The Development and Techniques of Editing

EDITING

Rules,

Concepts &

Key TerminologySome information has been adapted from BFI.org.uk

What is editing?

The post-production process

Editing is how material (visual and audio) is combined. The

basic edit, the ‘cut’ derives its name from the fact that film

used to be physically cut with scissors, and spliced

together again, with the unwanted footage discarded (or left

‘on the cutting room floor’).

Purpose

By combining shots into sequences we are able to

present a narrative, an idea or a visual art-form. Not all

media texts have coherent narratives and it is by editing in

certain ways that we can create meaning through edits.

For example, The Kuleshov Effect (Lev Kuleshov, 1910’s-

1920’s)

Conventions and Techniques

Ivan Mozzhukhin was the subject of

Kuleshov’s experiments



How we edit these days

In this college, we use non-linear editing and we

edit video that has been uploaded from either DV

tapes or SD cards. In the film industry, much work

is still recorded onto film stock, (although this is

changing rapidly).

Creating Meaning Through Editing

The historical development of editing for meaning

In the early days of filmmaking, in the early 1900s, there was no fixed

way of editing for meaning.

A system gradually developed principally through Hollywood filmmaking

which was designed to overcome the potential for every edit to confuse

the audience and to allow them to follow the action. These days,

moving-image storytelling relies largely on this system.

A central aspect of this process came to be known as the continuity

system, which is composed of a series of loose ‘rules’ about how shots

should be combined.

The continuity system is composed of:

• 180 degree rule

• Establishing shots and re-establishing shots

• Eyeline-match cutting

• Match-on-action cutting

• Shot-reverse shot

Additionally, a number of other ‘conventions’ developed to help establish the diegetic presentation of time and space, and the role of characters, within a narrative:

• Close-ups, OTS and POVs, and reaction shots to create main protagonists and audience identification with them

• Fades and dissolves for time-shifts of various kinds

• Cross-cutting/parallel editing to create relationships between different settings

These days, many of these ‘rules’ are broken for effect

In-camera editing

At this college we do not need to use in-camera editing as we

have the resources to edit in ‘post-production’ using Premiere

Pro.

In-camera editing involves creating videos without uploading

footage and requires you to shoot the footage in the order of the

final sequence. It’s a good place to start if you have a limited

budget. Your introduction for your video will be edited in-camera.

Video Editing Technology 1

Video Editing Technology 2

Linear editing

Considered by most to be obsolete, linear editing involves editing ‘tape-to-tape’,

without the need for editing software. Until the 1990s it was the only method of

editing and was just called video editing. The finished videotape is called the

master. This is an example of how things happened in the ‘analogue’ days before

digital convergence.

Non-linear editing

Now seen as ‘the norm’, non-linear editing is the process of combining uploaded

footage whilst being able to instantly access individual shots, or even frames,

without having to trawl through reels of footage. It has been made possible by

digital convergence of previously separate technologies.

Following the action

Before filming it is important to consider the desired end result, hence the pre-

production stage.

If you were to shoot a sequence in which a fight takes place between two guys, you

could film a single long take of the two (from a position that allows you to capture

all of the action) and then put that onto your timeline, or you could shoot the fight

with a master shot (the single long take) and also numerous angles and shot

distances (taking care not to violate the 180 degree rule), and then edit the footage

together so that each shot appears to follow the last. If you have done it properly,

this should result in a seamless flow of shots which follow the action without the

audience ever getting confused.

Shooting footage to make editing easier 1

The seamless flow of effective editing

Quantum of Solace (Forster, 2008)


Manipulating diegetic space and time

You may be filming a sequence in which a character travels from one

location to another but you will not want to show the whole journey.

Through editing it is possible to shorten that journey but also change

from one location to another. Similarly you may want to show an

exterior of a building before showing someone in an office inside it…

Editing and Genre

The editing of a particular media product will depend on the genre of

the piece. Depending on its relationship to the genre, the media text

will be edited in a genre specific or conventional way.

For example, when watching an action film we expect to see lots of

cuts in order to match the pace and to create excitement. Whereas, if

you watch a television (period) drama, you will find that there are far

fewer cuts and transitions to make it seem more realistic.


Creating pace involves using cuts and other transitions to slow down or

speed up a sequence. Long takes and lack of edits creates a slow pace,

whereas rapid editing generates excitement.

For example, imagine a scene in which a child is out with their parents; the

pace may be slow and the takes will be long. However, if the child then

wanders off and becomes lost, the shots will become shorter in length, we

will get more close-ups and there will be far more cuts to show uneasiness

and confusion. The speed of editing connotes how frantic the mother would

be.


