4.Conventions and techniques

Seamless/continuity
Seamless editing is where all the shots that are pieced together and are made into a sequence in the editing are edited in a way that it  makes it look like it is just one long piece of footage and not loads of separate shots brought together. 

Which makes it seamless. But with seamless editing for it to be done correctly there cannot be any continuity error because it will make it obvious that it was taken from a different shot which cannot happen because the whole point of seamless editing is that it flows without even noticing.

This is a short scene from Thor: The Dark World which was shot in different shots and was pieced together in a way where it looks like one piece of footage.

Another example of seamless editing is our Yorkie bar advert because even thought it was shot in parts and on different days it flows and the editing is invisible.

Motivated
A motivated editing technique is a simple way to be able to add transition from one shot, to the next in a sequence. Making a natural looking flowing shot can be quite tricky. 
So the best way to make an edit look good is to make a motivated edit because a motivated edit isn't jumpy and wont effect the audience or how it's viewed.

Motivated edits are all about what is going on in the shots they are either pieced together through the narrative or from the character or even the emotion going on in the scene. the basic idea is that the second shot must follow on from the first and must have a motive for being there whether it be to add tension or to add more emotion to the scene. Motivated editing is often used in the horror genre and also in documentaries that's where it is found most.

Here's two of my own example's of  motivated editing,in both of the videos the shots where pieced together through the narrative, characters and emotions going on in the shots.

Montage
A montage is a technique used film making where a number of short shots are edited together into a sequence to condense sections of time and information.
 A montage is used to normally suggest the passing of time but it ins't just used in films it can be used on other production such as music videos and sometimes even adverts. 
A montage is usually fast paced and short shots like the ones in the film Rocky.

But there are also slow montages like the one in the film Up where it flashes through the couples life.

Jump-cutting
A jump-cut is a transition between two shots the sudden cut of one shot to the other causes a jump in the position of the main focus on the screen. This is due to the way the object has moved between shots.

An example of a jump cut is in the film the ring where the woman comes out the TV in one scene and she  jumps forward. Play the clip from 3:43

One of my own examples of jump cutting is in the video at the bottom of this document because there is more than one technique used within the video.

Parallel editing
Another word for Parallel editing is cross cutting this is where the shots alternate from one and other and often happen simultaneously but are in different locations.
People use Parallel editing to add excitement and create suspense to a scene which would otherwise be boring if there wasn't the element of alternating from one shot to the other. 

An example of Parallel editing is form the film the Godfather where you see two different things happening in different locations at the same time.

I have two of my own examples of Parallel editing below.

180 degree rule
The 180 degree rule is a guideline that says that if two characters are in the same scene and the first shot that is taken is from the right side of the characters then the rest of the shots must also be shot on the right side of the characters.
If the camera breaks the 180 degree rule that is called crossing the line and the new shot would confuse the views as the person who was wearing blue was on the left but because the camera crossed the line then they are now on the right and also by crossing the line it changes the viewers perspective.

The diagram below is a visual representation of the 180 degree rule.

Transitions
Transitions are used in post to move from one shot to the other and help them to flow better.
There are alot of transitions that can be used.
cut- A cut is the most common transition and provides an instant change from one shot to the next. In the making of a production cuts are used even before the editing stage. When using the camera cuts are being created whenever the camera has stopped and started recording. in the film and television production the biggest number of transition are cuts.

Then we have Mix/Dissolve/Cross fade all these terms are describing the same transition which is a gradual fade out/In from shot to shot. This kind of transition had that more relaxed feel not like a cut, Cross fades are useful if you want a meandering pace or a contemplative mood in the film. cross fade can also be useful if the film conveys a sense of passing time or a change of location.

Then there is the fade transition. A fade is a transition that fade out form one shot to a block colour which is usually black or white. this transition would normally be used to signal the begging and end of a production whether it be a film or TV show. Fades can also be used like a cross fade to go in between shot the only difference being instead of it fading form shot to shot in between the two shots it will go to black or white before it fades into a new shot.

