connorrichardsonunit21

[connorrichardsonunit21]

Film Editing: Unit 21

A1 Types and purposes of editing for film and television

One film would be The Miller and the Sweep, this film came out in 1897 in black and white. It was made by G.A. Smith, it was one of the earliest films to show a clear awareness of visual impact when produced. Because the film was in black and white, Smith turned the action into a battle between two opposites. The miller is in white carrying a b of flour while walking from a windmill. The sweep is in black and is carrying a bag of soot, this shows a similarity destructive effect on the opposite person. The film does not include any editing as it is one long continuous shot, this film in a non destructive film. 

Another film would be A TRIP TO THE MOON. This film was one of the first films that involved cuts and dissolves, this shows the difference from 1897 to 1902. D. Georges Melies created a 14 minute ‘masterpiece’ with 30 different shots

In 1903, The Great Train Robbery was produced and edited by Edwin S. Porter. The film consisted of techniques such as composite editing, on-location editing and frequent camera movement. This film was one of the earliest to use the technique of cross cutting, in which two scenes are chow to be occurring simultaneously but in different locations.

In 1908, the first animated cartoon Emile Cohls black and white short film is composed of 700 drawings that he drew on a glass plate. Each drawing is different to the one before it, this allowed Fantasmagorie to have a continuous style.

In 1925,  d. Sergei Eisenstein, this film consists of of a newsreel-like sequences inter-cut with close ups of harrowing details to increase tension. The films was orchestrated with a montage of close ups of faces and objects and long-shots and all rapidly cut together and contrasted as the images built to a conclusion.

In 1961 helical scan recoding is invented by ampex. This would be things such as video tape recorders today.

In 1971, the first linear editing machine was invented, it was the best machine that recorded half resolution black ad white video files onto washing machine size disk packs.

In 1984, EditDroid was a computer that pulled footage stored on LaserDisks. It was created from a George Lucas spin-off

In 1988, the public release of the Avid1- a macintosh bashed non linear editor in 1989. Storage was still and issue and these machines could only edit short music videos and commercials.

Between 1989-2009 Editshare lightworks and lightworks pro, this video NLE was designed by a group of film editors.

In 1999, final cut software was developed, it was a non linear video editing software developed by Macromedia Inc. \the software allows the users to log and transfer video onto a hard drive, where it can be edited, processed and outputted to a wide variety of formats 

In 2003, Adobe Premiere Pro is a timeline-based video editing software application. It includes video editing, graphic design and web development programs.

Continuity editing is the most common style of film editing. The purpose of continuity editing is to create the illusion of smooth continuous action and helps to keep the audiences’ attention to the story. The viewer will not notice the transition between shots.

Non-continuity editing is when shots are mismatched to disrupt the impression of time and space. This draws the audiences’ attention to the process of cutting and disturbs the illusion of ‘reality’. An example is the use of flashbacks.

 Changing Time Frame:

 Timeframes change because it is rare that a film represents real time. One television show called 24 has represented real time by making one episode represent an hour of the day. Situations like 24 don’t happen often so the changing timeframe would be essential to carry out the narrative. A typical film would have to squeeze a couple years into at least 2 hours. 

Changing time frame can also mean that time is extended, we can add this to the bomb under the table example, you can extend time (make it a bit slower) to increase tension.

Time could also be sped up, for example, a fight scene could be shot in 22 frames per second, it is then sped up to 24 (standard framerate in films) so that the fight looks more exciting. 

 In my opinion, changing the time frame is important because depending on the genre certain films may change the time frame depending on the scene. For example, if someone is in a car chase scene maybe sped up to make it look faster and more dramatic. Slow motion will change the time frame. 

  Flashback, flash forward:

The time frame of a film is often important as it is where the focus of the film is set, the film revolves around its time frame as it establishes where the film is set. The time frame is also important as it establishes conventions and expectations, as if a film is set within a certain era then we expect to see certain items. For example, if a film is set in the early 1900s, then that resembles the area ideas of the era. It helps to immerse the audience into the expectations of this world and what living life in a time like this would be like.

The changing of time frame is also equally important when it comes to the process of film editing. This is because it established the movement of time, this movement of time is important as it establishes more conventions and how something may have changed over this period of time. This allows the audience to further expand the conventions and ideas that occur behind this time frame as if they get this idea they are able to further understand the codes and conventions that are expected within the specified time frame 

Controlling rhythm and pace of the production:

Setting the pace of an edit is vital to the storytelling aspect, and for establishing the general stylistic feel of a film. This rhythm is created by a series of beats, and cannot be determined by one or two consecutive cuts alone. It works very similarly to a music composition. The tempo of a piece of music is defined by the beats per minute of the underlying track. It determines the speed, or the pace of a tune. Without it, different instruments cannot come to play in unison or to create a cohesive sound. Just as a conductor sets the tempo for an entire orchestra, or a DJ mixes various songs together by beat-matching, it is up to the editor to determine an appropriate pace within each scene itself, as well as collectively for the entire film. Using rapid pacing suggests the intensity and excitement of the film or show. Slower pacing would be make it seem more relaxed and thoughtful, such as if someone is driving then there would be a slow pace because not much is going on. When it comes to rhythm it is used by using straight cuts to abrupt transitions from one shot to another to convey the immediacy, Jump cuts may also occur when the visual information between shots hasn't really changed much. Dissolves may also be included in a rhythm.

