Common editing techniques

Seamless editing

This is when an editor take two pieces of film and puts them in one seamless sequence. The two pieces of film could be from two completely different parts of the film or they could be just after another. The clip below shows how seamless editing is used.

Continuity

This is when the editor takes a number of shots and outs them together in an order to make a story and all of the shots flow together. The clip from the hangover below shows how continuity editing is used in the phone scene because it switches between the two shots but it is edited well so it flows.

Montage

In film, the editor would put lots of different shots together and compress them in a short period of time to make it look like there is a lot of information being given to the viewer in a short period of time. The clip below shows how a montage is used at the beginning of the film to give the audience the information they need to know before starting the film so the viewers have an introduction to the character.

Jump cutting

The jump cut is a snappy transition that makes the character or an object look like they have moved without continuity. In the clip below where the man is in front of the mirror, the jump cut is used a lot when he is taking his wrist band off.

Parallel editing

This is when two or more scenes are cut, they can be taken from the same or different locations. This lets the audience know want is happening in every part of the scene.

180 degree rule

This is the rule that the characters should keep the same left/right relationship away from each other otherwise it will change into a reverse shot. In the clip below, it shows how changing the camera angle can make the viewer feel uncomfortable and confused because the whole feel of the clip changes.

Transitions

A transition refers to how a scene ends and the next begins, these transitions could include a fade, dissolve, wipe and iris. In the early days of editing, a fade would to conclude a film by the end image fading into a black screen and the end credits would appear. A dissolve would be put between two scenes that gradually fade between each other. The wipe is when the frame on screen is pushed by another frame coming onto the screen and the iris is not commonly used today, it is used mainly in old films and cartoons to move from one scene or location to another.

Point of view

Point of view shot is used to make the audience feel as though they are the character in the scene. This is to produce empathy so the audience understands how the character feels. The shot reverse shot is used to keep the continuity in the conversation as it will be filmed in different cuts.

Cutting to soundtrack

This is when the editor watches the scenes they are editing and listen to the soundtrack and they decide how fast they are going to make the sequences together or when the certain elements happen in the film corresponding to the beat of the music. In the Greys Anatomy clip, the music that is used is quite slow and romantic and this works well with the scenes because the editing isn’t fast and choppy, it is quite slow and fits with the feel of the sequence.

Bibliography

How editing improves films

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Story telling

This is when editors bring a number of sequences together to make a story, they could also use music to set the scene of the story, in the video below the editor shows how he uses the beats in the music to set the scene of the video.

Engaging the viewer

The editor will use different ways of engaging the viewer depending on what genre the film is, for example, in a horror film there will be a lot of suspense so the scenes would be dragged out so there is a lot of anticipation. Or if the genre was action, there would be a lot of snappy scenes to keep it exciting and exhilarating. The scene below shows how the music and the scene is edited together in a way that makes the viewer want to keep watching.

Development of drama

The editor uses time to develop the drama in a scene, they may make a scene long winded to build up suspense and then have a jump scare to add to the drama. In the scene below, the fight between Bellatrix and Mrs Weasley is very snappy and it uses the technique of “multiple points of view” to add to the feel of drama because you feel like the character.

Relationship to genre

It is very important for an editor to consider the genre when they are editing the film, this is because they have to think about what length the sequence, for example, it wouldn’t be very engaging for the viewer if the scenes in an action movie were very slow and tedious, this is because the scenes should be short and snappy to keep the film exciting. In the stranger things light scene when the lights begin to flicker the editing is quite slow and builds suspense.

Creating motivation

This is very important for an editor because it is about keeping the audience engaged and watching the film. In the scene below, the editor uses music when Voldemort lifts his wand to keep the viewer engaged.

Combing shots into sequences

This is where the editor combines different edits and makes them into a seamless sequence and it should be unknown to the viewer that the editor has done this.

Creating pace

The editor has to take into account the genre of the film before thinking about the pace of the film, an example is that a romantic film wouldn’t be full of quick snappy shots like an action film because it doesn’t fit the feel of the film. At the beginning of the scene below, George is writing quite slowly in Merediths hand and the camera moves from their hands to Meredith and it begins to speed up, this makes the viewer feel the shock that Meredith is feeling.

Bibliography

The History and Development of editing

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In camera editing

This is a technique where the camera man shoots everything in a specific order rather than editing shots into an order after, this means that the edit is ready whilst the film is being developed.

Following the action

This technique is quite self explanatory, the camera acquires everything that the character goes through by pursuing what they are going through. The technique is commonly used in scenes with a lot of action because it makes the atmosphere more exciting.

Multiple points of view

This technique is used when there is more than one character in the scene. The camera will switch from one character to the next and so on, this gives the audience a chance to feel like they are one of the characters in the scene.

Shot variation

To produce a sequence using movement, shot variation is used. The sequences are primarily made up of 4 shots; wide, long, medium and close up. The shots give the feel of the scene, for example, a close up may be used because the object could be important so the editor wants the audience to focus on that object.

Manipulation of diegetic time and space

In order to skip or go back in time, the editor may slow down or speed up the sequence. This is commonly used in flashback scenes.

How editing used to be done

Film editing used to be done by only women because it was considered a nimble task therefore it was solely a woman’s job. They used to hold the film reel to the light and cut the bit they didn’t want with scissors until the whole film was right and then they would put it all together.

How editing is done today

There are 4 steps to editing; rough cut, first cut, fine cut and final cut.

Rough cut – This can take up to three months, depending on the editors preferences, they could work individually or as a team. In this section, the flow of each scene is put together and checked.

First cut – The first cut is the rough cut that is accepted by the editor, director and producer. The sequences are in place but can be altered.

Fine cut – This is where the editors concentrate on each detail in the cut.

Final cut – When the editor, director and producer agree on the fine cut, elements like sound effects are added and final adjustments are made.

Bibliography