The last one is the wipe transition. using a wipe transition shots are progressively replaced by another shot in a pattern. When it comes to wipes there are many different types from straight lines to different shapes and are a great way to show the change in location.
Wipes normally have coloured borders to help the editor to distinguish the shot during the transition.

An example of the transitions in is Stanley Kubrick's film The Shining he uses cuts to a title and then wipes or fades to the next scene.

An example for the use of transitions is in another one of my videos below where I have used a series of transition to cut from shot to shot.

Cutaways
A cutaway is used as a filler between shots to help with the flow of the sequence and also help make the editing process easier. A cutaway is a shot that is used to fill in the gaps for an example an interview the editor has an hour of footage but only need 45 minutes of that footage, They would take some  shots something relevant to what the interview is about to use as a cutaway to fill in the blanks from the footage that has been cut. This also helps prevent jump cuts if not wanted.

Here's an example of a cut away from the dance rehearsal scene out of One Direction's movie This Is Us.

Point of view shot
A point of view shot is where the viewer sees what the character is seeing, like they are that character.
The way they would do this is have the camera eye level the with character and use the camera like its the eye of the character on screen so that the audience is seeing what the character is. This can be used to give the audience the illusion that they are that character and they are in the film walking round in a certain location.

An example of this is in the video at the bottom of the document because there is more than one of these techniques used in the video.

Shot-reverse shot 
Shot- reverse shot is a technique used where a character is looking at another character but they are off screen and then the camera flips to get a shot of the other character who was off screen looking at the character who was on screen this makes the audience assume that both character are looking directly at each other. 

Shot- reverse shot is very popular in classic Hollywood style editing. The one important thing with this shot is that the character need to be still looking in the same direction to make the illusion a success, this is an example of an eye line match in the film making process.

An example of shot- reverse shot is in The Hunger games where katniss is talking to peter by the window in the first film before they enter the games.

Another example of Shot-reverse shot is in this short film our group made because it goes from what one character is seeing to what the other character is seeing.

Providing and withholding information
Providing and withholding information is when the editor will try and make the narrative seem more dramatic by either giving away more information to the audience or taking it away and giving them less information.

Providing and withholding information is used alot in TV soaps and dramas like Eastenders for example when they had the who killed Archie story line. The scene where Archie gets killed was quite a dramatic scene,  slowed down and they only use close ups and extreme close ups of Archie's face to shots of the snow globe he is holding to the queen Victoria bust that is used to kill him but throughout the scene you do not see the killer so the editor is taking away the information form the audience.

Cutting to soundtrack
Cutting to soundtrack or Rhythm editing is when you have a sequence of shots piece together to cut and change to the time and Rhythm of a rhythmic pattern of some of some kind whether it be a song or a sound effect.

An example of cutting to soundtrack is with Little Mix's video to their song wings there are numerous times within the video where the shots change to the beat of the track.

The video below is my own music video which has examples of cutting to soundtrack, point of view shots, transitions, parallel editing, jump cutting and seamless/continuity editing.

3.purposes

Storytelling
Editing can be used in many different way and is used for alot of different purposes, one of the purposes of editing is storytelling. A good piece of editing means you have a good piece of footage. It doesn't matter what kind of sequence it is any sequence has to be able to tell a story to be able to engage and entertain the audience, after all the audience are the people you are trying to please with your work so they need to be able to get drawn into the story.

 To be able to do that the story needs to be told well, which the first step is editing. The editing is one of the most important things with storytelling because if the footage isn't pieced together so it flows smoothly then the audience may lose interest.

Like with the film The notebook it tells the story of Ally and Noah from the day they first met to the end. going back and fourth from the memories to the present time. The scenes flow well and keep the audience hooked on the story of the two lovers.

One of my own examples is my Saving Scarlett video because its following the story of Scarlett and her sister who she cant see helping her through life up to how Scarlett finds out who she is.

