COM 402
Media Aesthetics

Editing I

Tertiary Motion

•      tertiary motion = sequence motion, perceived movement derived from the changing of shots

•      transition = the moment of change between two shots

•      Through transitions, viewers usually perceive a movement of progressive, visual development from shot to shot.

Tertiary Motion Functions

•      provides necessary links between shots (indicates a moment of change)

•      suggests interplay of vector fields

•      contributes to the rhythm and pace of production

•      guides viewer attention and feelings

•      supplies structural unity to the production

•      Goodbye tertiary motion, hello editing.

Editing

“Editing strongly shapes viewers’ experiences, even if they are not aware of it.”

• editing = “the coordination of one shot with the next”

• In commercial filmmaking, crews usually shoot a substantial amount of footage, including several takes of each scene.

• Footage is screened, unwanted footage is discarded, and the remaining footage is arranged and joined together (editing).

Continuity Editing

•      also known as “invisible” editing (does not call attention to itself or remind viewer they are watching a movie)

•      purpose is to create a smooth flow from shot to shot

•      Historically, this is the typical editing style of most Hollywood movies.

•      designed to tell a story clearly and coherently

We will discuss this is greater detail next week.

Dimensions of Editing
Four General Areas of Control

•     graphic relations

•     rhythmic relations

•     spatial relations

•     temporal relations

Dimensions of Film Editing
Graphic Relations

•      “purely pictorial qualities” of a shot

•      “patterns of light and dark, line and shape, volumes and depths, movement and stasis”

•      graphic match = linking shots through graphic similarities

–   similar shapes

–   similar movements

–   similar colors

Dimensions of Film Editing
Graphic Relations

•      graphically discontinuous editing = avoiding graphic similarities from one shot to the next

•      mild discontinuous editing (part of the pictorial qualities may be similar, while others are not)

–   shot/reverse-shot

•      stronger discontinuous editing = where a greater degree or all of a shot’s pictorial qualities differ or even clash

Dimensions of Film Editing
Rhythmic Relations

•      the control of shot lengths in relation to one another

•      series of similar shot lengths can establish a steady beat of narrative progression

•      series of successively lengthening shots can slow down narrative pace

•      series of successively shorter shots can quicken narrative pace

Dimensions of Film Editing
Rhythmic Relations

•      Editing rhythm can generate suspense or lessen tension.

•      Shot duration controls viewer’s time to grasp and reflect on what they see.

•      Fast cutting can be used to build excitement.

–   action sequence

–   music video

–   TV commercials

Dimensions of Film Editing
Spatial Relations

•      “Editing permits the filmmaker to relate any two points in space through similarity, difference, or development.”

•      similarity

–   A long shot establishes a setting, followed by a medium of shot of one person (in that setting).

–   A close shot of someone looking at something followed by a shot of an object implies that person is looking at that object.

–   cannon firing (cause & effect)

Dimensions of Film Editing
Spatial Relations

•             the Kuleshov effect = “any series of shots that in the absence of an establishing shot prompts the spectator to infer a spatial whole on the basis of seeing only portions of the space.”

•             neutral shots of an actor’s face followed by:

•           shot of soup

•           shot of nature

•           shot of dead woman

•           shot of baby

Dimensions of Film Editing
Spatial Relations

•      simultaneous action = emphasis of action taking place in difference places at the same time

•      crosscutting = (parallel editing) cuts from one space to another (implied)

–   from a German soldier to an American GI

–   from outside a besieged fort to inside the same fort

–   from a wagon train under attack to the rescuing cavalry riding to the scene

Dimensions of Film Editing
Temporal Relations

•            control of time of a film’s action

•            plot manipulates story time by cuing the viewer to construct:

•            order of a story’s events

•            duration of a story’s events

•            frequency of a story’s events

Dimensions of Film Editing
Temporal Relations: Order

•            can alternate between past, present, and future

•            presumed story order = 1-2-3-4

•            reverse order = 4-3-2-1

•            flashbacks & flashforwards

Dimensions of Film Editing
Temporal Relations: Duration

•      real time = presenting presumed actual duration of story action

•      temporal ellipsis = shortening of plot (screen time) to present story action quicker

–   punctuation = using a cut, wipe, dissolve, or fade to indicate passing of time

–   empty frame = action leaves one frame and enters another, indicating passing of time

–   cutaway = cut from action to other action and back, indicating passing of time

Dimensions of Film Editing
Temporal Relations: Duration

•      temporal expansion = prolonging screen action beyond actual story time (opposite of ellipsis)

–   overlapping = repeating partial story action through different shots of same event

–   (e.g., character takes longer to fall to the floor than they would in real life)

–   can also be done with slow motion (a function of cinematography)

–   American Beauty

Dimensions of Film Editing
Temporal Relations: Frequency

•     full-scale repetition of same event

•     can be two or more complete takes of same action

•     can build up tension in viewer expectations

Editing
Basic Transition Types
(special transition effects later)

•      cut = an instantaneous change from one shot to another

•      dissolve = one shot gradually replaces another through a blending process of the two shots

•      wipe = a boundary line (or some geometric shape) gradually moves over the frame, replacing one shot with another

•      fade-out = a shot gradually fades to black

•      fade-in = a shot gradually fades in from black

Cut

•      an instantaneous change from one shot to another

•      most common and useful of all transitions

•      invisible (occupies neither time nor space)

–   but we speak of it as if it were a visible change

•      Of all the transitions, cutting most closely resembles changing visual fields by the human eye.

•      Cutting is the simplest and least obtrusive way of manipulating screen density, space, & time.

Jump Cut

•      an image that “jumps” slightly from one screen position to another during a cut

•      used to always be considered a production flaw

•      now used to indicate a brief time ellipses

•      reminds viewer they are watching a movie or TV show

•      effect can be lessened with a “soft cut”

Dissolve

•     one shot gradually replaces another through a blending process of the two shots

•     temporary overlap

•     visible (occupies time and space)

•     can be long or short

•     appears smoother than a cut

•     temporary directional confusion of vectors

•      never ends a shot—just blends in a new one

•      good for suggesting sequence fluidity

•      a superimposition is merely a dissolve stopped midway

•      dissolves aid continuity (where cuts are rough or would not suffice)

•      dissolves act as a time bridge

Wipe

•      a boundary line (or some geometric shape) gradually moves over the frame, replacing one shot with another

•      first image moves aside to reveal second image

•      creates its own motion vectors

•      Like the dissolve, wipes do not end shots; they advance new ones.

•      They often signal divisions between scenes and sequences.

•      Wipes often signal the end of one event and the beginning of another.

Fade-in

•      a shot gradually fades from black

•      usually signifies the beginning of a sequence

Fade-out

•      a shot gradually fades to black

•      usually signifies an end of a sequence

•      both suggest less energy than a cut

•      cross-fade = quick fade-out followed by an immediate fade-in of the next shot

–    suggests a more obvious indication of a scene or sequence change than a cut

Summary

•      editing = “the coordination of one shot with the next”

•      four dimensions of editing

–   graphic

–   rhythmic

–   spatial (Kuleshov effect, crosscutting)

–   temporal (ellipsis, expansion, continuity/invisible, discontinuity)

•      basic transitions (cut, dissolve, wipe, fade-in & fade-out)