Unit 16 - Task 1 (Final Version)

Task 1: Understand the development and principles of editing

Development

 

Following the action is when the cameraman follows an individual or a couple of people while they are fighting. This is sometimes known as tracking/following shot and very effective. In the screenshot below you can see

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 and adventure  films  and/or programmes, they  usea shot called “following the action’ to follow everyone or everything that is taking place in that particular scene to make it look more exciting and adventurous. To perform this type of shot they follow the  action using a “dolly shot”  or also know as the tracking shot which is when a cameraman is on the  cart and is tracking and following all that action footage in that particular scene. This is done by someone else pushing and moving the camera as the cart has wheels and a handle. This is one type of a dolly cam

 

This shot was used in Arrow when the cameraman followed and tracked Oliver Queen walk towards his enemy. They tend to use a lot of tracking shots in arrow to cause a lot of suspense. In some cases they could also track the action using a higher crane which creates a higher different angle shot, in some cases this is a good shot, but in arrow they tend to stick to the basic on ground dolly cam shot.

Multiple points of view

 

The point of view shot is a shot where it looks like you are directly looking at that particular person. This is an example of a pov shot.

Shot variation manipulation of diegetic time and space

In programmes/film they use a big variety of different shots this is to entertain the viewer and keep them engaged. Switching shots keeps the programme lively and exciting, I doubt anyone would like to watch an hour of one shot throughout the whole programme, hence why they change shots very quiet frequently.

 

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.

 

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.

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 someone’s face or to magnify an object. All these shots are used to keep the audience and viewers engaged.

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. The name is quite self explanatory “manipulation” as in to manipulate the viewers which means trick them into thinking something else, and the rest of the title just basically means environment/atmosphere

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.

Story telling is a popular element in programmes such as arrow. Oliver queen always uses this, for example when he goes back 5 years ago when he talks about his time on the island. As a huge fan of arrow and marvel I know for sure that viewers love when they go in the past and show a story. The footage is always clear and good which makes it feel like you’re actually back in time with them. This is a great feature as it gets the audience intrigued and thinking “wow, what really happened in the past?” some answers in arrow were answered in the past so for us to know what is going on we must watch that scene in the past to find out. This is very very popular in arrow as they use this story technique 2 or 3 times per episode.

On the editing side of this, they would use the fade transition which most editors use for flashbacks/story telling, they might also some times use jump cuts and voice overs. Again, these names are self explanatory.

Jump cut is  when two sequential shots of the same subject are taken, the camera position will vary only slightly. This type of edit gives the effect of jumping forwards in time, or it might be used to make a stylistic point. This has not necessarily been used in a arrow episode but it is a very good effective editing technique.

 

Voice over is when you have a voice talking over a certain clip, this is usually a whole complete different scene. This is very effective and is always used a multiple times in arrow. For example Oliver Queen said “Me and laurel weren’t always on good terms, but I loved her…” they played that voice over a past throwback scene of Oliver queen and laurel.

In lots of tv series they got to build up lots of suspense and drama, they often do this by doing fast-paced shots and a variety of shots to keep the viewers engaged. The audience viewers wouldn’t like to just be watching the same shot over and over again, they would find it boring, hence why they got to switch up the shots. It is essential for tv series/films to create motivation. Without motivation they will not watch it because it would be boring and plain.

There are a few techniques in which they can edit the film to create pace, this could be by using lots of short clips and have fast quick editing in between them. This is a very good technique to create pace. There is also another method to this, which is by having slower shots to create suspense and pace. In other words it is like the opposite the fast pace editing.

 

Conventions and techniques

 

Seamless

 

Seamless editing is where all the shots that are pieced and placed together and are made into a whole sequence in the editing. They are edited in a way that it makes it look like it is just one long piece of footage when in fact it is actually just a load of separate shots brought together. For seamless editing to be done correctly there cannot be any continuity in it otherwise it will make it obvious and oblivious that it was taken from a different shot which cannot happen because the whole point of seamless editing is that it flows and looks like one whole footage from a scene. Seamless editing was used in arrow when there was a episode in an island where they pieced many different shots together but it looked like a whole piece of footage.

