Editing unit 16 task
1 (16.1.2)
In this essay I shall attempt to analyse the various techniques of film editing. To do this I shall firstly cover the pioneers of editing, before analysing contemporary editors and some of their own techniques. hopefully I can pick up on improving my knowledge of editing techniques.
Editing has evolved in many ways throughout the years to become what it is now. Without some of these various film pioneers editing as we know it and would change the way we see movies in a whole different way.
Edwin Stanton Porter was a producer, director, studio manager and cinematographer. He was one of the earliest film pioneers. He contributed in editing and film making in many ways and he is most famous for introducing the idea of parallel editing; although prior to this technique he
came up with something called temporal overlap which is when the same action is shown in different perspectives or angles. This technique of editing was first used in the film ''The Life of an American Fireman (1903).'' There was a shot of the men disappearing down the pole , and then it suddenly cuts to the bottom of the pole; this allows the viewers to visualise what is happening in that location, before the firemen came down. This editing technique soon died down although it was appreciated at the time as it was a very new and creative technique; it looked too clumsy and messed with the sense of time in the film. This editing technique was used in the 1991 film The silence of the lambs directed by Jonathan Demme and many other films. This influenced film making as it adds depth and structure to films parallel editing is still used too this present day which shows how much of an impact it had in the industry of film making; an example of this technique being used in a modern film would be American Sniper when the soldiers are walking down the street while the sniper takes cope at a target.
D.W Griffiths was a producer, director and writer from America who pioneered in modern film making techniques and is considered ''father of film'' he contributed in many ways and created a lot of techniques. D.W's most famous piece of work was in a silent film called the birth of a nation. He used various editing techniques in his production such as classical cutting; which is a style where that part of the movie is characterised by the sequence of shots that is determined by the feeling of the scene eg, dramatic or emotional emphasis. A good example of this in use was in the scene of the good, the bad the ugly when the 3 main characters are about to shoot each other and the camera cuts between all 3 of them. Another editing technique that Griffiths constructed was tonal editing; this type of editing is conveyed through the emotional tone of the scene and that takes effect in the editing. For example to convey the scene with a happy tone it will have a lot of quick cuts however in sad scenes it will have longer shots that use cuts in a slower rhythm.
Walter Murch was an american film editor and sound designer and is most famous for designing the Six Rules of editing.
The Rule of 6 is a list of rules that you have to consider when editing any film; the first rule is emotion (what the affect it will do to the audience at this particular point in the film. Telling emotion in the story is very important as you want to grip the audience in the editing.
Another rule is story (does the editing move the story in any meaningful way?) each cut must advance the story. rule 3 is rhythm (The cut has to be on the the point that makes rhythmic sense) timing is essential. Rule 4 is Eye tracing (eye tracing is what the audience would focus on and the cut has to be right so the audience doesn't get distracted.) Rule 5 is Two dimensional place of screen (making sure the cut follows the axis.) and lastly rule 6 is Three dimensional space (the cut has to be true to physical and spacial relationships.)
One of the movies Walter is most known for is the Godfather II a used editing techniques such as parallel editing (cross cutting) and also the rule of 6 which impacted the way the movie turned out.
The majority of editors have used Walter Murch's technique in their films as it helps structure the film and has impacted the way films are made in a big way as there is now guidelines to think about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Weaop_aiTg
The scene of Godfather II where fredo and Michael have fallen out is a great example of continuity editing. Te scene uses 180 axis rule, eye tracing which makes the audience focus on the characters more and the camera angle looks down on Fredo to emphasis his position between the two. the editing isn't noticeable as you focus on the story more. Walter emphasises and highterns emotion by using different cuts in the right moments. Walter also shows the distance between the two as they have fallen out as uses cuts that have only one character in the frame to show it. Also the use is rhythm in this scene effects the mood overall as the cuts are the right pace not too fast and not too slow.
another example would be the ending scene in godfather III
Through writing this essay i have acknowledged different pioneers of editing that have impacted the ways films are made and structured. The pioneers such as Edwin stanton porter and D.W Griffiths that made the building blocks for editing techniques and inspired a lot of editors in this present day as parallel editing and classical cutting plays a big part in editing as it is used a lot in films.
furthermore i learnt acknowledged what the rule of 6 was and analysed the movie Walter Murch editing which was Godfather II and picked out the techniques.
D.W Griffiths was a producer, director and writer from America who pioneered in modern film making techniques and is considered ''father of film'' he contributed in many ways and created a lot of techniques. D.W's most famous piece of work was in a silent film called the birth of a nation. He used various editing techniques in his production such as classical cutting; which is a style where that part of the movie is characterised by the sequence of shots that is determined by the feeling of the scene eg, dramatic or emotional emphasis. A good example of this in use was in the scene of the good, the bad the ugly when the 3 main characters are about to shoot each other and the camera cuts between all 3 of them. Another editing technique that Griffiths constructed was tonal editing; this type of editing is conveyed through the emotional tone of the scene and that takes effect in the editing. For example to convey the scene with a happy tone it will have a lot of quick cuts however in sad scenes it will have longer shots that use cuts in a slower rhythm.
Walter Murch was an american film editor and sound designer and is most famous for designing the Six Rules of editing.
The Rule of 6 is a list of rules that you have to consider when editing any film; the first rule is emotion (what the affect it will do to the audience at this particular point in the film. Telling emotion in the story is very important as you want to grip the audience in the editing.
Another rule is story (does the editing move the story in any meaningful way?) each cut must advance the story. rule 3 is rhythm (The cut has to be on the the point that makes rhythmic sense) timing is essential. Rule 4 is Eye tracing (eye tracing is what the audience would focus on and the cut has to be right so the audience doesn't get distracted.) Rule 5 is Two dimensional place of screen (making sure the cut follows the axis.) and lastly rule 6 is Three dimensional space (the cut has to be true to physical and spacial relationships.)
One of the movies Walter is most known for is the Godfather II a used editing techniques such as parallel editing (cross cutting) and also the rule of 6 which impacted the way the movie turned out.
The majority of editors have used Walter Murch's technique in their films as it helps structure the film and has impacted the way films are made in a big way as there is now guidelines to think about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Weaop_aiTg
The scene of Godfather II where fredo and Michael have fallen out is a great example of continuity editing. Te scene uses 180 axis rule, eye tracing which makes the audience focus on the characters more and the camera angle looks down on Fredo to emphasis his position between the two. the editing isn't noticeable as you focus on the story more. Walter emphasises and highterns emotion by using different cuts in the right moments. Walter also shows the distance between the two as they have fallen out as uses cuts that have only one character in the frame to show it. Also the use is rhythm in this scene effects the mood overall as the cuts are the right pace not too fast and not too slow.
another example would be the ending scene in godfather III
Through writing this essay i have acknowledged different pioneers of editing that have impacted the ways films are made and structured. The pioneers such as Edwin stanton porter and D.W Griffiths that made the building blocks for editing techniques and inspired a lot of editors in this present day as parallel editing and classical cutting plays a big part in editing as it is used a lot in films.
furthermore i learnt acknowledged what the rule of 6 was and analysed the movie Walter Murch editing which was Godfather II and picked out the techniques.
