Providing and Withholding Information

Providing and withholding information within film is a very potent way to make the audience anxious and curious to find out what has happened. Look at recent blockbuster hit "Inception", we see throughout the film the point that this totem will always be spinning in his dream, and that if it falls over, it is reality. We see in this ending scene, that we do not actually get to see if the totem spins out of control or not, a perfect example of withholding information and making the audience want to know even more

Clip 

Cutting to Soundtrack

Cutting to soundtrack within the film is when the video is synced nicely with the song, it decides how fast a scene pans out and attracts attention because it is extremely interesting and easy to watch. Because it flows so nicely.

Editing Rhythm

Editing rhythm of shorts keeps a storyline easy to keep track of and pleasant to watch, a viewer should be able to follow the story easily and relax. It keeps a steady pace throughout the film. Rhythm within a film is detirmined by the length of shots usually, it there is average length shots it will just be average and part of the story, if the rhythm speeds up and the shots are smaller length it can lead to emotion such as suspense if they are edited correctly.

Having a bad rhythm can annoy and distract the audience and lead them to lose track of what is happening in the film so its important that film editors do it correctly, and make it easily watchable and build the story bit by bit


Here is a good example, it creates a nice pace for the film, and it is easily followable for the audience, the editing maintains a good steady pace and speeds up at the times it needs to.

Shot-reverse Shot

Shot-reverse shots are typically used in a conversation between two characters within a film, it is shorts edited together to alternate between the characters whenever that person is speaking. It takes us back and forth with close-up shots and it shows them talking to each other. They are usually shown facing opposite directions so that the audience can conclude that they are looking at each other (even without actually seeing them looking at each other).

Here we see a perfect example, talking to himself in the mirror, although it never actually shows it, we can easily deduce that they are looking at each other

POV Shot

POV stands for "Point of View", it is what that exact person can see through his eyes, it can inspire certain emotions within viewers as if they are actually there and draws them in.

Below is a video of ganster-hit film "GoodFellas", this showcases Henry walking in to a bar and looking around as he walks in to the back.

Cutaways

A cutaway is just a simple technique to compress time and give the audience a short break from following the story religiously. It just shows what is happening simultaneously in other parts of the film, whilst maintaining a short break from the constant action of the main plot that will be happening aswell.

It can also act to join two plot lines together. Cutaway shots are typically not that long, they are only showing quickly what else is happening on the film and usually are absolutely key to some knowledge for the film, they will have specific meaning and the audience should listen extra when they're played.

For example, watch this clip below of the end of "The Dark Knight Rises", it emphasizes exactly the point I'm trying to make, little cutaways to give a little bit of information that is vital to understanding of the film

WARNING * Spoilers*

Transitions

Transitions

Transitions within film are part of the post-production process, they help combine shots and scenes together to flow into a film, if a film had no transitions it would just go from shot to shot unedited. But with transitions it flows and editors can choose certain transitions to make it give the effect they want to, transitions can even suggest the passage of time or that it is veering into a separate part of the story. Transitions can include typical ones such as: Cuts, Dissolves, Fades and Wipes.

Cut:
A basic transition between scenes and is used widely in film just to join two shots, there isn't any special process performed in order to do a cut, it is just a piece of film playing onto the next one. When the audience is watching a transitional cut they will recognise it instantly as it is one image on the screen and it changes instantly.

Dissolve:
The dissolve transition is gradually making the picture shown before the next scene less and less visible. Rather than transitioning immediately to another shot, it changes slowly and creates a link between two scenes.

Wipes:

A wipe is when one shot replaces another shot; it is done by the new shot travelling from the opposite side of the screen.

180° Rule

The 180 degree rule, is a general consensus in film creation that allows and ensures that two characters within a scene will always have the same left/right relationship with each other.  

A quote from online

 "If the rule itself was broken, then the two subjects within the cameras focus would be shown from opposite sides and this would mean it would be in a reverse angle which doesn’t have the same effect which is why the rule exists" 

Following this rule isn't always the best option though, it can confuse the audience which is not what the director wants. A diagram is shown below explaining the 180 degree rule.

This example from ‘The Shining’ shows a bathroom scene shows the camera itself breaking the 180 degree rule. As said before, it creates an interesting effect; the view of the scene is now completely different and more interesting. Even though the editing is much more obvious now but with continuity editing, it makes it invisible. 

Parallel Editing

Parallel Editing is what is known in film editing as "cross-cutting". It is a technique that is used in film editing and it runs side by side along continuity editing. It contains many effects but the most potent of its use is that is suggest's two things are happening at the exact same time.



This clip is a perfect example of the point I made above, it's effective because it is telling two stories at the same time keeping the viewer very entertained and eager to know what is happening, it enthralls the viewer.

Jump Cuts

Jump Cuts

Jump cuts aren't as common in modern film as they used to be, as they can be quite confusing and misleading, although if used well they can be quite genius. They jump from one shot to another and don't leave a transition of any fluidity within the flow of the film. They can draw attention to certain aspects though and can express the passage of time.

