot and continue filming in result of making a movie. They would move their heavy big camera to somewhere else then start recording again. It would film would be in chronological order.

The use of shot variation changed when Robert W. Paul an English electrician made the first film ‘Come Along Do’, 1898 – that featured more than one shot. By using shot variation the audience are able to understand the tone of the scene and understand the concept. However, when many different types of shots are used it could be confusing for the audience. Paul pioneered a system of projecting motion pictures onto a screen in 1886. He also produced a camera called Theatrograph. He used it in music halls around the country to screen motion pictures. He discovered that you could cut from one action shot to another and still have continuity. This was the first type of editing; this was a huge accomplishment and could create more meaning.

After seeing Robert Paul’s work and being in the audience for a demonstration of the Lumiere Brothers cinematograph George Melies, a French illusionist and theatre

owner, went to find Paul to look at his camera the Animatograph, he then purchased one from Paul and modified it so it would be a film camera. At first he screened other people’s films but was soon making his own. By accident while filming he has discovered a new trick that he could use stop-motion to create a trick visual effects. His most successful film ‘A Trip To The Moon’ 1902 due to its special effects and use of double exposure. Use of story telling and narratives influenced other filmmakers.

In the film ‘A Trip To The Moon’ you can also see that Melies plays around with diegetic time and space. This is seen at the beginning of the film when you can see a few men chatting to each other, maybe about their plans for the launch to the moon, then you see them starting to build the big rocket so they could fit inside, then to its launch to the moon, all of this was shown in less than 10 minutes.

The discovery and development of editing changed how films were made. In the early years of film cameras were very big, they also had to hold it and there was a reel of film. They also had a lot of effort making film because they had to take the reel out, look at the film negative then cut the end of the film and splice them by hand. This had to be done in a linear order, as when the film was then put back together again they could not keep jumping back and forward. One of the first to do this was Edwin Porter an American filmmaker. Porter was very skilled at taking other people ideas and developing them but he would rework the themes or techniques. This can be seen in his film The Life Of An American Fireman 1904. Porter uses multiple points of view shots which is shown when the fireman’s wife and child appear to in the same shot to appear as if he is thinking about them while at work.

This would have a big impact toward the audience because if they see two scenes happening in one at the same time. On the right corner of this scene you see a mother putting her child to bed, you also see the father in his fireman uniform sitting on a chair dreaming this is also giving us an idea that he might be thinking of his wife putting the child to bed. The audience will also see the fireman as a hero for not being lazy and taking his personal time to save someone.

Technology has been changed over the years since analogue was introduced, which affect people’s

editing skills. Years ago they didn’t have computers or smart technology that advance in editing but now editors now can edit digitally using computers and specialist software such as Avid and final cut. When editing digitally it does not have to be done in linear order as with film negatives and is also quicker because as it is not be done by hand, editors do not have to spend time looking at the film reel and cut it using the splicing machine. The computer can do all of this. I believe that all the changes in technology over the years has had made a huge difference to film making.

Purpose

Editing has come a long was since the days of the Lumiere Brothers and Porter. The editor role now is really important as the can influence the storytelling and how to engage the viewer.

A way to engage the viewer is by combining shots, which can create pace within a scene in a film. A good example of fast paced editing is from a scene in the movie Kick Ass 2 directed by Jeff Wadlow (2013).

