Assignment

1. Understand the Development and Principles of Editing.
Editing is the art of linking different scenes together taken of a film to create a
narrative. This process involves the editor selecting and combining shots into
sequences, which results in a finished movie.
Development
In early film there was not much editing as the editing was simple as there was
not much development at the time. In the early film was very little shot
variation. The shot variation was very little because in their time they did not
have any knowledge of cutting films. The camera
would also just follow the action. This can be
seen in the Lumiere Brothers first motion
picture, La Sortie de l'Usine. They devised the
first camera and a projector called the
Cinematographe and used it to make their first
film where it was just one long continuous shot
with no sound or editing. In the film you can see
that it was in black and white since it was one of the first film made and was
really old, if you look closely in the video you can notice that it keeps skipping
every 2 seconds or less.
But since it was one of the first films ever I think this was very successful. This
film may seem boring because all it show was them walking out the factory and
there isn’t a story behind it, but in the early years everyone would see it as a big
accomplishment. They would have also used In-camera editing this was
pioneered before splicing, the directors would just pause the movie and then set
the next shot and continue filming in result of making a movie. They would move
their heavy big camera to somewhere else then start recording again. It would
film would be in chronological order.
The use of shot variation changed when Robert W. Paul an English electrician
made the first film ‘Come Along Do’, 1898 – that featured more than one shot. By
using shot variation the audience are able to understand the tone of the scene
and understand the concept. However, when many different types of shots are
used it could be confusing for the audience. Paul pioneered a system of
projecting motion pictures onto a screen in 1886. He also produced a camera
called Theatrograph. He used it in music halls around the country to screen
motion pictures. He discovered that you could cut from one action shot to
another and still have continuity. This was the first type of editing; this was a
huge accomplishment and could create more meaning.
After seeing Robert Paul’s work and being
in the audience for a demonstration of the
Lumiere Brothers cinematograph George
Melies, a French illusionist and theatre

2. owner, went to find Paul to look at his camera the Animatograph, he then
purchased one from Paul and modified it so it would be a film camera. At first he
screened other people’s films but was soon making his own. By accident while
filming he has discovered a new trick that he could use stop-motion to create a
trick visual effects. His most successful film ‘A Trip To The Moon’ 1902 due to its
special effects and use of double exposure. Use of story telling and narratives
influenced other filmmakers.
In the film ‘A Trip To The Moon’ you can also see that Melies plays around with
diegetic time and space. This is seen at the beginning of the film when you can
see a few men chatting to each other, maybe about their plans for the launch to
the moon, then you see them starting to build the big rocket so they could fit
inside, then to its launch to the moon, all of this was shown in less than 10
minutes.
The discovery and development of editing changed how films were made.
In the early years of film cameras were very big, they also had to hold it and
there was a reel of film. They also had a lot of effort making film because they
had to take the reel out, look at the film negative then cut the end of the film and
splice them by hand. This had to be done in a linear order, as when the film was
then put back together again they could not keep jumping back and forward.
One of the first to do this was Edwin Porter an American filmmaker. Porter was
very skilled at taking other people ideas and developing them but he would
rework the themes or techniques. This can be seen in his film The Life Of An
American Fireman 1904. Porter uses multiple points of view shots which is
shown when the fireman’s wife and child appear to in the same shot to appear as
if he is thinking about them while at work.
This would have a big impact
toward the audience because if
they see two scenes happening in
one at the same time. On the right
corner of this scene you see a
mother putting her child to bed,
you also see the father in his
fireman uniform sitting on a chair
dreaming this is also giving us an
idea that he might be thinking of
his wife putting the child to bed.
The audience will also see the
fireman as a hero for not being lazy and taking his personal time to save
someone.
Technology has been changed over the years since analogue was introduced,
which affect people’s editing skills. Years ago they didn’t have computers or
smart technology that advance in editing but now editors now can edit digitally
using computers and specialist software such as Avid and final cut. When editing
digitally it does not have to be done in linear order as with film negatives and is
also quicker because as it is not be done by hand, editors do not have to spend

