THE ART OF VIDEO EDITING

THEORY & PRACTICE

STORIES HAVE BEEN SHARED THROUGHOUT CENTURIES:

ORAL (TALKED, SOUND EFFECTS)

VISUAL (DRAWING AND SYMBOL REPRESENTATIONS)

WRITTEN (BOOKS AND TEXTS)

PERFORMED (THEATER PLAY)

and FILM (MODERN WITH ALL OF THE ABOVE)

A GOOD EDITOR SHOULD KNOW HOW TO TELL A STORY WITH A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF:

THE EDITING TOOLS

FILM GRAMMAR

TIMING AND PACING OF THE ELEMENTS

THE RULES OF THE EDITING

A FILM'S VISION IS A CONTRIBUTION OF:

WRITER

PRODUCER

DIRECTOR

CINEMATOGRAPHER

EDITOR

CAMERA MOVEMENTS

PAN SHOT…………………….SIDE TO SIDE FROM A FIXED CAMERA POINT

TILT SHOT…………………….UP AND DOWN FROM A FIXED CAMERA POINT

DOLLY OR TRACKING SHOT…………….CAMERA FOLLOWING THE SUBJECT

TRUCK SHOT……….…SIDE TO SIDE WITH A PARALLEL CAMERA MOVEMENT

PEDESTAL SHOT…….UP AND DOWN WITH A PARALLEL CAMERA MOVEMENT

CRANE SHOT….FROM LOW TO HIGH POSITIONS REVEALING MORE DETAILS

CAMERA SHOTSLONG SHOT (LS)

MEDIUM SHOT (MS)

MEDIUM CLOSE UP SHOT (MCU)

CLOSE UP SHOT (CU)

EXTREME CLOSE UP SHOT (ECU)

OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT (OTS)

TWO SHOT

LENS MOVEMENTSZOOM IN AND OUT

RACK FOCUS (OR FOCUS SHIFT) FROM ONE SUBJECT TO ANOTHER IN THE SAME SHOT

CONTINUITY EDITING RULESIN CONTINUITY EDITING (RECONSTRUCTING REALITY FROM DIFFERENT SHOTS KEEPING THE EDITING INVISIBLE), THERE ARE SOME RULES TO FOLLOW:

⦁ THE MISE-EN-SCENE: (PUT-ON-STAGE) [STAGE=FRAME]: THE CONTENT OF ONE SHOT SHOULD MATCH THE OTHER EVEN IF BOTH WERE SHOT ON DIFFERENT DAYS. (RESPECTING SAME CLOTHES, POSITION OF SUBJECT, SAME LIGHTING, SAME BACKGROUND, SAME PROPS, SAME PERFORMANCE, SAME VOICE RANGE...etc.)

⦁ THE 180 DEGREE RULE: RESPECTING THE AXIS OF ACTION - BE AWARE OF HOW OBJECTS ARE ORIENTED IN THE FRAME FROM SHOT TO SHOT (ALL CAMERAS MUST STAY ON ONE SIDE OF THE AXIS OF ACTION WHEN SHOOTING A SUBJECT)

CONTINUITY EDITING RULES⦁ THE 20 mm/30 degree RULE: TO CUT FROM ONE SHOT TO ANOTHER, THE FOCAL LENGTH SHOULD BE AT LEAST 20 mm OR THE ANGLE SHOULD SHIFT BY AT LEAST 30 DEGREES (FROM ONE SHOT TO ANOTHER; OBJECTS SHOULD BE DIFFERENT ENOUGH IN SIZE OR IN ANGLE WHEN MAKING A CUT) [IF YOU HAVE 2 NEARLY-SIMILAR SHOTS, JUST INSERT A DIFFERENT SHOT BETWEEN THEM]

⦁ CUTTING-ON-ACTION: IT IS RESPECTING THE FLOW AND THE TIMING OF THE ACTION FROM ONE SHOT TO ANOTHER (A SUBJECT WHO BEGINS AN ACTION ON ONE SHOT, CONTINUES OR FINISHES DOING THE ACTION IN THE NEXT SHOT).

COMPLEXITY EDITING METHODS⦁ MONTAGE: DIFFERENT SHOTS; ONE AFTER THE OTHER, CREATING ALL TOGETHER A NEW MEANING.

⦁ JUMP-CUTS: THE CUTS THAT DELIBERATELY DEFY THE 20MM OR THE 30 DEGREE RULE AND THE CUTTING-ON-ACTION CONTINUITY FOR CREATIVITY PURPOSES (E.G. JUMP-CUTS GIVE US A SENSE OF TIME PASSING BY QUICKLY - EG. REPETITIONS OF ONE ACTION TO MASTER A SKILL, OR SOMEONE WAITING A LONG TIME WHILE CHANGING POSTURES)

SERGEI EISENSTEIN AND HIS MONTAGE METHODS

METRIC: EACH SHOT HAS THE SAME LENGTH NO MATTER WHAT THE SUBJECT IS

RHYTHMIC: THE ENERGY OF THE SHOT DETERMINES WHEN TO CUT

TONAL: A FOCUS ON THE EMOTIONAL MEANING OF EACH SHOT

OVERTONAL: COMBINATION OF METRIC, RHYTHMIC, AND TONAL MONTAGE

INTELLECTUAL MONTAGE: SHOT COLLISION - WHERE YOU UNDERSTAND A DIFFERENT MEANING WHEN THE SHOTS ARE JUXTAPOSED (SORT OF SYMBOLISM - THE OBJECTS SYMBOLIZE DIFFERENT THINGS)

STRUCTURES STANDARD STORYLINE IN SERIES:

BEGINNING - EXPOSITION - CLIMAX - ENDING

●AVANTGARDE LINE IN SERIES: CODA (END) - BEGINNING - EXPOSITION - CLIMAX - END

OR END CLUE 1 - BEGINNING - END CLUE 2 - EXPOSITION - CLIMAX - END

...MANY POSSIBILITIES!PARALLEL EDITING:

SCENE1 - SCENE2 - SCENE1 - SCENE2 - SCENE2 - END1 - END2

TRANSITIONS (SHOTS AND SCENES)LEITMOTIF

PARALLELISM

SYMBOLISM

SWISH PAN

SIMULTANEITY

MATCH

TIME PACE MONTAGE

CONTRAST