Media Language Editing

Speed of Editing

• In a film, each scene may last a matter of seconds, or it could continue for minutes.
• The length of each sequence establishes the pace of the film moving the acton along.
• The speed of editing will help to determine the mood of what is taking place on screen.

Creating pace

• If filmmakers want the audience to feel anxiety and suspense, the editing will be quick - the scenes/shots changing frequently.
• If a relaxed mood is desired, the scenes last longer and change less frequently. For example in a romantic comedy.
• Nevertheless a film need not have any editing. Russian Ark was filmed in one take using a steadicam and a digital camera. This required a split-second timing and organisation.

Russian Ark Ballroom scene

• A trailer for a film need to pack in detail, therefore the editing will be very fast.

The Hunger Games Trailer

In this trailer, it sums up the key points of the movie in the first 20 seconds.

• Scenes at the beginning of a film - as it begins to tell its story - must be long enough for us to be able to understand where we are and what is going on. It is also slow to introduce the main character(s).
• As the film progresses, scenes may become shorter as the editing cuts between telling two or more storylines at the same time.

Cross cutting

• To cross-cut is to edit together two sequences that the audience need to know are connected in some way.
• Something is happening at the same time in different locations.
• A character reliving a memory.
• Cross cutting can be used very effectively in order to create a sense of drama. It can be used to create tension, increase anxiety, direct emotion, make subtle links between characters.

Cross cutting in Inception

This scene creates a sense of tension and anxiety for the viewer as it flips between different characters and you can see what they're both going through.

Style of Editing 

• How shots are linked together.
• The movement from one shot to the next is called a transition.
• Basic transitions including:
• Straight cut
• Fade
• Dissolve
• Wipe

Straight cut

• Most common and "invisible" form of transition.
• One shot moves instantly to the next without attracting the audience's attention.
• Straight cut helps retain reality. They do not break the viewers suspension of disbelief.

This example seems realistic as it just moves from one shot to the next which doesn't distract the viewer from the conversation.

Fades

• A gradual  darkening or lightening of an image until the screen becomes completely black or whit.
• Used to:
• indicate the beginning or end of a particular section of time within the narrative.
• Can show the passing of time.

The fade technique is used in this example to flip between two different scenes. 

Dissolves

• Dissolving one shot off the screen while another shot is fading in.
• The audience will be able to see both shots on the screen the mid-point or the dissolve.
• Used:
• if the film maker wants to show a connection between two characters, places or objects.

Wipes

• One image is pushed off the screen by another.
• Images can be pushed left or right.
• Used to:
• signal a movement between different locations that are experiencing the same time.

This editing technique is used in many older films (like star wars) which in this example is used to go from one scene to another in a futuristic sort of way.

Advance Editing Skills

Continuity Editing

• Eye-line Match: We see a character looking at something off screen and then we cut to a shot of what they are looking at. 

• Match-on-action: We see a character start an action in one shot and then see them continue it in the next. 

• 180 Degree Rule: The 180 rule is a basic  guideline that states that two characters (or other elements) 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. 

• Shot/Reverse shot: used to show conversations/arguments