Another one of my own examples is the Stop bullying video because it follows the story of the main character as she is being bullied up to the point where she see gets help.

Combining shots into sequences
Combining shots into sequences is all part of the process of bringing all the shot filmed and making them flow into one. When all of them should have been edited on there own then they can be placed together to form a sequence.
A successful edit means that the sequence will look good but to ensure that it looks good the editing need to look none existent. So then it is not visible to the audience, which makes it look like one long sequence instead of separate shots.

This is not just done in films music videos do this as well combining different shot and bringing them together so that the artist is still miming the lyrics to the time of the music but in different locations.

For example in one direction's cover of One Way or Another they are in ghana, london, new york, in there hotel and an airport but because the shots have been cut and pieced together to stay in time with the music One Direction are still miming to the right timing of the music.

I do the same in my version of One Direction's One Way or Another video i am in different locations but still miming in time with the music because i have cut it and brought the shots together to make a sequence.

Creating pace
Creating pace is where editing is used to either speed up or slow down a film. the pacing can alter the way the audience views the film. Like in action films  they are usually fast paced the pacing is done in the editing the shots so they are shorter and quickly cut to a different shot. 
Whereas drama films are normally slow paced and in the edit use slower and longer shots to allow the audience to see and understand the scene, so then they can understand the character better. 

Here's an example of a fast paced scene from one of the Fast and Furious films where during the race the shots are cut to different views and at fairly fast cuts and also speed up clips to show the fast pacing of the race.

Then there's the scene from The Hunger games where the name of the female that will represent district 12 in the games the scenes are slow and quiet from the point of the name getting going to be getting picked out until Prim's name is read out this keeps the tension building for the audience as they wounder who is it going to be.

My own example for creating pace is in my Monster music video where it starts of slow paced but near the end it builds up to faster cuts to give that feeling that something is going to happen.

2.Development

In Camera Editing

Before editing software was created filmmakers used In camera editing to make there films, This is where you shoot each shot one after the other in the linear order of the story and each shot has to be perfect as back then they wouldn't of been able to edit the footage in post-production. Really In camera isn't editing at all because it means filming your shots in the sequence of how it is going to be shown, instead of shooting them in an order of which is easiest for you and then piecing them together in post-production.

In camera editing has its advantages but also its disadvantages,  if all the scenes you are shooting are to be shot in the same location then it proves an advantage because you can follow the story as it goes along which makes it easier to follow.
But also if you're shots are in different locations then using In camera would take a lot more time than just going in the order of shots to suit where you are and just piecing them together in the post-production.

Heres a film by Edwin. S. Porter 'The Great Train Robbery'. Back when this was made they didn't have the software or the technology to be able to edit in post- production. This film was shot using In camera editing.

Following the action

In films particularly in action films they always use following the action to follow everything that is taking place in a scene to make it look more exciting they follow the action using a dolly shot or tracking shot which is when a cart is on a track and is moved along the track to record the shot. the camera is mounted to the cart to film all of the footage. But Stanley Kubrick uses alot of tracking shot to follow the characters around in the film the shinning. one of the tracking shots is an iconic scene that has been recreated in TV shows like family guy, the scene is where the camera follows the little boy going round on his tricycle round the hotel.

Also most dollies have the ability to move vertically to be able to get the footage that might be high up in some cases, they can also be fitted with cranes so the footage that is at a higher level is able to be captured easily and successfully. An example of where this would be used is in a big car chase in an action film.

when using a dolly you can also use a dolly zoom which is a technique that zooms in and out and it adjusts to the zoom angle to ensure that the subject in shot is the same size in the frame.

A dolly zoom is an effect what makes something that your eyes wouldn't normally see this effect was made to be iconic in Alfred Hitchcock's film vertigo to be used later on in Steven Spielberg's Jaws 

Shot variation 

In films they use a big variate of shots and there are lots out there what can be used for different reasons.

