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The Evolution of Film Editing Technique
and its Implications to the Parsing andSummarization of Motion Pictures
John Mateer Dept of Electronics
Dept of Theatre, Film & TV(011 44) 1904 433 245 [email protected]
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Overview
Overview of Shooting Related to EditingEvolution of Grammar and TechniquesRelevance to Automated ParsingBenefits to SummarisationIssues and ObstaclesConclusions
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Shooting in Relation to Editing
Director controls what is shotSurrogate audience member
Composition attributes affecting editingSubject PositionFraming
Lead spaceEye line
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Subject Position within Frame
1/3rd
2/3rds
Camera Left Camera Right
Saving Private Ryan 1998 Paramount
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Framings
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Lead Space
Saving Private Ryan 1998 Paramount
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Eye Line
Saving Private Ryan 1998 Paramount
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Shooting and Editing Scenes
Scene Structure A clear beginning , middle and endNot a resolution of story but of moment
Coverage All shots taken to record the sceneEach new shot should advance story What does the audience need to see?
Processed raw footage called Rushes
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Choosing Shots
Variation in composition and angles willdetermine how shots cut
ContinuityIn Setting and SpaceIn Action
In Camera motionThe Line
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Thomas Crown Affair (1968)
Clip from the bank manager scene
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Relationship of Time to EditingTime
Running time physical duration of program Audience time perceived duration
Story time local duration within program Action time event duration
Flow of time controlled through beatsIn action, camera movement or transitionsEnable breathing space, emphasis
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Evolution of Film Grammar
Pre-1900: Birth of Cinema1900-1910: Evolution of Continuity1910-1920: Beginning of Common Language1920-1930: Conceptual Languages Emerge1930-onward: Expansion of established
grammars, development of new ones
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Pre-1900: Birth of Cinema
Camera not mobileRequirement of light very highTheatrical Presentation
Fourth Wall model Audience kept distant
No transitionsSimply to record a constrained event
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1900-1910: Notion of Time
Long takesStraight cut transitions emergeNo line but evolution of continuity
entrance and exits from correct sideaction consistent between adjacent shots
Initially real time (no ellipsis)Location work just starting
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Yorkshire Egg Collectors (1908)
Clip of climmers gathering edgefrom cliff faces in Flamborough
From the Yorkshire Film Archives
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1900-1910: Continuity Evolves
Linear time but in multiple localesvery beginning of ellipsis
Variation in framing dictated by location Audiences began to understand nature of
film and basic continuity
Novelty drives filmmaking
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The Thieving Hand (1908)
Clip of the hand being pawned,stealing from the pawn shop
and the police being summoned
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1900-1910: Continuity EvolvesEarly notion of Line through Eye Line
Lead space used to guide viewers attentionContinuity of space still inconsistent
Still fourth wall modelTechnical innovations enhance technique
Stop motion photography, Multiple exposureVariation in recording frame rates
Audience sophistication drives innovation
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Princess Nicotine (1908)
Clip of the stop-motion animation of cigar being created, man in living room
smoking and tormenting the Princess
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1910-1920: Common LanguageMaster-Scene language established
Start with Establishing ShotCloser shots to see subjects, action
Close-ups to see emotion, reactionWider shots for context, reinforcementReturn to Closer shots to reinforce reactionOften Wide end shots to show resolution, exit
The Line gains acceptance as standard
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1910-1920: Languages Develop
Parallel Language established Action in multiple locations occurring
simultaneously cross-cutting
Experimentation with conventionColour used to indicate time, emotion
New technology enables moving camerasOptical transitions become common
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The Lonedale Operator (1911)
Clip of the cross-cut sequence of the woman telegraphing for help
as the robbers try to break in
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1920-1930: Conceptual Language
Pudovkin tests Constructive modelMeaning of film can be broader than
content of individual shots
Enables conceptual communicationCreates tension, enhances action
Eisenstein expands this through MontageGraphic, Rhythmic, Picture-Sound and
Ideological juxtaposition
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Battleship Potemkin (1925)
Clip of the Odessa Steps sequence
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1930-onward: Grammar ExploredVisual Discontinuity
Buuel, surrealists challenge perception andexpectation
Exploit audience understanding of continuityContinuity, Lead Space, Eye Line abusedDevelopment of Graphic Match cuts
Advent of Jump Cuts to jar viewer If squeamish, look away now!
