This is a Word Document telling you about Linear & Non Linear editing that was completed for my A Level Creative Media Course.

1. Linear/Non LinearEssay:
Lineareditingisthe processwhere filmfootage isselected,arrangedandmodifiedinanordered
sequence.Itdoesn’tmatterif the footage wasfilmedonavideocamera,tapelessrecorder, and
mobile phone oreveninatelevisionstudio,as the contentmustbe accessedandarranged
sequentially.Tothe modernday,“videoediting software’s”have now replacedlinearediting,as
people cannowelectronicallyputtheirfilesandsoundsinorder.
A systemforeditingQuadtape "byhand"was developedbythe 1960s. It was reallyjusta meansof
synchronizingthe playbackof twomachinessothatthe signal of the new shotcouldbe "punchedin"
witha reasonable chance atsuccess.One problemwiththisandearlycomputer-controlledsystems
was thatthe audiotrack wasprone to suffer artefacts(i.e.ashortbuzzingsound) because the video
of the newlyrecordedshotwouldrecordintothe side of the audiotrack.A commercial solution
knownas "BuzzOff"was usedtominimize thiseffect.
For more than a decade,computer-controlledQuadeditingsystemswere the standardpost-
productiontool fortelevision.Quadtape involvedexpensive hardware,time-consumingsetup,
relativelylongrollbacktimesforeacheditandshowedmisalignmentasdisagreeable"banding"in
the video.However,itshouldbe mentionedthatQuadtape hasa betterbandwidththanany
smaller-formatanalogue tape,andproperlyhandledcouldproduce apicture indistinguishable from
that of a live camera.
Thisprocessis "linear",ratherthannon-linearediting,asthe nature of the tape-to-tape copying
requiresthatall shotsbe laidout inthe final editedorder.Once ashotis ontape,nothingcan be
placedaheadof it withoutoverwritingwhatever isthere already.If absolutelynecessary,material
can be dubbedbycopyingthe editedcontentontoanothertape,howeveraseachcopy generation
degradesthe image cumulatively,thisisnotdesirable.
A non-lineareditingsystem,otherwiseknownasanNLE, isvideoor audioeditingsoftware that
performsnon-destructive editingonsource material. The name contraststhe 20th
centurymethods
of linearvideoeditingandfilmediting.Non-linearisthe mostnatural approachwhenall assetsare
available asfilesonvideoseries’orharddisks,ratherthan recordingsonreelsortapes- whenlinear
editingisoftentiedtothe needtosequentiallyview filmorheartape.
Metadata: Wheningestingaudioorvideofeeds,metadataare attachedtothe clip.Those metadata
filescanbe attachedautomaticallyormanually.Automaticmethodscouldbe time codes,
localizations,andthe name of the clip.Manual methodscouldbe player’snames,characters,
sportspeopleorgoals).
Direct Access: Non-lineareditingenables directaccesstoanyvideoframe ina digital videoclip
withouthavingtopayor scrubthrough adjacentfootagestoreachit.
Basic Techniques:The non-linear editing method is similar to the concept of “cutting and pasting”
techniques often used in film editing or ICT systems. With the use of non-linear editing systems, the
destructive act of cutting film negatives is eliminated. It can also be viewed as the audio/video equivalent
of word processing, which is why it is often called “desktop video editing” in the consumer space.