Extreme long shot- An extreme long shot can be used at the beginning of a scene to set the scene or an establishing shot of like the outside of a build of where the scene is shot. the picture below is an establishing shot of the house in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice.

Long shot- a long shot is used so the audience is focused on the characters in shot and just enough of the background is shown. a long shot should include a full body shot with the head near the top of the shot and the feet near the bottom. the example shown below is taken from Tim Burton's film Alice in Wonderland.

Medium shot- Medium shots contain a figure from the knees/waist up and they are normally used in a dialogue scene or to show detail of an action there can also be a variation on this by including a two shot or a three shot. The example below is taken from the film The Hunger Games.

Close up- A close up shows very little background and focuses on either a face or specific detail. The shot is used to show the emotion on someones face or to magnify an object. The example below is taken from Stanley Kubrick's film The Shining. 

Manipulation of diegetic time and space 

Manipulation of diegetic time and space is where in the edit of a film the scene is made to make a person environment or an object look like it is changing over a period of time. For an example if it's a person they could be turning older or younger in a short space of time. it is a technique that is used in so many different films the technique is a clever one because it allows the audience to see the change in time visually. an example is from the film city of gods in the clip skip to around 4:00.

1. Editing history

In this report for unit 16: Film & video editing techniques I will be writing about the development and history of editing and showing my understanding of the history behind it. This report also incudes information about the pioneers of film and video editing and how they helped the development of editing over the years.

Thomas A. Edison

In 1888 Thomas A.Edison decided to design machines what where for making and showing moving images after he created the phonograph,  which was an invention that played cylinders rather than discs when you spoke into the mouthpiece the sound vibrations of your voice would pressed into the cylinder by the needle inside the phonograph. So with his assistant who was W.K.L Dickson, Edison began to experiment with changing the phonograph and tried to makes rows of tiny photographs on similar cylinders. In 1889 Edison goes to Paris and looks at Etienne Marey’s camera, which used flexible film. By 1891 Edison and Dickson had created their kinetograph camera.

The first film made on the kinetoscope was “record of a sneeze” which is exactly what the title tells you, the film is a recording of someone sneezing.

Lumière Brothers

Auguste and Louis were the sons of the well-known painter Antoine Lumière. They were both technically minded and were sent to a Technical school. Antoine started to notice the financial rewards of the photographic processes and very soon abandoned his art and decided to set up a manufacturing business to create and supply photographic equipment. One of the brothers Louis joined his father and began experimenting with the photographic equipment his farther was manufacturing in the business. In 1881 Louis discovered a process, which helped with the development of photography. Louis then went on to develop a new dry plate process called The Etiquette Bleue process which gave his father’s business a big boost and they built a factory to manufacture the plates. By the year 1894 the factory was making up to 15,00,00 plates a year

Louis’ father Antoine had become a well businessman by this time and was invited to see a demonstration of Thomas Edison’s peephole Kinetoscope held in Paris. He was very excited to share what he had seen, when he got back he showed his son Louis a piece of kinetoscope film what he was given from one of Edison’s concessionaires and said that it was what Louis needed to make because Edison sells them for really expensive prices and the concessionaires are trying to make films here in France to make them cheaper.

The brothers continued to work through winter in 1894; Auguste had joined his brother and father and was making the first experiments. The aim was to overcome any of the limits and problems they saw with Edison’s peephole Kinetoscope. The two main problems with Edison’s device was firstly the camera’s weight and size made it quite impossible to transport so it was stuck in the studio and also the nature of the kinetoscope meant that only one person could view the films at a time.

By the early 1895, Louis and Auguste had made their own device combining camera with printer and projector which was named the Cinématographe.