3. time looking at the film reel and cut it using the splicing machine. The computer
can do all of this. I believe that all the changes in technology over the years has
had made a huge difference to film making.
Purpose
Editing has come a long was since the days of the Lumiere Brothers and Porter.
The editor role now is really important as the can influence the storytelling and
how to engage the viewer.
A way to engage the viewer is by combining shots, which can create pace
within a scene in a film. A good example of fast paced editing is from a scene in
the movie Kick Ass 2 directed by Jeff Wadlow (2013).
In this scene Mindy has to dance to show if she has the skills and is really
nervous, when imagining herself as Hit Girl she becomes confident as that who
she is. There is a medium close up of Mindy’ face as she’s talking to herself, then
jump cut to Ninjas jumping around, the it cuts back to Mindy imaging herself as
Hit Girl. There is use of continuity editing and juxtaposition between Mindy and
her vigilante alter ego Hit Girl as she imagines herself fighting so that she can
dance as Mindy, by combining these shots into sequences makes the action
appear seamless when switching between the two characters. The quick cuts
create a fast pace which give the audience an energetic feeling knowing that
something good is happening. The technique used engages the viewer as they are
drawn into the action by the use of the cuts and the music.
In this scene you also see Mindy talking to herself in slow motion, this suggests
that she is thinking about what she should do to avoid embarrassment or
chickening out. When Mindy visualises the ninja this shows that she loves to fight
bad people and criminals. After she stops fighting she looks up to the whole class.
Reaction shots are shot from this scene to intensify their reaction throughout, in
this scene there are a lots of shots showing the characters reaction toward her
dancing skills, this is to build up tension and make the audience feel surprised as
well.
For an example in this scene one of the shot you see is Mindy talking to
herself, this is to make the audience think she is trying to be smart and they
will get a bit excited as they know she isn’t that kind of person who make
anything go wrong.

4. In this shot you also see all the characters is focused on Mindy dancing skills
as they’re surprised that she’s better than Brooke, this also help motivate their
emotions and cause them to react positively for Mindy.
Creating and developing drama also engages the audience, this depends on
few things such as camera shots. In drama films, lots of reaction shots are used to
signify how one or more of the characters act to a situation that has occurred.
Long takes build up tension by doing this in the scene it can create a sense of
danger.
In this scene a tracking shot shows Danny riding on his toy bike around the hotel
lobby trying to avoid boredom, he slows down and is drawn to room 237 door
and the camera cuts to a shot of the door then back to a close up of Danny’s face
showing how scared he is. This is because his imaginary friend named Tony told
him that a murder took place in that specific room. He is intrigued by this fact
and a medium shot shows him trying to open the door but it is locked. All this
time this is building up the drama in the scene as the audience is being drawn
into what is happening and are kept engaged as they want to know what is
behind the door or if he goes in what will happen next. Then he keeps riding on
his bike until he sees the twin standing in the hallway staring at him and quoting
“come play with us” startles him. A medium close up shot is used in this scene to
show Danny’s reaction toward the twins.
Creating motivation within a film is also an important aspect of editing in
order to keep the audience engaged and interested.
When editing the editor has to look for motivation in their cuts as this will affect
how the audiences feels throughout the film or programme, so needs to consider
what emotions he is trying to provoke in the audience to do this successfully.
By cutting from one scene or character to another helps persuade how the
audience feels. This will cause them to react either positively or negatively

5. towards the scene. An example of this can be seen in the film Harry Potter and
the Deathly Hallows part 2 where Harry Potter goes to meet Voldemort in the
forbidden forest.
In this clip above a long shot shows Harry Potter walking into a clearing in the
woods by himself, which gives a sense of loneliness and vulnerability as all the
other characters are concentrating on him. The camera then cuts between close
ups of both Harry Potter’s and Voldemort’s faces, this is to get the audience
focused on the main characters and to feel anxious and scared for what is about
to happen next. From a low shot from behind Voldemort the audience sees him
raise his wand at Harry in the distance this makes the audience feel scared and
worried about his safety. A close up of Harry’s face shows him closing his eyes
and preparing to die provokes sadness and persuades the audience to pay more
attention. It’s important to cut at the right time to enable the narrative of the
story progress and develop further. New characters can be introduced and the
audience are able to see development in sub-plots as well. It’s important to
choose the right pace of the cut, depending on the genre of the film and also
particular characters. For an example; a romantic comedy genre film, the
audience are persuaded to feel sympathy and emotional for the main character
so the cut of this character will be slow so the audience can get time to learn
more about them. Another appropriate place to cut is sound, it’s appropriate to
cut it to another scene or character as if there is a loud or extravagant noise so
the character may look away, so cutting to the item or place that the audience is
looking at will keeps the audience interested and focused.
Conventions and Techniques
In this shot there are also a few shot without any editing, this is so the audience
can notice what is going on without focusing on special edits so they don’t
interrupted of what is going on. An example of this is where Hit Girl repeatedly
jump around and you see this shot show her switching back to Mindy and Hit
Girl. You also see a reverse shot of where Mindy get called up to do her dance but
she is nervous so Brooke talks her into it and try to give her confidence, Mindy is
looking down as she is being nervous but as Brooke look at her she know that
she can do it and she is trying to boost her confidence.

