2. Editing
Editing is largely to do with organising time.
It controls:
• WHAT we look at,
• in what ORDER we look at it,
• and HOW LONG it is before we look at something
else.
3. Editing
• In most TV Dramas the main purpose of
editing is to create CONTINUITY – a sense that
the film makes LOGICAL SENSE in terms of
immediate CAUSE and EFFECT and that it is
CONSISTENT in the way it presents its world.
• Through continuity, audiences can make sense
of, and believe in, the narrative.
4. What are we looking for when
analysing editing in a clip?
• Order of shots
• Continuity/montage You need to be
• Transitions able to discuss
how these
• Shot duration technical
• Pace and rhythm elements help
create meaning.
• Special effects
Many of these areas overlap, i.e. order of shots and continuity.
5. Give a brief explanation or examples
for each area of editing:
Order of shots
Special Continuity/
effects montage
Editing
Transitions
Pace and e.g….
rhythm Shot duration
6. Order of shots
• The meaning of a clip can change depending on the
order the shots are cut together
• Hitchcock Loves Bikinis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCAE0t6KwJY&feature=PlayList&p=DC6A8F00C8251D2
5&index=3
• Putting two shots together can suggest a connection or
emphasise contrast (juxtaposition).
• Refer to handout for further editing functions relating
to this, e.g. intercutting.
7. Continuity
Continuity editing
• Cutting shots to tell a story with narrative continuity, helping the viewer
make sense of the action by implying spatial relationships and ensuring
smooth flow from shot to shot.
• Continuity techniques:
• Establishing shot (establishes the space in which action is to happen)
• The 180º rule (ensures that the same space is described in each shot)
• Shot/reverse shot
• Eyeline match (e.g. character looks off-screen, next shot shows us
what they see)
• Match on action (character begins to move in one shot, we see
continuation of the same movement in the next shot)
• Realism - edit is invisible so action appears real rather than constructed.
8. Non-Continuity
• Montage – giving information in compressed
form – the shots that are cut together may not
appear connected but can be suggestive of
particular meanings/ideas overall.
• Many of the title sequences we looked at during the
coursework unit used a montage editing style).
• In Non-continuity editing – Continuity is broken
and construction is more apparent. Meaning
often created through juxtaposition and
metaphor shot inserts.
9. Transitions
• The process of cutting from one shot to another usually
involves a simple straight cut. However there are other means
of transition available to a film editor, e.g.
• Fade to black
• Dissolve/cross fade
• Wipe
• What meaning could be created by the use of the transitions
above?
• As well as simply moving to another shot, transitions can
imply a passage of time or location, or emphasise a
connection, perhaps what a character is thinking or dreaming
about (dissolve/cross fade).
10. Fade – the preceding shot fades into black from which the following
shot emerges.
11. Fade – the preceding shot fades into black from which the following
shot emerges.
12. Fade – the preceding shot fades into black from which the following
shot emerges.
13. Dissolve or cross fade – the preceding shot merges into the following
shot, resulting in the two shots being superimposed. The longer the
dissolve the more noticeable the superimposition becomes.
14. Dissolve or cross fade – the preceding shot merges into the following
shot, resulting in the two shots being superimposed. The longer the
dissolve the more noticeable the superimposition becomes.
15. Dissolve or cross fade – the preceding shot merges into the following
shot, resulting in the two shots being superimposed. The longer the dissolve
the more noticeable the superimposition becomes.
16. Shot duration/pace
• The duration of a shot will usually reflect the
narrative context.
• Generally speaking short shot duration conveys
action and urgency (say in a chase sequence). Click
here for a chase sequence from Die Another Day. See
if you can count the number of shots!
• Whilst long duration conveys intensity and intimacy
within the narrative, it allows us to focus upon facial
expression and other aspects of mise en scene which
would otherwise be missed.
17. Some editing devices
• Parallel editing - crosscutting or intercutting
between different locations can convey the
impression that two or more events are
occurring simultaneously. This is often used
to build tension.
• split screen – where the frame is split into
sections so that we can see different events
occurring at the same time. This technique
was used on the TV series 24.
18. Editing controls what information
we get and when we get it
When analysing a clip consider how editing
techniques are used to control:
• What information is revealed to or hidden from
a) the characters?
b) the audience?
• As well as being used for dramatic effect, this
control of information can tell you whose
perspective is privileged - this is important when
considering representation.
