This document defines key editing terms and discusses how they can be used to represent characters and narratives. It examines editing techniques like action matching, eyeline matching, final shots, intercutting, jump cuts, motivation, pace of editing, prevalence, selection, and shot/reverse shot. These techniques are analyzed in clips from shows like Dr. Who, Skins, Primeval, and Misfits to show how editing can represent characters, their relationships, and importance to the story. The document prompts analyzing representation through editing in a clip and considering camera work, sound, mise-en-scene, and other techniques.

1. Editing and Representation
Key Terms.
How we can make the link between
editing and representation.
Practice Question.

2. Editing and Representation
• The Role of editing in representation is open
to interpretation and is greatly dependent on
context. Use your own intelligence
Key Editing Terms
Action Match Eyeline
Match
Final Shot Intercutting -
juxtaposition
Intercutting -
tension
Jump Cuts Motivation Pace of
editing
Prevalence Selection Shot/Reverse
shot and
reaction
shots

3. Action Match
• What is Action Match and how have you used
this in your preliminary task?
• When used for intercutting it can heighten the
parallel/contrast between two different
characters (possibly in different situation)

4. Eyeline Match
• What is this?
• Eyeline match usually provides insight to a
characters’ private thought.
• Whose’s eyeline?
• Dr Who and Martha Jones
• How can we interpret these eyeline matches
and how can we link it to representation?

5. Final Shot
• Which character or characters are shown in
the final shot of a scene or the whole
sequence? How can we interpret this?
• We are often expected to identify with this
character

6. Intercutting: Juxtaposition
• What do these words mean?
• Exaggerate differences, impact, meaning by
highlighting differences (Storylines,
Characters)
• How is this idea used in the opening episode
of Skins?
• Skins

7. Intercutting: tension
• Cutting between two storylines creates
tension and can heighten the audience’s
identification with a particular character
• Cutter, Abby and the Tiger
• How can we interpret intercutting here?

8. Jump Cuts
• Not used very often in TV.
• Tend to suggest – chaos and disorder, to show
the rapid pace of action, or a director who
likes to break the rules (Misfits, Skins)
• In Primeval two jump cuts accelerate Cutter
preparation to slide down the zip wire –
speedy and decisive. (2mins in)

9. Motivation
• A motivated edit is any transition forced on the editor
by the development of the action, narrative or
character. Whenever shot (a) refers to the existence of
an event outside the frame, and we then cut to (b)
which shows that event, that’s a motivated edit.
• We can sometimes judge a character’s worth or
importance by the number of cuts they motivate.
• In Primeval, Cutter runs away from the tiger, drawing it
away from Abby. His constant motion motivates many
cuts in this sequence, reinforcing his status as the
protagonist.

10. Pace of Editing
• Often used to imply character qualities
• Fast Pace might suggest energy or panic (Think
of the opening episode in Misfits) yet in
Primeval it is about quick thinking,
decisiveness
• Long takes (slow pace) might suggest calm,
casual, relaxed nature or it can be about
control
• Accelerated motion vs Slow motion

11. Prevalence
• Who gets the most screen time. The more
they get the more important they are! Hustle:

12. Selection – to show or not to show
• What has been omitted and why?
• Primevel – When Jenny is in trouble at the
barn we don’t cut away to see the rest of the
team arriving.
• This makes Jenny seem more vulnerable and is
very different to Cutter and Abi
• Creates surprise and can increase tension

13. Shot/Reverse shot and Reaction Shots
• S/RS indicates relationships between
characters.
• It can signify/exaggerate closeness, different,
opposition
• Amount of time give to a reaction shot can
convey status

14. Practice Question – Discuss
representation in the following clip.
Dr Who and Martha
3 – 5 paragraphs
Use specific terms and examples
You can talk about more than one representation (age,
gender, ethnicity)
Discussion as many of the different areas as possible
(Camera, Sound, Mise en scene and EDITING)
Remember that in the actual exam you will only talk
about one aspect of representation