6. 180 degree rule
This is a film technique where the rule states that the camera should remain the
same side of an imaginary line. The line is drawn perpendicular the camera’s
viewpoint in the establishing shot of the scene. The rules require continuity of
the film. An example is that in a car chase scene, if the car is travelling from right
to left, the next shot must be also shot from the same side, which mean the has to
enter the frame right to left again. An example of this can be seen in the film “The
shining”, where Jack is talking to Grady about recognizing him from the
newspaper for murdering his 2 twin daughters, he quoted “Mr. Grady, you were
the caretaker here. I recognize you. I saw your picture in the newspapers. You
ah… chopped your wife and daughters up into little bits, and ah… and you blew
your brains out.” The 180-degree rule also enables the audience to visually
connect with unseen movement happening around behind the person. This gives
them more information of what’s happening.
Point of view shot (POV)
A point of view shot is when an item or person is positioned in a certain place in
a film, and the camera is then placed in this location in the next scene to make it
look as if you can see what is going on from their/its perspective. This can also
be referred to as a fly on the wall technique when an inanimate subject is used.
An example of this is used in breaking bad; this is when Walter White has put
Crystal meth into a freezer. This scene is used in order to show the audience the
production of the drugs being made from the perspective of the product itself
which further shows the audience how it is made and how complicated the
process is in order to glorify the amount of work Walter is able to manage. This
keeps the audience entertained as it shows Walter in a positive light, and
reminds them about how Walter has a keen intellect for chemistry which
signifies the way his talents have went to waste in the past and how much money
could have been making.

7. Montage
A montage is used in films when a protagonist engages in a range of activities
that cause them to become better or more experienced in order to complete the
task they are setting out to do or to complete their main objective/goal. Such as
in many films athletes will train to become fit for an event and there will be a
montage of them training with inspirational music in the background that makes
the audience feel inspired and possibly proud of the character for overcoming
certain challenge. An example of this is in the film Rocky, this is one of the most
popular examples of a montage as it shows Rocky training for his big fight with
the music 'Eye of the tiger' playing in the background. This song is now
associated with Rocky due to the fact the scene has made such an impact on the
film industry.
Splicing
A film splicer is a machine that is used to physically attach two pieces of
photographic film together to make one. The advantages of a film splicer is that it
allows you to remove film frames or take one section of a film and place it
somewhere else in the movie prior to editing on a computer. This editing
technique is used to make the scene be continuous.
Cutting to soundtrack
Cutting to soundtrack editing is when the pace and the beat of a song can
determine how fast scenes can cut. This attract audience’s attention because
when they hear the fast beat and it cuts fast it get them interested into what it
will cut to next. A good example of this is the music video “can’t stop” where it
begins to cut quite slowly then cuts more once the beat speeds up.

8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfOdWSiyWoc
Shot-reverse-shot
Shot-reverse-shot is a film technique where a person is looking at another
character and then the other character is looking back. This technique is often
used to add drama to a heated moment between people. For an example in
western films when there is a stand-off it often cuts from characters looking at
one another. An example of this can be seen in the film “Spiderman” where
Norman Osbourne is talking to himself into a mirror.
This technique is used in order for the audience to fully understand the
narrative.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0xiCIMIwLY
Seamless
Seamless is a technique used to edit the video or film using numerous transitions
and effects but make the editing invisible. If it has been edited to a good standard
the viewer knows the editing is there but because it is blended into the video
professionally. Good editing helps to tell a story or get a story across to the
viewer; therefore it plays a big role in film and video. DW Griffiths first perfected
this, and it’s been defined as seamless editing. Continuity editing is considered

9. what creates a flowing video from start to finish. It creates a smooth flow
between each clip, so the story the director is trying to portray to be shown the
way he wanted his vision to look like. This also should make the viewer be more
aware of the story than the techniques used to create it.
Montage editing
Montage editing is a type of editing where the editors will show numerous short
videos and even pictures. Montage editing normally involves a lot of special
optical effects such as fades, dissolves, split screens, double and triple exposures.
This type of editing is quite popular for editing video of dancing with up-beating
music. An example of this can be seen in “The Amazing Spiderman 2” where Pete
visits Gwen at the cemetery and you can see that he was there for a long period
and as the background changes to every season which implies that he went
through a whole year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saw1KDiUrcQ (3:45)
Editing rhythm
Rhythm editing describes a technique of assembling of shots and/ or sequences
according to a rhythmic pattern, usually followed by music. The editors use this
technique to keep the pace of the film up to match the action from the film. Long
pace takes more than one minute before cutting to the next shot, this is used to
makes the audience more relaxed when watching so they don’t have to pay too
much attention watching and trying to catch what’s happening such as quick
pace scene where it constantly cuts too quick. An example of this can be seen in
the movie “Hero”.

