Purposes, Principals and History of Film and Video editing

In-Camera Editing

In-camera editing is the technique in film making and video production of shooting shots in the exact sequence that they will be seen on the movie theatre screen or television program. This means planning in advance what shots will tell the desired story and then shooting only those shots in that order, as opposed to the usual film making technique of shooting multiple takes out of sequence, then editing them into order to tell the story.

Following the Action

When there is a big action scene such as a car chase a camera on a tripod doesn't work so a camera needs to be able to move. The camera is mounted on the cart to film all the footage, this is called a dolly shot. Most dollies also have have the ability to move vertically to capture footage that maybe high up or in some cases they can be fitted with cranes so footage at a higher level can be captured easily and successfully.



Multiple Points Of View

This is where the characters in a film or video production are showing each side what each character is seeing in multiple shots of a scene. This type of shot makes audience feel like they are in the characters shoes and it also gets the full emotions from all characters used in a scene.

Conventions and Techniques

Seamless

Seamless editing is where after you have finished editing a film the audience can't tell the transitions have been made because they are so good and timed perfectly. Here is an example of it being done right...

Continuity

Continuity editing is when everything is the same in a number of shots. For successful continuity shots the costumes, the props and location have to be exactly the same in every shot and has to be in the same position. This is when it goes wrong...

Montage

A montage is when a series of events over a passage of time is shown in one scene. It is often used to show progress in a character or to look back in to a characters past. It can also be used in a crime film to show a series of events that could have caused a particular crime.

Motivated

Motivated editing is used to give the audience some extra information about a character's feelings. This would often consist of showing a character and then cutting to a point of view shot. This particular type of shot often appears in horror film, for example if a woman is looking out a window, it would cut to her point of view to find nothing most of the time.  There are a lot of examples of this in the trailer for The Strangers.

Jump Cutting

Jump cutting is when a certain subject is being filmed but the next shot is slightly varied, this has the effect of time passing by. A similar way to montage but it is one time period that is being shown. There are a lot of jump cuts in the short film 'About a Girl'.

Parallel Editing

Parallel editing is the technique of alternating two or more scenes that often happen simultaneously but in different locations. If the scenes are simultaneous, they occasionally culminate in a single place, where the relevant parties confront each other. The example I used is in Silence of the Lambs.



180 degree rule

In film making, the 180-degree rule is a basic guideline regarding the on-screen relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene. An imaginary line called the axis connects the characters and by keeping the camera on one side of this axis for every shot in the scene, the first character will always be frame right of the second character, who is then always frame left of the first. If the camera passes over the axis, it is called crossing the line or jumping the line.

Splicing

A film splicer is a device which can be used to physically join together lengths of photographic film. It is mostly used in motion pictures. The units are made in various types depending on the usage.

Point of View Shot

A point of view shot is a short film scene that shows what a character is looking at. It is usually established by being positioned between a shot of a character looking at something, and a shot showing the character's reaction. The technique of POV is one of the foundations of film editing. The point of this shot is to get the full emotions of a character and it puts the audience in the characters shoes.

Shot - Reverse - Shot

Shot reverse shot is a film technique where one character is shown looking at another character, and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other.

Providing and withholding information

Providing and withholding information is used more in TV programmes than in films. This is when information is given to the audience before the characters, more often than not before some characters.

Editing Rhythm

Rhythmic editing manipulates the length of time each shot remains on the screen.  When the length of a series of shots (i.e. the pace and rhythm of the editing) is varied, different effects can be achieved or enhanced. Each series of shots, while having its own rhythm, also contributes to the overall pace of a film.

Purposes

Storytelling - Engaging the Viewer

Good editing will help tell the story of a film better. If the editing is smooth and all sequenced the viewers will find the film more enjoyable easy to understand. If the editing is bad like if there is pauses between each cut or the continuity is bad the audience will lose interest pretty quickly. Also if the editing is done well it makes the film look more professional.

Development of Drama
The development of drama is when a film or video is edited to create drama, they might use techniques such as parallel editing or dramatic irony. Development of drama is used a lot in all soap programmes.

Relationship to a Genre
This is where certain types of shots and editing is used in a particular genre. For example in action films and horror films, there are a lot of quick cuts to keep the audience engaged to the film and to keep the audience engaged. In romantic or comedy films, there are a lot of transitions (mainly dissolve) used to go from one scene to another to keep the film easy viewing.

Creating Motivation