he History of Film Editing

1. The History of Film Editing
By Harvey Ross

2. Where it all began -
The Lumiere Brothers kicked it all off in 1895. They invented
cinematographe, it was a three way machine that recorded, captured
and projected a motion picture. The work they produced only
consisted of one long roll of film, a continuous shot.
In 1901 Edwin S. Porter came along and showed us that it didn’t have to be
long clip. He started to experiment by sticking different parts of film together.
The films became several minutes long consisting of several shots.
The first film studios were built in 1897
The first successful permanent theatre showing only films was "The Nickelodeon"
in Pittsburgh in 1905
In 1910 actors started getting credit
It all started when the first motion cameras where invented in the 1890’s

3. Primitive Editing -
You can see primitive instances of editing in films like Rescued by Rover (Great
Britain, 1904) and The Great Train Robbery (1903).
To begin with, the cuts where made in the camera itself. The cameraman would stop
cranking and then continue to film at the next scene. This could also allow for some
special effects early on. For example, Georges Méliès stops the camera after
detonating a magic puff of smoke in front of his actor, then begins the camera
again after the actor has left the stage, making it seem as if the actor has magically
vanished.
1908 – D.W Grithins Film ‘For Love of Gold’ featured the first ever continuity cut
between scenes.
He also discovered that you can reflect emotion through different angles and the
pace of editing, it wasn’t all down to the editors.
The birth of a nation, 1915 is the first film that used a variety of camera techniques.
Including long panoramic shots, iris effect, still shots, cross cutting and planning shots.

4. Sound -
Sound in Film plays an important part. It helps set emotions and understanding
of the scene.
The first sound recording cameras had to be used in a sound proof room. They
also where very still as the actor had speak into a static mic.
It took a while before people realised that they could move the microphone
round on the end of a stick (a boom stick)
The Jazz Singer (1927) Although it was not the first Vitaphone (sound-on-disk)
feature, it was the first feature-length Hollywood "talkie" film in which spoken
dialogue was used as part of it.
Today films include a vast range of sound effects and sound tracks (non
diegetic sound) and voice recorded with a whole range of microphones.

5. Analogue Editing -
Before digital editing, it was Analogue editing. It involved cutting down
the film negatives and placing them in order. In then went through a
machine called the Moviola or the K.E.M.
A Moviola is a device that allows a film editor to view film while editing.
It was the first machine for motion picture editing when it was invented
by Iwan Serrurier in 1924.
Moviola the company is still in existence and is located in Hollywood
where part of the facility is located on one of the original Moviola
factory floors.

6. Digital Editing -
Since the invention of Computers, digital editing and filming has taken over.
Editing with a computer is much faster and more efficient. Digital video clips are
imported into the software, the clips are then manipulated, cut and set into an
order. Effects are then added.
The first computers and editing software was only capable of basic sound and
video editing. Computers and software of the modern day are capable of
amazing effects and tasks, such as Chroma keying, motion tracking, CGI, 100’s of
footage enhancing effects and plenty of different visual add-on's.
The computers that where used to make film first came onto the scene in the
1960’s when the first animated film (Hummingbird) was released. This continued
into the 1980’s when the first heavy CGI movies where released.

7. Russian Cinema
 Cinema first began during the Russian Empire, widely developed in
the Soviet Union.
 The first films to make an appearance in the Russian Empire where
brought in by the Lumiere Brothers. They exhibited their films in
Moscow and St. Petersburg in May 1896. In that same month
Lumiere cameraman, Camille Cerf made the first film in Russia. He
recorded the coronation of Nicholas II at the Kremlin

8. In conclusion -
Film editing has come a long way. From cutting and sticking pieces of negatives
together and stop/starting the camera to create effects, to high resolution CGI
and green screen effects made on a computer.
Editing has always played a massive part in the production of a film. A film could
not be made without it. It has branched off into groups including sound, visual,
animated and storyline organisation.
- By Harvey Ross