Film editing has changed alot over the years. Films first started out in the 1800s without any editing atall. Earliest films in the cinema were done in one shot without any editing this was first done by the Lumiere brothers in 1895 where the audience were afraid at first as they knew nothing about film and actually thought the objects were coming towards them.
People thought that cinema wouldn't have a future as people were filming things they could just see themselves then came the cutting of shots which was first shown in The Great Train Robbery by Edwin Porter. To do this they physically cut and pasted pieces of film using a splicer and threading the film on a machine with the viewer. It was very popular as people liked to be able to edit their own lives and gave the reaction of laughter or startle them. Its also interesting as shots can be sped up or slowed down which can't be done in real life.
Editing went on to add colour as shown in the film Greed from 1924 where each shot was individually coloured by hand where certain parts of the film have colour.
D.W.Griffith was the first editor who invented and popuralized certain techniques such as narrative film. He was also the first to use close up in a big way. One example is Birth of a Nation where he uses various shots.Jimmy Edward Smith was Griffith's film cutter where he wanted it to move smooth so that it was barely noticable and the audience stayed involved throught the film. At this time though it was the director who got all the credit and instead Jimmy was not noticed for his editing at the time.
Film makers started using techniques then such as flashbacks, parallel action and close ups. They realised these effects could give a reaction to the audience and give psychological effects to the audince like making them nervous or in shock. An example of a early use of a flashback is the 1956 film Carousel.
Editing is seen as essentially the start of where a film begins as you can see the clips and where edits can be made and changes can be introduced to make the film more interesting and give off effects to the audience then the film can begin to be put together.
In the film the man with a camera you can see every modern editing technique we know today.
Hitchock is the known master for suspense where he used editing techniques to build up suspense especially during the shower part of the film where he uses quick cuts to build suspense and shock for the audience.
In the late 1950's and 60's French films used more aggresive editing like in the film A Bout Souffle using jump cuts that left parts out using discontinues between shots. The film Bullit has a large chase scene where it cuts from inside view to the out side view of the car to give the audience adrenaline and to show everyone that this is a really important scence to keep the audience hooked to the film
In modern day the use of CGI has given big budget films the chance to show the full power of editing and special effects. Films such as TDKR has been recieved very well by the audiences because of its use of all these techniques.
Monday 24 September 2012
Monday 17 September 2012
Conventions and Techniques- Cutting to Soundtrack JP
Cutting to soundtrack editing is when the pace and beat of a song can determine how fast scenes can cut. This can attract audiences attention because if it is a fast beat and it cuts fast it can get you interested into what it will cut too next. A good example of this is the music video 'Feel the Love' where it begins to cut quite slow then cuts more once the beat speeds up.
Conventions and Techniques- Crosscutting JP
Crosscutting is a technique used by many directors where two things are happening simutaniously and it cuts between them, showing you whats happening at one location then cutting to the other to show you whats happening there. A good example of this is in Silence of the Lambs as shown and explained in the video below.
Conventions and Techniques- Editing Rhythm JP
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.
For example in the video below the rhythm of the background determines how fast it cuts similar to Cutting to Soundtrack editing.
For example in the video below the rhythm of the background determines how fast it cuts similar to Cutting to Soundtrack editing.
Conventions and Techniques- Providing and Withholding Information JP
Providing and withholding information is a technique used to add drama. It is used in mostly crime films like when you get a murder and alot of information is witheld until the very end when things start to become revealed.At the same time information is provided to let the audience try and guess what will happen next or small hints that aren't noticable until revealed. An example of this is Murder She Wrote where alot isn't revealed until the very end.
Conventions and Techniques- Shot-Reverse-Shot JP
Is a film technique is shown looking at another chracter and then the other chracter is shown looking back. This if often used to add drama to a heated moment between people for example in western films when there is a stand off it often cuts from chracters looking at one another. The video below shows an example of this.
