23/09/2016 - Cameron Gardner - TV and Film essay ‘The common conventions, techniques and purpose of film editing: when and why it was developed’ In this essay I will address editing techniques and conventions and how far they have advanced since 1903 when it all began. Editing is one of the main components to do with film and its production, it helps with the narrative and makes the film a lot more exciting and captures the audience's attention quickly. I personally think editing is essential to make a film and can be done very well and creatively. The purpose of a film is to entertain and make the audience feel emotion and editing is a very good way of achieving this. Editing begun in 1903 from the silent film ‘the life of an american fireman’ which is now revolutionary in film as it is claimed to be the first to ever edit in history. Although the film included very simple editing like cross cutting, it would have been difficult at the time because it was not digitally filmed like modern films today. Films were edited very differently and instead were edited physically, so when they were filmed you would then receive a long reel or strip of film that you would then edit using a cutting/splicing machine. To successfully edit the tape you would have to cut and paste reels together using the cutting/splicing machine to crosscut their scenes. In the first century of photography and filmmaking, people would have used analogue cameras to shoot onto a reel of film. This was an incredible start and has lead us to today where we record using digital cameras that instead are stored on reusable sd cards and hard drives. I would like to say that recording with digital technology has more benefits than using analogue. You can easily edit digital footage on any accessible computer with software like adobe premiere pro, sony vegas or adobe after effects. Technology has been innovated vastly over the years and is so much more simpler compared to the last era. The main purpose of editing is to entertain the viewer and to engross them into the film as well as adding to the structure and narrative. For example the term and technique ‘following the action’ which is when the camera follows all of the movements from the actor or subject, there would be more than one camera capturing what the actor is doing and it would typically switch between the multiple camera angles. This definitely adds to the excitement for the viewer. It is usually used in action films, when there is a car chase or gun scene. There is a scene in ‘mr and mrs smith’ that displays Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in a gunfight, the camera is very carefully directed to follow the action of the characters to initially intensify the scene and its surroundings. There is also a technique known as ‘in camera editing’, this is when the director or cinematographer shoots there sequence of shots in strict order which results in a complete sequence without needing any editing. Obviously this makes it a lot easier for the director or cinematographer but sadly can not always be filmed like this as it can be limiting. Another technique is having ’multiple points of view’ which is showing different views of different characters, this adds to the diversity of the characters and more of a perspective on what is happening throughout a conversation. It allows the viewer to see what is happening through different angles and shots to keep their attention. An example of multiple points of view is shown in mean girls where two girls are shown having a conversation from different camera’s. This then makes the viewer more engaged in the film as they can see both of the girls reactions
23/09/2016 - Cameron Gardner - TV and Film essay towards things during the conversation. In addition to this having a ‘variation of shots’ is crucial to any film and is used in different ways like filming a ‘long shot’ that sets the scene and possibly shows some characters, this is a good way to open a scene with and that it shares similarities with an establishing shot. Filming a ‘close up’ that instead shows more emotion through a particular character and is nicely used when making a scene intense and dramatic. There are many shots that can be used but they are all used to direct the attention of the viewer to something. Manipulation of diegetic time and space is an editing technique used to show time which can be portrayed through flashbacks from when the film shows the character experiencing something from the past and then reacting to it in the present, it is a great way to put the audience into the character's mind. The technique can also be used to show things change over time by giving the environment or object an effect that looks like it's changing. A good example of this is in ‘Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban’ from a scene where Hermione and Harry visit the past using a object, this is visible as you can see everything changing around the characters. Many genre’s have different conventions for editing, different techniques and styles that are used to illustrate what genre it is. Examples of this are that action films often have fast editing for their fast paced scenes like fight scenes and car chase scenes. Another genre that commonly has fast editing is horror and is used to make the audience tense and anxious towards what's next to come. Low shots are also frequently used in horrors to create the impression of authority and fear. Whereas in rom-coms that includes both elements of the genres romance and comedy it will usually have a soft editing approach that concentrates on the body movement and emotion of their characters that helps and explains more to the audience about the narrative in a way that flows nicely. It is evident that editing can give an impression of a genre. Editing conventions are also vital towards the making of a successful film an example of this are montages which are a very well known and used in almost every 80’s film. They are used to fit in and edit a lot of footage into one sequence. Notoriously known montages are from, Karate kid, Scarface and Rocky. These are all used to show the character or characters participating in an activity or multiple. It always denotes the character progressing through something and is an effective way of keeping the audience entertained. In the film Rocky the montage shows him exercising and training to become the best known boxer, all the clips in the sequence are over a long period of time of training too. Another important convention is known as parallel editing and is used to introduce a link between two important things or people, and what the things or people are doing are happening simultaneously. It will cut between these people or things to keep the audience's attention and to make the scene tense. An example of this is shown in ‘Ferris Bueller's Day Off’ where the main character is trying to run home before his mother in a car and in this scene it changes from the mother's car to him running multiple times through people's backyards and houses. For me this is an iconic scene and would not have been the same without the use of parallel editing.