 Below is a perfect example of how Jump cuts can be used within film to an editors advantage

Montage

Montage editing is a compilation of short shots, pieced together to create a large sequence showcasing some moments from a longer period of time. It basically saves the viewer a lot of time and shows them the best parts and highlights of a video. It can be very effective to emphasize what has happened in the story of a film to speed up the passing of time.

An example would be the Rocky training montage, a perfect example to show the passage of time, it shows Rocky working out extensively over a period of time to show that he has been training hard.

Motivated Edits

A motivated edit or "cut" as it is commonly known, is when a scene is cut to another scene or introduces other objects and people that were people that weren't in the previous frame. This is done very discreetly so the viewer is unaware that it is happening. Motivated edits are sometimes justified and allowed by narrative, so someone will talk and talk there way into a flashback.

You can see it a lot in horror films particularly, somebody hears a startling sound and looks in that direction and there is nothing way, it creates tension just through an edit from the camera turning towards that direction.

An example is shown below

The first clip in this video compilation hits perfectly what point I'm making. From 00:32 - 01:40 we see an entire scene that is created around the idea of motivated edit, we are completely led on to build tension, the camera following a noise down a hallway till we can see a blurry figure.

Seamless and Continuity Editing

Seamless and Continuity Editing is what is also known as invisible editing, it doesn't mean there is no editing, it means that the cuts between shots are very well matched to the action and flows without even noticing it. This was first perfected by DW Griffiths, and is what is defined is seamless editing. Continuity editing is what creates a flowing video from start to finish. It creates a smooth flow between each clip, so that the story the director is trying to portray will be portrayed the way he or she envisioned it. This all in all should make the viewer more aware of the story rather than the techniques used to create it.

A great example of how this can make a difference is shown below:

Combining Shots into Sequence

Combining shots into sequence is quite straight forward, it is what the title says.

The director will undergo the process of putting together different shots and making them flow into one film or advert. The shots will have been edited individually and placed together to make it all look good, the editing will be almost invisible to the audience viewers so they view it as one large sequence.

In an action film, a short minute fight could take days to produce a fully finished version of the fight, all the different angles used need to be combined to create one full sequence that shows the fight as the director wants it to be showed.

A good example of this could be: 

The angle is constantly changing, with the establishing shot in front of them fighting as the main camera angle it keeps returning to, we see the angle changing every three or so seconds to show a different aspect.

Creating Motivation

To create a film or advert that is "motivated", you have to make the film rolls from scene to scene smoothly as possible, so the viewer isn't obviously aware that the scene has abruptly changed right in front of them (making sure the camera doesn't jerk down etc.) The audience needs to believe they're infront of the film watching it unfold right in front of them. Making continuous scenes transitioning from one to the other looking really smooth is something that must be mastered and happen over and over again.

Example -

This moves from scene to scene quickly and creates great motivation enveloping the viewer within the story, it really does a great job of creating emotion too. *spoiler* do not watch if you want to see the film.

Creating Pace

Creating pace within film is when editing is specifically used to speed up or slow down a film. It can entirely change the audiences perspective on the film. An obvious example could be in action films, fast car changes the shot changing every second or two and switched to another shot. Or in drama films, much slower shots, allowing the audience to understand the emotion and character within the scene, all about the editing style that is used to convey the film.

Examples

Fast Pace

Slow Pace

Relationship to Genre

Different genres of films use different methods of showing films to illustrate what the genre is.

For Example

With an action film, you will see

- Fast Editing, to show the fast pace of the movie, car chases, fight scenes etc.

- Longshots, to establish a scene as fast as possible.

Example

Another example could be in Romantic comedies

You might see

- The editing might make you a bit more aware as to its genre (slower pace, heart-touching music etc.)

- Much slower pace film, doesn't move quickly from scene to scene.


Example -

Development of Drama

Editing is used to develop drama, the way footage is editied can determine the intensity of the clip. Putting certain clips togther and using different camera shots at certain points can benefit a video and develop drama.

The development of drama within video is extremely important, editing can affect this hugely and determine just how intense a scene may be, using different camera shots at certain points can benefit video and really include the viewer within the scene, for example lets take a look at a scene within "The Shining"





















This scene is roughly six minutes long, we see a short introduction in the form of a few far away shots with both of them included while the casual talk subsides. Then when talk becomes a bit more serious we see straight shots of the people talking to intensify the moment, looking at them when they're talking , as if to include the viewer within the scene.

Engaging the Viewer

Before a script has been produced for a film, there will  have been multiple brainstorms and ideas thrown about to decide what was going to be done. There would have been a story that was developed along with the script, and then the director will have decided how the story will be told. For example some directors may decide a linear path is the best to go, with possible narration, or perhaps the opposite to leave viewers in suspense. All of these ways engage the viewer, many directors such as Christopher Nolan choose to leave viewers in the dark and have no specific pattern in which they tell the story.

