Editing Techniques

Preliminary Task

Continuity editing – This refers to arranging the sequence of shots to suggest a progression of events. Given the same shots, an editor can suggest many different scenarios. This again just means that everything flows in a consistent, orderly, smooth, sequential manner.

 For example a scene may be broken down into four steps: A men enters a house, there is the sound of a gunshot, an ambulance arrives and then a body is rolled out on a gurney. This would then create the belief that after the man entered the house, he then shoots someone or gets shot, and then the ambulance came to take the dead body away. We as the audience then assume that the man going into the house must’ve played a part in the shooting.

Accelerating time –   This is the technique used to condense a long period of time in a film, into just a few seconds. This is done in order to show a progression of time/movement without having to show every single second (you could imagine how boring that would get).

For example the film may be a RomCom or a family drama showing the transgression and ageing of the individuals. This can be done by showing the seasons pass in a chronological sequence which would symbolise the progression of time. Another example would be the showing of a woman getting ready for a date. Instead of showing the whole process it can be cut into 3 second scenes of her: looking in her closet, putting her makeup on, putting on her shoes and getting into a cab.

Expanding time – This is a technique used to drag out a happening beyond the actual time represented. This is used as an effect to cause suspense for the audience, as they know something is going to happen, therefore the dragging out of the period helps to add and build up to the suspense.

For example expanding time is often used in crime thrillers. This can be done when there is a ticking of a bomb. The bomb will have a set time, however to add more suspense and drama (as well as a realistic chance for the good guy to stop the bomb going off) this technique must be used to show what is going on elsewhere whilst the bomb is ticking.

Showing causality – This is a part of continuity editing in which it suggests or explains why things happen. This is used to show reasons and to not cause confusion amongst viewers; making sure there’s a plausible cause for every reaction.

For example in a film it would be slightly confusing and hard to follow the film if things just instantly happened. Such as a person just randomly going to open their door and see who’s there. So showing causality would be the hearing of the doorbell ringing which would then explain why the person goes to open the door.

Showing motivation – This is similar to causality but is more specific to the question to “why did that happen”? By showing motivation it helps to avoid confusion of a reason but it also helps the audience to relate to a certain character and to help them predict the future actions of a character.

For example flashbacks can be used throughout a film to show a build up of emotions, as well as what’s going on through a person’s mind cognitively at certain points. There may be two offers on a table for a sports star – one worth a lot of money, but bad for his career, then another one paying less but better for his career. Now in the film there may be scenes of him being very poor as a child and promising his mum that he’ll take care of her. This piece of information will show motivation and reason for why he takes the offer worth more money.

Continuity techniques:

Master Shot – This is used to establish a wider shot of the surroundings in a scene. This is usually used at the beginning of a scene in order to give the audience a sense of the picture in order to help their following of a film.

Insert Shot – This is a close-up of something that already exists in the basic scene. This is often used to highlight something that may go missed or unnoticed in a wide-scale shot. For example, an insert shot may be used in a bank robbery. The camera will then go to a close-up of one of the hostages trying to push the alarm button.
       
                    

Cutaways – This is a technique which cuts away from the main scene or action to add additional information. For example there may be a speech in a hall at school, then the camera will cut away to people yawning and falling asleep which will suggest to the audience that everyone is bored.

Relational editing – This is a technique used to establish a relationship between two scenes. This is because the audience will expect to see scenes that come together in a logical sequence to tell a story. This can also be used to create cause and effect.

For example, if we see a scene of a man at dinner waiting for his wife, then seeing his eyes light up and his mouth dropping, as an audience we would expect the next scene to show his wife walking through the doors (or his food arriving to his table, depending on how hungry he is).

Thematic editing – This is a rapid sequence of shots designed to elicit feelings or call upon common experiences. This is based around a central film and is the only editing technique not done in logical order. For example this is used in adverts to entice viewers to buy a product.

Parallel cutting – This is when the segments are cut together to follow multiple (different) story lines. By cutting back and forth between two or more mini-stories within the overall story, pace is varied and the viewer interest is heightened.