The Cinématographe was made smaller than Edison’s Kinetograph, and was around five kilograms in weight. When The Lumière brothers made films they used 16 frames per second which compared with Edison’s which was 48 frames per second it means with their invention less film is used and the clatter and grinding noises which were heard with Edison’s kinetograph were reduced,

But the most important thing was Louis’s decision to keep the principle of intermittent movement by using a device that is used in sewing machines. Edison had rejected this idea because when making the kinetograph he struggled a great deal with trying to perfect the projection of sound using the movement of the device. Louis and Auguste decided to keep the new invention of theirs a secret and Auguste organizing private screenings to only people they invite.

One of the first films they created was ‘Arrival of a train at La Ciotat which was made in 1995. There films where mainly moving images taken of everyday life with no cuts.

George Albert Smith

George Albert Smith was born on 4th january 1864 in London but after the death of his father him and his family moved to Brighton. When there George started performing in Brighton halls as a hypnotist, Successful shows were shown at the Brighton Aquarium. when his partner Douglas Blackburn claimed that there acts were just a hoax the representatives of the society for physical research (SPR) didn't believe Douglas Blackburn and believed that George and Douglas had a true gift of thought reading. George became a private secretary for the society and became a hypnotiser for Edmund Gurneys hypnotic experiments. When Edmund Gurney died in 1888 SPR continued to employ George as their private secretary. In 1892 George left the SPR and he got the lease to ST Ann's Well Garden, which became a location for his film factory.George Albert Smith saw The Lumière Brothers programme in leicester square in march 1896 and became aware of Robert Paul's great success in that year. Robert Paul films were played in Brighton   was one of the first filmmakers to look at and research into fictional and fantastic themes which are where often using sophisticated special effects. He started of as an established portrait photographer and had a big interest in show business and also ran a tourist attraction in Brighton. He was the first person to create a film with narrative one of the films with a narrative almost like a short story was The Miller & The Sweep which he created in 1897.

 His films where also the first to feature close-ups and scene transitions including

• wipes
• focus pulls 

He used these transitions to piece together all the footage he had cut to bring them back together, he was also the first person to cut footage whereas the lumiere brothers just shot the piece beginning to end with no cuts. He then went onto create the Kinemacolour which was the worlds first commercial cinema colour system in 1906. The Kinemacolour was very successful for a time, even thought there was special equipment required for it to work.

George Méliès

Georges Méliès was born in Paris in 1861. From being young he showed particular interest in the arts which led, him to a put in an arts school in paris called  Ecole des Beaux Arts. Where Méliès was interested in stage design and puppetry. George then went onto continuing his studies in London.  His parent wanted him to learn the English language because they intended on him working at his father's footwear business. But while he was in London he started to develop a big interest in stage conjury  once he had seen the work of maskelyne and Cooke. 

When George returned from paris he went and worked at his father's factory and ended up taking over as the manager as his father retired. When he became the manager he was able to raise the money to buy a famous theatre Robert Houldin as it was put up for sale in 1888. Méliès then went onto working full time as a theatrical showman, All his performances were made around magic and illusionist techniques which was what he studied in London. He also worked on his own tricks.

The Lumière Brothers unveiled their Cinematographe to the public in December 28th in 1895, Méliès was a member of the audience, it was clear that witnessing this had an effect upon George. When the show had finished he approached The Brothers with the intention of buying their machine but they turned George down.

George became determined to look into moving pictures and he sought out Robert Paul in London to view his camera projector. After George viewed Roberts he then went onto building his own. George presented his first film screening on april 4th in 1896.

George began by screening other peoples films they were mainly ones made for the Kinetoscope created by Thomas Edison but within a few months he was making and showing his own pieces of work. His first pieces of work were films being one reel, one shot views lasting about a minute.

when George made his films he tackled a wide range of subjects as well as the fantasy films like A Trip To The Moon made in 1902 with a trip to the moon he uses a lot of stopmotion in this film.