Example could be Memento 

This is perfect as it showcases just one of the different ways in which a story can be told to engage its viewers, this by just the sequence in which the scenes are shown to you captures that perfectly.

Storytelling

Films hinge on a story, if a film doesn't have a plot and a solid story to go with it it can be quite boring to watch, some include narration of a scene perhaps whilst it's taking place, and some can be emphasized even more with editing. For example bedtime stories by Adam Sandler is a self narrated piece.

Storytelling was evolved hugely by Porter when the introduction of sound and voice appeared in film and video, before that it was strictly what was happening on the screen.

Developments in Technology

Analogue editing was before any form of editing technology, and it made film creation extremely strenuous, it wouldn't allow quick easy editing of a movie. When analogue editing was used, they would create film using  a razor blade to cut the film where they wanted, then taping it back together to create the correct sequence they wanted. In the early films you could actually see when a scene was cut if you watch carefully.

Today, digital editing rules the film industry, it saves so much time and every film maker uses it. With digital editing you can also go back and forth constantly and make changes at any time to improve your film, with analogue editing this was absolutely impossible, it was one cut and that was it. A good example of digital editing is "The Matrix", lots of incredible effects and editing at every turn.

Film & video editing is where the film editor works with raw film tape, choosing what shot they want to us, and what order it will be put together within the sequence, it was a long and hard process, because you wouldn't be able to preview each shot before you chose, once you'd filmed it that the last you see till it was done. Unlike now where you can capture it, put it on a USB stick or on a disc and watch it back a thousand times to decide.

The History of Editing

Films and clips at there birth didn't contain much of a story, and editing wasn't used to emphasize any point or scene, it was simply to show for example a boat pulling into a harbor. The Lumiere brothers changed this, they introduced a plot into films. They would set up a camera, and tell a short story, for example Porter directer "The Great Train Robbery" which has just a short story that took place directly in front of the camera, not moving at all and no shots from different angles, and most importantly no editing.

Editing stepped up to the plate also when Hitchcock used it thoroughly in "Shadow of a Doubt". It highlights completely how editing can play a huge role in how storytelling and how it can be used to put a point across.

Is a clip of the film, an indepth analysis can be found here -

http://introtoediting.com/shadow%20of%20a%20doubt.html

Manipulation of Diegetic space and time

Manipulation of Diegetic space and time, is the editing of a film where it is made to look as if a long period of time is passing in just a few seconds, film editors use this to show the passage of time and skip through days or weeks in seconds, a good example is a clip from "The Karate Kid"

This is used to show his rigorous training in the space of a clip, even though it may have lasted weeks or months perhaps. It let's the audience know it's being a longer time than shown and it allows the director to include more footage in the film due to the shortening of time.

Another example would be Harry Potter -

The same concept, but the time travel is a lot more visible to the viewer as you can see the people around them working and the daylight changing.

Shot Variation

Shot variation is a when a stream of film or images remains uninterrupted by out of camera editing, the shot can be static or  in motion but it is continuous.  This was a lot more common in earlier films and used by the older generation of directors due to the lack of cameras and technology and how heavy and big cameras were making it harder to follow the action and cut.

For example

In this clip, up until the last minute of the film there is literally about seven cuts in nine minutes of film, in modern day film we see seven cuts in around twenty seconds of film.

Multiple Points of View

Multiple points of view, it is quite simply what it states, the use of multiple points of view within a film, many people get this confused with just a lot of cuts within a scene, but it isn't. The best example I can use to describe this is Roshomon, directed by Akira Kurosawa. He used on a set multiple cameras to film the same scene, he is quoted saying "Film the film freely and splice together the pieces which have caught the action forcefully, as if flying from one piece to another.". 

The first two to three minutes of this clip portrait the paragraph above very well, and whilst there isn't many cuts it is more of a free flowing powerful introduction.

Following the Action!

Following the action in film is an aspect many great directors looked at, it is the use of takes over a longer period of time to make the viewer feel as if they're really there and it is happening right in front of them, every action film now has literally hundreds of cuts per scene, which can create a feeling of surrealism.


One clip covers the importance of "Following the action" very well.

This is a great example of how the use of long takes can make the viewer feel as if they're there, the only cut we see in the entire introduction is the one where it goes from outside the window to inside the room.

In-Camera editing!

In-Camera Editing
Today I looked at In-Camera editing, I found it very intriguing and thought I'd share.

In-Camera editing is when a linear story is filmed as so, so for example if you watch a film and the order is straight forward, that is the order it is filmed in, a good example would be almost any film but for the sake of arguement "Ocean's 13"

Clip

A good example of a film without In-Camera editing would be Memento, a film produced by Christopher Nolan, the events appear in a random order and tells the story backwards, it is also not the order the scenes were filmed in, they were edited after filming, hence out-of camera filming.

Clip

In-camera editing was a lot more common before editing software on computers became available, now you can film the end before the start, the middle before the introduction and piece it together whenever due to out of camera editing being very easy to achieve.