One of the most iconic film-makers/editors Edwin S. Porter is known for not just experimenting with linear narrative but he was also one of the firsts to try telling stories from multiple shots instead of filming from a stationary position. In his film the 'Life of an American Fireman' Edwin Porter shows the firemen of America rescuing a woman from inside the house we see the outside shots of the woman's house burning and we also see the inside shot of the woman's house as the firemen are trying to rescue her. Also Edwin Porter would purposely jump cut shots to show his audience the continuous action in his feature.
Monday, 1 October 2012
E.D history of editing
Before the use of cutting film, films would have just been continuous without any editing. Thanks to the introduction of cutting films started to develop and make films easier viewing. A good example of a feature that had to be done in one shot is 'A Trip to the Moon' by Georges Meilies and in the feature you see the full length of each scene but for each new scene you see the cut from scene to scene. In camera editing at the time, film directors or film maker had to shoot the sequences or scenes perfectly leaving no room for error when it came to using the shot.
One of the most iconic film-makers/editors Edwin S. Porter is known for not just experimenting with linear narrative but he was also one of the firsts to try telling stories from multiple shots instead of filming from a stationary position. In his film the 'Life of an American Fireman' Edwin Porter shows the firemen of America rescuing a woman from inside the house we see the outside shots of the woman's house burning and we also see the inside shot of the woman's house as the firemen are trying to rescue her. Also Edwin Porter would purposely jump cut shots to show his audience the continuous action in his feature.
One of the most iconic film-makers/editors Edwin S. Porter is known for not just experimenting with linear narrative but he was also one of the firsts to try telling stories from multiple shots instead of filming from a stationary position. In his film the 'Life of an American Fireman' Edwin Porter shows the firemen of America rescuing a woman from inside the house we see the outside shots of the woman's house burning and we also see the inside shot of the woman's house as the firemen are trying to rescue her. Also Edwin Porter would purposely jump cut shots to show his audience the continuous action in his feature.
E.D creating pace
When creating pace its usually a slow build up to a big scene. Scenes like this usually start with a chase scene or running scene then the big climax happens after the big chase. Pace is usually created using music or slow camera movement. It keeps the film even and makes sure the audience doesn't feel like they missed anything when it gets to the end. It help to make sure everything that the audience need to know is included and that it doesn't get confusing or become pointless because the story gets lost. It’s used to speed up or slow down a film in certain parts for example if there is a romance scene or it’s a romance film usually they will slow it down so the audience can connect and understand and feel part of the characters relationship. In Disney films the pace starts of slow we get to know the characters and connect with them, but then there is always a sad part where the pace speeds up because it’s getting more emotional and its building up to the big happy ending. Action films are the main genre for creating pace in though, it’s usually always fast paced it’s shown through short fast cuts from one to another. Drama films use slower pace this is for the audience to understand the scene; they use longer shots in scenes.
In this scene from the hunger games the shots are all fast paced this is a tense scene. At the start we see a long shot of Katniss in the tree then as soon as she sees the fire and starts running the shots are seconds apart which is a perfect example for fast paced editing. Its key to this scene because it builds tension for the audience and puts them on edge as soon as she jumps from the tree.
In this scene from the hunger games the shots are all fast paced this is a tense scene. At the start we see a long shot of Katniss in the tree then as soon as she sees the fire and starts running the shots are seconds apart which is a perfect example for fast paced editing. Its key to this scene because it builds tension for the audience and puts them on edge as soon as she jumps from the tree.
E.D Combining Shots into Sequences
This is getting loads of shots together that relate and get put together to explain something, whether it’s a present shot and then a flashback they relate and are put into a sequence of shots. If shots aren’t put into a sequence then it can get confusing and the story becomes confusing and mixed up and the audience can’t relate or connect to anything. Combining specific shots into a sequence is done to help create a smooth flowing scene. Once all the individual shots have been corrected such as colour correcting so that they all match, they are able to be successfully edited together to merge one scene.
By picking the right shots the editor is able to help the audience understand where the sympathy needs to be given. I believe this technique have been successfully used in the 2008 film Changeling starring Angelina Jolie; the narrative of this film is based upon a grief stricken mother who takes upon the LAPD when they stubbornly try to pass of an obvious impostor as her missing child. The audience are aware that this impostor isn't her child and the camera shots and editing techniques fully allow the audience to gain sympathy for Jolie.
