MONTAGE What is film editing? (a very general answer) On set, films are not shot exactly the way we view them in a movie theatre, or on our television sets at home. In fact, films are often shot from many different angles, in the opposite order, and many times over again (when an actor says the wrong line, or when the boom accidentally drops into the shot). After the shoot is done, someone needs to go over all the footage and cut out all the bad takes, and choose the good ones, and putsit in the right order. This is just the beginning of what an editor does in the cutting room. When they're done, they have made the film that you see in theatres or in your living room.
Terminology Scene - In film terms, scene means location. When you change locations, you are changing scenes.
Shot - A shot refers to the time you press record on your camera, and press stop. Take - A take is a 'try.' It refers to every time you attempt a shot from the same angle.
Cross-cutting/Parallel-editing - These terms refer to simulateneous occurences in films. For instance, when you see a woman running down the street, and then it cuts to a man sitting at a restaurant eating alone. He looks at his watch. Then we cut back to the woman. We get the sense that these two events are happening simultaneously. Creating this illusion is called cross-cutting in the editing room. Transitions - Transitions refer to what happens in between two shots. How an editor 'transitions' from one shot to the next.
Pan - A pan refers to a camera movement. It is when the camera scans an object or space on a horizontal plane.
Tilt - A tilt refers to a vertical camera movement. When it camera looks up, or down. Cut - 1) used to refer to a 'draft' of the film. 2) used to indicate the end of a shot.
Dissolve - A dissolve is a transition used in editing. It is when the editor takes two shots and the end of the first one blends into the beginning of the next. The first one dissolves into the next. This is often used in film to indicate a large passage of time between the two shots.
Cutting Room - The cutting room refers to the editing room. The place where the editor cuts together the film . Rough Cut - A rough cut is the editors first cut of the footage. It can be compared to a 'rough draft' of an essay.
Fine Cut - A fine cut is usually the editors cleanest and smoothes cut. It is the final cut. Like "final draft."
Asynchronous - In a film, it seems like we are constantly hearing the natural sound from the scene. Sometimes the filmmakers record the natural sound of the scene, but often they will shoot the scene without any sound and add the sounds one would hear in that scene later. This is asynchronous sound. Sound recorded on set is called Synchronous sound. Or also known as syncsound.
Edward Dmytryk, film industry legend in the directorial and editorial fields, enumerates seven rules to follow in his text On Film Editing (Focal Press, 1984).
Walter Murch, editor of great films like The Godfather III, and Apocalypse Now, wrote a wonderful and very informative text called The Blink of an Eye. He discusses his experience in editing, and gives great advice for aspiring editors. My favorite chapter out of the text, “The Rule of Six,� lays out a set of criteria that Murch believes should be at the top of an editors list when working. His list is as follows (in descending order by importance): 1) Emotion 2) Story 3) Rhythm 4) Eye-trace 5) Two-dimensional plane of Screen 6) Three-dimensional space of action
Camera Techniques: Distance and Angle
Long shot (LS). Shot which shows all or most of a fairly large subject (for example, a person) and usually much of the surroundings. Extreme Long Shot (ELS) - see establishing shot: In this type of shot the camera is at its furthest distance from the subject, emphasising the background. Medium Long Shot (MLS): In the case of a standing actor, the lower frame line cuts off his feet and ankles. Some documentaries with social themes favour keeping people in the longer shots, keeping social circumstances rather than the individual as the focus of attention. Establishing shot. Opening shot or sequence, frequently an exterior 'General View' as an Extreme Long Shot (ELS). Used to set the scene. Medium shots. Medium Shot or Mid-Shot (MS). In such a shot the subject or actor and its setting occupy roughly equal areas in the frame. In the case of the standing actor, the lower frame passes through the waist. There is space for hand gestures to be seen. Medium Close Shot (MCS): The setting can still be seen. The lower frame line passes through the chest of the actor. Medium shots are frequently used for the tight presentation of two actors (the two shot), or with dexterity three (the three shot). Close-up (CU). A picture which shows a fairly small part of the scene, such as a character's face, in great detail so that it fills the screen. It abstracts the subject from a context. MCU (Medium Close-Up): head and shoulders. BCU (Big Close-Up): forehead to chin. Close-ups focus attention on a person's feelings or reactions, and are sometimes used in interviews to show people in a state of emotional excitement, grief or joy. In interviews, the use of BCUs may emphasise the interviewee's tension and suggest lying or guilt. BCUs
are rarely used for important public figures; MCUs are preferred, the camera providing a sense of distance. Note that in western cultures the space within about 24 inches (60 cm) is generally felt to be private space, and BCUs may be invasive.