In this scene Mindy has to dance to show if she has the skills and is really nervous, when imagining herself as Hit Girl she becomes confident as that who she is. There is a medium close up of Mindy’ face as she’s talking to herself, then jump cut to Ninjas jumping around, the it cuts back to Mindy imaging herself as Hit Girl. There is use of continuity editing and juxtaposition between Mindy and her vigilante alter ego Hit Girl as she imagines herself fighting so that she can dance as Mindy, by combining these shots into sequences makes the action appear seamless when switching between the two characters. The quick cuts create a fast pace which give the audience an energetic feeling knowing that something good is happening. The technique used engages the viewer as they are drawn into the action by the use of the cuts and the music.In this scene you also see Mindy talking to herself in slow motion, this suggests that she is thinking about what she should do to avoid embarrassment or chickening out. When Mindy visualises the ninja this shows that she loves to fight bad people and criminals. After she stops fighting she looks up to the whole class. Reaction shots are shot from this scene to intensify their reaction throughout, in this scene there are a lots of shots showing the characters reaction toward her dancing skills, this is to build up tension and make the audience feel surprised as well. For an example in this scene one of the shot you see is Mindy talking to herself, this is to make the audience think she is trying to be smart and they will get a bit excited as they know she isn’t that kind of person who make anything go wrong. In this shot you also see all the characters is focused on Mindy dancing skills as they’re surprised that she’s better than Brooke, this also help motivate their emotions and cause them to react positively for Mindy.

Creating and developing drama also engages the audience, this depends on few things such as camera shots. In drama films, lots of reaction shots are used to signify how one or more of the characters act to a situation that has occurred. Long takes build up tension by doing this in the scene it can create a sense of danger.

In this scene a tracking shot shows Danny riding on his toy bike around the hotel lobby trying to avoid boredom, he slows down and is drawn to room 237 door and the camera cuts to a shot of the door then back to a close up of Danny’s face showing how scared he is. This is because his imaginary friend named Tony told him that a murder took place in that specific room. He is intrigued by this fact and a medium shot shows him trying to open the door but it is locked. All this time this is building up the drama in the scene as the audience is being drawn into what is happening and are kept engaged as they want to know what is behind the door or if he goes in what will happen next. Then he keeps riding on his bike until he sees the twin standing in the hallway staring at him and quoting “come play with us” startles him. A medium close up shot is used in this scene to show Danny’s reaction toward the twins.

Creating motivation within a film is also an important aspect of editing in order to keep the audience engaged and interested.

When editing the editor has to look for motivation in their cuts as this will affect how the audiences feels throughout the film or programme, so needs to consider what emotions he is trying to provoke in the audience to do this successfully.

By cutting from one scene or character to another helps persuade how the audience feels. This will cause them to react either positively or negatively

towards the scene. An example of this can be seen in the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 where Harry Potter goes to meet Voldemort in the forbidden forest.

In this clip above a long shot shows Harry Potter walking into a clearing in the woods by himself, which gives a sense of loneliness and vulnerability as all the other characters are concentrating on him. The camera then cuts between close ups of both Harry Potter’s and Voldemort’s faces, this is to get the audience focused on the main characters and to feel anxious and scared for what is about to happen next. From a low shot from behind Voldemort the audience sees him raise his wand at Harry in the distance this makes the audience feel scared and worried about his safety. A close up of Harry’s face shows him closing his eyes and preparing to die provokes sadness and persuades the audience to pay more attention. It’s important to cut at the right time to enable the narrative of the story progress and develop further. New characters can be introduced and the audience are able to see development in sub-plots as well. It’s important to choose the right pace of the cut, depending on the genre of the film and also particular characters. For an example; a romantic comedy genre film, the audience are persuaded to feel sympathy and emotional for the main character so the cut of this character will be slow so the audience can get time to learn more about them. Another appropriate place to cut is sound, it’s appropriate to cut it to another scene or character as if there is a loud or extravagant noise so the character may look away, so cutting to the item or place that the audience is looking at will keeps the audience interested and focused.

Conventions and Techniques

In this shot there are also a few shot without any editing, this is so the audience can notice what is going on without focusing on special edits so they don’t interrupted of what is going on. An example of this is where Hit Girl repeatedly jump around and you see this shot show her switching back to Mindy and Hit Girl. You also see a reverse shot of where Mindy get called up to do her dance but she is nervous so Brooke talks her into it and try to give her confidence, Mindy is looking down as she is being nervous but as Brooke look at her she know that she can do it and she is trying to boost her confidence.

