Thursday, 30 June 2011

Editing techniques

Film and video editing has always been a fascinating and diverse art form. It has an almost invisible importance, captivating viewers without them even noticing.

The use of simple camera techniques can create dramatic impact; guide the viewer through the story; emphasize certain areas and generally control the pace and emotion of the film. This has lead to a high level of engagement with the viewer and no matter how the editing techniques have evolved we are still captivated by watching films. The viewer has evolved with the editing techniques resulting in the high level of devotion and engagement to the wonderful world of film.

The earliest films were not over a minute long, meaning they had no or limited narrative. A great example of this was the work of Louis Lumiere. His film ‘‘La Sortie de l'Usine Lumière à Lyon was known as the very first motion picture. It is a silent documentary made in 1895 that consists of a single shot in which workers are simply leaving a factory. It is only 46 seconds in length meaning its narrative is limited.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYpKZx090UE


It was quickly discovered that only by editing shots together could you create a more lengthy and complex story. So by the early 1900s films began to cut and paste scenes together. A great example of this is ‘The great train robbery’, produced by Thomas Edison and directed by Edwin S. Porter in 1903. This was the first film to actually tell a story by adding different shots together. As well as adding scenes together, the inclusion of crosscutting was a main feature of the film. This technique hadn’t been used before this.

Cross cutting or alternatively, parallel editing is the technique of alternating two different scenes which are meant to be occurring simultaneously, usually in different places. The clip below is an example of where this has been used in the film.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc7wWOmEGGY


Here you can see how the scene switches between the robbers and the person they tied up. It continues to switch to another group of people then back to the robbers.

Edwin S. Porter demonstrated in his films that a director could create their own time and space, controlling the very pace of the film. Prior to this, film narratives were simply linear. Two events occurring at the same time would usually be shown from start to finish in succession.

Although Porters films were a breakthrough at the time they were still very basic. Each scene only used cuts to join scenes. This is where director D. W. Griffiths came along. He is best known for his groundbreaking film ‘The birth of a nation’ (1915) which changed the previous primitive idea of editing.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEznh2JZvrI&feature=related


Much like Porter he used the crosscutting technique. It is much more clear in this film than in porters that each scene is happening simultaneously. He switches between the two scenes rapidly which builds up more tension and speeds up the pace. This keeps the viewer more stimulated. As well as the crosscutting technique he incorporated new techniques. He used intercutting within scenes. This got rid of the static feel of previous films. It meant that you got to see a scene from different angles making the film flow better according to the emotions of the piece.

He would cut from long shots to close up shots of people. This added a lot more intensity and drama to the scenes. One of the main techniques used in this film is called continuity editing. It was used to maintain a continuous and clear narrative action. This maintained a fluid movement between scenes. A good example of this technique is shown below where the two women are entering a door from the outside. The scene cuts from the outside to the inside. This meant that no matter how far apart the two places actually are, they could both be used smoothly in one scene.

Porter and Griffith paved the way of editing for many years. The techniques they used such as crosscutting, continuity editing and intercutting within scenes are still used in films today. A very successful modern use of crosscutting can be seen in the key scene below from ‘Silence of the Lambs’ (1991). A film directed by Jonathan Demme.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts1x6uADFtM



Following on from the Griffith style of editing was the Hollywood style, ‘invisible editing’. This of course became extremely popular. It incorporated the continuity editing style that Griffith used but also developed other techniques such as the 180 degree rule (a guideline that states that two characters in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other), the establishing shot (an extreme-long shot at the start of a scene indicating where, and when the rest of the scene takes place) and the short reverse shot (one character is shown looking at another and then the other character is shown looking back. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes they are looking at each other).

Here the techniques are more perfected with the use of colour but apart from that the same techniques have been used. This proves the importance of these techniques. You can see straight away by intercutting within scenes it allows the viewer more insight into the situation.

Altogether the Hollywood style is very subtle and continuous. A great example of this Hollywood ‘invisible editing’ is the work of Alfred Hitchcock. His film ‘rear window’ (1954) especially incorporates all these techniques.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDXoboe7o1w



As you can see that the film begins with an establishing shot as it shows the surroundings of the characters. It then moves up from the cat to other establishing shots that show the surroundings of other characters. The 180-degree rule operates quite obviously in the one–on-one scenes between Kelly and Stewart. The camera refuses to cross the invisible line. The line that is made by the master shot that has established the characters relative position.

All these techniques get used in films made now creating a wondrous array of feeling and emotion. It is these techniques that have enhanced our love of film and fully engaged us over the years.


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