The Purposes of Editing
Editing is a part of the post production process of film making. It involves the selection and combining of shots into sequences and creating the finished film. How a film is edited can determine how an audience reacts to a film and can connect the viewer to the film emotionally, this is done using the different techniques.
Editing can help the audience determine at least four dimensions of the films narrative;
· What order you receive information about the plot
· How much information you are supposed to receive about the narrative
· How you are supposed to feel about the events and characters at a certain time
· How you are supposed to experience the pace of the narrative
I chose a scene from The Lovely Bones as an example because I felt like the way this was edited made the audience feel for the female character. In the clip you see her looking for something in the man’s house when the male character quickly discovers that there is someone there. The music adds suspense scene and makes me as an audience member want to scream at the female character to run as fast as she can.
Pudovkin’s 5 Principles of Editing
Vsevolod Pudovkin a Russian film director, screenwriter and actor wrote a book called ‘Film Technique and Film Acting’, within this book there were five editing techniques which were used to describe the several ways editing can be used to enhance the viewer’s understanding of a story.
1. Contrast - Cutting between two different scenarios to highlight the contrast between them,
Example: Moving from scenes of poverty to someone really rich to make the difference more obvious.
2. Parallelism – using this you can connect two unrelated scenes by cutting between them and focusing on parallel features.
Example: If you were shooting a documentary about fish stocks in Atlantic, you could cut form a fish being thrown in to the sea to a family eating fish and chips, this would draw the audience’s attention to the fish making this connect the two scenes.
3. Symbolism – again more intercutting, you move from the main scene to something which creates a symbolic connection for the audience.
Example: Pudovkin suggested cutting between shots of striking workers being shot by police and scenes of cows being slaughtered were related in the audiences mind.
4. Simultaneity - This is used a lot in editing, cutting between two simultaneous events as a way of building the suspense.
Example: If you’re making a film about a politician on the election night, you could cut between shots of the vote being counted to the main character preparing to hear the result, this will build suspense and anticipation.
5. Leit Motif – This involves repeating a shot or sequence at key moments to build suspense.
Example: In Jaws, Spielberg uses a point of view shot showing the shark looking up at the swimmers, every time this shot is used the audience know the shark is looming.
Conventions and Techniques
Cut – A sudden change of shot can be used to;
· Change the scene
· Compress time
· Vary the point of view
· Build up an image or idea
There is always a reason why a film is edited the way it is, if shots are cut correctly less noticeable transitions such as fade, dissolve and wipe can be used.
Matched Cut – A match cut is used to make the transition between two shots seem smooth; it can be used in situations such as;
· Continuity of direction
· Completed action
· A similar centre of attention in the frame
· A change of shot size
· A change of angle
Jump Cut – A sudden change from one scene to another is normally done deliberately to make a dramatic point, it is often used to begin or end action.
Cutting Rhythm – Cutting footage to a beat may be used to increase the tension, it may also create an exciting, romantic or disjointed effect on the viewer.
Cutaway – A linking intercut between two shots is called a cutaway, this is used to connect scenes/shots together without having a jump cut. A cutaway is often used to shorten the amount of time.
Use of Sound
Direct Sound – Live sound can make a film feel more natural and have a more authentic atmosphere.
Studio Sound – Sound can be recorded in a studio to improve the original sound quality, this can take away an unwanted background noise. During the editing process this can then be mixed with live environmental sound so the sound is balanced.
Commentary/ Voice over Narration – Using a voice over/commentary can be used to;
· Introduce a story/programme
· Add extra information which isn’t visible from the picture
· To make sure the audience understand what’s happening in a particular point of view
· To link sequences of a film or programme together.
A voice over/ commentary can determine how an audience interpret a film/programme, from the way the person is talking it can make the audience feel reassured, or can build the tension ever more because the person is heard but unseen.
Music – Music can help to establish the pace of a scene and also emphasizes the mood of the scene. The rhythm of music usually dictates the rhythm of cuts. Background music is very common in films and normally isn’t that noticeable. Using background music is popular when there is a chase sequence; the music becomes louder and makes the scene more dramatic and important. Music can also link shots, scenes and sequences to make the final film run smoother.
An example of a programme that relies heavily on music is the kids television programme ‘Tom and Jerry’. This cartoon hardly has an speech and because of that depends on the music to set mood for the scenes.
In this clip, we see Tom and Jerry in a chase sequence which turns out to be their dream. The music makes the audience feel sorry for Jerry (the mouse) because Tom (the cat) is after him.
The 180o Rule
When filming, the 180o Rule is a basic guideline to see the on screen relationship between a character and another character/object within a scene. An imaginary axis connects the characters and by keeping the camera on one side of the axis the first character will always be on the right of the frame and the other character will always be on the left of the frame. If the camera passes the axis, it is called crossing the line of jumping the line.
History of Editing
As well as everything else in filmmaking, editing has developed over the years as technology and audience expectations have increased and changed.
Flashbacks had always existed in novels, and scene changes were already part of live theatre, even narrated sequences had been a part of visual culture from medieval altar from the late nineteenth century comic strips. The very earliest filmmakers were afraid to experiment with editing because they thought it would confuse the audience.
Filmmakers quickly discovered that editing different shots in to a sequence had an effect on the audience and enables them to tell more complex stories. Early on cuts were made in the camera so that camera operator would simply stop cranking the camera at the exact end shot, or when something else was put in from of it. This kind of editing then allowed for some early special effects to be done.
Griffith and Beyond
Griffith made it a regular occurrence using montage in his films. He discovered that montage was a way of putting together a number of shots, not using a lot of time in film.
Example: In Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times (1936), a shot of a faceless, crowded group of men emerging from a subway on their way to work is followed by a shot of a herd of sheep being led to slaughter. There is one black ram in the middle of the herd. We immediately cut back to Charlie emerging in the midst of the crowd: the one black sheep in the fold.
Editing has developed over the years, making films more progressive and better quality. Audience members were able to feel emotions because of the way films were edited and understand the narrative quickly.