Conventions and Techniques- Point of View Shot JP
A point of view shot is a short film scene where it shows a character looking at a object (but its actually the camera). Directors use techniques like this to show the chracters reaction to the object. This can leave the audience pondering what the object could be or show the chracters emotion to the object and making them feel how the chracter does.
Conventions and Techniques- Cutaways JP
Cutaways are used in films to cutaway from the main action to add related material or showing another object in the area of where action is happening. Editors use this to add more action to that part if the scene and make it more interesting. As shown in the video below which describes how Cut-in and Cutaways work.
Conventions and Techniques- Transitions JP
Tranisitons is when any two video shots are joined together. The most common and simple is 'cut' is one video clip instantly changing to the next shot. The next is crossfade or dissolve where one shot gradually fades to the next. As shown in the video below which shows how transitions are used in Adobe Premiere Pro.
Conventions and Techniques- Splicing JW
A film splicer is a machine that is used to physically attach two pieces of photographic film together to make one. The advantages of a film splicer is that it allows you to remove film frames or take one section of a film and place it somewhere else in the movie prior to editing on a computer.
Conventions and Techniques- 180o Rule JW
The 180 degree rule is a camera technique in film. This rule is performed successfully by keeping the camera on one side of both actors and not allowing it to go past into the other half of what would be a circle. The over the shoulder shot is an example of the most a camera man can position his camera without breaking the 180 degree rule. The camera man will imagine a line going through both characters for example when they are talking.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNOT9iHDSXU
Conventions and Techniques- Parrallel Editing JW
Parallel editing is the technique of alternating two or more scenes that happen simultaneously but in different locations. Parallel editing can be used to confuse the viewer, the editor would do this by showing the viewer two different scenes which could go together but in fact are completely different scenes, below is an example of this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts1x6uADFtM&feature=player_embedded
Conventions and Techniques- Jump-Cutting JW
A jump-cut is a cut in film editing which shows two different shots of the same subject. It’s as if the camera ‘jumps’ to a different shot of the subject this is why this technique is known as a jump-cut. Jump cuts are considered a violation of continuity editing as they jump to a different shot in a discontinuous way. Jump-cutting also emphasizes editing which is another reason why it is considered a violation of continuity editing as the idea of continuity editing is to make editing discreet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONMSe_zhq70
Conventions and Techniques- Montage JW
Montage editing is a type of editing in which editors will showcase numerous short videos and even pictures. Montage editing normally involves a lot of special optical effects such as fades, dissolves, split screens, double and triple exposures, dance and music are also a big part of montage editing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqs2vcyT540
Conventions and Techniques- Motivated JW
Motivated editing is in almost every video or film, it is hard for the editor not to use this technique. An example of motivated editing would be if an actor/actress was to look at and object then the camera cut straight to any camera angle of that object. This creates can create tension alongside some tense music. Motivated editing usually starts with dialogue, a reaction or a music cue. Successful motivated editing will not break continuity. An example of motivational editing could be that in Taken 1 Liam Neeson wants to avenge his daughter’s death so the editor shows flash backs of good memories that he has had with his daughter to show the viewer why he is so motivated to protect her.
Conventions and Techniques- Continuity JW
Continuity editing is to edit a video in a way which lets the viewer view scenes from all different angles, however keeps everything exactly how it is in other shots. Another example of using continuity editing is, if somebody is walking then the camera cuts to a different angle of them walking the same walk then that everything about that person must stay the same an example of this would be his/hers clothing. Continuity is used in modern day editing to create empathy and seamless looking effects. An example of continuity being broken would be if there was a scene and somebody was wearing glasses whilst talking to someone then the scene cuts to an over the shoulder shot of the other person but the cut back and they had no glasses on, but then they did this again and they had their glasses on again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xauSCz1mEk
Conventions and Techniques- Seamless JW
To make an edited film or video come across as ‘seamless’ is to edit the video or film using numerous transitions and effects but make the editing appear invisible. If edited to a good standard the viewer knows editing is there but because it is blended into the video professionally. Good editing helps to tell a story or get a story across to the viewer; therefore it plays a big role in film and video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPQay8v6xrk
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