Film Editing Techniques

Editing Techniques

• Editing is more than simply assembling shots; it's an art requiring a sense of how a scene, sequence, and film should feel, demanding both technical and intuitive skills
• Narrative is constructed through editing, establishing the film's mood and evoking reactions
• Mood is conveyed visually (including lighting, sound, and camera movement), and how shots are combined
• A gap between shots allows for subjective interpretation
• Editing is the process of selecting, arranging, and combining visual, sound, and special effects to narrate a story
• The length of a shot and how it connects to the next (e.g., montage) impacts the viewer's response
• Filmmakers interpret shots in relation to surrounding shots

Continuity Editing

• Continuity editing (invisible editing) is the standard method
• The goal is to conceal the effect of cutting to create a seamless experience for the viewer
• It requires consistent lighting, blocking, sound, and camera movement
• Adherence to the 180-degree rule is crucial for maintaining consistent screen direction

Discontinuity Editing

• Discontinuity editing draws attention to itself
• Transitions are often abrupt, with inconsistencies in camera angles, movement, lighting, etc.
• Filmmakers might violate the 180-degree rule to create a specific effect or highlight a characteristic
• Can involve jump cuts, smash cuts, montage, and non-diegetic inserts to disrupt screen direction, or to disorient the viewer
• It's generally utilized in experimental or non-narrative films to emphasize editing rhythm over imagery.

Early Film Editing

• Early film editing systems emerged from Europe and the U.S. in the 1910s, aiming to create clear narratives
• Standard edits included cuts, fades, dissolves, and wipes (used to open or close a scene)
• These basic edits eventually became systematic, forming the basis of continuity editing

Soviet Montage

• Soviet filmmakers experimented with a distinct editing approach in the 1920s
• It contrasted with continuity editing and provided an avant-garde and experimental reference point for filmmakers
• Editing is central to film grammar, representing the essence of film

Kuleshov Effect

•  The Kuleshov effect is a phenomenon in film editing where viewers derive more meaning from the juxtaposition of two shots than from each shot alone
•  Filmmaker Lev Kuleshov's experiments demonstrated that the same neutral shot, when placed with different shots, created different emotional reactions in viewers
• Shot of a man's face paired with varied subsequent images (a bowl of soup, a dead girl, or a woman) yielded different emotions.

Linear vs. Non-Linear Editing

• Early cinema involved physically cutting film to create edits
• Modern digital editing allows accessing any frame and combining video clips without the physical constraint of linear sequence
• This modern method is significantly faster and enables detailed post-production work.

Paying attention to Editing

• Pay attention to each shot: noting shot type, duration, framing, camera movement, and its connection to the following shot.
• Observe shot combinations and changes to shots to understand relationships between the images.
• Understand different editing styles can affect mood, pace, and rhythm

Manipulating Time and Space Through Editing

•  Editing condenses story time (the narrative) into screen time
•  Ellipsis (omitting plot points) is one way to compress story time within a film
•  Editing impacts mood, pace, and rhythm by manipulating time (e.g., flashbacks, flash forwards, or speed changes)

Continuity Editing Specific Techniques

• Cutting on action: Editing that seamlessly matches action across cuts
• Crosscutting (parallel editing): Alternating between two or more actions simultaneously
• Match cuts: Matching and linking successive shots to show continuity
• Invisible cuts: Seamless transitions within continuity editing
• L-cut/J-cut: Cuts in which the audio precedes or follows the video transition, a technique often used in dialogue sequences, and used sometimes to make a dialogue sequence feel more realistic.
• Transitions: Transition effects (dissolves/fades/wipes)
• 180-degree rule/axis of [action]: A rule of continuity editing that requires the camera to remain on one side of the action line to ensure a consistent spatial orientation of characters and events for the viewer

Maintaining Continuity (Specific Techniques)

• Master shot and coverage: Wide shots (master shot) and close-up coverage that gives context.
• Shot/reverse shot (SRS): Showing two subjects facing each other in a conversation
• Point-of-view (POV) shot: Show a scene from the characters' perspective
• Camera/screen direction: consistent movements to maintain a consistent spatial layout to ensure the audience understands spatial relations in a film

Other Important Notes

• Editing in Pan's Labyrinth illustrates how juxtaposing different images can create startling emotional responses
• The use of iris-in/iris-out transitions was common in early films such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Explore the art of editing in filmmaking, focusing on how shots are combined to convey narrative and mood. Understand the principles of continuity editing and how it influences viewer perception. This quiz will test your knowledge of these essential filmmaking techniques.