Editing
Below are some ideas to bear in mind when planning, shooting and editing your film. The books listed at the bottom of this page contain much more detailed exploration.
Introduction
Film editing is the process of selecting and sequencing footage in order to create meaning for an audience. Traditionally, the process involved physically cutting and sticking together the film, although this is rarely done today; computer based, non-linear editing is now the standard.
Creation of meaning
Editing allows meaning to be created through the use of establishing shots, establishing a believable space (or time), and closer shots to draw attention to significant objects, including faces and characters, as well as items of importance to the plot. This means that both personality and plot can be created through the selection of shots. Cross-cutting is commonly used to create tension and is an example of sequences of film being juxtaposed to guide the reader’s interpretation. The ability to juxtapose pieces of film means a filmmaker is able to encourage the audience to create meaning. In Advanced Level Media Studies, the writers offer the example of early Russian experiments that used a close up shot of an actor’s face in association with a plate of food, drawing viewers to comment on the actor’s ability to convey hunger. However, when the same close up shot of the actor was combined with a coffin a different audience marvelled at the actor’s depiction of grief.
Creative geography
Linked to the idea of juxtaposition creating meaning is the concept of creative geography. Soap operas, such as Neighbours, make good use of creative geography to make the audience believe interior shots are taken inside the houses seen in exterior shots, rather than the reality of studio sets. If a character is shown going into a building then in the next shot we see the same character inside a building, the natural assumption is that the two are linked. Creative geography is also known as the ‘Kuleshov effect’ after the Russian filmmaker who pioneered the technique.
Continuity editing
The convention in editing is to make it as invisible as possible, so the joins between pieces of film should follow some kind of rationale where possible. Commonly, a scene will start with an establishing shot, then switch to a closer shot to develop the scene. Where this doesn’t happen it is often for a particular purpose. Some of the main principles to bear in mind when deciding when to edit are:
- Match on action - If an object is dropped by a character the audience expect to see either a close up of the object or a reaction to it falling, so a change in shot to one of these would seem ‘natural’. Likewise, if someone goes through a door a shift in shot from one side of the door to the other would be expected, and so presenting shots in this way wouldn’t unduly draw attention to the editing.
- Eyeline match - In most films the audience is encouraged to empathise with characters, so their eyes become important; if they look up the audience expects to see what it is that has provoked such a reaction. Cutting from one shot to another at such a point would be ‘invisible’ in that the audience is already anticipating a change (perhaps unconsciously). Walter Murch, whose editing credits include The English Patient and Apocalypse Now, believes that blinking is central to good editing. The decision when to cut in a conversation can be taken not according to who is speaking, but according to the natural rhythm of blinking. Such an approach is obviously difficult to master and relies on a strong empathy with the filmed material and probable audience reaction.
- Time - According to accepted film grammar, the audience understands that cross dissolves often indicate the passage of time, or that some of a character’s actions will be left out. For example, if we see a car pull into a driveway then see a shot of someone entering a house from inside, we automatically accept that the character has got out of the car, locked the door, walked to the house and so on. If editing wasn’t used in this way we’d have to sit through some very long films!
There are two other ways of linking shots that are worthy of mention:
- Graphic matching - By making the final shot of one sequence similar to the first shot of the next can help to both smooth the transition between the two and link them.
- Focus of attention - If one shot draws the audience’s attention to the top right of the frame, one effective technique is to offer something of significance in a similar position in the next shot. Otherwise, a momentary disorientation will be experienced by the audience, although this feeling will be experienced subconsciously. See the book about Walter Murch listed below for more detail.
Summary
When planning your film it is vital that you approach it with control and forethought - an assured sense of reasoning will help to give your work a professional look and make it much more likely to be successful. Don’t just plan your shots, but plan your shots and how they will be edited. Carefully think about the length of your takes, the framing of your shots and the overall look you wish to achieve in terms of the angles you employ or the objects you include in the frame.
Further reading
- The Cinema Book ed Pam Cook
- Advanced Level Media Studies Angela Bell et al
- The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Film Editing by Michael Ondaatje
