Editing Concepts (Development)

Multiple Points of View

This editing technique is one which is commonly used within cinema, the purpose of using multiple points of view is to make the camera act as various people's perspectives this gives them a varied response and their different reactions.
An example of this would be ''The good, the Bad and the Ugly'' where the three men are standing apart from each other, and looking at each other. We get many things from this, where the camera stays on their faces for a long time (max 10 seconds) and they each look at one another. The director has chosen to do this in order to show us their feelings towards each other, in line with their facial expressions which also helps us understand their feelings of hate and frustration.
The audience after seeing the characters expressions will understand what each character thinks of the other even if they they don't talk it is the camera and mise-en-scene which defines this.
Another example of where a point of view shot is shown, is in the film Vertigo.  This is a scene from the film, where the character walks into an art gallery, and the cut happens when he looks at something. This is done to show us the audience what this character is looking at exactly, this helps up understand what is happening in the scene and make sense of why he is looking at what he is looking at. Then there is another cut where it cuts back to the character and as they move around the gallery and fix there eyes on something else the cut occurs and we see a different shot of what he is again looking at. When these shots are used effectively in a subjective way they can really impact an audience, as they can put you into the eyes of that character, or even their head letting you enter their thoughts within the scene.

Following The Action
This is a technique whereby the cuts almost act as a movement, as the action is happening the cuts are showing the audience every detail be following what is happening. Although it is hard to notice it, but this is a technique most commonly used in film genres like; Science fiction/thriller.

The example I am going to use is the chase scene from the film 'Transformers'. This film is an action/adventure film and was released in 27th July 2007, and has been one of Michael Bay's most successful films so far. I thought this was a good choice for following the action because there is some really fierce action in this film, which is done in a dramatic but interesting and clever way. For example this scene shows the transformers racing along a street and their enemy is trying to catch them in order to defeat them and win the battle, however this isn't just shown through one angle/shot or camera movement of course. The cuts that happen each time a machine is pushed to a side road or we see fire lash as a result of one of the cars/vehicles crashing into another. This is good as it allows the audience to understand the situation in a serious way, as in they are focused to it as if it is something that would actually happen in real life in such a dramatic way. On the other hand, some may take this scene as a reality check if they are drivers, as they could think about perhaps what they do when driving and how to avoid speeding because it would result in what is happening in the scene. Also, as the cuts happen we are always seeing new things happen, so although the action is being followed with the cuts, every time there is something new such as someone's reaction for example.

Shot Variation
In an edited sequence there are normal cuts , and cuts which are done to show a different shot type. This is mainly done in order to introduce a new shot type and show the audience something different in the scene, for instance is there was a long shot then it cut to an extreme close up, the audience are able to see an item much clearer and easier. Shot variation is a similar thing, the editor will combine many different shots in one scene to get a variation of shots. I think the movies which will most have this technique are ones with action/thriller or adventure genres, because the pace has to be quick for the audience to stay engaged. The film 'HomeFront' demonstrates this well, where the shots are cut with a fast pace and they only last 2-3 seconds, this is good because if it lasted a longer time then I think the scene wouldn't be as engaging as it is.


Manipulation of Diegetic Space and Time 

Manipulation of diegetic space and time is where the editing slows down time, speeds and cuts through events. The idea of speeding up time in movies is very effective when trying to get an emotion from an audience. This can benefit both producers/ directors as well as he audience, in various ways.

The example I am going to use is the fight scene in 'Gladiator' by director Ridley Scott. The scene shows the two characters fighting and the editing speeds up the action. The camera is always moving and there are countless shot types, done simply to keep the fight looking realistic, so that the audience feel as though this is what a fight is like. Another thing is the duration of each shot where it only lasts 2-3 seconds and cuts to the next shot and so on, this is done to avoid the audience getting bored and uninterested. This is purposely done by directors to add to the drama and intensity of the fight. The audience gain excitement because they feel as though the characters are actually fighting for real.

However this development in fast pace editing has only recently been used fight sequences because before fight sequences used to be very different to what they have become now.

For instance in the film 'Robin Hood' the sword fight sequence is different in many ways, one being the limited variation of shot types where the camera is static and we don't get a sense of movement, so this makes the scene become quite bland and even unrealistic. In 'Gladiator' the medium close-ups of the swords going into the opponents stomach then another quick cut to a shot showing his reaction, is going to look more realistic because we can see that the characters are being injured as a result of the attack from the other opponent. This technique helps to manipulate diegetic time and space because in real life people generally fight quickly or at a certain pace, as its just human nature to retaliate quick in a fight situation. In order to manipulate the diegetic or normal life way of fighting directors (editors more preferably) decide to edit in  this way in order to satisfy their audience.

