FILM EDITING
HUM 110: INTRO TO AMERICAN FILM
JC CLAPP, NORTH SEATTLE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
INFO HERE BORROWED HEAVILY FROM
T H E F I L M A R T ( 1 0 TH E D . ) T E X T B O O K B Y B O R D W E L L &
THOMPSON AND
FROM THE YALE FILM STUDIES WEBSITE:
HTTP://CLASSES.YALE.EDU/FILMANALYSIS/HTMFILES/EDITING.HTM
BASIC TYPES OF TRANSITIONS
BETWEEN SHOTS
Cut – instant change from one shot to another
Fade-out – gradually darkens the end to black
Fade-in – gradually lightens a shot from black
Dissolve – briefly superimposes the end of shot A
and the beginning of shot B
• Wipe – shot B replaces shot A by means of a
line that moves across the screen (both shots
are seen at the same time, but don’t blend)
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EDITING ALLOWS FOR . . .
• Graphic relations between shots
• Rhythmic relations between shots
• Spatial relations between shots
• Temporal relations between shots
Examples . . .
GRAPHIC RELATIONS BETWEEN SHOTS
• Graphic match – shapes, colors or composition
in shot A is reflected in shot B. (The example
below from Aliens uses a dissolve, as well)
RHYTHMIC RELATIONS BETWEEN
SHOTS
• Pace or tempo is the amount of time the audience
has to grasp and reflect on what we see. Rapid
shots leave us with little time and can build
excitement.
• Pay attention to the rhythm of the film – the pace
matters.
Some examples . . .
SPATIAL RELATIONS BETWEEN SHOTS
• Juxtaposing any two points in space
suggests some kind of relationship.
• Kuleshov Effect: cutting together portions of
a space in a way that prompts the viewer to
assume a spatial whole that isn’t actually
shown onscreen.
• Montage
TEMPORAL RELATIONS BETWEEN
SHOTS
Order of events (chronology)
Flashback
Flashforward
Elliptical editing: presents an action so that it
consumes less time on screen than it does in the
story.
• Overlapping editing: stretches the action out
past its story duration
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CONTINUITY EDITING
• Aims to transmit narrative information smoothly and
clearly. Graphic qualities are kept roughly
continuous, figures are balanced in the frame,
lighting tonality remains constant, action occupies
central zones of the screen. Long shots left on
screen longer than medium shots, and medium
shots are left on longer than close-ups.
CONTINUITY: 180 DEGREE SYSTEM
• Ensures that relative positions in the frame remain
consistent
• Ensures consistent eyelines
• Ensures consistent screen direction (direction of
movement)
• Ensures the viewer always knows where the
characters are in relation to one another
180 DEGREE SYSTEM
CONTINUITY
• Shot/reverse-shot: shot from one end of the axis of
action, then the other
• POV shot: shot down the axis
• Eyeline match: shot A presents someone looking at
something offscreen and shot B shows us what is
being looked at. (Eyeline matches often used with
Kuleshov effect to create false spaces through
editing.)
• Match on action: carrying a single movement
across a cut
• Establishing shots and reestablishing shots