 

Continuity is pretty self-explanatory, it basically means there is a consistency within the film/series. The film cannot keep switching back and forth. It has to flow along in some sort of way. Whether it is being consistent with the storyline or being consistent with the type of shots.

 

A motivated editing technique is a simple way to be able to add transition from one shot, to the next in a sequence. It is almost quite like seamless editing in a way. Motivated editing is all about what is going on in the shots which are pieced together through the narrative or from the character. The basic idea is that the second shot must follow on from the first and must have a motive for being there. This could be either to add tension or to add more emotion to that scene. Motivated editing is used quite a few times in the programme arrow.

A montage is an editing technique used where several short shots are edited together into a sequence. A montage are mainly very fast paced with short shots. Montages are not just used in programmes, they could also be used in music videos and sometime adverts. There could aslo be slow pace montages, these are usually made for showing the love a relationship of a couple and how they grew together. This slow paced montage was used in Arrow when they showed Oliver Queens & Laura’s relation from the begging to  the ending.

 

 

 

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 focus on the screen. Jump cutting is a very popular technique and is used when there is a fight scene and they “jump”to another completely different scene. For example in arrow they had a scene of Oliver and Damien Dark fighting they jumped instantly to a different shot which where when the arrow team where in the lab helping Oliver defeat Damien dark.

 

 

 

 

Parallel editing

 

Parallel editing is like cross cutting, this is where the shots alternate from one and other and often happen at the same time but are in different locations. Hence why the name “Parallel” which means equal/same thing happening at the same time. This is a very good editing technique and often used in arrow.

The directors/editors use parallel editing to add excitement and create suspense to a scene. This leaves the audience in a quick suspense shock. If they just showed the fight scene with out any alternate shots in between it would be very boring and it wouldn’t entertain the audience nor would it leave them in suspense.
An example of Parallel editing is form the film the Flash where you see two different things happening in different locations at the same time. They always go back to the past and future in Flash.

180o 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. This was used in flash when past barry allen was speaking to future barry allen.

 

Transitions is a editing technique which transitions onto a different scene. There are 100’s of transitions that can be used such as cut, dissolve, fade, wipe, cutaway etc.  A cut transition is transition and cuts straight from one shot to another shot instantly. This is the main type of transition and is always used in the programme arrow. They will cut from one scene to another scene. Following the cut transition, we have the dissolve, cutaways, fade. These are all additional transitions which are  also popular. The titles are self-explanatory, dissolve means one scene dissolves into another scene. Cutaways means it cuts away from one scene to another. Wipe means it wipes from one scene to the other scene. Fade means it fades into the next following scene.

A point of view shot is where the audience sees exactly what that character is seeing, like they are that character. In other words, the viewers are seeing from that characters eyes. This is to give the audience the illusion that they are that character, furthermore to make them feel as if 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 is a  editing technique used where a character is looking at another character,  then the camera flips to get a shot of the other character looking at the character, this makes the audience assume that both character is looking directly at each other. This is a great editing technique and is used quite frequently in Arrow. Shot reverse shot is always used in arrow, for example when Oliver is talking to detective Lance croper. The first shot is on Oliver and then the second shot is of lance talking. It is mainly used for when charecters are talking. As well as this this is used in Gotham aswell when detective James Gordan talks to the victim Oswald.

 

Providing and withholding information is when you either provide more information in the storyline or ‘withold’ which means take some part of the story away. The reasons why they do this to get a reaction and sometimes also its used for the cliffhangers. An example of this is when one of the main charecters oliver’s child went missing and they didn’t give us any information whatsoever until the next episode. This is to cause and create suspense.

Editing rhythm is the speed of pace the editors edit with. So for example weather they edit fast or slow to match with the content. For example in this episode of arrow it was cut and edited very fast this was because it was the season finale and many things happened and they had to fit lots of things just into one episode.

A cutaway is used as a gap filler between two shots to help with the flow of the sequence. It is like a jump shot but doesn’t jump, producers/editors use this if they do not want to use the jump cut. The editors always use this in Gotham when they cut from the police building to the streets of Gotham.