In my opinion, controlling rhythm and pace is important depending on the genre of the film. It helps the audience understand the way the film is going, for example in a horror film the music might get louder and faster showing that the monster or something might happen because it increases the climax and then something happens. The pace of the film will help with the flow of the storytelling and helps the audience to laugh or gasp. 

Creating narrative:

Creating motivation to further the narrative (motivated editing)

Something off frame and then cut to the unknown.

An example would be in a horror film, a  person spins round and sees nothing and they turn round again and the monster is behind. 

It is one of the least jarring forms of transition that could be part of continuity editing.

 Motivated editing is a way of helping to build tension and suspense for the audience disbelief when watching a production. Motivated editing is where shots are carefully chosen to push the story along and make the audience believe what they are seeing. 

For instance if there is a shot of someone walking into a room and looking around, it is best to then cut to a shot of that actors point of view. This way the audience gets to see exactly what that actor sees and it engrosses them in the story even more. Motivated editing is a good way to get an audience deeply involved in what they are watching and makes them less likely to notice all the different cuts and the fact that what they are actually watching is just different video shots put together. Instead it makes them fully believe in the story.

Create continuity between shots

Continuity editing is Editing that creates tension through shots. This builds up action within the film but also within the audience making them question what will happen to each of the individual characters. This creates smooth continuous action shots, keeping the audience interested. Jump cuts can be used to follow the action by jumping between several scenes all following the action. Continuity editing is where everything has to be the same throughout the film, without any changes. For example, if someone picks a cup up with their right hand, and then later on the cup is in their left hand, they have broken continuity. The audience will be able to notice transitions between shots, it also keeps a smooth continuous action, helping the audience keep interest. Following action is usually done through several points of view, this was first done with Life of an American Fireman in 1903. This film shows a fireman rescuing a woman from a burning building. 

This technique has developed over the years as multiple camera action has been introduced; it is commonly used in most genre of films but especially action, adventure and crime films. This is because a convention of those films is a fight scene and in order for the audience to fully view the fight the camera must follow and have different shots of the action taking place. They would film the same scene several times from many angles and then cut them all together. I believe without the development of this technique it would lengthen the filmmaking process as well as increase the budget of the film due to the fact that it is popular with many films to use explosions and weapons, but if only one camera is able to achieve the shot the shot would have to be perfect to enable the audience to believe it. 

Create audience reaction and engage the viewer:

Suspense can be created by controlling the rhythm of the scene. A good example of creating suspense is from the film Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock. Editing shots so that they are   longer can create more suspense, this could also synchronise with the non-diegetic music. Here is a diagram of the edit of the scene. Notice that the longest shot is just before the attack, you can think this shot as ‘the calm before the storm’.

-Lens choices can also create suspense, the depth of field is important since the director has also built up suspense with the environment. Changes from a wide lense to a closer lens can show the details of the reaction of the character. 

Creating meaning:

Juxtaposing elements within editing:

Lev Kuleshov was among the first to dissect the effects of juxtaposition. Through his experiments and research, Kuleshov discovered that depending on how shots are assembled the audience will attach a specific meaning or emotion to it. Juxtaposition is a key element used in film, it’s created by placing two images/ideas/characters/scenes together to create a meaning.It can make the audience think different things and ideas when the two things are placed next to each other. I watched a clip from ‘Strike’ by Eisenstein (1925)  which displayed strong images of juxtaposition with the slaughtering  of animals placed alongside shots of armies marching to display the link of slaughtering animals and slaughtering people. Juxtaposition in music can be used to create irony, exaggerate what's on-screen, or evoke an array of emotions such as shock.

Creating empathy with a character  

When the character is displaying a valued trait, such as loyalty or love. 

When a character is particularly good something, we want to see them use this to benefit their life.

When the character is treated unjustly, in our human nature to feel a way when someone is treated unfairly.

When the character wants to achieve something what people want in the time of watching, this could relate to the character wanting to end world hunger.

When the character focuses on caring for another, especially when it is at the cost of himself, he could help someone down the stairs and as a result miss his bus.

When the character tries to overcome  fear or make a change. When the character tries to overcome fear or make a change

Creating bias in fiction or documentary editing.

This is when you edit a film/ tv series to make you dislike a character, you are able to create a bias in film editing by editing the film in a certain way, for example, in Matilda the character ‘Mrs Trunchbull’ is edited in such a way to make her seem evil this is because she is shown throwing children, locking children in a coffin, etc