Task 1
Understand the
development and principles of editing
Development of Editing
Editing has
come a long way since the creation of film making. What once was a
lengthy, physical process now takes a lot less time and is all
done electronically. However, there are many techniques used in the
industry that are applicable throughout the ages. In camera editing for example
is still used today. It originated back when film was the only source for film
making. It involved shooting all the footage in order as to cut the time and
money of editing in post-production. This slightly died down with the invention
of digital film making as it gave the film maker the opportunity to
see the footage they had just shot straight away and decide whether or not to
re-shoot a scene. The use of 'in camera editing' is now
more appealing to film makers as it saves a lot of time and money
being able to see what you've just shot. Although this goes against the
traditional art of film making, it does however show a progression in the
technology involved.
Following the
action is as simple as it sounds. The camera follows the action. In a filming
sense, it means the camera would follow the subject in one way or another. The
purpose of this is to make sure that the audience is following what's
happening. For example, if a car was accelerating around a corner, the camera
would be placed on the front of the car and we would see what the car is doing
from its level. Many people put this down to Hitchcock, as he came up with many
of the modern day filming techniques. I his famous film Vertigo, we see a dolly
zoom which is a perfect example of following the action. Later recreated by
Steven Spielberg, this type of following the action is very popular in the
modern era for helping the viewer see what's happening.
Multiple points
of view are used in order give the viewer the 'point of view' of a certain
character so they can understand the story/character better. This usually
involves some kind of jump cut as sometimes there would be a 2 camera setup
positioned with 2 characters points of view being shown on screen.
Most notably in car scenes with a driver and a passenger, this
technique is used as it provides simple camera work with in detail knowledge of
2 different point of views. For example, in Furious 7 this is used quite a bit,
especially in the final scene as we see 2 main characters drive off in 2
different directions. We switch between the 2
characters incrementally as to see their 2 different points of view.
Manipulation of
diegetic time and space is when the editor, ordered by the director, alters the
speed of the film. This is done to simulate large periods of time being passed,
usually in the case of day, weeks or months or maybe even years. For example,
in the remake of the Karate Kid, this technique is used in the
form of a montage. The scene in question lasts around 15 minutes, however by
using this editing technique, the director has created the illusion that week’s/months
have passed as we see many locations at different times of day and with the
characters all wearing different clothes in every scene. This gives the viewer
the impression that a significant amount of time has passed.
Analogue
editing was the original type of editing. It involved sitting in a room,
before computers of course, and done completely by hand. You
started with a copy of the film where all the footage was. They then took the
film and, by using a splicer, cut it into different parts and then pasted
them onto different pieces of film to create cutaways, which then had to be fed
through a machine.
Digital editing
however is a lot different thanks to the invention of computers. Nowadays, the
majority of films are shot with digital cameras, which means the film is now on
a digital format. This new technology needs to have a way of editing on a
computer. Programs such as Avid Media Composer allow anyone to do just what
they need to do. It acts as the modern day splicer and more. Avid Media
Composer is industry standard and widely accepted as the best editing software
for beginners.
Purposes
In terms of storytelling, you are
telling a story. With editing however, it's slightly different. The general
purpose of an edit is to tell a story, traditionally that is. An edit is the
final re-write of the script but the edit can also be re-written, creating a
completely separate sequence. This is most prominent in Quentin Tarantino's
Pulp Fiction, as it is edited in a non-linear fashion in order to tell the
story in a different way. Some viewers questioned "Why?" and his
answer was that it got people to engage with the film a lot more as they would
start trying to make the non-linear story linear in order for them to fully
understand. By doing this, a lot more people watched his film which turned out
to be a great success. This can also be used to explain how editing can engage
the viewer.
Combining shots into a sequence simply means the
process of fitting various clips together and making them flow. It's that
simple when looking at it. In the film 'Skyfall' they combine the shots in a flawless way that allows them. By
combining the shots into a neat and clean sequence we are presented with a
scene that flows and thus tells the story with ease. We don't have to think
about what's going to happen next, instead
we would rather be shown through the correct sequencing of clips.
Creating
pace is when an edit speeds up/slows down a film or television programme,
however this technique changes largely depending on the genre of the film
you're watching. Action films will often want to create a fast pace to suit the manner of
the film, whereas a romantic drama might want to slow things down to get the
viewer to engage more with the film and understand its content.
Conventions and Techniques
Continuity editing is the predominant style
of video editing in the
post-production process of film making of narrative films and television
programs. The purpose of continuity editing is to smooth over the
inherent discontinuity of the editing process and to establish a logical
coherence between shots.
Montage is a technique in film editing in which a series
of short shots are edited into a sequence to condense space, time, and information. The term has been
used in various contexts. It was introduced to cinema primarily by Eisenstein, and early Soviet directors used it
as a synonym for creative editing. Bu using a montage in a film, you can
simulate a large portion of time to pass but in honesty only 10 minutes of
screen time has passed, but due to the quick cuts, various locations and
different scenes that we are seeing, we think that a lot of time has passed.
Most notably in the film 'Rocky' where the iconic 'training montage' came from.
We see Rocky training in different parts of the city, on monuments, in parks,
all wearing different clothes in every scene and set in different
points of the day. This clearly indicates the passage of time, however we
are never sure of the amount of time unless we have on screen text or a
trigger somewhere in the scene e.g. a calendar.
A jump cut is
a cut in film editing in which two sequential shots of the same
subject are taken from camera positions that vary only slightly. This type of
edit gives the effect of jumping forwards in time. To the viewer, this
can be confusing. However, it usually happens at the end of a scene or mid-way
through a scene to add depth and perhaps a jump in time.
The 180 degree
rule
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