2. The first truly non-linear editor, the CMX 600, was introduced in 1971 by CMX Systems, a joint venture
between CBS and Memorex. It recorded & played back black-and-white analogue video recorded in "skip-
field" mode on modified disk pack drives the size of washing machines. These were commonly used to
store about half an hour of data digitally on mainframe computers of the time. The 600 had a console
with 2 monitors built in.
The right monitor, which played the preview video, was used by the editor to make cuts and edit
decisions using a light pen. The editor selected from options superimposed as text over the preview
video. The left monitor was used to display the edited video. A DigitalPDP-11 computer served as a
controller for the whole system. Because the video edited on the 600 was in black and white and in low-
resolution "skip-field" mode, the 600 was suitable only for offline editing.
Memento:
In the movie Memento,anon-linearstructure wasadopted.The effectthatthishas onthe orderof
the sequencesinthe filmismeanttodisplayLeonard’sinabilitytorememberthings.Thisshowsthat
there are a seriesof mixedeventsthathave beendisplayedoutof order.Itis alsoperformedinthis
waybecause itis a way forthe viewertosympathisewithandgetinvolvedwiththe storyaswell as
tryingto figure outwhatis goingonas muchas the main character is.
It isonlywhenLeonardrealisedthe trustaboutTeddy thatthe movie’sblackandwhite scenesstart
to come to life. Itisalsowhenthe viewerreturnstowhatthe beginningof the filmwas,whichwas
Leonard’srealisation.
PulpFiction:
The significance of the filmisprettysimple. Itservicedthe experience of the filmandfurther
engagedthe audience. Fewfilms have beenassuccessful utilizingthisstructure (Mementois
arguablythe secondbestafterPulpFiction). The audience wasengagedbyjumpingbackandforth,
alwayswonderingwhere the A storywouldintersectwiththe Bstoryand C storyand D story. It
furtheredthe experience. Itcreatedan investedaudiencethatwantedtorevisitthe filmtosee the
manyconnectionsinthe backgroundof each scene andsequence astheyfiguredouthow
everythingwasconnected. It'snotan easystructure to pull off, butif done right,a writerand/or
directorcan keepanaudience investedevenmore sothantheywouldwithalinearstructure. You
keepthemguessing. Youkeeptheminvested. Youkeepthemengaged. That'sthe keyto a
successful filmandscript.
Eternal Sunshine:
The filmfocusesonJoel andClementine andthe tale of theirromance,butina slighttwist,the
narrative isframedthroughthe memoriesof Joel.Eternal Sunshineisaveryhumanstory that uses
science-fictionelementsasa conduittocreate a filmthatispresentedasa vividdream, aliteral trip
downmemorylane.Thisplotdevice allowsforGondrytocreate some imaginative set-pieces,

3. contrastingan extremelypersonal andhumanisticstory againstsome fantastical andsymbolic
backdrops. Aswe jumparound Joel’smemoriesfromthe happytothe bleak,the audience isthrust
througha non-linearstorythatusesvisualstokeepitself cohesiveandgrounded.Eternal Sunshine
of the SpotlessMindcreatedvividdreamscapesthatcompletelyandsometimesliterallyengulf Joel
and Clementine,aswell asmasterfullymanipulatingthe audience.
The visualsinEternal Sunshine,asextravagantastheyare,workbecause theyare utilisedasa
meansof supplementingthe plotandcharacters.Atno pointin the filmdoesitfeel like the
cinematicvisualsare justthere toindulge directorMichael Gondry.Asthe filmmovesfromkey
momenttokeymoment,the filmingstyleadaptstowhat’shappeningonthe screen.Joel and
Clementine’shappiestdaysare showcasedwithawarmcolourpalette,all reds,orangesandwhites;
showthat theyare havinghappymemories,withblue forunfocusedmemories.
The camera techniquesalsochange dependingonthe character’splight.Duringaparticularlyharsh
memory,the setaroundJoel andClementine literallystartcrumblingaway,slowlydisappearinginto
a stark blackbackground.The framingbecomesslightlyoff,butonlyslightly.Thisenablesthe
audience tofeel uncomfortablebutnotenoughtodraw obviousattentiontothe technique.
Contrastedwiththis,the mostintimate momentsbetweenJoel andClementineare full of lingering,
affectionate close-ups.There’sstill anairof fantastaroundthese scenesbutit’smostsubtle,
presentingitself inaheightened,warmerlightingset-upratherthana noisycrumblingset.Youknow
all the techniquesclicktogetherbrilliantlyinthe sceneswhere charactersshare theirmostintimate
and personal moments –because youfeel like you’re sharingthemtoo.