The concept of editing has developed vastly over the last 50 years; there are
many ways in which you can edit now that were not possible a long time ago. The
process of editing clips together has been altered for ease of use; this makes
it faster and you do not have to be a professional to do so. I will go through
some of the ways in which editing has developed in this assignment.
First of all, the cameras used within the past 50 years have not been
as advanced what we have now. 50 years ago they could only film in
monochrome, with there only being a limited amount of film; the amount of time
they could record for was however much film roll they had in the camera. There
was no play back feature either, as there would have been no display monitor.
They could only watch the recording back once it had been developed some time
later. This is a big difference to what you can do now as you can now look back
at a clip and delete it/re-record it if you do not like it; 50 years ago, you
could not tell whether it was a good shot or not until it would be too late to
say you want to do it again. Also, camera movement was non-existent as they did
not have the equipment to move their heavy cameras around steadily.
Below is a clip showing several films by the Lumiere Brothers. It is said that they are the creators of the first movie that was made for public consumption. Even though their films were around 40 seconds long, they would be played for audiences and they would be the first of its kind. The films were not very long because they only had enough film in the camera for the entire 40 seconds (approx.). The first film that they made was called ''Exiting The Factory'' (La Sortie de l'Usine) and was shot in their own factory. It simply shows dozens of people (possibly workers) exiting the factory with the camera being in one static position. There was no soundtrack on the film as they did not have the technology to do this. Therefore, it was a silent film although there have been interpretation of it with a piano soundtrack which had been introduced some time later.
The Miller and the Sweep is an 1897 short silent comedy film by G.A. Smith. It shows a miller carrying a bag of flour and a chimney sweep with a bag of soot. They are seen to have a fight, swinging their sacks at each other and the contents spilling out. A crowd then comes to chase them away. The film is in one static position and is set in front of a windmill. It is said to be one of the first films to show a clear awareness of visual impact. It is one of the earliest films created by G.A. Smith and it is shown in the clip below. Another example of one of his films is The Kiss in the Tunnel. This film was created just 2 years after the previously mentioned although run for 1 minute 2 seconds instead of 49 seconds. This film also has different shots instead of being in one static position.
Charles Pathe, another major pioneer of the film industry, formed Pathe Records with his brother Emile. The company later went on to become dominant within the industry. A film created by them, titled ''The Horse That Bolted'', was the first to show parallel editing. Someone else who was an early pioneer to editing within film is D.W. Griffith. He was one of the first to use cross cutting and an example would be within his film ''The Birth of a Nation'' (1915) shown below. It shows parallel actions happening at different locations at the same time. Griffith's work influenced others within the film world and started off the basics of editing. A second example of a film that cross cutting being used would be in a more recent film titled ''The Godfather'' (1972). It shows a christening happening which is about God and blessing, then switches to various murders taking place.
The next development of editing is called following the action. This technique is where the camera follows the action/event that is unfolding; it makes the viewer feel as though they are there and that they are a part of the on-screen world. Also, it lets the viewer see more of the scene instead of just viewing it from any one angle. In the clip below the camera follows the actions around, with it being at the center of all the commotion throughout. The reason there are so many shots within this one scene is to show the commotion and how intense it is; it is mimicking the actions seen on screen (gun shots, explosions, falling debris etc.). Also, the use of shot reverse shot has been used a lot within this scene as it allows the viewer to follow the actions happening within the scene; they can see the main characters and then suddenly see what these characters are looking at. The way this has changed is that in the past the cameras would not be moved around the scene; they would, instead, record a scene from a static position as they did not have the equipment to move the cameras around as frantically as they can do now days with dolly tracks and cranes. Shot variation is also used to follow action, such as in the clip below from ''The Matrix''.