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Un Chien Andalou (1929)
Clip of the graphic match betweenthe cloud crossing the moon and the
ladys eye being sliced
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1930-onward: Grammar ExploredTransition Driven
Focus audience attention explicitlyNo attempt to hide technique
Most common in newsreelsContinues in hard sell advertising
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News on the March (1941)
Clip of the news reel fromCitizen Kane
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1930-onward: Grammar ExploredDissection of Action (Vorkapich)
Similar to montage but salient shots shownto convey a linear process
Focuses audience on steps involved, detailWidely used today in conjunction with other
techniques
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1930-onward: Evolution of SoundInitially based on Theatre model
Music accompaniment to enhance drama
Evolved to basic recording of event
Dialogue, action but all liveMulti-track recording, editing enabled control
Foley, looping, better synchronisation
Sound design evolves to control howpicture is interpreted
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Modern FilmmakingDraws on all previous languages
Exploits audience knowledge and expectationof grammar and genre convention
There is little that is newRe-invention, re-discovery of technique
except what technology enablesSnorkel lens, virtual cameras, etc.
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Raging Bull (1980)
Clip of the Sugar Ray Robinsontitle fight that Lamotta loses
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Automated ParsingCan technique and language be of use?
Picture and Sound analysis can revealpatterns to potentially classify language
Parsing certain elements could enable higher-level semantic concepts to be identified
Determination of grammar could better define search ranges
The goal is reduce the scale of the domain,splitting it into manageable data sets
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Picture AnalysisRelative motion and subject tracking can
be extracted via segmentationFace Detection methods can facilitate
the extraction of Framings and GroupingsNoting orientation of respective head positionscan indicate Eye Line
Face Recognition can aid with contextText recognition through OCR to add detail
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Picture AnalysisObject pattern matching techniques can
be applied in stagesLocation or Setting can be established based
on landmark detection (Eiffel Tower = Paris)More abstract settings can be detected by
salient features (traffic lights = street)
The goal is to build semantic databaseto enhance chances of correct parsing
h l b
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Sound AnalysisSegmentation of soundtrack into music,
dialogue and effects for individual parsingClassification based on sound signatures
noting time to correlate with pictureGive clues as to what to search for visuallyEnhance accuracy of parsing through
reinforcement
Th Vi l S b
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Film Language AnalysisPatterns of picture and sound characteristics
in shots can provide insight into languageFramings and durations can create signatureTypes of Continuity can be classified
Could be used to determine genreCould be used to assist dating of programsCan provide additional detail for
summarisation
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SummarisationRich Metadata and prosaic textual
descriptions can be generatedPotential cross links with related programs
to confirm/enhance extracted dataBenefit to visual summarisation unclear Dependent on metaphor used
Static depictions can nullify effect of editingtechnique
Th Vi l S t b
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SummarisationReverse Storyboarding Metaphor
Based on film preproduction visualisationmethods
Draws on extracted technical attributesof pictures
Automatically adds visual cues in keepingwith storyboarding technique
onion skins, streaks, trail lines, arrows, field cuts, etc.
Annotated, mosaic or combination form
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Reverse Storyboarding
Zoom Out in Mosaic Form Zoom In Reference
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Issues and ObstaclesFilm language very rich and not uniformPatterns of editing not always consistentSignificant knowledge of film history
required to create effective model Accurate training and testing difficult given
diversity of programs in existenceComputationally very expensive
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ConclusionsFilm languages have evolved into a
sophisticated and multi-faceted grammar Techniques that facilitate these languages
are constantly growing and changingUnderstanding language and technique
could enable better semantic extraction
Textual Summarisation could benefit butrelevance to visual summaries unclear
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Useful ReferencesTechnique of Film and Video Editing
Ken Dancyger, Focal Press, 3 rd ed., 2002
A Directors Method for Film and TVRon Richards, Focal Press, 1992
Film Directing Shot by ShotSteven Katz, Michael Wiese Prods, 1991
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