(EXAM) - Editing Techniques.

Elliptical Editing
Elliptical editing is a technique used in film editing that allows the duration of an event on-screen to be shorter than it would be in the actual story. The simplest type of this would be a cut between two shots which both show parts of the same event. This cut allows the filmmakers to get rid of part of that event, reducing the duration of the event on-screen. Elliptical editing is used to control the pace of the story through getting rid of the uninteresting parts that the audience wouldn't have wanted to see.

Continuity Editing

Continuity editing refers to arranging the sequence of shots to suggest a progression of events. The initial purpose if this type of editing is to sooth over the inherent discontinuity of the editing progress.

Montage

A montage is an editing technique ususally used to show a person going from a beginner to a professional using loads of quick, short shots. A montage portrays a movement in time and every shot needs to show the character progressing a little. there is usually music playing over the top with many things happening at once. A montage would also fade out at the end.

Transistions
In editing, transistions are used to join two shots together. There are many different types of transitions however, the most relevant types of transitions are the cut and dissolve. These two techniques are the best for storytelling and are the most natural/professional.
CUT: This is the most common transition used which consists of a direct change from one shot to the next.

DISSOLVE: This is when there is a gradual fade from one shot to the next. this has a more relaxed feel compared to the cut and conveys a sense of passing time and changing location. It works well with photo montages.
There are other transitions such as fades, wipes, and digital effects but these are not used as much as the cut and dissolve. However, just because they are not that common, it doesnt mean they are not used in film; I personally have seen quite a few movies that have used these transitions and they have all worked well. I think it depends on the type of movie they are used in and when they are used in that movie. They do work, if used properly and for the right reasons.

Jump Cuts

This is an editing technique in which two sequential shots of the same subject are shown from different angles/positions. this makes the subject look like they have moved in an unrealistic way. Some say that this specific technique violates the concept of continuity editing as the movement of the subject is not continuous.

180 Degree Rule

The 180 degree rule states that when filming two people in the same shot, the camera must stay on the same side of both of them. There is an imaginary line called the axis connecting the characters and the camera is free to move 180 degrees on one side of that line.

In a conversation, the first on character will always be shown to be on the left and the other on the right as shown in the above photo. If the axis is crossed and the characters are filmed from the other side, the characters in the conversation will be shown to be speaking from both sides which would confuse the audience. The video below is an example of the 180 degree rule being broken.

Parallel Editing

Parallel editing is when two or more scenes or scenarios are happening at the same time but in different locations. This allows the audience to see what the characters cannot see, therfore engainging the audience and allowing them to form bonds with the characters.

Long Takes and Fast Cutting

A long take is when there are no cuts between scenes and the camera continuously films for several miutes. Long takes are rare in movies presumably because they are very time consuming; if one small mistake is made during filming, the whole take has to be started again. Below is an example of a genius long take from the film 'Goodfellas'.

Fast cutting is when several consecutive shots are quickly shown one after the other. the duration between each shot is usually 3 seconds or less. This technique can be used to convey a lot of information very quickly, or to connote danger, chaos, energy, etc. I think fast cutting is really effective when used in action movies as it keeps the audiecnc interested and heightens the sense of the movie. Bleow is a clip from a movie 'The Dark Knight' where fast cutting is successfully used in a fight scene.

Here is clip from the movie 'Oldboy' where a long take is used in a fight scene. I personally think it doesn't do the scene any justice as it makes the fight seem fake and rehearsed as it drags on. I find it quite boring to be honest, had the filmmakers used fast cutting instead of a long take, I believe that the scene would have been a lot more interesting, the sense of danger would have been a lot higher, making the fight seem realistic.