The next development of editing is called following the action. This technique is where the camera follows the action/event that is unfolding; it makes the viewer feel as though they are there and that they are a part of the on-screen world. Also, it lets the viewer see more of the scene instead of just viewing it from any one angle. In the clip below the camera follows the actions around, with it being at the center of all the commotion throughout. The reason there are so many shots within this one scene is to show the commotion and how intense it is; it is mimicking the actions seen on screen (gun shots, explosions, falling debris etc.). Also, the use of shot reverse shot has been used a lot within this scene as it allows the viewer to follow the actions happening within the scene; they can see the main characters and then suddenly see what these characters are looking at. The way this has changed is that in the past the cameras would not be moved around the scene; they would, instead, record a scene from a static position as they did not have the equipment to move the cameras around as frantically as they can do now days with dolly tracks and cranes. Shot variation is also used to follow action, such as in the clip below from ''The Matrix''.
Edward Dmytryk was an American film director who put forward theories around several rules of editing. He was of a group of ten blacklisted Hollywood professionals serving time in prison in which time wrote several books on film making. His rules stated that you should: never make a cut without a positive reason, cut long rather than short, cut in movement, fresh is preferable to the stale, scenes should begin/end with continuing action, cut for values rather than matches, substance first and then form. The video below shows these theories being put into action. According to Walter Murch, American film editor, there are six rules to be followed; you should think how a cut will affect emotion, is the story moved in a meaningful way, does it make rhythmic sense, how does it affect the movement/location, is the axis followed, and does it make spacial/physical sense.
Another way that editing has been developed is when film makers would combine shots into sequences. This is when different shots are combined although still follow a logical sequence. A man by the name of Edwin Porter, who some consider the pioneer of film editing, was brought to fame by his ability to construct a film using multiple shots; before this, most films were just one static shot with the actions taking place directly in front of this camera. His theory was that the editing is what tells the story and plays a large role within a film, not the actors. Porter is known for creating over 250 films although the 2 that stand out are titled ''The Great Train Robbery'' and ''Life of an American Fireman''. The film below, "Life of an American Fireman", is a film by Porter and shows a house on fire with a woman being rescued. Porter edited these clips together in a way that shows the action on screen from two perspectives; it shows the actions taking place from both inside and outside the building.
In-camera editing has changed over the last 50 years as it went from being widely used to not being used as much; in camera editing is when shots are recorded in the order that they will be displayed, meaning that the post production process is not neccesary. This, though, will take a lot of planning before hand so that the clips blend together in a way that keeps it continuous. If the shots do not line up perfectly it means that the outcome will not be perfect although it is a quick process if you have a deadline to meet. This method was used as you couldn't edit the film whilst using the camera with the technology they had back then. They had to wait for it to process until they could literally cut it and stick it all together accordingly, although this process was not available to do on the camera. With cameras now days, we can do this same process although if it doesn't go well at any point, we can delete parts of a clip or rewind tape.
Below is a clip showing several films by the Lumiere Brothers. It is said that they are the creators of the first movie that was made for public consumption. Even though their films were around 40 seconds long, they would be played for audiences and they would be the first of its kind. The films were not very long because they only had enough film in the camera for the entire 40 seconds (approx.). The first film that they made was called ''Exiting The Factory'' (La Sortie de l'Usine) and was shot in their own factory. It simply shows dozens of people (possibly workers) exiting the factory with the camera being in one static position. There was no soundtrack on the film as they did not have the technology to do this. Therefore, it was a silent film although there have been interpretation of it with a piano soundtrack which had been introduced some time later.
The Miller and the Sweep is an 1897 short silent comedy film by G.A. Smith. It shows a miller carrying a bag of flour and a chimney sweep with a bag of soot. They are seen to have a fight, swinging their sacks at each other and the contents spilling out. A crowd then comes to chase them away. The film is in one static position and is set in front of a windmill. It is said to be one of the first films to show a clear awareness of visual impact. It is one of the earliest films created by G.A. Smith and it is shown in the clip below. Another example of one of his films is The Kiss in the Tunnel. This film was created just 2 years after the previously mentioned although run for 1 minute 2 seconds instead of 49 seconds. This film also has different shots instead of being in one static position.
