Editing:
Objectives:
-What editing is and how it serves the narrative.
-Explore different schools and theory of editing.
-Use of editing in cinema television and documentary.
What is editing?
-The assembly of visual material into sequences.
-Constructs a narrative (linear or non-linear).
-Manipulates time (condense, lengthen, flashback, flash forward).
-Juxtaposes ideas and concepts (visual and intellectual).
Do we need editing?
Not necessarily- Andy Warhol Empire State Building Film.
Long take continuous narratives:
Rope (1948): 10 minute takes with 'hidden' edits to join the action.
Russian Ark (2002): 87 minute continuous Steadicam shot.
Creating visual meaning:
-Mise-en-scene and cinematography create implicit meaning within shots.
-Editing creates implicit meaning between shots.
Un Chien Andalou (1929): Surrealist film
If editing creates implicit meaning between shots, what meaning is conveyed by undercutting the following...
-Blossoming flower.
-Raising an obelisk.
-Fireworks.
Four key elements of editing:
-Spatial- the relationship between different spaces and the editors manipulation of them, e.g. cross cutting.
-Temporal- manipulation of time within the film in relation to order, duration and frequency, e.g. montages, dissolves, wipes, fades.
-Rhythmic- manipulation of duration of the shots: accents, beats and the tempo, e.g. action and suspense scenes, jump cuts.
-Graphic- the relationship between pictorial qualities of shots or scenes, e.g. graphic match out.
Why editing is important:
-Creates strong visual narratives from simple script descriptions or unedited rushes.
- The most creative aspect of filmmaking.
-A good editor can make mediocre shots work; a mediocre editor can ruin (or ignore) good shots.
-Shooting ratios have an impact on editing (film is 10:1, documentary 60-100:1)
Two schools of editing theory:
Continuity Editing: Gives the viewer the impression that the action unfolds with spatiotemporal consistency. In most films, logical coherence is achieved by cutting to continuity, which emphasizes smooth transition of time and space.
Soviet montage is where a formal theory and technique where editing serves an ideological place.
Soviet filmmakers showed that film could serve a political education purpose for the betterment of society.
Eisenstien said that montage, especially intellectual montage is an alternative to continuity editing.
Montage is conflict - where new ideas emerge from collisions within the montage sequence.
5 principles of soviet montage:
Metric: Editing which follows a specific tempo, cutting the next shot no matter of action
Rhythmic: similar to metric but allowing for visual continuity from edit to edit
Tonal: uses the emotional meaning of the shot eg: sleeping babies denote peace
Overtone/Associative: a fusion of metric, rhythmic and tonal montage
Intellectual: editing together shots which when combined convey a intellectual or metaphorical meaning
Modern documentary editing:
Evidentiary: Meaning of edits is reinforced by narration or dialogue. shots are often illustrative and usually maintain some visual continuity.
Dynamic editing: In dynamic editing, concepts of matching and continuity rarely apply. Shots are ordered by meaning but not necessarily by their relationship to each other in time or space. A documentary filmmaker photographing a leopard taking down a gazelle can’t ask for a re-take or another angle. Generally, he only gets one shot at one angle. Because of this he will need to string together discontinuous shots to create meaning and tell his story.
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