Editing

This week we have looked into editing, one of my favourite parts of production. I enjoy it as the edit is what glues the TV production or film together. The edit can decide the final emotion portrayed from the scenes to the audience and their response.
 

"Editing choices can build a films form & portrayal to audience, shaping our feelings and response to a scene and the overall film." - (Bordwell.D & Thompson,K, 2013)

History.

• 1903 - The first narrative edit is considered to of come from Edwin Porter with his film 'The Great Train Robbery', creating emotion in shots and scenes. Dirks.T,2012.'The Great Train Robbery(1903)', 'Filmsite'.
• 1920 - Film theorists started to realise the impact of editing and what it could achieve.

Soviet Montage.

Kuleshov effect.
Chaudhary.A,2012.'The split screen test'.'Arun Chaudhary',August,28th.

The Kuleshov theory is one of the most iconic moves in editing, however Kuleshov was a psychologist, not an editor. He tested audiences reactions to a film showing a man CU and then cutting to a shot of a little girl, then bowl of porridge and then a woman all dressed up. He portrayed the range of emotions of love, hunger and admire, through this mans reaction shot and the audiences had no idea it was the same shot. This created the today's 'L-cut' used widely in dramas and soaps such as Eastenders.

 

Eisenstein then came about and created the visible editing style, using a collision of shots to create narrative meaning, including Juxtaposition shots, putting two different objects/characters in a shot or placing two scenes together to portray a comparison or relationship. which was a risk at the time but is now widely used in Hollywood films, especially action films, creating suspense and more action through quick cuts. We see this in his film 'The Godfather'.

 

French New Wave

This was when the film world rules were broken with the French getting a chance in the film industry in 1958 just after WW2. They broke the rules by using jump cuts, a new plot of telling the story within the films, sometimes leaving the audience to work out part of the narrative and sometimes to cover up mistakes if occurred. Phillips.c,2005.'French New Wave'.'GreenCine'.http://www.greencine.com/static/primers/fnwave1.jsp

 

Here in 'Breathless' and 'Bonnie and Clyde' is a prime example of Jump cuts.

 monstroemocional,2008.'Bonnie and clyde-gun clip-1967'.'Youtube',July,29. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h96reQbfL6k

PoetinhaUSC,2011.'Breathless'scene;description of a lovely woman'.'Youtube',April,18.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwLH6-bDhuE&feature=related

 

 

 

 

 

 

Classic Hollywood Cinema

Character centered causalityRomance 180 Degree Rule Shot/Reverse shot Cross-cutting Plausibility Continuity Editing Narrative - character goal/ antagonist/protagonist Closure

    

 

In the last screening of 'Rear Window',almost all these techniques are seen in this film. Such as the film is widely based around the main character with us as audience only seeing the narration from his view. Also there is an on-going romance story line with himself and his girlfriend. The characters goal is to prove his neighbour (the antagonist) is a murderer. Lastly, there is closure where the man is arrested and they live 'happilery ever after'. We also see a lot of shot/reverse shot going from the POV shots to an eyeline shot of the main character looking.

 

D.W. Griffiths established -the CU shot, flashback effect and the Cross-cutting, which is 2 scenes montaged montogether which can create tension and suspense and used in most of today's films. His films 'A birth of a nation' and 'Intolerance' show these techniques.

 

Editing is thought of throughout the entire production, even from the pre-production as the edit shapes the plot and narrative. The choice of shots used can effect the audience's reaction, therefore the editor can control the time and space, with the different shot sizes and cuts. For example, in Hitchcocks 'The Birds', rather than seeing a full scene from one wide shot, we see wide shots, then a CU of a character's reaction, then showing the audience the emotion and part of the narrative, of that there is something happening outside. If we saw this from one wide shot then we would not understand as clear that something is occurring as we wouldn't see the CU facial expression.

 

'Pyhsco' graphic match.
Newarscent7,2009.'The famous shower scene from pyhsco''Youtube,April 28th.

Within editing there are many dimensions;

Graphic relations which can be smooth continuity editing, such as the Graphic match, which is something i enjoy looking out for as it shows the art and thought put into the film-making. It is also a great transition to use. A graphic match is when a shot is cut to the next which shall be a similar composition or movement and possibly colour. There is also discontinuity graphic editing where the next shot is a very large contrast, weather it be in colour, movement or feel.

 

These shots from 'Pyhsco' are great examples of graphic matches and inspired me on the edit for my first short film.

 

Rhythmic relations is the rhythm of the shots length and the cut. For example, a chase scene in a film may have very quick cuts, whereas an emotional scene may have shots with many frames in. Flash frames can be used for flashbacks or to portray violence, which is a technique I have practised in my first short film also, which i have posted below this..     megannstreet,2012.'Breakfast'.'Youtube',June,23rd.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1xulkUo-n8&list=UU1gOTmNXdE8oe2Y_8G-MxrA&index=3&feature=plcp

 

Spatial Relation is a technique I've mentioned about the Juxtaposition scenes placing 2 different narratives within the same sequence space, suggesting a relationship between the two stories or a contrast.

 

Temporal relations is the plot's timing of the order, frequency and duration. In editing, you can control the chronology of the story, such as flashbacks and flash forwards, which can make a films story more powerful with a tense viewer. An example of this is 'Seven Pounds' where we see the ending at the beginning with snippets of flashbacks within the film, giving little information at a time to the audience.

 

 Continuity editing

The portrayal of the narrative in chronological order 'Moment by Moment' and with similar lighting and balanced shots within the scenes. 'Rear Window' was a prime example of continuity editing with very long scenes also.

Montage.

Montage sequences came in around 1920, where we saw a large process or space of time put into a short montage moment. Montages then developed re-occuring trates, especially from the American studios with shots such as Calender pages going by or different Newspaper headlines showing a change in time. Most Montages have a piece of music behind them setting the mood and we see suspense, suprises and emotion in these sequences. An upbeat example of this is in the 'Rocky' film, seeing him train up portraying his motivation. Aanother one, one of my favourites, is from the film 'UP' which we see early on to explain why the old man is where he is now and what his goals are. This is more of a revealing montage with comical, happy and sad moments taking us through his marriage.

Variadomix26,2009.'Rocky I-Training'.'Youtube',December,13th.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP3MFBzMH2o
 

xXJEashXx,2010.'Favourite Pixar's Up scene ever-Ellie and Carl's ralationship through time,sad scene'.'Youtube',March,22nd. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2bk_9T482g
 

 

Bordwell&Thompson,(2013)'The relation of shot-to-shot.-Editing.''Film Art-Tenth Edition'