23/09/2016 - Cameron Gardner - TV and Film essay An important rule to remember known as the 180 degree rule is used all of the time in modern films and is always worth remembering. The 180 degree rule is if there is a conversation between two people facing each other, imagine an establishing line cutting them both in half and you must choose what side you are on and not cross it otherwise it will disorientate the audience and confuse them on the whereabouts of the characters. Sometimes this rule is broken purposely in mainly horrors and dramas in particular as they are trying to confuse the audience and put them in the character's position, to feel vulnerable, scared and confused. ‘The shining’ has a famous example of breaking the rule where the main character finds himself in a bathroom taking to a man, the camera then cuts and crosses the line purposely confusing the audience and it's not that you can't break the rule it's just that you must understand why you are breaking it. There are many different types of cuts such as a cutaway shot, jump cut. Match cut and more. A cutaway is when the shot cuts to another shot of a different subject, this is used in another scene of ‘Ferris Bueller's Day Off’ where the character is talking on the phone to which when the shot cuts to the other person on the other side of the phone, this is a smart idea as it makes the audience feel more involved in the scene. After this is the Jump cut which completely interrupts the continuity of a scene, it is used to add more depth and understanding usually and can also be used effectively as it does not take as much time if it was one singular shot and makes the scene more intense with the audiences captured attention. Its as if it jumps forward in time and allows the audience to feel more awareness like in the scenes in ‘Snatch’, Oldboy and ‘The Ring’ which are great examples for this convention. The match cut is the most creative cut in my opinion and needs thought included, It is when a shot is taken and cut with another shot that shares similarities with the previous like movement or shape. A brilliant example of this is from the notoriously known shower scene in ‘Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho’ where the camera pans to the plug in the bath where all of the blood and water runs down, it focus’ on this for a little and after shortly it fades and cuts into the dead woman’s eye which shares similarities in the shape. I think this is genius as it represents so much more like that it's nothing but a downward spiral from then on as you watch the water run down the plug. Cutting to soundtrack is when the scene or shot is edited to match the soundtrack and pace or tempo in the background, the sound is ultimately the guide for the editor. This is used in a lot of music videos and chase and action scenes, where the cuts are depending on the beat of the soundtrack. This is taken into consideration because it makes the scene more tense and engaging for the audience, It doesn't completely take away the continuity of the scene and In the music video ‘Alesha - Drummer Boy’ the cutting is dictated by the music clearly presented in the very beginning of the video. I had chosen this video as it is a very good example of how it involves the audience on what is being shown. The music video is edited to be fast like the fast drum beat and edited carefully to each beat. In conclusion editing and technology has evolved and improved since 1903, from using analogue cameras and splicing machines to digital cameras and editing software. In addition to this editing is essential to the production of films and needs to be considered carefully for each individual scene like having fast action and then matching this with a fast soundtrack. Each and
23/09/2016 - Cameron Gardner - TV and Film essay every technique and convention involves the audience, it can effect them in a number of multiple ways like confusing, engaging and informing them on the narrative of the film. Editing is incredibly necessary for entertainment value of the viewer and shortening the film to make it more interesting.
Harvard Referencing 1. Prezi, June 2014, Editing Techniques/principles [online] Accessed 30/09/2016 https://prezi.com/lfbwuxtgrfha/editing-techniquesprinciples/ 2. Elements Of Cinema, Date unknown [online] Accessed 03/10/2016 http://www.elementsofcinema.com/general/film-digital.html 3. Film And Editing db, Date unknown, Relationship to genre [online] Accessed 03/10/2016 http://filmandvideoeditingbd.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/relationship-to-genre.html 4. Film and Editing db, Date unknown, Manipulation of diegetic time and space [online] Accessed 03/10/2016 http://videofilmeditingdb.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/manipulation-of-diegetic-time-andspace.html 5. Film and Editing db, Date unknown, 180 degree rule [online] Accessed 04/10/2016 http://videofilmeditingdb.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/180%20degree%20rule 6. Film and Editing db, Date unknown, Parallel editing [online] Accessed 05/10/2016 http://videofilmeditingdb.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Parallel%20editing
In Camera Editing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqJQnNjwFjg Manipulation of Diegetic time and space: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjPb3ziyYYo Parallel Editing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI8KjD2BdtY 180 Degree Rule: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN6TPtaBKwk Jump Cuts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1yUwWG5ikE Match Cut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNYpzpNA_AE Cutaway Cut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Hqa34dZp-E Cutting to Soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLpse9Uqwng
23/09/2016 - Cameron Gardner - TV and Film essay