What is editing and its history?
Editing is the art of combining visual and audio components to create a piece of visual media. Editors take shots and turn them into sequences.In 1895 the Lumiere brothers invented the first cinematographe. The first films created using this were only one shot, so it was more like watching a theater performance. Georges Méliés was a French film director in the late 1800s who jammed his camera when filming a scene of a bus, and when it worked again there was a carriage in its place instead. (It was in 1901 when Edwin S. Porter used this to include multiple shots in his films). This was when the basic edit, the cut, started to be seen and was named as the film had to be physically cut then spliced together. Another way of editing was in camera, so you would stop recording then restart it when you wanted a cut. Most places, such as the college, use editing in post production software such as Premiere Pro.
By using multiple shots ideology became more apparent in the world of film. Over time a system on how to edit developed to help avoid confusion. The continuity system was quickly created, which are a set of "rules" on how editing should be to not be disorientating.
Using multiple shots also helps convey meaning to the audience. In 1920 the Kuleshov effect was created, the idea that if you tie together random images in editing the audience will add meaning to them.
Continuity
Shot-Reverse-Shot
At 0:00-0:13 there's a shot-reverse-shot. This technique helps shows a conversation as you would see character A while looking of camera while conversing with character B, it will then cut to show character B before cutting again back to character A. In this clip it helps the audience be aware of who's talking, as many of the characters are new to us at this moment of time in the film.
Match Cuts On Action
Another technique used is match on action, this is when an action from one shot carries on into the next. At 0:20 we see the character News folding up a newspaper in a medium close up and at 0:23 it cuts to a medium of shot of Butch, with News continuing to fold the newspaper and slipping it in his waistcoat. A second example of this is at 0:50 where Butch turns to face Logan in a medium shot, it then cuts to a close up where he finishes his turn.
Motivated Editing
Examples of motivated editing techniques include eye-line match cuts. It is a way of not breaking continuity when a character looks off screen. One shot will include the character looking at an object or location, and the next shot will be a point of view looking at that object/location. This happens at 0:04 to 0:06 where Frodo looks at Sting (out of shot), then it cuts to a close up of Sting.
180 Rule°
The 180° rule states that two characters in a scene should keep the same placement relationship to one another. For example if one is on the right, he stays there in comparison to the other character. A visual representation of this is the diagram above, which shows where it would be okay to place a camera as it would keep this relationship. The only time it should pass over the line of vision is if you move the camera in a single shot, to show the positioning has changed place. An example of the 180° rule is at 0:00 to 0:12. Frodo is always on the left side, Aragorn on the right, even if they are alone in the shot.
Cross cutting is when you cut away from one action to another, which suggests they are happening at the same time, normally until they meet at a climax. It can be seen here as you see Aragorn fight before it switches to Frodo running or the orcs giving chase. This creates tension amongst the audience but also aids in the understanding of what is happening elsewhere in the world.
Identification
Screen Time
The characters show the most in this scene are:
-Aragorn 1:12
-Pippin and Merry 0:44
-Frodo 0:36
-Legolas 0:26
The amount of screen time an actor gets can indicate their importance in a film. In this scene Aragorn would be considered to have the most important role followed by Merry and Pippin. This makes sense here as it's Aragorn who delays the orcs reaching Frodo, is a physical part of the battle and later rushes to save Boromir. Pippin and Merry also lead the orcs away from Frodo and this scene leads on to them being captured, Frodo himself just runs. However if you look at all three movies Frodo has the most screen time, 140 minutes and Aragorn is second (if looking at extended edition) with 96:15 minutes. It can be argued either way who is the main character, as it's both their stories running along side one another using a cross cutting technique.
Close Ups
Close ups are another way to show the importance of a character. Here the character Lurtz is shown four times at the very beginning. Because no other orc has a close up it indicates to the audience that some big involving Lurtz will happen later on. Frodo has the most amount of close ups as expected at 11, the majority of them being around 1:31 minutes.