180 degree rule

This is a film technique where the rule states that the camera should remain the same side of an imaginary line. The line is drawn perpendicular the camera’s viewpoint in the establishing shot of the scene. The rules require continuity of the film. An example is that in a car chase scene, if the car is travelling from right to left, the next shot must be also shot from the same side, which mean the has to enter the frame right to left again. An example of this can be seen in the film “The shining”, where Jack is talking to Grady about recognizing him from the newspaper for murdering his 2 twin daughters, he quoted “Mr. Grady, you were the caretaker here. I recognize you. I saw your picture in the newspapers. You ah… chopped your wife and daughters up into little bits, and ah… and you blew your brains out.” The 180-degree rule also enables the audience to visually connect with unseen movement happening around behind the person. This gives them more information of what’s happening.

Point of view shot (POV)A point of view shot is when an item or person is positioned in a certain place in a film, and the camera is then placed in this location in the next scene to make it look as if you can see what is going on from their/its perspective. This can also be referred to as a fly on the wall technique when an inanimate subject is used. An example of this is used in breaking bad; this is when Walter White has put Crystal meth into a freezer. This scene is used in order to show the audience the production of the drugs being made from the perspective of the product itself which further shows the audience how it is made and how complicated the process is in order to glorify the amount of work Walter is able to manage. This keeps the audience entertained as it shows Walter in a positive light, and reminds them about how Walter has a keen intellect for chemistry which signifies the way his talents have went to waste in the past and how much money could have been making.

MontageA montage is used in films when a protagonist engages in a range of activities that cause them to become better or more experienced in order to complete the task they are setting out to do or to complete their main objective/goal. Such as in many films athletes will train to become fit for an event and there will be a montage of them training with inspirational music in the background that makes the audience feel inspired and possibly proud of the character for overcoming certain challenge. An example of this is in the film Rocky, this is one of the most popular examples of a montage as it shows Rocky training for his big fight with the music 'Eye of the tiger' playing in the background. This song is now associated with Rocky due to the fact the scene has made such an impact on the film industry.

SplicingA film splicer is a machine that is used to physically attach two pieces of photographic film together to make one. The advantages of a film splicer is that it allows you to remove film frames or take one section of a film and place it somewhere else in the movie prior to editing on a computer. This editing technique is used to make the scene be continuous.

Cutting to soundtrackCutting to soundtrack editing is when the pace and the beat of a song can determine how fast scenes can cut. This attract audience’s attention because when they hear the fast beat and it cuts fast it get them interested into what it will cut to next. A good example of this is the music video “can’t stop” where it begins to cut quite slowly then cuts more once the beat speeds up.

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

Shot-reverse-shotShot-reverse-shot is a film technique where a person is looking at another character and then the other character is looking back. This technique is often used to add drama to a heated moment between people. For an example in western films when there is a stand-off it often cuts from characters looking at

one another. An example of this can be seen in the film “Spiderman” where Norman Osbourne is talking to himself into a mirror.This technique is used in order for the audience to fully understand the narrative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0xiCIMIwLY

SeamlessSeamless is a technique used to edit the video or film using numerous transitions and effects but make the editing invisible. If it has been edited to a good standard the viewer knows the editing is there but because it is blended into the video professionally. Good editing helps to tell a story or get a story across to the viewer; therefore it plays a big role in film and video. DW Griffiths first perfected

this, and it’s been defined as seamless editing. Continuity editing is considered what creates a flowing video from start to finish. It creates a smooth flow between each clip, so the story the director is trying to portray to be shown the way he wanted his vision to look like. This also should make the viewer be more aware of the story than the techniques used to create it.

Montage editingMontage editing is a type of editing where the editors will show numerous short videos and even pictures. Montage editing normally involves a lot of special optical effects such as fades, dissolves, split screens, double and triple exposures. This type of editing is quite popular for editing video of dancing with up-beating music. An example of this can be seen in “The Amazing Spiderman 2” where Pete visits Gwen at the cemetery and you can see that he was there for a long period and as the background changes to every season which implies that he went through a whole year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saw1KDiUrcQ (3:45)

Editing rhythmRhythm editing describes a technique of assembling of shots and/ or sequences according to a rhythmic pattern, usually followed by music. The editors use this technique to keep the pace of the film up to match the action from the film. Long pace takes more than one minute before cutting to the next shot, this is used to makes the audience more relaxed when watching so they don’t have to pay too much attention watching and trying to catch what’s happening such as quick pace scene where it constantly cuts too quick. An example of this can be seen in the movie “Hero”.