Charles Pathe, another major pioneer of the film industry, formed Pathe Records with his brother Emile. The company later went on to become dominant within the industry. A film created by them, titled ''The Horse That Bolted'', was the first to show parallel editing. Someone else who was an early pioneer to editing within film is D.W. Griffith. He was one of the first to use cross cutting and an example would be within his film ''The Birth of a Nation'' (1915) shown below. It shows parallel actions happening at different locations at the same time. Griffith's work influenced others within the film world and started off the basics of editing. A second example of a film that cross cutting being used would be in a more recent film titled ''The Godfather'' (1972). It shows a christening happening which is about God and blessing, then switches to various murders taking place.
The next development of editing is called following the action. This technique is where the camera follows the action/event that is unfolding; it makes the viewer feel as though they are there and that they are a part of the on-screen world. Also, it lets the viewer see more of the scene instead of just viewing it from any one angle. In the clip below the camera follows the actions around, with it being at the center of all the commotion throughout. The reason there are so many shots within this one scene is to show the commotion and how intense it is; it is mimicking the actions seen on screen (gun shots, explosions, falling debris etc.). Also, the use of shot reverse shot has been used a lot within this scene as it allows the viewer to follow the actions happening within the scene; they can see the main characters and then suddenly see what these characters are looking at. The way this has changed is that in the past the cameras would not be moved around the scene; they would, instead, record a scene from a static position as they did not have the equipment to move the cameras around as frantically as they can do now days with dolly tracks and cranes. Shot variation is also used to follow action, such as in the clip below from ''The Matrix''.
The next development of editing is called following the action. This technique is where the camera follows the action/event that is unfolding; it makes the viewer feel as though they are there and that they are a part of the on-screen world. Also, it lets the viewer see more of the scene instead of just viewing it from any one angle. In the clip below the camera follows the actions around, with it being at the center of all the commotion throughout. The reason there are so many shots within this one scene is to show the commotion and how intense it is; it is mimicking the actions seen on screen (gun shots, explosions, falling debris etc.). Also, the use of shot reverse shot has been used a lot within this scene as it allows the viewer to follow the actions happening within the scene; they can see the main characters and then suddenly see what these characters are looking at. The way this has changed is that in the past the cameras would not be moved around the scene; they would, instead, record a scene from a static position as they did not have the equipment to move the cameras around as frantically as they can do now days with dolly tracks and cranes. Shot variation is also used to follow action, such as in the clip below from ''The Matrix''.
Edward Dmytryk was an American film director who put forward theories around several rules of editing. He was of a group of ten blacklisted Hollywood professionals serving time in prison in which time wrote several books on film making. His rules stated that you should: never make a cut without a positive reason, cut long rather than short, cut in movement, fresh is preferable to the stale, scenes should begin/end with continuing action, cut for values rather than matches, substance first and then form. The video below shows these theories being put into action. According to Walter Murch, American film editor, there are six rules to be followed; you should think how a cut will affect emotion, is the story moved in a meaningful way, does it make rhythmic sense, how does it affect the movement/location, is the axis followed, and does it make spacial/physical sense.
Another way that editing has been developed is when film makers would combine shots into sequences. This is when different shots are combined although still follow a logical sequence. A man by the name of Edwin Porter, who some consider the pioneer of film editing, was brought to fame by his ability to construct a film using multiple shots; before this, most films were just one static shot with the actions taking place directly in front of this camera. His theory was that the editing is what tells the story and plays a large role within a film, not the actors. Porter is known for creating over 250 films although the 2 that stand out are titled ''The Great Train Robbery'' and ''Life of an American Fireman''. The film below, "Life of an American Fireman", is a film by Porter and shows a house on fire with a woman being rescued. Porter edited these clips together in a way that shows the action on screen from two perspectives; it shows the actions taking place from both inside and outside the building.
In-camera editing has changed over the last 50 years as it went from being widely used to not being used as much; in camera editing is when shots are recorded in the order that they will be displayed, meaning that the post production process is not neccesary. This, though, will take a lot of planning before hand so that the clips blend together in a way that keeps it continuous. If the shots do not line up perfectly it means that the outcome will not be perfect although it is a quick process if you have a deadline to meet. This method was used as you couldn't edit the film whilst using the camera with the technology they had back then. They had to wait for it to process until they could literally cut it and stick it all together accordingly, although this process was not available to do on the camera. With cameras now days, we can do this same process although if it doesn't go well at any point, we can delete parts of a clip or rewind tape.