In other films George is the first person to use 

• fade ins & outs
• jump cuts
• overlapping
• dissolves
• stop motion
• same angle throughout

Edwin S. Porter

Edwin S. Porter became a member of the Vitascope Marketing Company in 1895 where he used his experience as an electrical engineer.

whilst a member at Vitascope Edwin played a key part in organizing the first projected movie show which was held in New York on the 23rd April in 1896. Edwin never stopped using his engineering skills in the laboratory at Edison's manufacturing company owned by Thomas Edison, But Edwin decided to leave and become a freelance projectionist at the Eden muse theatre in 1898.

While Edwin was working as a projectionist one of the duties he was to illegally duplicate George Méliès films by taking apart one act reels and combining others to make a fifteen minute piece of film. Edwin then attempted to make his own camera and projector but failed and in 1900 he went back to Edison's company but instead of going back to engineering he was a producer and director at Edison's East 21st street skylight studio.

being a fan of Georges Méliès films, Edwin attempted to emulate the trick photography which Méliès had created in his films Edwin's attempt was a success and used it in his films. For examples 'The Finish of Bridget McKeen' which he created in 1901 and 'Jack and the Beanstalk' which he created in 1902. Edwin is also one of the first directors to shoot his films at night an example is his film 'Pan-American Exposition by Night'.

Edwin used his editing skills and methods of projection to create a great effect in some of his first  films. Edwin liked to combine documentary footage with footage he shot in films like in 'Life of an American Fireman' he used a documentary style for the film .

Edwin's film 'Life of an American Fireman' was created by Edwin  combining actual footage of fires, firemen and fire engines with other dramatized footage that Edwin shot, He did this to add tension and make it truly dramatic in a normal setting where as George Méliès whose films drama was made from a fantasy setting.

D.W Griffith

D.W Griffith was born in rural Kentucky.  Griffith grew up with his father telling him all his romantic war stories. In 1897 Griffith set out to follow his dream and start his career doing both acting and writing for the theater, but at the start was unsuccessful. Until he got asked to act in a film created by Edwin S. Porter at the Edison Company. Griffith also got a job at a financially struggling company called American Mutoscope & Biograph Co. While working for the company he got to  direct over four hundred and fifty short films,while experimenting with the story-telling techniques and took all that he had learnt and created the film 'The Birth of a Nation' in 1915.

Griffith and  G.W. Bitzer collaborated to come up with and create different cinematic devices including the flash-back, the iris shot, the mask and cross-cutting. years after "The Birth of a nation", Griffith tried and failed to get his other films  the same success as his signature film but sadly the success never came and  in 1931, his  failures forced him into retirement. Throughout his  narrative film-making, he was  criticized for his blatant racism, Griffith died in Los Angeles in 1948,but was one of the most dichotomous figures in film history.

Sergei Eisenstein

Eisenstein was a Russian filmmaker who believed that a film montage could make ideas that have a bigger impact on the audience allowing the filmmaker to manipulate real time more than just using single shots.

In 1917 Sergei worked as an engineer for the red army before he joined with the Moscow Proletkult Theater as a set designer and then became a direction. The director Vsevolod Meyerhold was a big influence on Eisenstein because Vsevolod was the one that introduced Sergie to the concept of "bio-mechanics" also known as conditioned spontaneity. Sergei continued to look further into Vsevolds theory using his own montage of attractions using a sequence of images where the emotion effect is the bigger than the sum of its parts. He then went on to theorizing that this styles of editing worked similar to Marx's dialectic. Sergei knew he wanted to make films for the common man he used alot of symbolism and metaphor which he called intellectual montage wit this he sometimes lost his audiences. throughout his career he only ended up making seven films but he demonstrated how film could move further than the nineteenth century predecessor and create concepts with concrete images.

The Kuleshov Effect

The Kuleshov Effect was created by Russian filmmakers Lev Kuleshov and V.I. Pudovkin when they experimented with editing and the emotional responses of the audience. They filmed an actors response to different images to see what emotion he showed. The three images they showed him was a child in a coffin to represent sadness, a woman to represent lust and a bowl of soup for hunger. When you look at the images of the actors face his expression doesn't seem to changed but when mixed with the three shots it suggests to the audience that it does.