180° rule

By following this rule the

filmmaker ensures that each

character occupies a consistent

area of the frame, helping the

audience to understand the

layout of the scene. It also aids

in limiting the probability of

continuity errors.


These shots are shown in the order that they appear in the video. See how the

character suddenly changes the direction in which he is walking.


Match cut on action

This is a fundamental element of the continuity system. An

action begins in one shot and ends in the next, helping the

audience over the edit smoothly.

What is missing from the following?

?


Eye line match

A cut between two shots where the first shot shows a person looking out of

the frame and the second shows what they are looking at (often, but not

always, in a POV). If the person looks left, the following shot should imply

that the person being looked at is off-screen right. Height of subjects and

objects should always be addressed.

As the characters become closer, the eyeline match

(that is the connection between the ‘looker’ and the

‘looked at’) is stressed with matching CUs.


Eyeline match

1.

2.


Shot-reverse-shot

If filming a conversation between two characters, you do

not need to have both shown in the frame. Instead you can

apply shot-reverse-shot; filming one

character talking in one direction followed

by another character facing the opposite way.

Be sure to follow the 180° rule when doing this.


Parallel editing/cross-cutting

This involves cutting between two scenes, usually to imply that

they are occurring at the same time, and that they are related or

will converge (although sometimes they may not converge and

the relationship may be metaphorical rather than actual).

This often happens in heist movies such as Ocean’s 11

(Soderberg, 2001) when the plan is carried out as we follow all of

the characters attempting their separate missions.


Motivated edits

A motivated edit is an edit caused by something which happens in the

preceding shot. For example, in horror films, a soon-to-be victim is

seen screaming and then a cut exposes the cause of the reaction.

Eyeline-match cuts are motivated by a character looking out of frame,

so we can see what they are looking at. Like the match-on-action, the

motivated edit allows for seamless continuity and is highly unobtrusive.


Jump-cutting

A jump cut is a transition between two shots which appears to ‘jump’ due to the

way the shots are framed in relation to each other. Jump cuts are used to

create disorientation and difficulties for the audience as they appear jarring and

sometimes unintentional.

Jump cutting can be avoided by moving the camera to another angle or

reframing the subsequent shot so that it appears vastly different.


Cutaway

A cutaway involves cutting to a separate image in an otherwise

continuous flow of action. Cutaways can be used to avoid

accidental jump cuts caused by poor planning in the shoot, or to

disguise edits in long documentary interviews.

Cutting to a ‘happy image’ such as a butterfly or smiling child,

implies a ‘safe’ and positive tone, whereas, cutting to a ‘danger

of death’ sign implies something bad is about to happen.


Montage editing on the other hand, is an expressive use of

juxtaposing shots*, often unrelated, with music or sound that

may or not be working with the images (parallel) or

counterpointing it (contrapuntal). Montage editing is much more

common in music video or advertisement production.

*Juxtaposition: the positioning of two images, characters,

objects etc., in order to compare and contrast them, or establish

a relationship between them.


Transitions

A transition is the term for the join between two different pieces

of footage.

The most widely used transition is a cut and its purpose is to go

from one section of footage to the next. Other transitions contain

meaning and are used to send a message to the audience.


Transitions

The following transition types also have sub-categories

• Cut- ‘slicing’ footage so that one image ends and another begins.

• Dissolve- often used to show a character’s thoughts, dreams, fantasies, or to go

back (or sometimes forward) in time . For example, a dissolve might be placed

between a shot of a woman and a shot of a man to connote that the woman is

thinking about that man.

• Fade- fade in and fade out transitions allow for a gentle change in time or

location, or a beginning, or ending of some sort.

• Wipe- using one piece of footage to wipe the previous one off the screen.


Transitions (examples)

This dissolve could show that the

man is on a long journey.

This wipe replaces one piece of

footage with another but shows them

both at one point.


Providing and withholding information

If you remember right back to the start of the year, you will

remember that we discussed the term restricted narration; this

is when the filmmaker limits what the audience can see when

framing shots. Editing can also aid in what we as filmmakers will

‘allow’ the audience to see.

In horror, cuts often occur just before something grizzly happens,

particularly in the opening scenes.


Cutting to soundtrack

Sometimes it is easier to have the audio before you add the

video as it gives you a structure to follow.

Watch the following video and describe how the video is

edited to fit the soundtrack

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YCGtT_FRYg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YCGtT_FRYg

Education

The Development and Techniques of Editing