The development and principles of editing
History of editing
The first moving image production was shown to the public in 1895. There were no methods of editing the sequence that was created, any "effects" would have to be done in-camera, as in there at the time of filming, leading to the technique being very limited in what could be done. The first film to utilise what today we consider post-production was directed by Robert W. Paul and was entitled Come Along, Do!, released in 1898[1]. The film was the first of its kind as it features more than one shot and therefore showcasing the technique of editing shots into sequences.
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| An editor viewing film to check for where the cut needs to be made [1] |
Since then things have changed drastically. When editing techniques were further perfected a widespread method was adopted. As all moving picture productions were recorded on film it was edited using the film. A copy of the footage would be made, called the positive, as film was created as negative. The positive of the film would then be edited.One of the transitions, still used in modern day film making, is called a cut. This is where one scene ends and the next scene immediately starts. The term "cut" comes from the older days of editing in which film would have to physically be cut by a person, or machine, and then taped back together to create the effect.
After the takeover of non-linear editing systems, editing footage on computers, the role of linear editors, cutting clips manually, became more and more redundant as more people were looking to digitise their productions. The linear method of film editing is still going however it is a lot less popular than it used to be due to technological advances. Since the improvement of non-linear editing systems, various different techniques have become more popular. Nowadays the majority, if not all, editing work on movies is done digitally through a video editing software such as Adobe's Premiere Pro, or Sony's Vegas to name a few. A final technique which is still used today is in-camera editing where all the effects are performed live, for example an explosion effect can be loaded and set in-camera so when they start rolling it can be triggered and can be seen. The opposite of this would be editing the explosion in after. Although this is still used today it is not as common as adding effects in post-production is generally cheaper and can be timed perfectly and edited if needed.
Continuity
Transitions
The first technique used commonly in editing is transition. It is impossible to have a feature-length film without a transition. Transitions can be done for various effects and come in several types. In the clip I have selected, Jaws, there are lots of fast-paced cuts. This effect has been chosen as it adds to the suspense of the scene. The scene starts by using long, slow shots but as the suspense increases the shots become shorter and lots more cuts are used. Another type of transition is dissolve or crossfade where one scene fades into another. This cannot be seen in this clip as it is not relevant to the scene as it is used primarily to show a passage of time and as this particular scene is fast paced and full of action this would not work. A third type of transition is a fade, which also cannot be seen in this clip. A fade is where the clip either comes in from black, or goes to black. This is not used as its purpose is to show a gentle passage of time or to begin or end a clip. This sequence is very energetic and therefore the scene cuts from the last and cuts to the next, without a fade. The final type of transition is a wipe. Wipes are where one piece of footage seems to push the current piece of footage off the screen in some way, usually left to right however it can be in any direction. This is also a technique used for conveying to the audience that time has passed so is therefore not used in this clip.
Match on action
The first technique I will discuss is a match on action. This is where you see a character performing an action at one camera angle and then the camera angle is changed to see them follow the action through. This technique is used to quickly cut to what is happening and to allow the audience to follow that cut. For example if you see two similarly dressed characters approach each other then cut to a close-up of a hand reaching for something in a pocket, there is no indication of which character is doing the action. Of course this could be done for effect, such as to keep the audience in suspense, however if this is not the case it is good to have a shot before this of one of the characters reaching into their pocket and then cut to the close-up so that the audience can identify who is performing the action. In this clip there is a match on action at 2:11 where the character in the cage, "Matt Hooper", is shown at a medium close-up shot stabbing his knife forwards and then the next shot is of the stabs landing on the shark. This adds to the fast pace of the clip and shows the audience that he is wildly lunging stabs at the creature, perhaps clumsily, before it cuts to show that the hits are landing.
180° rule
The 180° rule is a basic rule in film making that, in general, should be stuck to. Obviously should the director wish to break the rule for effect this can be done. The rule is that the camera should stay within 180° of the subject between cuts. If this rule is broken it can disorientate the audience and cause confusion. An example of this being broken would be where a character is walking left to right and they walk near a lamp post. The scene then cuts to show the character walking right to left and the lamp post is on the opposite side. As a shot may only be seen for a brief period it is likely that the audience does not have time to realise what has happened and instead become confused at the change. The clip I have selected follows this rule and there are no example of it breaking. An example of it following the rule would be at the start, 0:00, when it cuts from a shot of the back of the character's legs to a shot of the character side-on. There are many more examples in the clip, however.
