Video Editing-Chapter 1 for B Sc. Visual communication students

1. Video editing

3. Editing is the creative
force of filmic
reality...and the
foundation of film art

7.  It is a visual art.
 Video editing is the process of editing
segments of motion video footage, special
effects and sound recordings. Motion picture
film editing is a predecessor to video editing
and, in several ways, video editing simulates
motion picture film editing, in theory and the
use of non-linear and linear editing systems.
 Using video or film, a director can
communicate non-fictional and fictional
events. The goals of editing is to manipulate
these events for better or for worse
communication.

8. Linear video editing
 is the process of selecting, arranging
and modifying the images and sound
recorded on videotape whether
captured by a video camera,
generated from a computer graphics
program or recorded in a studio. Until
the advent of computer-based non-
linear editing in the early 1990s
"linear video editing" was simply
called “video editing.”

10. Non-linear editing
 Non-linear editing for films and television
postproduction is a modern editing method which
involves being able to access any frame in a
digital video clip with the same ease as any other.
This method is similar in concept to the "cut and
paste" technique used in film editing from the
beginning. However, the cutting of film negatives
made it originally a destructive process. Non-
linear, non-destructive methods began to appear
with the introduction of digital video technology.

12.  Non-linear editing is computer based .
Footage is played in to a computer and
captured on a hard drive. Editors use
software to manipulate the captured
footage. clips are arranged on a time
line. Music tracks and titles are added.
Effects can be created and rendered in
to a finished video

13. Continuity editing
 Continuity editing is the
predominant style of editing in
narrative cinema and television. The
purpose of continuity editing is to
smooth over the inherent
discontinuity of the editing process
and to establish a logical coherence
between shots

14.  Continuity editing refers to arranging the
sequence of shots to suggest a
progression of events. Given the same
shots, an editor can suggest many
different scenarios.
 Three shots; four very different meanings!
 1. People jumping from a car
2. The car on fire
3. An explosion

15.  1-2-3 : In the 1-2-3 sequence shown
the shots suggest that people are
jumping from a car seconds before it
catches fire and explodes.
 3-2-1 : A 3-2-1 order suggests that
there is an explosion and then the
car bursts into flames; and, as a
result, the people have to jump out.
 2-3-1 : In a 2-3-1 sequence people
jump from the car after a fire causes
an explosion

16.  2-1-3 : If the
sequence is
changed to 2-1-
3, it appears
that as a result
of a fire
passengers
jump out of the
car just in time
to escape a
devastating
explosion.

18. Establishing shot
 An establishing shot in film and
television sets up, or establishes
the context for a scene by showing
the relationship between its
important figures and objects. It is
generally a long- or extreme-long
shot at the beginning of a scene
indicating where, and sometimes
when, the remainder of the scene
takes place

19.  Establishing shots may use famous
landmarks to indicate the city where the
action is taking place or has moved to.
 an establishing shot might just be a long
shot of a room that shows all the characters
from a particular scene. For example, a
scene about a murder in a college lecture
hall might begin with a shot that shows the
entire room, including the lecturing
professor and the students taking notes
 An establishing shot should be two or three
seconds - long enough for viewers to
appreciate the scene

23. Shot-reverse shot
 Shot reverse shot is a film technique
where one character is shown looking
at another character (often off-screen),
and then the other character is shown
looking back at the first character. Since
the characters are shown facing in
opposite directions, the viewer assumes
that they are looking at each other

25.  Shot reverse shot is a feature of the
"classical" Hollywood style of continuity
editing, which deemphasizes transitions
between shots such that the audience
perceives one continuous action that
develops linearly, chronologically, and
logically

26. Eyeline match
 is a film editing technique associated with the
continuity editing system. It is based on the
premise that the audience will want to see
what the character on-screen is seeing. The
eyeline match begins with a character looking
at something off-screen, there will then be a
cut to the object or person at which he is
looking. For example, a man is looking off-
screen to his left, and then the film cuts to a
television that he is watching

28.  Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, for
example, makes frequent use of
eyeline matches. The main character,
James Stewart, is confined to his
apartment and often looks out its rear
window at events in the buildings
across from him. Hitchcock frequently
cuts from Stewart looking off-screen
to the focus of his gaze

31. The 180° rule
 The 180° rule is a basic guideline in film
making that states that two characters in
the same scene should always have the
same left/right relationship to each other. If
the camera passes over the imaginary axis
connecting the two subjects, it is called
crossing the line. The new shot, from
the opposite side, is known as a reverse
angle.

