Unit 21: Editing techniques LAA

The use of continuity and non-continuity

continuity
Continuity is a way of editing that enables a scene to flow seamlessly, making the viewer see
it as one continuous scene instead of a bunch of shots edited together. This can be achieved
by using several editing techniques which will each bring their own feeling and meaning.
Each genre has its own way of editing that will bring different meaning, for example, an
action scene will use cutting on action frequently to constantly create a feeling of
disorientation and tension, while a comedic scene will use match cuts to drop an inuendo,
with either visual or verbal cues. Overall, continuity editing is the editor's way of trying to
make the movie’s timeline feel as linear as possible.

Ender’s game
Ender’s game is a sci-fi movie created in 2013, the movie followed young Ender Wiggin as he
makes his way through battle school, to learn how to fight off an alien race that attacked the
Earth before his birth. The movie begins by showing footage of the invasion, presenting the
audience first and foremost with a brief history of the movie and motivation for the
protagonist.

Despite using techniques that had existed for many decades, I.E continuity and CGI, the
movie changes their typical forms of use by using them at times that are not common in
similar movies. For example, action scenes don’t have the typical jump cuts and action
matches and are smooth, clear and precise. This only ever changes in the few scenes where
Ender becomes overwhelmed, keeping the continuity of us, the audience, following Ender
and sharing in his experiences.

As I mentioned before the continuity for this movie isn’t revolutionary or mind breaking,
due to the techniques already having existed for decades. However, the overall continuity is
smooth and almost seamless, the director has each shoot transitioned clearly and with
emphasis on the fact that it has changed, using different colour pallets and L-cuts/J-cuts to
create more smoothing transitions.

(each screenshot is taking within 2-3 seconds of each other)

Sherlock
Sherlock is a British crime TV series that revolves around the title character, Sherlock
Holmes, and his best friend/roommate, John Watson, as they continuously take and solve
different cases each episode.

This show, unlike Ender’s Game, is known more for its innovative use of wipes (Pass by) and
fades for transitions instead of the tradition jump cut to change scenes. Within each episode
the camera will always transition to a different scene by using the pass by/walk by effect,
which is when someone or something will move from one side of the screen to the other
side, with the scene changing from behind it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IDBZ5AsUuk - First 1½ minutes shows some good
examples of these transitions.

By using this effect, continuity is effectively created through the constant smoothness,
allowing the overall atmosphere of the show to remain pleasing and genuinely satisfying.

Discontinuity
However, in some movies the use of non-continuity is important because the use of
continuity may disrupt or hinder the story or plot, or because they want to really emphasis
what is happening on screen. For example, if a character begins to fall to their death (for
whatever reason) the director may choose to take a slowed down version of the shot to
really get what is happening across to the audience. Another use of non-continuity is the
use of flashbacks, by show a flashback (even for less than a second) the scene stops being
linear and is a part of non-continuity, and the use of a montage, by using a montage

Maze runner 3: the death cure

The maze runner series is a set of dystopian movies made in 2014 and ending its three
movies in 2018. The ending of the third maze runner movie features the death of two
beloved characters in the maze runner franchise, however I want to focus on mainly on the
death of Teresa. Over the first movie and almost all the second movie there is a constant
atmosphere of trust and belonging that spans from the calm and slow conversations to the
fast paced and honestly terrifying action scenes. However, Teresa’s character is the one who
breaks that continuity multiple times.
Over the span of the trilogy Teresa has constantly changed her role in war between right
and wrong. In the first movie, her introduction changes the continuity itself, the pacing
becomes faster and the action scenes become more gruesome, then by the end she is seen
as a companion in the maze, becoming a fan favourite. By the seconds movie she changes
the continuity further by destroying the pattern; they always get away. The dynamic of the
shots changes from frantic and frequent, to show the fear as they run away, to slow,
disorientating and clear, as each character must fight for their freedom.
The third movie then goes to develop her character further, getting her motivation and
belief and giving them screen time, and it is done so well we begins to support her.

It is for these reasons that the discontinuity of Teresa’s death, the slow-motion shot, has
such a big impact on the audience. At this point in time, she is seen as the bad guy, but her
motives are so good and pure that we love her, she has constantly changed the format of
the trilogy and in her final, prolonged moment the slow motion shot of her falling leaves us
sad for reasons most of us may not know about.

Editing techniques
Cutting on action/action match
Cutting from one shot to another while the character is still in motion: from a punch to the
receiver’s recoil, the beginning of a turn to a close up of the turner’s face or going through a
door and coming out the other side. This can be used to emphasis the action, to make the
punch stronger or to really emphasise the importance of a character reveal. Disorienting the
viewer can be accomplished by quick cutting to the other side of an unknown door as the
character walks through, allowing us to get a feel into the quick paced decisions made by
the character.

Cut away
Cutting from a normal to an “insert shot” and then back, this can be to show a character’s
reaction to an action, or to show what the character sees before going back to what they
were doing. A cut away can be used to show the mind of a character, a flashback or thought.
It can be just a flash, to ingrain an image in your mind, or long enough to finish the
character’s action.

Cross cut
A cross cut is cutting between multiple locations and is commonly used in phone calls to
show both speakers in their respective locations, it can also be used to show the mind of a
character through a flashback and, if used correctly, it can raise tension by showing the
thing they are trying to avoid drawing near, this can also be to just lengthen the scene.
Jump match
Jump cuts are used to shorten an action by cutting a few second to show either the action
after more progress has been made or when the action ends. Its main use is to pass time
and is therefore used a lot in montages but can be used to show a level of urgency, by jump
through rough or violent scenes. Using a jump cut before a punch can increase the impact.