A film is just lots of shots combined together to create a final edit and make it look how the film is intended. Majority of films are shot with the camera still however others like for example Cloverfiled is shot with a hand held camera style the shots are still put together in a smooth sequence but the shots are visibly shaky because of the movement of the camera. These kind of films I would imagine are harder to cut together to avoid less shake and jerk than is needed for the audience to still be interested and be able to watch it.
This scene from Cloverfiled shows exactly how the shots are hard to combine because it has to look like the camera is just cutting out or being turned off because it’s meant to be the people just filming continuously. So in this scene when the camera blacks out this is good editing because it looks as if the camera is breaking up and the image is being distorted. There is a lot of close ups a zooms as well this is so we can see facial expressions and stress the point that the film is using hand held camera
By picking the right shots the editor is able to help the audience understand where the sympathy needs to be given. I believe this technique have been successfully used in the 2008 film Changeling starring Angelina Jolie; the narrative of this film is based upon a grief stricken mother who takes upon the LAPD when they stubbornly try to pass of an obvious impostor as her missing child. The audience are aware that this impostor isn't her child and the camera shots and editing techniques fully allow the audience to gain sympathy for Jolie.
A film is just lots of shots combined together to create a final edit and make it look how the film is intended. Majority of films are shot with the camera still however others like for example Cloverfiled is shot with a hand held camera style the shots are still put together in a smooth sequence but the shots are visibly shaky because of the movement of the camera. These kind of films I would imagine are harder to cut together to avoid less shake and jerk than is needed for the audience to still be interested and be able to watch it.
This scene from Cloverfiled shows exactly how the shots are hard to combine because it has to look like the camera is just cutting out or being turned off because it’s meant to be the people just filming continuously. So in this scene when the camera blacks out this is good editing because it looks as if the camera is breaking up and the image is being distorted. There is a lot of close ups a zooms as well this is so we can see facial expressions and stress the point that the film is using hand held camera
E.D crearing motivation
This is important when editing and making a film because the story needs to have stability and the edit needs to influence and have effect on the audience. To create a motivation edit you need to make the continuity look smooth making sure nothing looks jumpy and the position for the shot must be the same each time unless the angle or anything is meant to be changed. This is a challenging job for editors to try and show through the editing what the director and production team wanted to show. It’s all about keeping the audience interested 'motivated' basically so they enjoy the film and don't notice the editing, if they do it could make them distracted and not enjoy the film. Editing together montages is a good way to create motivation because it can make audiences get a feel about someone in a quicker amount of time so this can make them feel like they understand more because you’re letting them know little things that important. Lots of cuts in a certain scene will create motivation too, not all the time but if there is a conversation going on then maybe one person’s face to a mid-shot and a long shot of where they are back to their faces again rather than having one long shot. Cutting from one scene to another or one character to another will persuade how the audience feel they will react positively or negatively to the film. For example the clip below from the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 shows characters all concentrating on Harry Potter which persuades the audience to feel scared and anxious for the safety of Harry Potter.
It is also important to cut at the correct time to enable the narrative of the story progress and develop further. DW Griffith introduced narrative and it is very heavily used in the Harry Potters films because of the complex story and plots. It is also important to choose the correct pace of the cut depending of the genre of the film and also particular characters. For example; a romantic comedy genre film the audience are made to feel sympathy and emotion for the main character so the cuts of this character will be slow so that the audience are able to learn more about them.
It is also important to cut at the correct time to enable the narrative of the story progress and develop further. DW Griffith introduced narrative and it is very heavily used in the Harry Potters films because of the complex story and plots. It is also important to choose the correct pace of the cut depending of the genre of the film and also particular characters. For example; a romantic comedy genre film the audience are made to feel sympathy and emotion for the main character so the cuts of this character will be slow so that the audience are able to learn more about them.
E.D Relationship to genre
When editing a film, they use all different techniques to illustrate and make the genre clear. The genre of a film is important to show through first the trailer to target the right audience and get people wanting to see it and then carrying it on through the film making it stronger. The way films are edited make people’s emotions stronger and captures the audience to draw them in. Romance films are quite easy to edit to show the genre clear because of how editors can make characters seem real together and make the audience believe everything. It takes a good script director and editor to really make the audience feel a connection to the main characters in the film. A lot of mid-shots are used in romance films to show the body language of the characters towards each other and make us feel closer to know more connected. They also use close ups so we can see facial expressions and how the characters are feeling in a certain scene which in romance films its usually always happy and lustful. The notebook is a good example of old fashioned film love where things are always romantic or the complete opposite. The humour in Romance films is usually just shared between the characters it’s not specifically for the audience to laugh at more to ‘aww’ at. In this scene from the notebook we see the romance at its height then they argue and then they are back in love again. This genre is used to play with the viewer’s emotions. We see the close up and mid shot in this scene.