32. This schematic shows the axis between two
characters and the 180° arc on which cameras
may be positioned (green). When cutting from
the green arc to the red arc, the characters
switch places on the screen

33.  In the example of a
dialogue, if Owen (orange
shirt in the diagram) is on
the left and Bob (blue shirt)
is on the right, then Owen
should be facing right at all
times, even when Bob is off
the edge of the frame, and
Bob should always be
facing left. Shifting to the
other side of the characters
on a cut, so that Bob is now
on the left side and Owen is
on the right, will disorient
the viewer, and break the
flow of the scene.

34.  In the example of an action scene,
such as a car chase, if a vehicle
leaves the right side of the frame in
one shot, it should enter from the left
side of the frame in the next shot.
Leaving from the right and entering
from the right will create a similar
sense of disorientation as in the
dialogue example.

36. Style
 the applied 180° rule is an essential element
for a style of film editing called
continuity editing. The rule is not always
obeyed. Sometimes a filmmaker will
purposely break the line of action in order to
create disorientation. Stanley Kubrick was
known to do this. The Wachowski Brothers
and directors Tinto Brass, Yasujiro Ozu,
Wong Kar-Wai, and Jacques Tati
sometimes ignored this rule also,as has
Lars von Trier in Antichrist

37. 30 degree rule
 The 30° rule is a basic film editing
guideline that states the camera
should move at least 30° between
shots of the same subject. This
change of perspective makes the
shots different enough to avoid a
jump cut. Too much movement
around the subject may violate the
180° rule.

38.  Following this rule may soften the
effect of changing shot distance,
such as changing from a medium
shot to a close-up.
 Some consider this rule to be
outdated.

39. Cutting on action
 Cutting on action or matching on
action refers to a film editing technique
where the editor cuts from one shot to
another view that matches the first shot's
action. Although the two shots may have
actually been shot hours apart from each
other, cutting on action gives the
impression of continuous time when
watching the edited film

40.  A variant of cutting on action is a cut
in which the subject exits the frame in
the first shot and then enters the
frame in the subsequent shot. The
entrance in the second shot must
match the screen direction and motive
rhythm of the exit in the first shot.

42. Cutaway (filmmaking)
 a cutaway is the interruption of a
continuously filmed action by inserting a
view of something else. It is usually,
followed by a cut back to the first shot,
when the cutaway avoids a jump cut.

43.  A cutaway is a shot that's
usually of something other
than the current action. It
could be a different subject
(eg. this cat when the main
subject is its owner), a close
up of a different part of the
subject (eg. the subject's
hands), or just about anything
else.
 The cutaway is used as a
"buffer" between shots (to
help the editing process), or
to add interest/information.

44.  The comedy film Airplane! has a large
number of cutaway scenes, most of them
showing events at ground control, such as
showing Steve McCroskey (Lloyd Bridges)
exclaim "Looks like I picked the wrong
week to quit smoking".
 In the 2008 movie, Meet Dave, cutaway
gags are used very often, mainly showing
what is happening inside of the spacecraft
(Dave) and in the 2008 movie Get Smart,
cutaway gags were used to show previous
times and awkward references.

45. Insert-film
 Video insert editing is one of the most
useful and versatile tools that are
available to the video editor. With insert
editing you can add a medium shot and a
close-up to your long shot to add a little
interest to your production, and not
disturb the audio portion in any way.
 You can insert a picture and the voice of
a good-talking head commentator in the
appropriate place to add authenticity to
your documentary

46. Cross-cutting
 Cross-cutting is an editing technique
most often used in films to establish
action occurring at the same time in two
different locations. In a cross-cut, the
camera will cut away from one action to
another action, which can suggest the
simultaneity of these two actions but this
is not always the case.

47.  Suspense may be added by cross-
cutting. It is built through the
expectations that it creates and in the
hopes that it will be explained with time.
Cross-cutting also forms parallels; it
illustrates a narrative action that
happens in several places at
approximately the same time