Editing and Camera Movement

8/4/2019 Editing and Camera Movement

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The effects of Camera Movementwhy theyre used

Camera movement has the potential to function inmany different ways, such as to direct the viewer's attention,reveal off-screen space, provide narrative information, or createexpressive effects.

The camera most frequently moves when an object moveswithin the frame, initiating reframing or afollowing shot. Reframing involves slight pans or

tilts designed to maintain the balance of acomposition during figure movement. A cameraoperator will reframe when a sitting personstands up, for instance, so as to keep the personin the frame and allow for appropriate headroom.Reframing helps to fix the viewer's eye on themost important figures within the frame and is socommon it is often unnoticed.

The camera itself accompanies the movement of an object during afollowing shot. A track, crane, or hand-held shot can lead amoving figure into space, pursue a figure from behind, or floatabove, below, or alongside. Intricate following shots may bemotivated by the movements of more than one figure.

Not all camera movement responds to motion within theframe; the filmmaker may direct the camera away from thedominant action for other purposes. Such camera movement drawsattention to itself and is typically used sparingly to emphasizesignificant narrative details. For example,when Judy (Natalie Wood) stands up to exit thepolice station in Rebel Without a Cause (1955),the camera pans and tilts down to frame thecompact she left behind, highlighting animportant motif that will bring the protagoniststogether.

Because of its ability to reveal or conceal space, cameramovement often participates in the creation of suspense andsurprise. In Strangers on a Train (1951), a point-of-view editingpattern places the viewer in the optical perspective of Guy (FarleyGranger) as he approaches a dark staircase to warn a father of hisson's murderous intentions. The director Alfred Hitchcock (1899


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1980) then varies the editing pattern by craning up from Guy todisclose a menacing dog waiting on the landing above. Theindependent camera movement informs the viewer of an obstacleunknown to Guy, raising the question of whether he will be able toreach the fatherthus heightening suspense.

Later in the same scene,Hitchcock alters his use ofcamera movement to concealoff-screen space andsuppress narrativeinformation. As Guy enters thebedroom to wake the sleepingfather, the camera tracks toGuy's side and keeps the father

off-screen. By delaying anonscreen image of the father's

bed, Hitchcock surprises viewers when a subsequent shot revealsthe treacherous son in his father's place.

Sometimes camera movement positions the viewer as anobjective witness to unfolding events.

Very slow camera movements within long takes focus theviewer on the passage of time and build narrative

expectation. When this happens, the camera movement situatesthe viewer as a curious inhabitant of the narrative world, linkingsimultaneous events in adjacent spaces and integrating theprotagonist's preparations for death with a joyous celebration oflife.

Camera movement can also be used to illustrate acharacter's subjective experience. This is used very effectivelyin Friday 13thwhen Michael climbs down the stairs in his fancydress having just murdered his sister. The framing is classically

framed by the outline of Michaels face mask.


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Camera movements what theyre called

Track (or Dolly)Moving the camera itself towards or away from the subject,or to follow a moving subject. The shot is called a track ortracking shot because the camera is often run alonga small track (very like a small railway track) to follow theaction.

The use of the word Dolly comes from a tripod which is on wheelscalled a dolly. Both these techniques areused to stabilize the camera. This places allthe focus on the objects/action in the frame it allows for focus to remain still whilstthe background rushes past. This is oftenused when we stay with the occupants of acar, listening to their dialogue andwatching their actions when the background

is largely unimportant. It should not to be confused with a zoom,where the cameras lens is varied to give the impression of movingcloser to, or away from the subject.


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Pan

This is pivoting the camera from one side to the other, usually toscan a scene or to follow a moving subject as it moves past, ina kind of semi circular sweep. The camera

stays STILL and the action rushes past.This highlights the SPEED of what ishappening in form of the camera OR it givesclear evidence of scope of the scene oftenused to show the surroundings or toestablish the background.

Whip pan

A sudden, fast pan. This can easily be viewed in the opening of

'Snatch'and is common in that stylised brit style gangster moviegenre.

TiltPivoting the camera vertically up ordown. This produces a low or highangle shot. The LOW angle shotemphasises the subject's power whereasa HIGH angle shot makes the subjectseem much smaller.

Rolling ShotThis is when the camera moves diagonally, making the imageaskew. It can also be a kind of rocking or swaying style. This isusually used to show that the character is ill or drugged and is oftenused in as point of view shot. When this is extended to the frame, itis also called a dutch angle or a 'canted angle'.

Dutch Angle


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ArcMoving the camera in an arc around the subject. This can producea disorientating effect and is often used when a character isdealing with a revelation or moment of 'discovery'.

Subject

Crane shotThis is used when the camera itself moves upor down and is usually placed higher above

the ground/action. The crane shot is theprimary means of moving the camera aboveground. During crane shots, the camera risesand lowers on a platform connected to amechanical arm, much like utility company

cherry-pickers. A crane enables the camera to travel greatdistances up and down, as well as forward and backwardand from side to side.

Overhead

This is where the camera looks over the actionor scene directly from above its like a kind ofshot from the ceiling.

Aerial shotAerial shots are taken from a plane or helicopterand are a variation of crane shots. A cameramounted on an aerial support can move into spacein all directions while achieving much greater

heights than can a crane.

