Editing Techniques

What is Editing - History of Editing 

Editing is part of the post-production process in which a sequence of clips are combined with various transitions which create a film. In the earlier days of filming, film had to be physically cut and stuck to create transitions using a film splicer (this process would have been extremely tedious and tricky) nowadays these effects are all done digitally using various equipment and programs, these programs have made film making a lot easier and almost anyone can use and access this equipment . 

Below is an image of someone splicing film, as you can see it looks like a hard process: 

Early films were short films which were usually one long, static, lock down shot, these films use to simply be things such as traffic moving along a street or other everyday activities. Motion in the shots was the only thing necessary to amuse the audience during this era. As film has progressed through the years, editing techniques and transitions have become much more advanced and interesting. 

Visual Analysis 

I am going to make a visual analysis of editing techniques and camera angles used in a scene from a film. For this task we could pick any scene from a film or TV series that we wished to analyse, the clip had to be around 5-10 minutes long, but it did not matter if it was under, we just had to make sure we had enough points to write about.

For my analysis I chose the 'Graveyard Scene' from 'Seven Psychopaths'. The clip is embedded above.

Continuity

Camera Angles and editing footage make up a system named the 'Continuity System', this system is what allows the audience of a film or video to understand the connection from one shot to another. When continuity is used well in a media productions, the end result will have a 'seamless' effect, which will allow the audience to follow the action without being left confused and aware of what is happening. 

I am going to write about the continuity of my chosen scene from the seven psychopaths, to start with I will write about establishing shots.

Establishing shots:

An Establishing Shot in a film is a shot which helps show the context in a scene.

At the beginning of my chosen scene, the first shot we see of the graveyard is an establishing shot, this is because the shot tells us where we are and shows us the area the next scene/scenes are going to be shot in. The establishing shot we see here is also a wide shot because we have the 'jack 'o' diamonds' sitting in the middle of the cemetery behind a gravestone and lots of scenery can be seen to the right and left of him.

Main Protagonist: 

The main protagonist is the character who appears on screen the most, in my chosen scene the main protagonist is probably the story teller who is seen at the start, shots always go back to him and his voice is heard throughout the entire scene.

180 degree rule: 

The 180 degree rule states that there is a 'line' which the cameras in the scene must not cross and must stay on a certain side of, if this rule is broken it may cause confusion in the viewers of the film because it will be as if the characters re swapping sides without moving.

The 180 degree rule isn't needed as much in this scene because the only shots we see are of the seven psychopaths, and they always stay on the same side, but at certain points people do change around, although because this is a shootout scene with lots of action it could contribute to the fact that the action would seem more because of the 180 rule being broken, disorientation usually occurs when the rule is broken, there is not an example of the rule being broken in my chosen scene but in Stanley Kubrick's, 'The Shining' the rule is broken during a bathroom scene between Delbert Grady and Jack Torrance . The scene is below:
                                                                                                                       


Shot-Reverse-Shot:

Shot reverse shot is a camera angle which shows one character looking at another, this shot then switches round so the other character is looking at the first character seen looking, this shot shows that two characters are interacting with each other. 
The first shot-reverse-shot in my chosen scene is at the start around the campfire, it shows the two characters sitting down looking at the character pitching the story. Another example of shot reverse shot is when the writers ex-girlfriend is shot, before she is 'mowed down' the two have a short conversation.  Although there are examples of shot reverse shot in my chosen scene they are not very easy to see, so instead I have found another clip which helps show a shot reverse shot more clearly.



Match on Actions:

There are lots of match on actions throughout my original clip because it is a shootout, this means that when people shot, the match on action will show them shooting and where the bullet ends. Basically a match on action is where for instance someone shoots a gun in one shot, and the next shot will then show where this bullet ends, and in my scene the bullet is usually ending up in someone's skull. A really noticeable match on action would be when the crossbow is fired toward the end of the scene and you see it leave one shot, and end up in the next shot through the enemies head. 

Motivated Editing:

Motivated editing is a way of helping to suspend the audiences disbelief when watching a film/video. 

Motivated editing is where the shots are used to move a story along and make the audience believe what they are seeing. For example, imagine there is a shot of someone walking into a room and then looking around,  after the character has looked around then you should cut to a shot of that actors point of view. This way the audience get to see exactly what that actor sees and it makes them feel like the film is more realistic and that they are more involved with the film and the character and the story, it also 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.

Sound Bridges:

There is one massive sound bridge throughout this scene and that is when the man is telling/presenting his idea to his friends about the shootout in the graveyard, this is where a sound begins in one clip and then carries on in the next. While I am talking about the sound narrating the clip this could also be motivated editing, this is where someone says something in one clip and it has an impact on what happens in the next clip, this could also be an example of it. This sound bridge could also be seen as a narration because it is explaining what is happening on screen

Close ups:

Close ups are an important part of a production, it helps the audience to understand the importance or danger in an object. In my chosen scene there is only one noticeable close up, this is when the married couple both get shot and the wedding ring falls out of the mans hand, this is giving/showing importance towards the ring. 

Below is a compilation of all of the POV (Point Of View) shots from the TV series 'Breaking Bad'. Most of the example are the POV of an object rather than a person



Reaction Shot:

My chosen clip does not have a reaction shot in it, instead I have found another one from 'Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs'. Reaction shots are used to show how a character or characters react to something which is usually happening off screen.



My clip did not include all of the Editing techniques so I will cover the following by explaining what they mean.

Shot Variation: This is where the filmmaker has used various different shots in one clip, this tends to make the particular scene more interesting.

Montage: This is where a series of short of medium length clips are edited so that they are joined together into one large clip.

Cross Cutting:  this is an editing technique which is used to establish action occurring at the same time in two different locations. The first clip will 'cut away' to another clip.

Editing Rhythm: The editing rhythm of a film is how quickly the clips are editing and changed, for example in an action films each shot will be short because a lot of things are happening whereas in a romance film the speed of the shots changing will be much slower.

Jump Cut: Jump cuts are a sudden cuts from one scene to another, the do not flow as nicely as a normal cuts.

Multiple Points of View: This is where one shot is seen in other shots from lots of different points of views.

Providing a withholding information: This is where information is either given or not given to the audience, this is usually used to create suspense.

Cutaway: This is where something in a shot happens and the person is reminded of it and another shot is shown, showing what they're thinking or explaining. 

Cutting To Soundtrack: This editing technique is when a particular shot or scene is edited and motivated by that particular piece of music or song within the scene.