Shot-reverse-shot
The shot-reverse-shot technique is where one thing is filmed and then the camera is turned to show
the opposite of it. This is usually best explained with the example of two characters facing each other talking. The camera starts on the shoulder of the first character and then there is a cut and the camera is on the shoulder of the second character. The perspective has changed and that can be seen by the audience. This adds a bit more variety to the shot than just filming the two characters on a medium-long shot. As the clip I have chosen primarily features one human character the example is not applicable to the shot, however there is a moment which could be described as shot-reverse-shot. This can be seen at 1:45 where there is a shot of the character from one angle and then a shot from the other direction, as if the camera had been turned 180°.
Establishing shot
An establishing shot is where a shot is taken of a surrounding, or setting, to show the audience the area and set the scene. The majority of moving image productions do this as they want to show the audience the setting so that there are set and established reference points to refer to. This clip shows what could be considered an establishing shot at 0:18 where the shark is seen swimming off into the distance. The setting is clear from this, that the scene is underwater, and that the shark is moving away from the character. This makes the audience believe that the character is safe as the shark is not near him, before later shattering this illusion to build suspense.
Motivated editing
Motivated editing is where something happens in the preceding shot which affects the current shot. An example of this is a character points into the distance and then the clip cuts to show what the character is pointing at. An example of this in my selected clip can be seen at 1:45 where the character is shocked and scared of the shark, as can be seen in the close-up of his eyes, and then the camera turns to show what he is scared of. This is also an example of shot-reverse-shot, due to the way that it has been filmed.
Identification with protagonist
Screen Time
Often in moving image productions it is clear to see who the main protagonist of the piece is simply due to the amount of screen time they are given. In the feature length production Jaws the main character is Chief Brody, however in this clip the protagonist is Matt Hooper, as seen in the cage. This can be seen as he is given more screen time than the other two characters, seen briefly, or the shark. This allows us an an audience to easily identify the protagonist of the piece.
Camera Angles
To help us to identify the protagonist not only does the producer give the character more screen time but they also use various camera angles to show us that we should be relating to that character.
An example of this is the closeup. This is where the camera is very close to the character, showing one part of them. An example shot in the sequence that does this is at 1:46, where we see the character's eyes, from which we can see their emotion. Shots like this are used throughout the sequence to help us to identify the character. Another type of camera angle commonly used to identify the protagonist of the piece is the point-of-view shot (POV). This is where the camera is angled and moved as to represent that the audience is looking through the character's eyes. An example of this can be seen at 0:16. At 0:16 you can see the character's face as a closeup, and then it cuts to see what the character is looking at.
Reaction Shot
A final technique used in the moving image production, to portray to the audience who the protagonist of the scene is, is to show the character's reactions to various events. For example if there is an explosion and then it cuts to a closeup of a character's face looking shocked, we can assume that the character shown is the protagonist. In this sequence there are many reaction shots, all of which focusing on the character in the shark cage, Hooper. An example of this is at 1:45 where we see a close up of Hooper's face after he turns. The look on his face is a reaction to seeing the shark. Seeing his reaction in this way shows us that he is the protagonist as we can distinguish his emotion, fear.
Conclusion
The scene I have chosen to analyse includes a number of different techniques to increase the action and set the scene for the story. The story of Jaws, originally a novel by Peter Benchley, is that three men attempt to kill a shark that is attacking people who are enjoying the fictitious beach of Amity, Long Island. Because of this the story is very fast-paced and has a lot of intense, exciting scenes that need to be conveyed through film. One way that this is communicated to us as an audience is through the variety of shots used. During the scene I have chosen to discuss, there are a wide range of shots. The shots are mostly filmed close-up however there are a number of long shots such as when the
shark is attacking the cage. The shots towards the start of the sequence are long in duration and are mostly medium close-up angles of the protagonist of the scene. As the sequence progresses the shots become a lot shorter in duration and there are lots of cuts between various shots to add to the intensity of the fight scene. The second technique that this sequence uses is withholding information. This is where we, as an audience, do not know something that is relevant. An example of this can be seen in the clip at 1:00. In this shot we see the shark swimming away from the cage, then in the following shot we see Hooper remove the cork from the end of the harpoon. During these shots we are unaware as to how close the shark is, but in the following shot the shark comes from behind and hits the cage.
