Editing In Film Editing

962 Words2 Pages

Before the development of the digital video and computer technology of today, filmmakers had no choice but to turn towards editing multiple shots together to create a cohesive movie. Originally, a camera only held fifteen minutes’ worth of film stock at a time, which was nearly impossible to create a quality film as there is a dependence on the choreography of a scene; the positioning of actors, props, and camera angle. Through editing, a collage of images composes a scene to convey the message best for the plot of the film at that point; usually a medium two-shot or an intimate close-up used for parallels or possible romantic implications. A specific tempo is also created in the process of editing these shots together through average shot …show more content…

A good example for time alteration is the use of a montage, this can be used for training, such as that seen in Rocky, or for cleaning up a building destroyed and/or filthy from a party or years of abandonment. A montage represents the action(s) would take hours, days, or even weeks if shot in real time but because they are being shown in a film, the audience is shown flashes of scenes to represent the progress in mere minutes. Parallel editing is a favorite amongst narrative sequencing that focuses on more than one main character, in this editing multiple shots can be played side by side or cut to in rapid succession to show they are occurring at the same time, possibly referring to a convergence of two story arcs causing a change for the rest of the film. These scenes are meant to create suspense as the audience may be waiting for a detective to finally catch a long-hunted killer, a character performing a dangerous or risky action is about to be trapped in a terrible turn of coincidence, or an intense climax is about to take …show more content…

Besides the use of editing for narrative sequencing, proper editing for any decent film even those without a specific form of narrative driving the film forward. Continuity editing makes it so the audience is unable to tell where each shot ends and another begins, even if the different shots are taken for the same scene from the same camera angle. This seamless transition is important for the emersion of the viewers, which keeps their attention rapt on the action and allows for the filmmaker’s message to come through clearly and for the film to be memorable to the viewers. Although film is all about innovation and modifying what is known as storytelling, many filmmakers still adhere to what is known as the 30-degree rule that dictates every time a cut from different shots occur, the camera should move at least 30-degrees to either side. This can be from a medium shot to a close-up, a change of location for the action, the use of reversal shots for a conversation between characters, and so

Open Document