The Kuleshov effect, named after Lev Kuleshov, is a way in which editing is used to tell several different stories with one repetitive shot of a expressionless man and several other shots of subjects. The man stared into space, with the following shot alternating between subjects such as a plate of soup, a girl in a coffin, and a woman on a chair. This film was shown to audiences who then believed that each expression on the man's face was different when looking at different subjects, even though he had the same expression in each shot. This experiment shows just how effective the editing of clips can be within the film world and how this can be used to tell a story.
Montage is when many different clips are edited together at a fast pace. The clips are put together in a way to show the viewer a long process being taken out in a matter of minutes. A famous example of where this has been used many times is the Rocky films. In all 7 films, there will undoubtedly be a scene where Rocky has to train to become more powerful than before. This process, in real life, would have taken up a long period of time although the clips are placed together to show this process quickly. The pace of this editing also reflects the actions within the clips as they usually show very chaotic, powerful moves. Below is a montage scene from Rocky I, which lasts around 2 and a half minutes. At the beginning of the clip, as the music is slow, Rocky is seen to be jogging slowly which mimics the music. As the music then crescendos, his routine gets more intense and the editing cuts more frequently. Another example of when montage was used would be within ''Apocalypse Now'' directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
Continuity is when footage is consistent throughout, including persons, plot, objects etc. Each shot flows together without noticeable dramatic changes. It would not be a logical sequence if a man, for example, was wearing a red shirt and then it cut to the following shot and he was wearing a blue shirt. Sometimes in film, though, this does accidentally happen as they record some parts of a film in advance. There have been continuity errors within film although some are more obvious than others. The video below shows a sequence I filmed presenting good continuity, with each shot flowing together in a logical order. Other types of continuity editing techniques include eye-line match, match on action, and graphic match. An eye-line match is when an actor is looking at something in the distance which isn't shown on screen and then the next shot shows what they are looking at. Match on action is when an actor is seen to begin taking out an action and then seen continuing this action through another shot. A graphic match is when two shots link together showing a similarity in positioning or shape. An example of this would be in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Psycho''. In the shower scene, the drain from the shower is matched with the eye of the lady.
The Soviet Montage theory is cinema that relies heavily upon the editing process. One of the most famous Soviet filmmakers, Sergei Eisenstein, put forward various views about the idea of montage. He explained his idea around two or more images being edited together that can create a third ''thing'' to give the scene a different meaning. To demonstrate a way in which Eisenstein uses the power of montage is within ''Strike'' and the 1925 film ''Battleship Potemkin'' (shown below). The montage allowed Eisenstein to stretch out time of the battle happening on the stairs, making it seem as though the fight lasted several minutes. Dziga Vertov was another soviet pioneer and practiced in a documentation style within film. Also shown below is his film ''Man With a Movie Camera''.
A jump cut shows two shots of an object taken from different positions; this then causes the object within a scene to jump to another position in a non-continuous way. A famous clip in which jump cutting is used is this car scene from À bout de souffle; it shows a woman having a conversation seated in a car although, as she is conversing, the background keeps cutting to different areas. This is done to give a sense of the length of this journey, although the speech between clips is flowing making it continuous. The jump-cut is used here to draw attention to the way in which the film has been constructed, and so it does as it has become an iconic scene for jump-cutting.
Multiple points of view are used within the film world to
portray how various people see a subject. There are different ways in which you
can show points of view within a film. First of all the camera can be placed
where the subject's eyes are, showing what the character is looking at. This is
a first person shot as it shows the scene through the character's eyes like it
would do in real life. This allows the viewer to see through the character's
eyes and feel as though they are looking at a subject for themselves. This incorporates
the viewer and makes them feel involved within the film. These shots can be
filmed with a helmet camera or normally on a tripod. Using over the shoulder
shots can also show a point of view; they are usually used in conversations and
it switches sides frequently. This is to show who is talking and who they are
talking to. This is used within ''Peep Show'' as shots are seen through all characters' eyes whilst they are narrating, although also shows them through other actors' eyes. A scene can be seen below.