Graphic match
The graphic match is a technique like the dissolving technique, the screen will dissolve into
another scene, but the two shots will share an object on screen that is similar in
shape/colour. A famous example of this is in the shower scene in the 1960s film, Psycho,
where the screen dissolves from the image of the dead woman’s eye to the drainpipe in her
shower.
Fade in/Fade out
Fading is making the screen slowly change to a fully black or white screen dissolving to or
from one shot to another, can be used to show the start of a new day or as a character is
going to sleep.

Dissolve
Dissolving one shot into another. Can be used to symbolise change by dissolving the old into
the new, making it clear as to what has changed. It can also be used to show the passage of
time, either through dissolving a clock into the same clock at a later time, or by using a
montage.
Smash cuts
Smash cuts are abrupt transitions. These transitions are typically used when a character is
waking from a nightmare but can be used to change a scene from tense to quite or vice
versa. This will create a sudden change and will convince the viewer that the character is
disorientated and uncertain, which can make them seem more human.

Iris
This style used to be popular when the camera had a lens you could physically open and
close, it allowed a circular frame to open as a scene begins or close as it ends. Nowadays,
this is more of an artistic choice, as most cameras no longer has closable lenses.
Wipe
Wiping is just as it says, it wipes. The screen will produce some sort of border on screen that
will move across the entire screen allowing the next scene o come in from behind the
border, creating the effect that the last scene has been wiped away, hence the name; wipe.

Invisible cuts
Cuts are hidden in darkness to give the feel of one continuous shot. Can also be done in the
same blank colour. These can also be done during motion blur, by turning the camera fast at
the end of the scene and opening by blurring the beginning of the next scene in the same
direction. Invisible cuts can also be done as something covers the screen or as all moving
subjects leave the scene.

L cut
An audio-based transition where the audio carries over to the next shot. This can be used to
when a character is calling for another in a different room, or when a character screams and
it cuts to another character hearing it. This can also apply to simple scenes like two
characters talking to each other.

J cut
In a J-cut the audio starts before the next scene starts, allowing us to hear what is going on
before we see it. Creating a seamless transition, something that isn’t meant to be noticed. It
can also be used to introduce a new element to the story.

Kuleshov effect
The Kuleshov effect was discovered by a soviet filmmaker, named Lev Kuleshov. He inserts
the same scene of a man staring into different contexts of another scene and with each
scene the meaning changed to fit the context.
180-degree rule
The 180-degree rule states that when film for a scene the camera should not change the
angle of the shot more than 180 degrees. It advises to imagine a line going through the
scene and then to stay on one side of this line, doing overwise will cause the scene to flip
and can cause disorientation on the viewer and cause them to become irritated.

CGI
AKA Computer Generated Imagery, these are any types of visual imagery that is added
during the editing sequence. These images are, as the name implies, computer generated
and not real. They are most seen when any sci-fi or fantasy aspect of a movie, they can also
be responsible for most animals in a movie that has prolonged interaction or the ability to
talk, for example, The jungle book: live action remake.
Freeze frame
A freeze frame is a technique that results in a single frame being prolonged for any amount
of time. It can be short and flashy to effectively emphasis an impactful action, like a gunshot
or a stab, or it can be used to take the audience out of the atmosphere, by starting a freeze
frame and adding a voice over.

Slow motion
The slow-motion technique, done right, is when a scene in a movie will slow down a scene
so that the characters appear to be doing an action slowly. This is achieved by filming the
scene in a faster frame rate, and then slowing the scene down to a normal speed during the
editing scene. This is effective at removing the audience from the atmosphere and
conveying panic in a clear way.

Split screen
This technique is achieved by filming two different scenes from two locations and editing
the scene to have them both share the screen at the same time. In most cases, this
technique is seen when two or more characters are having a conversation on the phone.
The Boys
The boys is an American Thriller/drama TV show that aired in 2019, revolving around a
world of superheroes that aren’t all that heroic. The show quickly grabbed everyone’s
attention within the first five minutes through its use of slow-motion shots and CGI.

The show starts off with some light violence as a hijacked armoured vehicle barrels through
a street, almost hitting a pair of teenaged boys before the camera slows to show a woman
stops the vehicle by putting herself Infront of it, cutting to a slowed-down close up of her as
the truck crashes and collapses around her. The slow motion in this scene allows the scene
to effectively emphasis her power. The entire area around her is dark, but she seems to
have a sort of halo effect around her, illuminating her feature and displaying her confidence.
A few moments later, the scene cuts to a man as CGI is used to display the gun being melted
to his hand as laser vision focuses on the gun. This shot allows us to see the brutality of this
scene and to get a feel for what type of show this really is.

However, the real impact point doesn’t take place until we meet the main character and his
girlfriend. They are introduced as a normal couple, with a calming and enjoyable
atmosphere around them. Through the dialogue we learn they are clearly in love. Each shot
of them is long and drawn out, with casual movements. Interestingly, more colour is added
to the scenes pallet when she arrives, further emphasising the happy atmosphere given by
the two.
As the scene goes on, the pace remains slow and steady, effectively making us calm and
empowering the loving feeling coming from the two. Then seemingly out of nowhere, the
scene slows to a crawl. The main character recoils from an unseen force and the camera
turns in the direction of the force, only to see an explosion of blood, guts and bone. The CGI
work in this shot is what really gives this scene its impact, as the hyper realistic visuals mixed
with the bone crunching noise mix to create a feeling of shock followed closely by horror.
The scene ends with the main character’s terrified scream for his girlfriend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr5BuRUmeDI