‘The common conventions, techniques and purpose of film editing: when and why it was developed’ IntroductionIn this essay assignment I will be talking about ‘The common conventions, techniques and purpose of film editing: when and why it was developed’. The reason why I am researching this is to explore and go into more depth on Films, the different and common conventions, editing techniques, the technological innovations and the purpose of it all. I will be looking at films from 1903 to show and explain these features of a film like ‘1903 Life of an American Fireman film.’ The reason why we have chosen to do films from 1903 is because before 1903 they didn’t have film editing so it was just very long films as they couldn’t cut the scene they just had let the camera roll. From 1903 onwards editing started coming along and this film is one of the first films that incorporate editing in. InCamera Editing is a technique that, instead of editing the shots in a film into sequence after shooting, the cinematographer shoots the sequences in a certain order. The resulting 'edit' is therefore already complete when the film is being made. The process takes a lot of planning so that the shots are filmed in the exact order they will be shown in. However, some of this time can be reclaimed, as there is no editing, cutting out or reordering scenes later on as they were filmed in the specific order. When the very last scene is filmed by the videographer, the production is completely finished. The use of manipulating diegetic time and space is the editing technique used to portray time unconventionally; this is usually shown through flash blacks where characters see images from the past or flash forwards in which characters are able to see images from the future. It can also be used to show the environment developing over time. An example of this can be seen from a scene from the ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban film in which Harry Potter’ and Hermione Granger are able to visit the past using a certain object. This is effective because it attaches the audience to focus on the past of the characters or in some cases the future. This would be used to give the audience an understanding of what has happened behind the storyline itself to bring
things together to make more sense in the viewers head. Multiple Points of View Multiple points of view is where the film shows different points of view of many different characters. As a film has one storyline throughout the whole film, multiple points of view are there to show the audience various characters’ views on a certain subject. An example of Multiple points of view in film would be ‘Vantage Point (2008)’ where the attempted assassination of the American
President is told and retold from several different perspectives. Another example of this would be from the short 1903 film Life of an American Fireman from 3:18 – 4:35 4:40 – 6:00 it shows 2 different perspectives of the firemen going into the burning building and saving a women and her child, it shows it from the perspective of the woman and the child’s perspective inside the house and then the firemen outside spraying the house and 1 of them climbing the ladder to go in and retrieve the two from the burning building. Obviously there is a massive difference in the quality of editing the multiple points of view in these 2 films the more recent one would have a lot more of these scenes and edited a lot better because the technology has upgraded incredibly from how it was before so the 1903 film was very basic with its different point of view shots.
Shot Variation –is the technique used in filming to create a sequence of images using movement; these types of shots include a wide shot as this type of shot is commonly used at the start of a sequence to set the tone of the scene as well as enabling the audience to grasp the concept of the scene. Long shots are used to enable the focus of the audience to remain on a certain character, this is commonly used to introduce main characters. A Medium Shot are primarily used in dialogue scenes or action scenes to enable the audience to follow the narrative. Variations of this shot are a two shot or a three shot. Using a Close Up means the camera in concentrating on a certain item or character; this is commonly used within the genre of Romantic Comedy as it enables the audience to see the expression and emotion on a characters face and helps progress the narrative. This was even being used back in 1903 with the ‘Life of an American Fireman film’. Shot variation is effective because it makes scenes more interesting and intense as the camera man/woman can switch through different shots to show a piece of action. It would be use to captivate the audience when watching so
they don’t get bored whilst watching the film, it brings a sense of excitement. Following the Action Following the action is where you follow all the movements made by the actors or the subject. For example, there will be more than one camera when this is happening so they switch between the different camera angles depending on which way the actor or subject is going. Where ever the subject moves there will be cameras that will also being following it. This gives more depth to what you are viewing instead of just watching one camera action all the way through the film, it gives the audience something else to watch and gives it more excitement rather than just being one angle throughout the movie. The reason behind using this is to make the audience feel more involved in the movie, for example when there is a chase seen and the camera follows the chase, the audience gets an adrenaline rush due to all the action happening in the scene. It locks the viewer to the point where their sitting on the edge of there seats. The use of manipulating diegetic time and space is the editing technique used to portray time unconventionally; this can be shown by using flash blacks in where characters see images from the past or flash forwards in which characters are able to see images from the future. It can also be used to show the environment or an object changing of a period of time. An example of this can be seen from a scene from the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban film in which Harry Potter and Hermione Granger are able to visit the past using a certain object. We see this in the ‘1903 Life of an American Fireman film’ from 0:00 to 0:26 into the film where he has a vision of the mother and child in the house of the fire trying to get out of the house. Engaging the Viewer With all of these editing techniques they come together and create a film which captivates the audience and keeps them interested throughout the whole film. Editing takes a huge part keeping the audience locked into the movie because it helps keep the movie alive, for example if there was no editing in a film, it will just be one long scene, with no transitions or effects; these are the things that generate the excitement for the audience alongside great footage and camera shots. From ‘1903 Life of an American Fireman film’ to now editing has changed massively due to the change of technology.
