Principles Of Editing

By

Georgina Nelson

Creating meaningThrough collage,

Tempo and timing

Joining Image

• To join a string of images that you have edited together whether they are still or moving to form a collage and create meaning.

Tempo

Shot LengthA lot of editors will use different shot lengths to create definition.

Long shotsThese make the pace of the film slower and more dramatic, while where as short shots make the pace of the film more dramatic and intense .Long shot will manly be used for romantic scenes and quick shots will be used to get a dramatic effect and create action and make it more exciting and fast.

• Studies have shown that current film releases have morecamera pace to the original golden age Hollywood films.

• The average shot length in the golden age was around 5.15seconds however it is now 4.75 seconds showing that thepace of films have risen.

• The change of length can be seen when you compare theoriginal Arthur to the 2011 remake.

Problems with tempoOn average it takes an editor 3 seconds tochange a shot type. Brandt has argue

“…..if the audience takes 3 seconds to adjust to a new scene,

what happens when the average shot length is so short that the audience is never given a chance to catch up”

In modern movies the pace of films are much faster this could be why younger audience find older films less.

Shot Transitions

• Another way editor can adjust the tempo is shot transitions.

• The most known and common shot transitions are:

• Dissolve/Overlapping• A to B cut• Fade in/fade out

Fades

• Fades create a pause in the film and this changes pace.

• You will not see a lot of fades in films. Yet they are used to introduce fantasy or memory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bup_zehvBo

Timing of a shot

• Timing of shots is another editing technique.

• This is used to cut away to emphasis theemotion, reaction or response of a character.

• From cutting a two shot to a close up it emphases' the reaction or by cutting from a close up to a long shot is used for a landscape effect.

Story-centeredEditing and the construction of

meaning

Editing and timing

• Narrative sequencing can either be linear or medias res.

• Linear is where the story is told as it happens.

• Medias res is the term used when narrative is jumbled up

Condensing/explanding time

• Collages make up time.• Expanding is overlapping

shots of single action

Arranging the order of eventsFlashbacksFlashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory.

On some occasions there are flash forwards these are very rare

Media ResThese are events that take place in the present time and are interrupted by images that have taken place in the past.

Flashback Example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8uG0ztyoAU

Flash-forward Example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNvXpbr7K9c

Shot Reverse Shot

• Shot/reverse shot is a staple of editing in dialogue sequences.• The primary elements of a shot/reverse shot sequence are

derived from the three camera set up. The shots you should have for a basic shot/reverse shot are: a two shot of the two characters usually in wide or medium shot, an over the shoulder shot on character A, and an over the shoulder shot on character B.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLkUHZ1qips

Eye Line Match

• Eye-line match is a method of continuity editing whereby a cut between two shots creates the illusion of the character (in the first shot) looking at an object (in the second shot).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSFD6aIhvFI

Creating Meaning Outside The Story

Continuity

• Continuity is a film term that suggests that a series of shots should be physically continuous, as if the camera simply changed angles in the course of a single event. For instance, if in one shot a beer glass is empty, it should not be full in the next shot. Live coverage of a sporting event would be an example of footage that is very continuous. Since the live operators are cutting from one live feed to another, the physical action of the shots matches very closely.

The 180 Rule

• This rule states that the camera or cameras should remain the same side of an imaginary line. The line is drawn perpendicular to the camera's viewpoint in the establishing shot of the scene. The rule enforces continuity of the film.

Keep the camera on one side of the line

Soviet Montage

• That refers to a specific era of films, mostly silent films from the 20s. In montage theory, the idea of montage is best explained as a juxtaposition of images (sometimes using a graphic match) to a symbolic extent. Often, the cuts are quick and they don't maintain screen direction.

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