A moviola is an old machine that allowed the editor to view the footage whilst manipulating the film. It was invented in 1924 and was the first machine that allowed for motion picture editing. The video below shows an original moviola being used. Now days we can use various editing software to easily edit a sequence or film. It can be done at home by amateurs or professionals using software all people can get a hold of. Final Cut Pro/Avid are examples of excellent editing software for both beginners and experts to get the best results for their editing. Below is the interface of the Final Cut Pro software showing how someone can easily follow online tutorials to achieve what they want within their film/s.
There are various shots used within the film world which
were not used in previous years. Many different types of shots are cleverly
used by directors to portray different ideas within a film. I will explain some
of them and why they are used. First of all, a long shot is used to show an
entire subject; an example of this would be a person standing in a room with
everything in camera shot so that you could see the persons body and whole
room. A medium shot isolates a subject from it's surroundings. This would be
used to focus on one part of the subject instead of focusing on everything
around it also. An example of this would be having the tyre of a car in shot
instead of having the whole car (like it would be in a long shot). A close up
is another shot that is used to focus the eyes on one point of a subject. The
screen is filled up with one part of a subject, which brings about importance
as you can see it in detail. These shots were never used in the beginning on
film, until a film name ''The Sick Kitten'' used a close up shot. The director
wanted to show the cat in more detail, so he took a close up shot and edited
the clip to make them look continuous. From this point onwards, various
different shot types were explored.
Manipulation of diegetic time and space is when a film
elapses from one time period to another. A change in time or age will occur and
the film will resume from there. A famous example of when this is used is in
the clip below from the film ''2001: A Space Odyssey''. It shows the
prehistoric time where apes dominated and then, when the bone is thrown up into
the air, it transpires to the 'future'. You then see a space shuttle in orbit,
which is very contrary of the barbaric fighting from the apes several seconds
previous to this. Manipulating time is a clever concept to use within film,
although it has to be done well so that it does not get confusing. A film that
goes back in time, instead, is called ''Hot Tub Time Machine''. This film shows
four men travelling back to their childhood in the 80s. The difference between
this film and ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' is that the director could research
what everything was like in the past, although in ''2001: A Space
Odyssey'' they had to guess the future as it was filmed in 1968.
There are two different ways in which
films can be created; they are either created in digital or analogue. When
films first started, they were all done on analogue. This means that they were
recorded on a film reel and then were played back on a projector. The reason
that they used analogue as a way to create films is because, basically, it's
the only technology they had back then as film was rather new. In today's
world, most films are made on digital as there are many downsides to analogue;
first of all, film is expensive and it would take a lot of film to make one
movie. They would then have to look at all the film roll and select which parts
they want to develop. This is very time consuming and there are easier ways
(digital). Digital films are created using information in the form of 1s and 0s
that are processed through a computer. A positive to digital is that the
quality does not decrease after being played back, which does happen with
analogue. Also, with digital, the film is likely to look better as they
can re-watch a clip straight away and then record it
if necessary this was not an available function in the past as they
could not watch back clips until they have been processed.
Video editing is the process in which motion pictures are put together including audio and visual editing. This process can take weeks to refine and some say that films rely heavily upon this process. Editing has become very easy over the years and can be taken out by professionals and amateurs alike. As it can all be done digitally now days, it has become much more easy to take out tasks and then undo them if something goes wrong; this would not have been able to happen many years ago. Non-linear editing is a method allowing you to access frames within your film media and then edit various effects; this can include fades, transitions, and visual effects which can be done at the click of a button. There are also many places on the web that you can refer to in need of help or guidance.
Video editing is the process in which motion pictures are put together including audio and visual editing. This process can take weeks to refine and some say that films rely heavily upon this process. Editing has become very easy over the years and can be taken out by professionals and amateurs alike. As it can all be done digitally now days, it has become much more easy to take out tasks and then undo them if something goes wrong; this would not have been able to happen many years ago. Non-linear editing is a method allowing you to access frames within your film media and then edit various effects; this can include fades, transitions, and visual effects which can be done at the click of a button. There are also many places on the web that you can refer to in need of help or guidance.
