AS Art Video Production

Editing

Film editing developed from the 1920s as cameras became lighter and filmmakers experimented with framing and camera movement. It has become the most discussed film technique. An ordinary Hollywood film typically contains between 1000 and 2000 shots; and action based movie can have 3000 or more. Editing shapes the organization of film and how it affects us as spectators.

WHAT IS EDITING?

The co-ordination of one shot with the next. The elimination of unwanted footage The joining of shots together

JOINS

On Film stock these are achieved in the lab during postproduction or through software in digital editing. Joins can be: A Fade-out darkens the end of a shot to black A Fade-in lightens a shot from black A Dissolve superimposes the end of the first shot and beginning of the second shot A Wipe Shot 1 replaces shot 2 by means of a boundary line moving across the screen.

THE CUT

A Cut Mostly Cuts appear invisible an instantaneous change from one scene or view to another. Experimental filmmakers like Michael Snow or Andy Warhol often did not cut film at all, but used the whole length of film. E.G. Alfred Hitchcocks THE BIRDS (CH13) Melanie is isolated within the frame through cutting and we follow her POV to the gas station outside. Most sequences are shot with one camera and are therefore shot multiple times Therefore shots have to be planned to be pieced together in the editing.

DIMENSIONS OF FILM EDITING/

Editing offers the filmmaker four basic areas of choice. Graphic relations between shot A and Shot B Rhythmic relations between shot A and B Spatial relations between Shot A and B Temporal relations between shot A and B

1.Graphic relations between shot A and Shot B

Shots can be considered and appreciated purely for their graphical relations and composition. Editing any two shots permits the interaction, through similarity and difference, of the purely pictorial qualities of those two shots. . Every shot provides possibilities for purely graphic editing, and every cut creates some sort of graphic relationship between two shots. Graphics maybe edited to achieve smooth continuity or abrupt contrast. Similarity between shots = Graphic Match e.g. Alien Discontinuity between shots = For graphic abrasions or to contrast characters. Shots can clash also through changes of colour and lighting (light to dark, red to blue) e.g. The Birds Contrast in the direction of Melanies look to the direction of the flame. Contrast between movement and stasis.

Rhythmic Relations between shot A and Shot B.

Editing allows the filmmaker to determine the duration of each shot. By adjusting the length of each shot in relation to each cut. The editor controls the rhythmic potential of editing. Although rhythm is also created from movement within the frame, sound and music, mise-en-scene etc, it is primarily created through editing. Accent short cuts or changes to stress a moment, long pauses to accentuated and action or scene Beat - Use of shot length to create a discernible rhythm. A metrical beat can be created through placing several shots of the same length together. Tempo action can be slowed down by gradually decreasing the length of the shots or sped up by increasing it. E.G. THE BIRDS

Spatial Relations between shot A and B

Editing allows the filmmaker to move instantaneously from one shot to another. These spatial locations can be linked through similarity, difference or development in movement or narrative. Spatial Continuity/Co-existence - E.G. The Birds creates spatial relation and continuity between the Caf and the Gas station/outside world. Spatial relations - Lev Kuleshov, The kuleshov Effect 1920s experimented with our assumptions by showing a n audience shots of a neutral actors face intercut with various other shots; soup, nature scenes a dead women a baby. The audience reported changes in the actors face.

Temporal Relations Between Shot A and B

Like other film techniques, editing can control the time of the action denoted in the film. Through the order of the presentation of events Continuous 1,2,3 The Birds Reversed. Flashbacks e.g. Apocalypse Now http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU0DxJVWhGw
Flashforwards Easy Rider CH 26, CH 29

Films can also move backwards and forwards in time as in Pulp Fiction

Elliptical editing (Concise)

presents an action in such a way that it consumes less time on the screen than it does in the story. Punctuation - An action such as climbing stays can be cut so that it doesnt have to occur in real time. A punctuation shot can be used such as a fade, flash of white to move the action on. These punctuations suggest to the viewer that time has on. Empty Frames - The actor moves out of frame at the bottom of the stairs. Cut to top of the stairs and actor moving into frame. Cutaway Man walking upstairs cut to a brief scene outside and then back to the man at the top of the stairs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONMSe_zhq70

Expansive Editing

- Moments of time or events can be extended or repeated to accentuate an image or of time passed. The Russian filmmakers of the 1920s made frequent use of temporal expansion through such overlapping editing. In Strike and October and Ivan the Terrible scenes are extended to accentuate moments.

Repetition

Repetition Occasionally filmmakers will repeat an action more than once to accentuate a moment. Martial arts films often repeat a move and from different angles to accentuate it.

CONTINUITY EDITING/

Most filmmakers use the dominant film editing style called continuity editing which allows stories to be told clearly and coherently. Narrative continuity.

Filmmakers begin to make cuts from 1900 Creates a smooth flow from shot to shot Figures are balanced and symmetrically deployed in the frame. Lighting tonality remains constant Long-shots are left longer on the screen than medium shots, medium shots longer than close-ups.

The 180 Degree system

In the continuity style the space of a scene is constructed along what is called the axis of action/center line/180 line. The cameras cannot move beyond this 180 degree semicircle. The 180 degree system ensures that relative positions in the frame remain consistent. Consistent eyeline matches Consistent screen direction Characters must move in the same direction so as not to disorientate the viewer. e.g. A western where two characters face each other in a showdown if filmed from the other side of the axis line. Space is delineated clearly. The characters are positioned clearly in relation to each other and the setting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdyyuqmCW14

EXAMPLE: The opening of John Hustons The Maltese Shot-reverse-shot Falcon.

Eyeline Match shot of person looking followed by a shot of what they are looking at. Creates a strong spatial continuity (Like off-screen sound) Re-establishing shot adjustment of camera position for character movement/action Establishment/breakdown/re-establishment Match-on-action Person standing up from 1 angle cut to the same action from a different angle)(Remember films shot with 1 camera). Creates a great sense of spatial continuity. All of this creates continuity our minds fill in the gaps and join the sequences together. The Axis of action can be moved according to the movements of the actors.

CROSSCUTTING/

Crosscutting gives us an unrestricted knowledge of causal, temporal, or spatial information by alternating shots from one line of action in one place with shots of other events in other places. First developed by D.W. Griffith Example from Fritz Langs M Chapter 8/9 Crosscutting builds up suspense Ties together the different lines of action temporal simultaneity Presents narrative actions occurring in several locales at once. Continuity editing reinforces habitual expectations and therefore becomes a powerful device for the spectator. These conventions can also therefore be counteracted. By the 1930s continuity editing was the standard approach to editing. Films are cut much faster today. In the period between 1930 and 1960 -300500 shots Today over 1200 shots Perhaps the influence of Television. Faster cutting is easier to follow on smaller screens

The Montage Sequence/

In order to cover large periods of time in a story. Many cuts are used temporally to suggest time passing this is often called a montage sequence. E>G. Silence of the Lambs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rpu7DDs2SI There are many alternatives to the continuity style which we will look at next week.

Key Terms

JOINS THE CUT Graphic relations between shot A and Shot B (Graphic match graphic mismatch) Rhythmic relations between shot A and B (Accent, beat, Tempo) Spatial relations between Shot A and B (Spatial Continuity or discontinuity) Temporal relations between shot A and B (Continuous, reversed, flashback, flash-forward, elliptical Empty Frame, cutaways Expansive Editing Repetition Continuity Editing The 180 Degree System Crosscutting Montage