Another way of slowing down time to manipulate space is to slow down the action in the sequence. This is seen in the film 'Wanted' where the time is slowed down as well as reversed. We see the bullet being fired and it shoots in slow motion and goes through the victims head, then the time is reversed where the bullet goes back in slow motion. The producer has decided to do this because they want the audience to feel the same effect the bullet had on the victim character, usually a bullet can travel at a very high speed and by slowing this, you're allowing more information for the audience to get out of the scene.

The effect an audience get is the emotion they feel, where the blood goes back into the victims head (in slow motion). This is effective to an audience because they get to see the slow effect of a bullet , it makes them think of the dangers surrounding guns and they're more aware of this through this scene. Also, the distance that the bullet travels is quite a long way, this tells the audience that the person who fired the bullet is skilful and experienced.

In-Camera Editing 

Recently , in class we looked at in-camera editing which is best known as editing that is done within a camera, this means that you record each shot without deleting anything. I have noticed in-camera editing through long takes and thought I should include it in my blog. Long takes are simply shots that go on for a long period of time before cutting to the next shot. Usually done with a moving camera, long takes are often used to build suspense or capture the attention of audience without breaking their concentration by cutting the film, into apparent sequences of shots. In a way I think that this is effective because it not only keeps the audience engaged but also interested and actively responsive with the film. 

The opening scene from Robert Zemeckis’ Forrest Gump follows a feather blowing in the wind, eventually landing on the foot of the protagonist (Tom Hanks) who then goes on  to pick it up and put it in his suitcase. This scene can be interpreted as a metaphor for the whole movie, as the feather represents Forrest. Just as the feather blows around for what seems like forever, going where the wind takes it until it eventually lands in a safe place, Forrest seems to just blow aimlessly through life, going wherever life and fate may take him with out too much consideration of his own, until he eventually lands in a happy place. So by using this technique it is useful when telling a story and portraying an idea , just like in this example. Although it isn't so obvious the technique is a mystery in itself. I can't grantee that I will use a long take in my short film , because my time is limited to only 4 minutes , therefore it will be difficult to fit in such a long lasting shot. The obvious use for an audience watching would be engagement through information- they're are suspiciously engaged and want to  what will happen next, the only clue they have is that what will happen next is unexpected. The take allows the audience to social interact, being inquisitive about the scene and the paranoia that it conveys. The long take showing us the travels of this feather , also gives us an establishing shot of the city , which is always good when trying to work out the location.

Film
Film editing is an important part of the film industry, and has been developing over the years. In most cases film editing can be used to convey a story with the use of many techniques and camera angles which help show elements of the film in a certain way. Film editing is a much longer process than video editing, also because films are on for more than one hour there are more people needed in the process of the film. This has now been replaced with a memory card. Film editing used to be done by physically cutting the individual shots using scissors and glue. As the world is rapidly changing so is film editing. 

Video

Video editing is another way of editing a film sequence. It includes the same things such as telling a story with techniques and shots that can convey a certain feeling/view or fact. One downside to video editing is that it can be time consuming to run the video into a computer, split into clips, edit every clip, add effects and render. Another issue with video editing is the cost of editing video. This includes the money spent on a computer, camera, editing software, DVD and a DVD burner etc. This can cause inconvenience as not everyone has a huge sum of money to spend on all of these individual items. There is obviously also VHS, which was the old ''video'' before DVD's came about. The main problem with VHS's is concerned around their quality, where it can be difficult to re-use them multiple times after the first use, as their quality deteriorates quickly which makes it almost useless.   

Analogue

Analogue editing machine 

This type of editing is what was used before film had turned into digital editing, so before computers were used analogue editing was done by  using your hands. The way it was used was you had a copy of the original film where all the footage went into when it was being filmed. Then you would take the film and cut it in different sections to create the cutaways. With analogue editing, it then would have to be fed into a machine, I think this shows how much editing techniques have developed and changed over the years, and now it is all done by a computer.

Digital

Computer editing 

This type of editing is the modern method of editing a film and video sequence. It is done on a computer software program for example Final Cut pro, Premium Pro , Adobe etc. The film footage is imported into the system and you simple drag and drop it into a timeline where you can start editing it straight away, many things are available to you for use such as filters and transitions or sound effects or music.