A further technique that is shown off in this production is the use of a parallel edit
. A parallel edit is where one shot is shown of an action and then another shot of a different location, showing a different action that is happening simultaneous to the previous shot in the timescale of the film. An example of this can be seen in the clip that I have selected at 0:23 where the shot of Hooper underwater cuts to see Brody and Quint sitting on the deck of the boat, watching the shark, with barrels tied to it, swimming towards the cage. Another technique used in moving image editing is rhythmic editing. Rhythmic editing is where clips are edited to have a natural flow when coupled with the music. This production does this very well as towards the start of the scene there is silence. Then as the shark becomes visible in the shot the music begins to crescendo, the shots becoming shorter with more cuts. Then the shark swims off and the music decrescendos back into silence and the shot of Hooper removing the cork from the harpoon is shown. This shot is very long and slow-paced, however when the shark crashes into the back of the cage a loud crash is heard and the music builds faster and more intense. As the music intensifies the shots become shorter and the cuts increase, building the tension while the protagonist attacks the creature. Rhythmic editing can therefore be seen throughout.
A further technique used by this clip is the use of multiple points of view. This is where a shot
is taken at various angles and then put together into a sequence to allow the audience to become aware of the character's surroundings. Examples of this can be seen at 0:00 - 0:16 where the camera changes view constantly but stays focused on the cage. Another technique used in the clip is a cutaway. This is where the shot changes and then comes back to the previous shot, or to carry on the previous shot. This can be seen at 0:15 - 0:23 where we see Hooper adjusting his goggles, then the shot changes to see the shark swimming in the far distance and then cuts back to see Hooper still adjusting his goggles and reacting to what he has seen. The final technique used in this production is the manipulation of time throughout the piece. This is where the piece is cleverly cut and edited to make it move quicker, or slower, depending on what is happening. This is used here to do fast edits between shots in the scene. The overall time and the diegetic time are signaled to be the same as there are no points in the sequence that could lead an audience to believe that a long amount of time has passed.
There are some techniques that can be used in the production, and post-production, of a moving image production that were not used in this scene. The first of these is a jump-cut. This is where one scene cuts to another, this is fairly common in a moving image production, however when it cuts the character has moved significantly on the screen. This technique is often a sign of bad continuity in a production however is very popular in amateur productions, especially YouTube videos, however it can be used for effect. An example of this can be seen below in the clip from Breathless at around the 0:55. The final of these techniques used in a moving image production that are not in this particular clip is the use of montage. This is where a long sequence of a character walking from one place to another can be cut down, for example if a character went to enter one door, then there is a cut and they are entering a room that is not linked to the door they entered. Only the people on set with a knowledge of the layout of the area would know that this is incorrect whereas as an audience we have no way of telling so it therefore works. This is also used in films such as Rocky where there is a montage of shots showing him training, this is possibly the most famous example of a montage in cinema. This example is seen below.
A jump-cut as seen in the movie Breathless. [3]
A montage as seen in the movie Rocky. [4]
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_editing
Above is a clip from the movie Jaws, released in 1975 and directed by Stephen Spielberg. [2]
Continuity
Transitions
The first technique used commonly in editing is transition. It is impossible to have a feature-length film without a transition. Transitions can be done for various effects and come in several types. In the clip I have selected, Jaws, there are lots of fast-paced cuts. This effect has been chosen as it adds to the suspense of the scene. The scene starts by using long, slow shots but as the suspense increases the shots become shorter and lots more cuts are used. Another type of transition is dissolve or crossfade where one scene fades into another. This cannot be seen in this clip as it is not relevant to the scene as it is used primarily to show a passage of time and as this particular scene is fast paced and full of action this would not work. A third type of transition is a fade, which also cannot be seen in this clip. A fade is where the clip either comes in from black, or goes to black. This is not used as its purpose is to show a gentle passage of time or to begin or end a clip. This sequence is very energetic and therefore the scene cuts from the last and cuts to the next, without a fade. The final type of transition is a wipe. Wipes are where one piece of footage seems to push the current piece of footage off the screen in some way, usually left to right however it can be in any direction. This is also a technique used for conveying to the audience that time has passed so is therefore not used in this clip.
Match on action
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| A sceenshot of the match-on-action. The above image shows Hooper stabbing and the below image sees the stabs landing on the shark, |
180° rule
The 180° rule is a basic rule in film making that, in general, should be stuck to. Obviously should the director wish to break the rule for effect this can be done. The rule is that the camera should stay within 180° of the subject between cuts. If this rule is broken it can disorientate the audience and cause confusion. An example of this being broken would be where a character is walking left to right and they walk near a lamp post. The scene then cuts to show the character walking right to left and the lamp post is on the opposite side. As a shot may only be seen for a brief period it is likely that the audience does not have time to realise what has happened and instead become confused at the change. The clip I have selected follows this rule and there are no example of it breaking. An example of it following the rule would be at the start, 0:00, when it cuts from a shot of the back of the character's legs to a shot of the character side-on. There are many more examples in the clip, however.