This leads me onto my next topic about the change from Analogue filming to digital. This has changed massively, from when film first starting evolving properly back in the early 1900’s to today. Shooting in digital is much easier because you can do more in less time. Multiple cameras can run on the same shot, so you always get the angle you want without having to waste time on retakes. I like shooting digitally because it makes it easy to shoot multiple takes, and to get multiple angles more economically. We have such a wide range of techniques, equipment, technology and knowledge and a lot more creativity than we did in the past and that shows when you compare films together. If i were to compare the Life of an American Fireman film shot in 1903 to any film in this decade you will see drastic change in everything. This is why film has evolved so much and is now plays a huge part of people’s life. Editing Conventions Jump Cut is a type of editing transition that is very fast which gives a sense of confusion in space and time. It is usually used to keep the flow of continuity. An example of this is in ‘The Ring’ (2002) Directed by ‘Gore Verbinsky’ when the mysterious long haired female climbs out of the TV and is crawling towards the man, the editor switches from the female back to the man backing away multiple times before the scene cuts. The purpose of this is to create a sense of suspense and urge as the audience would want him to get away from the female. 180 Degree rule is a basic guideline regarding the onscreen spatial relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene. The 180degree rule developed very early, being used in the silent era. It was developed so that the audience could follow an action without getting lost, and is particularly useful when two related sequences of action are happening simultaneously. 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. The use of this is to make it more realistic to the audience that a conversation is happening, being shown from different over the shoulder perspectives.
Crosscutting is an editing technique most often used in films to establish action occurring at the same time in two different locations. In a crosscut, the camera will cut away from one action to another action, which can suggest the simultaneity of these two actions but this is not always the case. A good use of crosscutting is in the film inception. I will leave a link to the clip of inception in the bibliography. This is effective because it shows the audience reasons why some of the things happen In the film happen like retaliation. point of view shot (also known as POV shot) is a short film scene that shows what a character is looking at from there perspective. 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. A good use of a POV shot would be in the film ‘Dawn of the planet of the apes’ when the apes have control of a tank and are causing complete mayhem with it. Transitions Dissolve – A dissolve is a transition used in editing. It is when the editor takes two shots and the end of the first one blends into the beginning of the next. The first one dissolves into the next. This is often used in film to indicate a large passage of time between the two shots. This is used in most films because it is a smooth way to enter a new scene without it looking jury or unprofessional. A cutaway shot is the interruption of a continuously filmed action by inserting a view of something else. It is usually, although not always, followed by a cut back to the first shot, when the cutaway avoids a jump cut. The cutaway shot does not necessarily contribute any dramatic content of its own, but is used to help the editor assemble a longer sequence. For this reason, editors choose cutaway shots related to the main action, such as another action or object in the same location. This is also used a lot in films nowadays as it is a simple way to speed things up that would usually take a while and to change the audiences attention from one scene to another and back without being confused about what is happening and the cutaway. All of these different shot types help create the different conventions of a film genre because they can be used for many things like setting the tone. Using these camera shots, it can add a whole new feeling to a
scene and help the scene make more sense. They are also there to help cut out unnecessary clips in a scene that would lose the concentration of the audience. The improvement in these shots from the early 1900’s to now has changed for the best as now films are a lot more exciting and easier to watch without getting bored quickly. In 1973 the first 2D Computer images which is where CGI started to kick off with the film ‘Westworld’ directed by ‘Michael Crichton’ starring the actor ‘Yul Brynner’ It was also the first feature film to use digital image processing, to pixelate photography to simulate an android point of view. The film was nominated for Hugo, Nebula and Saturn awards and a film notable too for being the first major motion picture to use CGI. From the late 70′s to the early 80′s is where 3D CGI was introduced. In 1976 the first 3D Computer graphics were introduced. 3D graphics were born in Chicago, that was thanks largely to computer animation boffin Larry Cuba who toiled away for months on the city’s University of Illinois campus to match George Lucas’ idea for the preDeath Star attack briefing. CGI has improved massively since then and has played a huge part in the film industry for the 50 Years, it has helped bring together some of the best films ever and classics. Bibliography Link to inception clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmptU7vEkNU.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_of_an_American_Fireman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Prisoner_of_Azkaba n_(film)