THE TECHNIQUE OF FILM EDITING

Chapter 1: Editing and the Silent Film

THE BEGINNINGS OF F ILM CONTINUITY

The Lumiere Brothers• Record any common event, no matter how mundane.

• Baby at the Lunch Table, • A Boat Leaving Harbour.

• Watering the Gardener• The first-time the Lumiere’s exercised conscience control

over the material.

George Melies• Cinderella (1899)

• Enlarged the scope of film beyond the single shot.• Used the very limited Theatrical presentation style.

Edwin S. Porter• One of Thomas Edison’s cameramen.• The Life of an American Fireman (1902)

• First ever use of stock footage to tell a story.• It implied that the meaning of the shot could be

changed based on the context of the edit.• Director can convey a sense of time to the viewer.

• The Great Train Robbery (1903)• Parallel editing used to tie together action with no

physical connections.• Significant advance in simple continuity of action.

• Evolved the simple method of action continuity.• Relied heavily on actors’ gestures to convey

variations in dramatic intensity.• Presentation was limited by technology.

GRIFFITH: DRAMATIC EMPHASIS

D.W. Griffith• Expanded on Porter’s methods.• Developed into a subtle instrument for creating and

controlling tension.• The Birth of a Nation

• Extreme long shots for purely dramatic effect • Use of cut-aways to build/prolong tension.• Lincoln’s Assassination scene.

• Constructs the scene around four groups of characters.• Although the main action is broken up, no discontinuity

because all the characters are established as present in the same space.

D.W. Griffith (cont’d)• Griffith’s fundamental discovery

• Film sequence composed of incomplete shots whose order and selection are governed by dramatic necessity.

• Intolerance (1916)• Use of close-ups

• Feature facial expressions of actors in greater detail.• Flashback

• Allows viewer to better understand a characters motivations

• No longer had to stage scenes in their entirety.• Break down scenes in small, manageable setups

• While this new methodology made staging of spectacle scenes easier, it increased the demands on the actor.

• The director now had more control.

D.W. Griffith (cont’d)• The director now responsible for:

• Conveying the effects in a scene.• Choosing the order and manner of consecutive shots thus

highlighting or flattening a scene.• Timing a scene with the length of shots for dramatic impact.

• “Griffith’s Last Minute Rescue”• Cutting rate was increased towards the climax, giving the

impression that the excitement was steadily mounting.

Sergei Eisenstein• Acknowledged Griffith’s contributions to editing• Drew parallel between Griffith’s methods and existing

literary devices.• Believed it was up to the young Russian directors to

expand on Griffith’s concepts.• Ultimately surmised Griffith misunderstood the nature of

editing.

PUDOVKIN: CONSTRUCTIVE EDITING

Pudovkin and Kuleshov• Pudovkin

• Film Technique; book by Pudovkin• Formulated theory to be used as general guide, called Constructive

Editing• Each shot must make a specific point.• Scornful of directors who tell their story in long shots only.

• Kuleshov• Editing is more than telling a continuous story.• With suitable juxtaposition, shots had meaning that they lacked on their

own.

• Experimented with shots in different context.• Used same shot of actor in 3 different combinations and viewers

perceived 3 different emotions.• Instead of the message being delivered by the actor, it is delivered by

the edit.

EISENSTEIN: INTELLECTUAL MONTAGE

October and Old and New• Films more about commentary than continuity and

plot.• Story provides structure to build exposition of ideas.

“While conventional film directs emotions,

[intellectual montage] suggests an opportunity to

direct the whole thought process as well.”

Main weakness, obscurity resulting in lost

meaning.