Shot-reverse-shot
The shot-reverse-shot technique is where one thing is filmed and then the camera is turned to show
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| Example of shot-reverse-shot from the clip. Above is Hooper's face and below is the second shot of the back of his head. |
Establishing shot
An establishing shot is where a shot is taken of a surrounding, or setting, to show the audience the area and set the scene. The majority of moving image productions do this as they want to show the audience the setting so that there are set and established reference points to refer to. This clip shows what could be considered an establishing shot at 0:18 where the shark is seen swimming off into the distance. The setting is clear from this, that the scene is underwater, and that the shark is moving away from the character. This makes the audience believe that the character is safe as the shark is not near him, before later shattering this illusion to build suspense.
Motivated editing
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| An example of motivated editing. The character looks shocked, then we see what has shocked him. |
Identification with protagonist
Screen Time
Often in moving image productions it is clear to see who the main protagonist of the piece is simply due to the amount of screen time they are given. In the feature length production Jaws the main character is Chief Brody, however in this clip the protagonist is Matt Hooper, as seen in the cage. This can be seen as he is given more screen time than the other two characters, seen briefly, or the shark. This allows us an an audience to easily identify the protagonist of the piece.
Camera Angles
To help us to identify the protagonist not only does the producer give the character more screen time but they also use various camera angles to show us that we should be relating to that character.
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| An example of a POV shot and reaction shot. |
Reaction Shot
A final technique used in the moving image production, to portray to the audience who the protagonist of the scene is, is to show the character's reactions to various events. For example if there is an explosion and then it cuts to a closeup of a character's face looking shocked, we can assume that the character shown is the protagonist. In this sequence there are many reaction shots, all of which focusing on the character in the shark cage, Hooper. An example of this is at 1:45 where we see a close up of Hooper's face after he turns. The look on his face is a reaction to seeing the shark. Seeing his reaction in this way shows us that he is the protagonist as we can distinguish his emotion, fear.
Conclusion
The scene I have chosen to analyse includes a number of different techniques to increase the action and set the scene for the story. The story of Jaws, originally a novel by Peter Benchley, is that three men attempt to kill a shark that is attacking people who are enjoying the fictitious beach of Amity, Long Island. Because of this the story is very fast-paced and has a lot of intense, exciting scenes that need to be conveyed through film. One way that this is communicated to us as an audience is through the variety of shots used. During the scene I have chosen to discuss, there are a wide range of shots. The shots are mostly filmed close-up however there are a number of long shots such as when the
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| The shark's location is unknown due to the attention being focused on the harpoon |
A further technique that is shown off in this production is the use of a parallel edit
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| Quint (Left) and Brody (Right) watching the shark head towards the cage. |
A further technique used by this clip is the use of multiple points of view. This is where a shot
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| Example of a cutaway. |
There are some techniques that can be used in the production, and post-production, of a moving image production that were not used in this scene. The first of these is a jump-cut. This is where one scene cuts to another, this is fairly common in a moving image production, however when it cuts the character has moved significantly on the screen. This technique is often a sign of bad continuity in a production however is very popular in amateur productions, especially YouTube videos, however it can be used for effect. An example of this can be seen below in the clip from Breathless at around the 0:55. The final of these techniques used in a moving image production that are not in this particular clip is the use of montage. This is where a long sequence of a character walking from one place to another can be cut down, for example if a character went to enter one door, then there is a cut and they are entering a room that is not linked to the door they entered. Only the people on set with a knowledge of the layout of the area would know that this is incorrect whereas as an audience we have no way of telling so it therefore works. This is also used in films such as Rocky where there is a montage of shots showing him training, this is possibly the most famous example of a montage in cinema. This example is seen below.
A jump-cut as seen in the movie Breathless. [3]
A montage as seen in the movie Rocky. [4]
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_editing
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cW7Q7UySxRA
[3] https://youtu.be/1ov4mQJIHhc
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP3MFBzMH2o
[3] https://youtu.be/1ov4mQJIHhc
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP3MFBzMH2o
Connor,
ReplyDeleteYou have made a very good start here; you have covered everything necessary and you have provided specific examples from the text for the techniques that are in it. In order to reach the top grade you must seek examples for the techniques that are not in the chosen clip. You will also need to add a few definitions for techniques that you have shown examples for but not explained (for example, manipulation of time). Define it fully before or after you show the example. Great work again Connor – it is always a pleasure to read and mark your work as it is carefully constructed and although you work quickly, you never seem to rush.
Ellie