UNIT 16 - Techniques

THE CONCEPT OF EDITING

Throughout the years the whole concept of editing has changed. Nowadays there are more variety of shots to take and techniques to put into productions. This can make the look of a production totally different as many of these different types of editing have added new meaning to just an average scene. This makes the whole watching more interesting as certain techniques has the audience read in between the lines which just makes the film or production have a deeper meaning and it just seems more interesting to watch. There are many editing techniques as said before here are some of them in detail:

Continuity/Match on action

Continuity or "match on action" is when two scenes connect with each other smoothly to make one scene. This is done to make the two separate shots run with persistance and to make it look like they match each other. the camera would have to cut and start very precisely in order for it to loo like a one take smooth run. this adds to the pleasure as it adds realism. If the scene jumped from a man entering a door being half way in the door frame to him going back and entering the room it doesn't look smooth and it could also confuse the viewer. Hence why it is important that the camera starts filming at the point of where the action had stopped so when he or she starts filming again it doesn't look like it was filmed separately. This adds to the entertainment and realism to the whole production.


                                                                                    180 degree Rule

The 180 rule is basically when the camera stays on one side of the subjects. this can be done whilst filming a  conversation between two people. So for example the camera would on the right side of subject A and when it turns on to the other side the subject should always stay on the initial side of the line. This shows that the subject isn't switching positions and jumping form place to place. If the rule wasn't in place then the audience would get very confused when watching the programs characters may be switching sides of their half. If the 180 degree rule has to be broken the camera should show the transition of going from one side to the other to avoid further confusion.





Cutting to the beat


Cutting to the beat can be used in film but is mostly used in music videos. This is when the shot cuts in time with the music/beat. By doing this it makes the scene look more smooth and appealing to audiences. If the cutting was not in time with the beat then it would look odd and not very appealing to the eye.

                            Shot reverse Shot

Shot reverse shot is when the action switches between two characters who are usually in a conversation. this helps to show the audience what the reaction of the other person in the conversation might be. if there were to be a shot which focused only on one person in the conversation then it would be very interesting to watch and the audience wouldn't be aware of what the other character might have to say.

Montage

A montage is used in a film to show the passage of a longer period of time by cutting sots together. These cuts can show progress or repetition of a character in what they are doing. This saves time as the audience wants to see an overvue of what has gone on instead of seeing everything happen because it would take too long. An example of this would be in film Rocky when he was training to get better and he would train almost every day, the scenes consisted of him running up and down stairs and using equipment to get stronger for weeks on end however the montage condensed that down to about a minute.  This shows progress of the character and tells a story as well as saving time.


                                                                                    Jump Cuts

           
Jump cuts are jerky cuts to show information relevant to the current scene. This saves time for instant if a man is walking down a corridor, instead of watching him walk the entire walk the jump cuts would cut him coming closer each time. This looks interesting and saves a lot of wasted footage. An example of when a jump cut was used was in the film "Old boy" by Chan Wook. The man had been put into police custody after a lead up in events and had been put in a room. he was very drunk and had been causing trouble in the room. the jump cuts showed everything he done without needing to show him getting up and doing these things, so the use of jump cuts really did cut the shots taken to reduce time and show everything what was going on.

Cutaways

A Cutaway is shot showing the reaction of a character during a scene. This is also referred to as a reaction shot. This shot enables the audience to see what is happening in reaction to the action taking place. The benefit of seeing a reaction is that it makes the scene way more interesting. IF scene were to have for example a fight going on, seeing the reactions of others is more interesting than just having one person punching the other for an entire scene. An example of this within a film would be the film 'Divergent', this showed a character being threatened by the other by holding them off a bridge. The camera showed other characters reaction to this making the scene more intense and thrilling to watch.

                                                        Parallel editing / cross cutting

Parallel editing is when there are two scenes shown which make them look like they are happening simultaneously. This can be shown to the audience as a build up, it also shows a constant cutting to these separate events happening. The benefit of doing this is that by seeing this the audience can tell that these two scenes are happening at the same time. An example of this would be 'Life of an American Fireman' by Edwin S porter. This was he first film to ever use the "parallel editing" technique and worked successfully. Porters method of parallel editing made audiences realise how effective this was and made the film way more interesting.


Transitions/wipes

Transitions make two scenes connect to each other without cutting the actual scene. There are many examples such as "Fade-in" and "Fade-outs". This allows the audience to see the fluidity of a scene and the next to make them connect with each other. This can also show a passage of time. So the fade can make the audience feel time passing by. A production which used this was a youtube video where the boy had been beaten up and he was stumbling to get his balance back, whilst doing so the fade in and fade outs had made  the audience feel as if time was passing by slowly and that he was struggling.


Graphic Match

Graphic Match is when two scenes together don't make sense, however the two scenes have a deeper meaning / effect on the audience. This has an impact on the audience is so that they understand the subliminal message encoded into the visuals/shots. It adds depth to the story and allows the audience to boost their self-esteem as they'd most likely be able to decode those messages in the film, this will in effect give off a feel good factor.