Angle of shot. The direction and height from which the camera takes the scene. The convention is that in 'factual' programmes subjects should be shot from eye-level only. In a high angle the camera looks down at a character, making the viewer feel more powerful than him or her, or suggesting an air of detachment. A low angle shot places camera below the character, exaggerating his or her importance. An overhead shot is one made from a position directly above the action. Viewpoint. The apparent distance and angle from which the camera views and records the subject. Not to be confused with point-of-view shots or subjective camera shots. Point-of-view shot (POV). A shot made from a camera position close to the line of sight of a performer who is to be watching the action shown in the point-of-view shot. Two-shot. A shot of two people together. Selective focus. Rendering only part of the action field in sharp focus through the use of a shallow depth of field. A shift of focus from foreground to background or vice versa is called rack focus. Soft focus. An effect in which the sharpness of an image, or part of it, is reduced by the use of an optical device.
Wide-angle shot. A shot of a broad field of action taken with a wide-angle lens. Tilted shot. When the camera is tilted on its axis so that normally vertical lines appear slanted to the left or right, ordinary expectations are frustrated. Such shots are often used in mystery and suspense films to create a sense of unease in the viewer.
Camera Techniques: Movement
Zoom. In zooming in the camera does not move; the lens is focussed down from a long-shot to a close-up whilst the picture is still being shown. The subject is magnified, and attention is concentrated on details previously invisible as the shot tightens (contrast tracking). It may be used to surprise the viewer. Zooming out reveals more of the scene (perhaps where a character is, or to whom he or she is speaking) as the shot widens. Zooming in rapidly brings not only the subject but also the background hurtling towards the viewer, which can be disconcerting. Zooming in and then out creates an ugly 'yo-yo' effect. Following pan. The camera swivels (in the same base position) to follow a moving subject. A space is left in front of the subject: the pan 'leads' rather than 'trails'. A pan usually begins and ends with a few seconds of still picture to give greater impact. The speed of a pan across a subject creates a particular mood as well as establishing the viewer's relationship with the subject. 'Hosepiping' is continually panning across from one person to another; it looks clumsy. Surveying pan. The camera slowly searches the scene: may build to a climax or anticlimax. Tilt. A vertical movement of the camera - up or down- while the camera mounting stays fixed. Crab. The camera moves (crabs) right or left. Tracking (dollying). Tracking involves the camera itself being moved smoothly towards or away from the subject (contrast with zooming). Tracking in (like zooming) draws the viewer into a closer, more intense relationship with the subject; moving away tends to create emotional distance. Tracking back tends to divert attention to the edges of the screen. The speed of tracking may affect the viewer's mood. Rapid tracking (especially tracking in) is exciting; tracking back relaxes interest. In a dramatic narrative we may sometimes be drawn forward towards a subject against our will. Camera movement parallel to a moving subject permits speed without drawing attention to the camera itself. Hand-held camera. A hand-held camera can produce a jerky, bouncy, unsteady image which may create a sense of immediacy or chaos. Its use is a form of subjective treatment. Process shot. A shot made of action in front of a rear projection screen having on it still or moving images as a background.
RULES Rule One: Never make a cut without a positive reason. “The only reason for using another cut is to improve the scene.” It is unwise to cut film adhering to arbitrary principles, such as keeping all shots under a certain length. While Dmytryk argues that every cut must be made at a precise and perfect point, he gives no indication that these particular edit points are governed by anything other than the drive to improve what the scene intends to communicate to the audience. Some scenes require no editing at all if the composition and camera movement are strong enough to support the intent of the scene. Other scenarios, particularly action and montage sequences, require constant cuts in order to communicate the scene’s intent. If another take does not make emotional truth clearer or capture the action more appropriately than the current take, then by all means do not make a cut.
Rule Two: When undecided about the exact frame to cut on, cut long rather than short.
“Splicing a few frames back onto a scene which has been lopped short makes ‘jumpy’ viewing, and a cut full of such amendments makes proper visualization difficult and perceptive judgment impossible.” Just the most basic common sense rule there is. When cutting filmstrip, it is much easier to trim a bit of excess duration than to splice more on to increase duration. Dmytryk adds that the first instinctual decision regarding where to make a cut is usually the right one; however, you still may want to cut a little long in case you’re out of touch with your instincts. Note that this rule doesn’t so much apply to nonlinear video editing, unless for some masochistic reason you’ve disabled your undo function.
Rule Three: Whenever possible, cut in movement.