Reaction Shots
At 0:20 we see Lurtz and an army of orcs heading towards Aragorn before cutting to Aragorn lifting his sword almost smirking. This is an example of a reaction shot, this is where something is shown to happen and the audience then see an actor's reaction. At 2:35 and 2:38 we see Merry and Pippin's emotional reactions before seeing what they are reacting to, this is an example of the rule being bent slight in order to withhold information.
Establishing Shot
Establishing shots tend to be long shots at the beginning of a new scene. They are used to set the location and sometimes time, so the audience aren't confused and know where the action is now taking place. An example of an establishing shot is 0:06 to 0:12. This shot cranes back to give an overview of the Shire, where the next few minutes of the film take place. While the location in the film is the Shire there isn't another establishing shot of the whole area like there is now.
Montage
Shots are juxtaposed in an often fast-paced fashion that compresses time and conveys a lot of information. In the above clip from Rocky IV you can see a montage of Rocky and Ivan Drago training. The montage itself lasts under 8 minutes but shows the characters progression over a couple of months.
Shot Variation
At 0:52-1:04 we witness a variety of POVs, reaction shots, cranes, close ups, medium and wide shots. This variety is used to disorientate the viewer, just like the characters would be from having the horses circle around them.
Point of View Shots
A point of view shot shows what a character is looking at. This allows the audience to be put in the place of the character and see the world from "their point of view". In the above clip we witness multiple POV shots. They show how tense and claustrophobic the characters would be feeling right now due to the low angle and mise en scene.
Multiple Points of View
Between 0:50 and 1:04 we see multiple point of view shots. At 0:50 we see a close up of Aragorn and then a view of horses charging towards him, so we assume this point of view belongs to him. At 0:53 we see another point of view of the horses expect it is rather low down, the only small character is Gimli therefore we associate this shot with his point of view. Finally at 0:58 we see a close up of Legolas turning his head followed by a pan of the horses from his head height.
Cutting to Soundtrack
At 0:30 the shot changes to an aerial establishing shot, when this happens loud, brass music starts playing like an announcement. The following 25 seconds are a montage of running where the shot cuts, on the beat, when a new section of music starts. At 0:56 when the scene changes the music softens and eventually fades out. The change in music indicates a new scene.
Providing and Withholding Information
In the above clip the creator have decided to allow the audience to know very little about what happens to the character Gandalf as he falls from the bridge, there is no shot of his body hitting the floor for example. What we do know is that fell due to another the character Balrog, and that as he falls he would fall alongside it. What we do not know at this time, unless you read the books, that Gandalf survives and kills the Balrog. The point of withholding information is so the audience discover things at the same time as the protagonist, or even later if it adds for effect. An example of providing information, in the words of Alfred Hitchcock "There's two people having breakfast and there's a bomb under the table. If it explodes, that's a surprise. But if it doesn't...". The protagonist do not see the bomb but the audience can and it creates suspension.
Editing Rhythm
This kind of editing is when the function of the shots are to control the pace of the scene. Lots of short shots create a quick pace, connoting action whereas a few long shots create a slow pace. An example of this is that in fight scenes there are often a lot of shots, because it is an intense, fast paced part of the film. In a romantic, slow dance scene there will be less cuts.
Construction of Time
Because the events in a film often take place over weeks, months or years it is impossible to show everything that the characters do. To condense a year into a couple of hours they cut out the boring things, that we are smart enough to know occurred. For example if a character grabbed some car keys and we later saw a car driving somewhere, we would assume that the character we saw is the driver.
Cutaways
A cutaway is shot that interrupts a continuously filmed action by inserting a view of something else. Cutaways are sometimes used if there is something wrong with a section of the main footage, so it hides the mistake. It cam also be used to adjust the pace of the main action occurring in the film.
Jump-Cuts
A jump cut is a shot in which two shots of the same subject from camera positions that vary slightly. This effect give a sense of jumping forward in time. In the example above we see a man shaving but we don't see the whole process thanks to jump cuts. This technique helps minimise unwanted footage and overall would cut down the run time of a film.
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