LO:
- Develop understanding
of Editing
What is editing?
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A process of cutting down.
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Connecting one shot to another.
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It is the “art of storytelling” and is unique
to audiovisual productions.
What is happening here? What is the meaning?
What is the next shot?
What is editing?
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Editing can be split into two sections:
1.
2.
Juxtaposition of shots
Transitions
Juxtaposition of shots
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The placing of shots side by side to create
meaning.
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The editor and director will decide after
shooting is complete which shots to use in the
‘final cut’.
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The director might well have hours of footage
to select from.
Count the cuts
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Watch the clip from ‘Lord of the Rings’
How many cuts are there?
What can you say about they way the
cuts are put together?
Classic Hollywood style (or
Continuity editing)
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The classic Hollywood style of editing is all about
simplicity and is also known as continuity editing.
•
http://classes.yale.edu/filmanalysis/htmfiles/editing.htm#22186
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Editing in this style should be ‘invisible’ so that an
audience are unaware the sequence has even been
edited.
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Classic editing normally begins with a master or
establishing shot, then cuts to a two shot or mid,
followed by a close up.
Cross cut
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Alternates 2 (or more) lines of action that
occur in different places, usually at the
same time
The 2 actions therefore become
connected – associating characters and
events from both lines of action.
Cross Cutting – an example
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In this extended clip from Edward Yang's Yi Yi (Taiwan,
2000), father and daughter go out on dates at presumably
the same time, and go through the same motions, even if
the father is in Japan and the daughter in Taipei.
To further stress the similarities, the father is actually
reliving his first date with his first girlfriend (whom he has
just met again after 20 years), while his daughter is
actually on her first date! Yang uses parallel editing
across space and time to suggest that history repeats
itself, generation after generation.
Match On Action
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Cut which places two different views of
the same action together at the same
moment in the movement, making it
seem to continue uninterrupted.
These characteristics make it one of the
most common transitions in the
continuity style
Montage
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Montage editing is the process of using
images that on their own have separate
meaning but when put together create
an altogether different meaning. It’s
similar to a an art collage
Look at this example from Spooks – do
you think it is effective?
Transitions - Visual Punctuation
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Transitions are often likened to punctuation
in writing. Cuts, fades, dissolves, wipes are
like commas, colons and full stops.
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What are the purpose of transitions?
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To signify the passing of time or change of
scene. The longer the transition the more
significant?
Some key examples
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Iris wipe
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A round, moving mask that can close down to end a
scene (iris-out) or emphasize a detail, or it can open to
begin a scene (iris-in) or to reveal more space around
a detail
Wipe
•
A transition between shots in which a line passes
across the screen, eliminating the first shot as it goes
and replacing it with the next one. A very dynamic and
noticeable transition, it is usually employed in action or
adventure films. It often suggest a direct connection
between the two images
Some key examples
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Dissolve
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A transition between two shots during which the first
image gradually disappears while the second image
gradually appears; for a moment the two images blend
in superimposition. Dissolves can be used as a fairly
straightforward editing device to link any two scenes,
or in more creative ways, for instance to suggest
hallucinatory states
Fade
•
A transition between shots or scenes that appears on
screen as a brief interval with no picture
Editing Effects
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As well as cutting, co-ordinating and using
transitions the editor and director have to
decide whether editing effects should be used.
Not all films use editing effects but those that
do want to make the editing obvious.
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Editing Effects:
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Motion Control: slow motion, speed up, freeze
frame.
Picture effects: Black and white,
tinting/colouring, extra grain, split screen.
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Bordwell and Thompson
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Bordwell and Thompson came up with
four theories of what they called
‘editing relationships’. We will focus
on:
1. Rhythmic relationships
2. Time relationships
Rhythmic relationships
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Rhythmic relationships are about the
pace of the editing:
• Quicker editing for quick action sequences?
• Slower takes for longer character studies?
Time
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Time relationships is about condensing
periods of time:
• E.g. a whole week in the narrative can be
condensed to ten seconds in the edit suite.
Analysis – Lord of The Rings
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Example of obvious editing.
Make notes on:
• Juxtaposition of shots/shot selection
• Editing transitions
• Editing effects and motion control
Task: how does the editing create
meaning for the audience?
Editing task – draw storyboards into a sequence.
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A mid shot of a blood stained shirt
A mid shot of an open window
A close up of hands
A wide est. shot of an office block
A dog’s eye view tracking shot of some feet walking
A static long shot of a man in a room through a window
A POV of someone walking
An ECU of an eye/eyes
A cutaway to a clock
A high angle CCTV shot of a dead body
In order you feel tells the story best!
Only use the 10 shots provided
You don’t have to use all of the shots
You can repeat the shots