“Creating a ‘diversion’ of sorts ... is also the principle at work in the action cut.” The concept here is that during movement of any kind, be it a man sitting down on a park bench or a woman darting her eyes to the left, cut in the space between the beginning and end of the action so as to mask the cut. The goal is seamless, invisible, “magical” editing. This is not possible without the greatest command of timing: timing that comes from an understanding of human perception and eye movement. If you choose to cut too early, the following cut will seem nonsensical and inappropriate. If you choose to cut too late, you may deny the audience key information and try their patience by extending the previous shot. There is a precise moment at which to make the cut: near the dead center of the action. For the man sitting down on the bench, you would most likely want to cut at the point of contact between the man and the bench. For the woman darting her eyes to the left, you may want to cut somewhere in the middle of the motion but not before or after. Mastering this fundamental of editorial timing will not only make your cuts seamless but will also strengthen the scene itself in what it intends to communicate. This, after all, is the purpose of editing: communication.
Rule Four: The fresh is preferable to the stale.
“In art, the obvious is a sin.” In order to maintain the invisibility of technique, a film editor strives to avoid boring, confusing, or disappointing the audience with a poorly managed cut. However, it is possible to jar the viewer from the context of the story with even the most well-intentioned cut. If your shot contains action that exits the frame, do not linger on it even for a couple frames. If you do this and fail to overlap to the next action, the viewer has no new information to feed upon and therefore lapses out of the comfort of the story. Because of only a few frames, your viewer is now examining your set design or lighting. This is exactly what should be avoided. Dmytryk suggests that if frames must be added between shots, do so at the beginning of a fresh, new shot so that the viewer accepts the lingering frames as part of exposition for a new angle or shot. Rule Five: All scenes should begin and end with continuing action.
“Subconsciously suggest to the viewer that he is seeing a fragment of continuing life, not a staged scene with a visible framework.” This is the concept of the director shooting scenes with heads and tails and the editor subsequently chopping them off. It is entirely unnatural to begin a scene with an actor doing nothing, preparing to act. Not only does it break the invisibility of the craft, but such an error unravels the pacing of the work causing far greater problems in the long run. A scene should begin as an actor walks into the frame or picks up a telephone or washes dishes or cleans his sword or performs some action. A scene should end with the actor walking out of frame or slamming down the telephone or breaking dishes or plunging his sword into an orc or performing some other (but not necessarily opposite) action. This serves to hasten the pace and ensure that the viewer is not bored by getting ahead of the action.
Rule Six: Cut for proper values rather than for proper matches.
“The film’s dramatic requirements should always take precedence over the mere aesthetics of editing.” Often enough in production, the action between takes and different angles will not match with one another. Some of these culprits are beyond even the tightest control: the length of a lit cigarette, the timing of flashing city lights, the movement of arms and legs during emotionally commanding scenes. While this is no concern at all when you leave a shot alone, this lack of continuity becomes extremely problematic when you must intercut frequently between different shots. Dmytryk advises that continuity be damned. In a crisis such as this, cut to match the emotional truth of the scene so as not to cheat the audience of the experience. Even if the action doesn’t match at all, the viewer will be more inclined to follow the emotional flow of a scene than its technical shortcomings. It is likely that most continuity errors in films are not due to lazy errors on the editor’s part but instead result from decisions to use the strongest emotional performance.
Rule Seven: Substance first—then form.
“Technical skill counts for nothing if it is used only to manufacture films which have little to do with humanity.”
More of a summary rule than anything else. At all times, Dmytryk argues, an editor must strive to improve the emotional power of a film. He felt at the time of the text’s publication that both students and teachers miss this point. Technically proficient editors created by educational institutions that fail to address the necessity of substance and value in the art of filmmaking are scarcely film editors at all.
180 degree rule In filmmaking, the 180째 rule is a basic guideline that states that two characters (or other elements) in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line. The new shot, from the opposite side, is known as a reverse angle.
This schematic shows the axis between two characters and the 180째 arc on which cameras may be positioned (green). When cutting from the green arc to the red arc, the characters switch places on the screen.
Focal lenght
Scene analise Filmmaking Techniques http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1japIhKU9I&feature=related
Platoon This very famous sequence in film is on the list because of the use of Adagio for Strings, a very slow moving piece of music, set to such fast and brutal action. It uses such simple imagery and enhances it to incredible effect by using slow motion and close-ups sparingly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HzIVc2vwVE
Cidade De Deux – City Of God A brilliant use of jump cutting and cutting between two different sets of action. This is incredibly technical editing at it’s best. It is particularly spectacular because it is at the very start of the film, as it has to introduce the main characters. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RoNATPsOsZk