Film editing
The general idea behind editing in narrative film is the coordination of one shot with another in order to create a coherent whole.
The system of editing employed in narrative film is called continuity editing – its purpose is to create and provide efficient and artful transitions.
In filmmaking, the task of selecting and joining camera takes is the editing of the film. In the finished film, the set of techniques that governs the relation among shots (Bordwell and Thompson).
Editing is the process of preparing language, images, or sound through correction, condensation, organisation, and other modifications in various media… Editing is therefore, also a practice that includes creative skills, human relations and a precise set of methods.
Juxtaposition and meaning
Edwin S. Porter, The Great Train Robbery, 1903 – shots in sequence create meaning for audiences. From exterior shots to set, audience is encouraged to believe the event they see are immediately sequential. (Exterior train pulls away- -> Interior train carriage --> exterior, roof of train)
The Kuleshov effect
Lev Kuleshov, circa 1920: intercut an actor’s face with unrelated footage taken later. Audiences interpreted emotional responses on the actor’s face based on the juxtaposition of images. Whilst much of the moving image we see uses this effect.
Comparing approaches
Hollywood productions may have thousands of shots, even more for an action movie: post production editing is crucial in creating meaning.
Contrast ‘four main functions’ of film editing:
· Take sure that the production is the required length of time
· To remove unwanted material and mistakes
· To alter if necessary the way or the sequence in which event will be portrayed
· To establish the particular style and character of a production.
Graphic continuity
A graphic match is achieved by joining two shots that have a similarity in terms of light/dark, line or shape, volume or depth, movement or stasis.
A graphically discontinuous edit creates a clash of visual consent by joining two shots that are dissimilar in terms of one or more of the above visual principles.
Rhythmic relations
Film is not only a visual art, but also an auditory and even a tactile art. Therefore, editors also remain aware of the effects achieved by manipulating the rhythms experienced by perceivers through thoughtful juxtapositions of longer and shorter shots as well as through transitional devices that affect the perceiver’s sense of beat or tempo.
· Straight cut
· Fade-out
· Fade-in
· Dissolve
· Wipe
· Flip frame
· Jump cut
Temporal relations
Editing is the process by which the difference between temporal duration and screen duration is reconciled. It sounds simple, but consider this: most feature films present roughly two hours sufficient intersection of story and plot to provide perceivers with everything they need in order to understand days, weeks, months or even years in characters’ lives.
Most narrative films are presented in roughly chronological order, with notable exceptions. The two most common disruptions to chronological order are flashbacks and flash-forwards (the former being much more typical than the latter).
Special relations
Perhaps the most important, as well as the most overlooked, principle of editing is its function in providing perceivers a reliable sense of the physical space that constitutes the world of film. Editors are responsible (with assistance from cinematographers) for relating points in space.
Thematic relations
Editors have at their disposal two very powerful techniques for manipulating the perceiver’s place in the hierarchy of knowledge, and therefore affecting out thematic understanding of the film: montage sequences, crosscut editing.