10. Cutaways
The cutaway technique is used to squeeze time or give the audience a visual
break. The purpose of this is that it cuts away from the main action for a short
period of time, these type of shot are shot at the same time as the main action.
This shows the audience what other plots are occurring synchronously. They are
also used to put together two separate plot lines, but not too much to avoid the
main action. The cutaway shots are also never too long because you’re only
showing the audience a brief look of what the film is about. An example of this is
used in action film where they show a car chase scene and a scene of little kids
playing at break having fun in silence, this gives the audience a feeling that
something will bad happen to them. Another example of this is in an episode of
Family Guy where Peter is sitting on the couch in his living room having an
conversation then the scene cut to another scene of Peter as a police sketch
artist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRB2tLm523c
Crosscutting
This technique is used in film and video to establish action in two different
locations happening at the same time. In this technique the camera will be cut

11. from one to other. This is sometime also used to create suspense and excitement
for the audiences. An example of this can be seen in “Se7en” where Somerset is at
other side of the desert looking inside the box to see what’s inside and Mills is at
other side having a conversation with John Doe about his wife.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1giVzxyoclE
Providing and withholding information
This is when the editors try and make the narrative more dramatic by giving or
taking away information by proving it’s true. This is also used in a lot of crime
films where they would lead the audience to believe that someone is the
murderer and take away or give you information that proves it could not be this
person, so this keeps the audience thinking until the final conclusion and that
where everything is revealed. When we are giving bits of information about the
film it engages the audience as they feel part of the film and like they are working
out exactly what happened. Most editors use the withholding information
technique rather than providing. A lot of drama and TV drama editors use this
technique.
An example of this is seen in the film “The Time Travellers Wife” where we
would see a little boy in the car time travel for the first time in the film from first
scene. This also gives the audience information that he has the ability to travel
before anyone else knows from the film. His mother doesn’t even know what’s
happening to him and his older-self. This is an example of providing and
withholding information.
Motivated editing
Motivated editing is a term of editing that motivates what people see or hear, so
it basically means that when something is not in frame you will see that
something appear or hear it in the next cut. The editors use this kind of editing in
horror films, for an example when you see a shot of a person walking through the
forest in the night, and the next thing you hear is a crack from a stick, that would
be suggesting that there is something/someone in the woods, then it cuts to the
place where the sound is coming from. An example of this can be seen in the
movie “Freddy vs Jason” when a girl try to tease her boyfriend by stripping
herself naked the jumping in the lake but as she goes in the lake she realised that
she is alone and she heard a noise from the background which implies that there
is someone there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IqGq3R3k8Q

12. Jump cutting
Jump cutting is a cut in film editing where two sequential shots of the same
subject are taken from camera positions that vary only slightly. This type of edit
gives the effect of jumping forwards in time. When the editors put two shots
together, it’s give the impression of a jump and gives the effect of jumping
forwards in time. These jump cuts draw attention to the process of filmmaking
and editing, which can take the audience out of the story. So basically they are
viewed as something to be covered up. An example of this can be seen in the
movie “District 9” where in one of the scene the one of the characters is
searching an alien’s shack and during that time investigating there are multiple
jump cuts. These jump cuts give the impression that the character is nervous.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQnrTBUjpmE
Transitions
Transition is a term known for changing from one shot to another where a cut,
dissolves, fades and wipes to another. It is used for combining more than one
shot together; they are often used in films to convey a mood or tone towards the
audience. They are also used to imply the passage of time but however they can
sometimes imply something else.
Conclusion
The editor in early filmmaking was not considered an important job as it now.
This could be because over the years all the technology used has developed, and
editors have developed more skills, which has enabled them to become more
creative. This has allowed them to have more control over how the film looks
and can change the narrative by the edits that they make from how the director
originally filmed it. The editor now is seen as just as important as the director
due to the involvement they have now. They have lots of responsibility because
they have to choose and edit what goes into the final film, this could be the
difference between a film being a success or a flop at the box office.