Romantic Comedies are a newer way of showing romance, we see a lot more funny scenes this is a typical part of the films. They meet fall in love something happens they break up go out with friends do something stupid and then get back together. There is usually a sad scene to make the audience feel emotion for the characters or a certain one too. They always end emotional weather there happy or sad; in the end it’s just as soppy as an old school proper romance just with a few more laughs. Because this is such a popular genre used and people usually know what’s going to happen at the end editors have to try and make it a bit different to keep people wanting to want to watch them. In this other clip of the last scene of a film called The Break Up we see the couple who have been on and off through this rom com and gone through a lot, see each other again after a long time and they say hi and walk away. This is a different ending to a film and leaves the viewer after the film to make up their mind on what they think happened, did they get back together or not? The scene shots a lot of close ups as we see how the characters look so happy after bumping into each other again.
Romantic Comedies are a newer way of showing romance, we see a lot more funny scenes this is a typical part of the films. They meet fall in love something happens they break up go out with friends do something stupid and then get back together. There is usually a sad scene to make the audience feel emotion for the characters or a certain one too. They always end emotional weather there happy or sad; in the end it’s just as soppy as an old school proper romance just with a few more laughs. Because this is such a popular genre used and people usually know what’s going to happen at the end editors have to try and make it a bit different to keep people wanting to want to watch them. In this other clip of the last scene of a film called The Break Up we see the couple who have been on and off through this rom com and gone through a lot, see each other again after a long time and they say hi and walk away. This is a different ending to a film and leaves the viewer after the film to make up their mind on what they think happened, did they get back together or not? The scene shots a lot of close ups as we see how the characters look so happy after bumping into each other again.
E.D Development of Drama
Drama is a genre that can turned into comedy, horror,thriller,action basically can be combined with all other genres to develop it. They are plot driven, this is what holds the film together because the audience want to know what happens next. Some dramas end of cliff hangers, this is a technique used to keep the audience guessing after the film. However most dramas round up at the end but use a lot of suspense and try to make the audience think. Alfred Hitchcock’s type of editing is good for dramas because he was known as the master of suspense. One quote from Hitchcock was 'always make the audience suffer as much as possible'. Now dramas are back on screens in films and TV series much more this quote is used again when editors are putting shots together. It’s a big selling point if people are excited to know what happens. Trailers give enough for people to want to watch the films, they are a big part of films and so is the editing for them. This is what gets the audience interested. In most trailers for drama genre the type of suspense to be expected in the film is shown through the trailer so the audience know style and techniques are coming. In drama there is a lot that can be developed; life, settings,characters,plot.. Editors can do all this by the way they cut shots or spend longer on suspense than the climax. The way the editors manipulate footage together can determine the intensity of the clip, also using different camera shots from the same clips can benefit a film and develop the drama. For editors to do a good job on a drama one of the main things they have to remember is to develop realistic characters this is because most films aim to tell an honest human story.
E.D Storytelling
This is the main purpose of a film I think because the audience has to be able to understand and follow a film by using some kind of story sequence. Storytelling gives the film motives, a reason for doing something. The main motive is to entertain, that's what the audience want to see. Some movies have a motive but go of track and the film gets confused so when editing, editors have to make sure everything makes sense in every edit. When storytelling in obvious in a film it’s usually because there is a clear message in the film, this is to enlighten the audience and learn something from this film however small or stupid it is. Engaging the audience is a key point because in the end they are your real critics. It appeals to all audiences even though when you think of the word story you think of children, a plot can be told in so many ways, and it’s all up to the editor how things are shown and implied to the audience. For example reality TV shows are all edited to how the editor wants the audience to see it. Each films motive is aimed at different audiences. A famous editor called Alfred Hitchcock used his skill in editing to create suspense in most of his films. This will engage the viewer; Hitchcock’s films were horror/thriller based which is harder to show a good story in but good editors can use the technique in whatever genre.
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