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