Film and video editing techniques assignment 2
I have been asked to prepare a blog post for new students who are considering editing their first film, in this blog post it should include information on the development, theories and conventions of editing.
The history of editing
Before how easy it is now to create an edit of a film it was very hard to edit years and years ago, this was due to computers which were yet to be invented never mind programmes such as Adobe PremierPro. There were many things which people did years ago and Eadward Muybridge was one of them, he set up 14 still cameras which triggered as the horse went over them, this showed the horse's legs all coming up off the ground at the same time, he did this because he wanted to find out if all the horses legs came off the floor at one time, during his investigation he found out that they actually did. An image of this is shown below.
The Lumiere brothers were the first filmmakers in history, the film reel was 17 metres long which could only hold 50 seconds of film, they also created the cinematographe which was the early camera and first large scale projector. They also shot films outside local factories when it was time for workers to go home, they filmed them all walking out of the factory, whilst doing this they also handed out leaflets to the workers they made money out of this because the workers had never seen anything like it, never mind themselves on the big screen.
When it was time to edit the film they had to physically unroll the film and cut it manually, which resulted in a messy process as well as lots of footage also got lost. Then the flatbed editor was made by Willham Steenbeck. An image of this is shown below.
Then the CMX 600 was first brought into the business, which was the first digital editing system. Referred to as RAVE ( Random access video editor ) without this we wouldn't have Premiere Pro or Apple Final Cut. An image of the CMX 600 is shown below.
Purposes of editing
Editing determines meaning in a film in the same that a sonnet helps determine meaning in poetry, in most Hollywood films editing helps determine at least four dimensions of film narrative: in what order you receive information about the plot, how much information you are supposed to receive about the narrative, how you are supposed to feel about events and characters at any given time, and how you are supposed to experience the pace of the narrative. In addition to this editing can serve an intellectual function with different meanings about the activities you're seeing, as well as emotional appeals. Editing determines the pace and the mood of a film in three ways: one pf these is that the editor determines the duration of the shot, yes the director also does this when shooting but when it is time to edit the film then the editor gets to do this part also, generally the longer the shot, the slower the pace, this is why short scenes are very effective. Another way it determines the pace and the mood is that the editor can decide what goes in or out of a sequence, and finally the kind of edit between shots also determines the speed. Timing is the time and duration it takes to cut from one shot to another, timing also has to do with the stream of camera shots that create meaning.
Conventions of editing
There are many conventions of editing which can include continuity, jump cuts, the 180 degree rule, uses of the dissolve, shot-reverse-shot and cutting to a sound track. Camera shots and movements are typical conventions to help to give the film its thriller ' feel ', as different camera angles create different senses of emotions and body language. To do this, shots such as close ups are used quite frequently as a way to portray the emotions of characters much easier. Camera movements sometimes help make the film feel more intense, and can make it seem much more realistic to the viewer. An example of this would be the movement of the camera of a bad character point of view to make it look as though they're following them etc. Finally a different convention of editing is editing in itself, different conventional editing techniques can help the film develop a much more intense atmosphere for the viewers. An example of these editing techniques could be quick cuts, used to make the scene much more fast paced. Another example would be fade to black, this fade to black commonly used at the end of intense scenes to dull them down. When the scene fades to black, it adds an element of mystery as the viewer isn't aware of what is going to happen next. One of the most basic continuity rules in media and film is the 180° rule. If you're shooting a short film or interview, it's important to set the scene and establish your characters in space and time in order for the viewer to follow the action. When you shoot a scene with actors imagine a line extending out between them, you can move your camera anywhere along that line, as long as you don't cross over the line to the other side. Below is an image of the 180° rule. Dissolve in film making is a process of film editing and video editing, a dissolve is a gradual transition from one image to another. The terms fade-out and fade-in are used to describe a transition to and from a blank image. This is in contrast to a cut where there is no such transition. Cutting to a soundtrack is a technique where each cut is influenced by the style of music heard in the background, this means if the scene is a bad one, perhaps at a funeral, a slow song will be played. If there is a car chase the music is going to be fast and upbeat. Finally the shot reverse shot is extremely important and exceptionally used in most films, this is because the shot reverse shot is an editing style that shows a conversation between two or more people. Most shot reverse shots are over the shoulder shots or cuts between eye line matches.
Conclusion
In this blog post I believe I have explained the history of editing, the purposes of editing and the conventions of editing, I think I have completed these with very good explanations as well as with examples, I think new students who are considering editing their first film will get a better understanding of it if they view this blog post.
Purposes of editing
Editing determines meaning in a film in the same that a sonnet helps determine meaning in poetry, in most Hollywood films editing helps determine at least four dimensions of film narrative: in what order you receive information about the plot, how much information you are supposed to receive about the narrative, how you are supposed to feel about events and characters at any given time, and how you are supposed to experience the pace of the narrative. In addition to this editing can serve an intellectual function with different meanings about the activities you're seeing, as well as emotional appeals. Editing determines the pace and the mood of a film in three ways: one pf these is that the editor determines the duration of the shot, yes the director also does this when shooting but when it is time to edit the film then the editor gets to do this part also, generally the longer the shot, the slower the pace, this is why short scenes are very effective. Another way it determines the pace and the mood is that the editor can decide what goes in or out of a sequence, and finally the kind of edit between shots also determines the speed. Timing is the time and duration it takes to cut from one shot to another, timing also has to do with the stream of camera shots that create meaning.
Conventions of editing
There are many conventions of editing which can include continuity, jump cuts, the 180 degree rule, uses of the dissolve, shot-reverse-shot and cutting to a sound track. Camera shots and movements are typical conventions to help to give the film its thriller ' feel ', as different camera angles create different senses of emotions and body language. To do this, shots such as close ups are used quite frequently as a way to portray the emotions of characters much easier. Camera movements sometimes help make the film feel more intense, and can make it seem much more realistic to the viewer. An example of this would be the movement of the camera of a bad character point of view to make it look as though they're following them etc. Finally a different convention of editing is editing in itself, different conventional editing techniques can help the film develop a much more intense atmosphere for the viewers. An example of these editing techniques could be quick cuts, used to make the scene much more fast paced. Another example would be fade to black, this fade to black commonly used at the end of intense scenes to dull them down. When the scene fades to black, it adds an element of mystery as the viewer isn't aware of what is going to happen next. One of the most basic continuity rules in media and film is the 180° rule. If you're shooting a short film or interview, it's important to set the scene and establish your characters in space and time in order for the viewer to follow the action. When you shoot a scene with actors imagine a line extending out between them, you can move your camera anywhere along that line, as long as you don't cross over the line to the other side. Below is an image of the 180° rule. Dissolve in film making is a process of film editing and video editing, a dissolve is a gradual transition from one image to another. The terms fade-out and fade-in are used to describe a transition to and from a blank image. This is in contrast to a cut where there is no such transition. Cutting to a soundtrack is a technique where each cut is influenced by the style of music heard in the background, this means if the scene is a bad one, perhaps at a funeral, a slow song will be played. If there is a car chase the music is going to be fast and upbeat. Finally the shot reverse shot is extremely important and exceptionally used in most films, this is because the shot reverse shot is an editing style that shows a conversation between two or more people. Most shot reverse shots are over the shoulder shots or cuts between eye line matches.
Conclusion
In this blog post I believe I have explained the history of editing, the purposes of editing and the conventions of editing, I think I have completed these with very good explanations as well as with examples, I think new students who are considering editing their first film will get a better understanding of it if they view this blog post.
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