WCC FILM 100 editing-chapter #4 LUTHER

1. CHAPTER 4:
EDITING
WHAT IS “EDITING”?
On its most fundamental level, film editing is
the art, technique, and practice of assembling
camera shots into a coherent sequence. A film
editor must creatively work with the layers of
images, story, dialogue, music, pacing, as well
as the actors' performances to effectively
construct - and sometimes even “rewrite” - the
filmed material to craft a cohesive whole.

2. CHAPTER 4:
EDITING
WHAT IS “CONTINUITY EDITING”?
Continuity Editing emphasizes narrative
logic over other qualities such as
expressiveness; showing how things
happen in a linear fashion and telling a
clear and simple story visually

3. CHAPTER 4:
EDITING
CONTINUITY EDITING ELEMENTS:
Establishing Shot = appears early in a
scene and identifies the location where
scene’s action will unfold; typically a long
or an extreme wide shot
Often a change in location is accompanied
by another establishing shot that signals
the new scene location

4. CHAPTER 4:
EDITING
CONTINUITY EDITING ELEMENTS:
Establishing shots are used throughout a film
in different field of views; for instance, once
inside a location, there will typically be another
establishing shot outlining the interior area
Once the setting is established, the space is
typically broken down by cutting to medium
shots and then to close-ups; scenes may cut
back to wider shots to reestablish where the
action is taking place – these are called
“reestablishing” shots and/or “master” shots
because they take in the whole scene

5. CHAPTER 4:
EDITING
CONTINUITY EDITING ELEMENTS:
In classical cinema, plot is driven by character
psychology; continuity editing is used to focus
the viewer’s gaze and attention with the goal of
revealing the emotions and motivations of
characters and moving the plot forward
Cutting to close-ups allows a filmmaker to
capture a character’s emotional and
psychological states as they are revealed in
subtle facial expressions

6. CHAPTER 4:
EDITING
CONTINUITY EDITING ELEMENTS:
In this example from To Be Or Not To Be
(1942), we see how classical filmmaking
uses continuity editing to set up a scene
and convey character psychology

7. Classical Cinema Editing
1.) Wide Shot: Exterior/Establishing shot of bookstore
2.) Interior long shot establishing the space inside the bookstore
3.) Medium Two-Shot of Maria and the bookseller
4.) Shot/Reverse Shot of medium close-ups, reducing the space
to smaller fields of view. This tightening of the frame around the
characters has the effect of increasing the suspense and
psychological intensity of the scene
5.) As Maria leaves the store and the tension subsides, we pull
out a bit and back to a reestablishing shot of the bookstore and
the German soldiers
6.) After the soldiers leave, we follow the bookseller deeper into
the shop (and deeper inside the story itself) where he reads the
secret message Maria has left
7.) A medium close-up captures his facial expression
8.) Then an extreme close-up of the message itself

8. CONTINUITY EDITING:
This type of “classical continuity editing”
directs the viewer’s attention and gaze to
those elements of the scene that are
important to the narrative while eliminating
extraneous elements
Classical Cinema Editing

9. CONTINUITY EDITING ELEMENTS:
In film, a MATCH cut is an
edit/cut from one shot to
another where the two shots
are matched by the action or
subject and/or subject matter.
Classical Cinema Editing

10. “Eyeline Match” is an editing technique in
which a character looks off to one side of the
frame and there is a cut to another shot
indicating what the character sees
“Match On Action” is an editing technique in
which two different shots of the same action
are edited together in order to maintain
continuity; the movement of a character or
object is carried over from one shot to the
next – it starts in one shot and finishes in the
next shot
MATCH EDITS/CUTS

11. “Cut Away” cutting to an insert shot of something and
then back again – typically something in the same
scene or something in the character’s mind that
moves the plot forward and/or gives us character
insight
“Shot/Reverse Shot” refers to a continuity editing
technique in which there is an exchange between
characters, and the cuts alternate between them
“Cross-Cutting/Intercutting/Parallel Editing” is
switching back and forth between shots of events
taking place at the same time but in multiple
places/locations
OTHER CONTINUITY EDITING
ELEMENTS:

12. CUTS & TRANSITIONS
101 (video examples)
Classical Cinema Editing

13. CONTINUITY EDITING ELEMENTS:
The “Tempo/Rhythm” of a scene can be set
by the speed at which the edits occur, thereby
conveying the urgency or non-urgency of a
particular scene
VIDEO EXAMPLE: The French Connection
car/train chase scene
VIDEO ABOUT “The French Connection”
CAR CHASE
Classical Cinema Editing

14. “MONTAGE” is the French word for “editing”
and is also a term used to describe a
particular style of filmmaking that
emphasizes the expressive power of editing
OVER other considerations such as
narrative continuity or realistic action
This is the principal contribution of Soviet film
theorists to global cinema, and brought
formalism to bear on filmmaking so is often
referred to as “SOVIET MONTAGE” technique
MONTAGE