Filmmakers began exploring ways to mount a camera on a planeduring the 1910s, and in the 1950s helicopter mounts createdadditional shooting possibilities. An aerial shot may frame anotherflying object or it may provide a "bird's eye view" of thelandscape, as in the swooping helicopter shot of Julie Andrews inthe Alps at the opening ofThe Sound of Music(1965).

Hand-held shot


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This is used to convey a sense of immediacy OR it can be used tosuggest realism. Thus this shot if often used in more gritty films.However, it is often used these days as it allows for morefreedom and with the use of a steadicam the shots have less ofthe hand-held, shaky feel that one associates with amateur film.

The main parts height with viewer The real thing

Zoom (Crash Zoom, Reverse Zoom, Reverse Crash Zoom)This is not really a movement of the camera but it appears to be so.It is when the focus is pulled making either the object/scene slowlyappear closer or further away. When this is done very fast, itscalled a crash zoom. When the focus reverses to make theobject/scene seem further away, then its called a reverse zoom or,when done very quickly, a reverse crash zoom.


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EditingHow the individual shots are put together in terms of the way it'sdone STYLEand how quicklyPACE.

There are two main types of editing which you will encounter inmainstream films and TV programmes:

Continuity editing

The majority of film sequences are edited so that time seems toflow, uninterrupted, from shot to shot. Within a continuity editing

sequence, only cuts will be used. Continuity editing can also involvecross-cutting, where a sequence cuts between two differentsettings where action is taking place at the same time. There arematches on action and no editing that draws attention to itself. thisis the realm of the 'invisible edit'.

MontageIn montage, different images are assembled to build up animpression. This is often used in title sequences. The most famousexample of this technique is the Odessa Steps sequence from

Battleship Potemkin. This is used increasingly in what is now called'American Quality Television' and includes most of the showsheadlining on Sky, FX, Channel 4 amongst others.

Editing can vary both inpace(how long individual shots stay on thescreen for) and in the transitions (or STYLE)between shots.Transitionsdescribe the way in which one shot replaces theprevious one and is the term used by editors and their software.

PACE OF EDITINGCutting rateFrequent cuts may be used as deliberate interruptions to shock,surprise or emphasize. Generally speaking, the rate that cuts aremade increases with the tension in the film.

Cutting rhythmA cutting rhythm may be progressively shortened to increasetension. Cutting rhythm may be exciting (erratic andunpredictable), lyrical (in time with the music or with a feeling of

rhythm) or staccato (like sharp regular cuts). It can createexcitement, musical alignment or intense response in the viewer.


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TRANSITIONS /STYLES OF EDITINGStraight CutOne image is suddenly replaced by another, without a visibletransition. We are so used to these you will probably not evennotice them. In Classic continuity editing, that is the point not tobe noticed.

Cross-dissolveOne image dissolves into another. This can be used to make amontage sequence such as a title sequence - flow smoothly; itcan also be used in continuity editing to show that we have movedforwards in time and/or space.

Fade upAn image gradually fades in

Fade outAn image gradually fades out. Fades to and from black usuallymean that time has passed

Wipe

One image replaces another without dissolving, with the borderbetween the images moving across or around the screen. This stylewas previously popular in the 1960s but has not been much useduntil recent work, mostly cartoon based hollywood mainstream filmssuch as Hellboy and Iron Man.

Jump CutThis is where a cut is disjointed often by the change in what theaudience sees not changing that much the action appears tojudder or just jump. This is used to disconcert the audience.

Typically a jump cut is one of less than 30 and is easy enough tospot as it makes the scene literally 'jump' before your eyes and it Isused infrequently.

Matched cutIn a 'matched cut' a familiar relationship between the shots maymake the change seem smooth through:

continuity of direction

completed action*

a similar centre of attention in the frame

a one-step change of shot size (e.g. long to medium)a change of angle (conventionally at least 30 degrees)


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*The cut is usually made on an action (for example, a personbegins to turn towards a door in one shot; the next shot, takenfrom the doorway, catches him completing the turn). Because theviewer's eye is absorbed by the action he is unlikely to notice themovement of the cut itself.

Motivated cutThis is a cut made just at the point where what has occurred makesthe viewer immediately want to see something which is notcurrently visible (causing us, sometimes, to accept compression oftime or space we can jump in time or place what matters isseeing the next expected thing). A typical feature is the

shot/reverse shot technique (cuts coinciding with changes ofspeaker). Editing and camera work appear to be determined by theaction.

Cutaway/cutaway shot (CA)A bridging cut, this is usually an intercut shot between two shots ofthe same subject. It represents a secondary activity occurring atthe same time as the main action. It may be preceded by a definitelook or glance out of frame by a participant, or it may showsomething of which those in the preceding shot are unaware.

It may be used to avoid the technical ugliness of a 'jump cut' wherethere would be uncomfortable jumps in time, place or viewpoint.

It is often used to shortcut the passing of time.

Reaction shotIs a cut to any shot, usually a cutaway, in which a participant reactsto action which has just occurred.

Insert/insert shotA bridging close-up shot inserted into the larger context, offering anessential detail of the scene (or a reshooting of the action with a

different shot size or angle). This is often a focus on an object,person or reaction.

Buffer shot (neutral shot)A bridging shot (normally taken with a separate camera) toseparate two shots which would have reversed the continuity ofdirection or to move from one place to another we no jumpingeffect.Make a note of these in your work and add examples to your list asyou spot them. This will help you to build up a good understanding.

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Editing and Camera Movement