EDITING

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Before we dive into editing, let's revisit how we have developed these Codes & Conventions, or a widely understood film language.

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Film language is taken from a long exposure to media. We grow up with it, so our understanding of it becomes natural. But the more aware of it we become, and the more we are exposed to a variety of source material, the greater our appreciation of the art becomes. 

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"Good artists copy. Great Artists steal."

Pablo Picaso 

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"I steal from every single movie ever made."

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AND

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"Great artists steal, they don't do homages"

Quentin Tarantino 

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Editing

Deconstructing editing

Editing is the process of selecting, sequencing and timing the visual and auditory elements intended structure. Editing is a reminder of the filmmaking process so attempts not to draw attention to itself. Good editing won't be noticed and to that effect has a strong impact on how an audience reads and interprets a scene.

 

A great starting point to break down and make yourself aware of the editing decision is to simply count the shots. This raises our consciousness of the cuts and edits in a sequence. It also helps us to understand pacing and frequency of transitions. Where are the frantic or calm moments.

 

We can then look at how those shot transitions are made:

 

Cut - simply one shot to another

 

Cutting on action - cut while in motion (Punch, turn, throw, through door)

 

Cut away - insert shot

 

Cross cutting - intercut backwards and forwards between locations

 

Jump cut - cut to the same shot however placement of characters and objects has changed

 

Match cut - similar shot by action or composition

 

Fade in / fade out - dissolving to or from black

 

Dissolve - blend from one shot to another

 

Smash Cut - abrupt transition (quiet to intense, movement to still and vice versa)

 

Iris - circle wipe to draw attention in

 

Wipe - next shot gradually revealed

 

Invisible Cut - transition is hidden to make shots look continuous (eg. whip pan)

 

L-Cut - audio from first shot carries over into the next shot.

 

J-Cut - audio from the next scene starts before you see it.