CutawaysThe cutaway technique is used to squeeze time or give the audience a visual break. The purpose of this is that it cuts away from the main action for a short period of time, these type of shot are shot at the same time as the main action. This shows the audience what other plots are occurring synchronously. They are also used to put together two separate plot lines, but not too much to avoid the main action. The cutaway shots are also never too long because you’re only showing the audience a brief look of what the film is about. An example of this is used in action film where they show a car chase scene and a scene of little kids playing at break having fun in silence, this gives the audience a feeling that something will bad happen to them. Another example of this is in an episode of Family Guy where Peter is sitting on the couch in his living room having an conversation then the scene cut to another scene of Peter as a police sketch artist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRB2tLm523c

CrosscuttingThis technique is used in film and video to establish action in two different locations happening at the same time. In this technique the camera will be cut

from one to other. This is sometime also used to create suspense and excitement for the audiences. An example of this can be seen in “Se7en” where Somerset is at other side of the desert looking inside the box to see what’s inside and Mills is at other side having a conversation with John Doe about his wife.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1giVzxyoclE

Providing and withholding informationThis is when the editors try and make the narrative more dramatic by giving or taking away information by proving it’s true. This is also used in a lot of crime films where they would lead the audience to believe that someone is the murderer and take away or give you information that proves it could not be this person, so this keeps the audience thinking until the final conclusion and that where everything is revealed. When we are giving bits of information about the film it engages the audience as they feel part of the film and like they are working out exactly what happened. Most editors use the withholding information technique rather than providing. A lot of drama and TV drama editors use this technique. An example of this is seen in the film “The Time Travellers Wife” where we would see a little boy in the car time travel for the first time in the film from first scene. This also gives the audience information that he has the ability to travel before anyone else knows from the film. His mother doesn’t even know what’s happening to him and his older-self. This is an example of providing and withholding information.

Motivated editingMotivated editing is a term of editing that motivates what people see or hear, so it basically means that when something is not in frame you will see that something appear or hear it in the next cut. The editors use this kind of editing in horror films, for an example when you see a shot of a person walking through the forest in the night, and the next thing you hear is a crack from a stick, that would be suggesting that there is something/someone in the woods, then it cuts to the place where the sound is coming from. An example of this can be seen in the movie “Freddy vs Jason” when a girl try to tease her boyfriend by stripping herself naked the jumping in the lake but as she goes in the lake she realised that she is alone and she heard a noise from the background which implies that there is someone there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IqGq3R3k8Q

Jump cuttingJump cutting is a cut in film editing where two sequential shots of the same subject are taken from camera positions that vary only slightly. This type of edit gives the effect of jumping forwards in time. When the editors put two shots together, it’s give the impression of a jump and gives the effect of jumping forwards in time. These jump cuts draw attention to the process of filmmaking and editing, which can take the audience out of the story. So basically they are viewed as something to be covered up. An example of this can be seen in the movie “District 9” where in one of the scene the one of the characters is searching an alien’s shack and during that time investigating there are multiple jump cuts. These jump cuts give the impression that the character is nervous.

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQnrTBUjpmE

TransitionsTransition is a term known for changing from one shot to another where a cut, dissolves, fades and wipes to another. It is used for combining more than one shot together; they are often used in films to convey a mood or tone towards the audience. They are also used to imply the passage of time but however they can sometimes imply something else.

ConclusionThe editor in early filmmaking was not considered an important job as it now. This could be because over the years all the technology used has developed, and editors have developed more skills, which has enabled them to become more creative. This has allowed them to have more control over how the film looks and can change the narrative by the edits that they make from how the director originally filmed it. The editor now is seen as just as important as the director due to the involvement they have now. They have lots of responsibility because they have to choose and edit what goes into the final film, this could be the difference between a film being a success or a flop at the box office.