1. Bella Aceti & Addie Harris
Chapter 4: Editing
Bella Aceti & Addie Harris

2. Vocabulary
Birds Eye: a shot in which the camera photographs a scene from directly overhead
Blimp: a soundproof camera housing that muffles the noise of the camera’s motor so sound can be clearly recorded on the set
Classical Cutting: style of editing developed by DW Griffith in which a sequence of shots is determined by a scenes dramatic and emotional emphasis rather than by physical action alone
Close Up: a detailed view of a person or object
Cover Shot: extra shots from a scene that can be used to bridge transitions in case the planned footage fails to edit as planned
Craning: a shot taken from a special device called a crane, carries the camera and the cinematographer and can move in basically any direction
Cross Cutting: the alternative of shots from two sequences, often in different locales suggesting that they are taking place at the same time
Cutting to Continuity: type of editing in which the shots are arranged to preserve the fluidity of an action without showing all of it

3. Vocabulary
Deep Focus: a technique of photography that permits all distance planes to remain clearly in focus, from close up ranges to infinity
Dialectical: analytical methodology that juxtaposes pairs of opposites-a thesis and antithesis-to arrive at a synthesis of ideas
Dubbing: the addition of sound after the visuals have been have been photographed
Editing: the joining of one shot with another the shots can picture events and objects in different places at different times
Establishing Shot: usually an extreme long or long shot offered at the beginning of a scene providing the viewer with the context of the subsequent closer shot
Extreme Long: panoramic view of an exterior location photographed from a great distance often as far as a quarter mile away
Final Cut: the sequence of shots in a movie as it will be released to the public
First Cut: the initial sequence of shots in a movie often constructed by the director
Flashback: editing technique that suggests the interruption of the present by a shot or series of shots representing the future
Flash forward: editing technique that suggests the interpretation of the present by a shot or series of shots representing the future
Jump Cut: an abrupt transition between shots sometimes deliberate which is disorienting in terms of the continuity of space and time

4. Vocabulary Lengthy Takes: a shot of lengthy duration
Long Shots: a shot that includes an area within the image that roughly corresponds to the audience’s view of the area within the proscenium arch in the live theatre
Lyrical: a stylistic exuberance and subjectivity emphasizing the sensuous beauty of the medium and producing an intense outpouring of emotion
Master Shot: uninterrupted shot usually taken from a long or full shot range that contains an entire scene.
Medium: relatively close shot revealing the human figure from the knees or waist up
Mise en Scene: arrangement of visual weights and movements within a given space is usually defined by the proscenium arch in movies it is defined by the frame that encloses the images
Montage: transitional sequences of rapidly edited images used to suggest the lapse of time or the passing of events. Often uses dissolves and multiple exposures
Motifs: any unobtrusive technique object or thematic idea thats systematically repeated throughout a film
Neorealism: a style of filming prominent in Italy after World War II, characterized by a concern for social issues and often shot on location with untrained actors.
New Wave: group of young french directors who came to prominence during the late 1950s

5. Vocabulary
Panning: a revolving horizontal movement of the camera from left to right or vise versa
Parallel Editing: see cross cutting
Reaction shot: a cut to a shot of a character’s reaction to the contents of the preceding shot
Reestablishing shot: a return to an initial establishing shot within a scene, acting as a reminder of the physical context of the closer shots
Reverse Angle Shot: a shot taken from an angle 180 degrees opposed to the previous shot
Sequence Shot: a single lengthy shot usually involving complex staging and camera
Set Ups: the positioning of the camera and lights for a specific spot
Synchronized Sound: agreement or correspondence between image and sound which are recorded simultaneously
Take: a variation of a specific shot. The final shot is often selected from a number of possible takes
Tilting: a shot photographed by a tilted camera
Thematic Montage: a type of editing propounded by the soviet filmmaker Eisenstein, in which separate shots are linked together not by their literal continuity in reality but by symbolic association
Tracking: a shot taken from a moving vehicle
Two Shot: a medium shot featuring two actors
Widescreen: movie image to photograph a wider area than a normal lense

6. Movie Clip 1&2
Zodiac: This film is considered a thriller, which means it, is edited at a fast pace. But at the same time this film is edited in longer, slow shots while trying to catch the killer and solve the mystery. A normal film take lasts about five to eight seconds. Whereas a fast shot is around two to four seconds. People loose interest faster if there is not a fast climb to the climax of the film. Here are two films from Zodiac that show the fast and slow pace of the editing.

7. Movie Clip 3
It’s a Wonderful Life: This film has a light, seamless, and fast cutting style. The editor included “reactive characters” to lead the viewers response to the actions in the film. Uses the reactive character as comical relief and edits the film to cut to this character for responses. This clip shows the scene where there is a reactive character to the guardian angels comments.

8. Movie Clip 4
Pulp Fiction: Some directors prefer to take long single shots rather than cut into short takes. They move the camera with the action instead of cutting back and fourth into dialogue. This editing technique can impact the psychological undertone of the film. In Pulp Fiction there is a scene with two characters having a conversation in a booth. The director could have shot the scene profile as one long shot but to emphasize seriousness he edited the takes as short clips. To show that they are keeping distance in the scene the editor chose to show this through a countershot technique. This shows the psychological separation of the characters and shows the distance between them.

9. Movie Clip 5&6
West Side Story: Usually musicals are edited in a radically formalist style however; The West Side Story is edited very abstractly. The music and choreography are edited together for a maximum aesthetic impact. The film is edited almost to give the affect of a music video. The music plays a very big role and contribution towards the film. Here is a clip showing the impact of the choreography and music into the scenes. The dance numbers are very long and drawn out more than normal musicals.

10. Movie Clip 7&8
The Phantom of the Opera: The stage version of this musical contains poetic and thrilling scenes that are made possible by the physical limitations of the stage. In the film version there are many edits regarding special awareness. Since there are no stage limitations in the film version it provides a more seamless, fluid showing of the action in the musical. The edits are meant to feel dream-like and mesmerizing. The film version offers us a more realistic performance. This film shows the both scary yet whimsical editing portrayed in the film version of this production.

11. Movie Clip 9&10
Rocky Balboa: Usually movies are not edited at the same pace throughout the entire thing. The cutting patterns help set the scenes tone. In this movie the boxing scenes are edited at a much faster pace to match the speed and violence of the atmosphere. Whereas the other, more serious, scenes in the film are edited at slower take paces. These two clips show the comparison of fast vs. slow cutting in scenes and their affect on the tone.

12. Important Figures
1800-Lumiere Brothers: First film ever created by the Lumiere Brothers in 1895, it was called L’Arriveed’ un train with no edits
1903-Edwin Porter:First signs of edits shown in early 1900s. In Edwin Porters film “The Great Train Robbery” the edits used were cutting by using a splicing machine.
1915-D.W. Griffith: In 1915 D.W. Griffith was the first person to use range of different shots in a film after he used shots such as close upsin his film “Birth of a Nation.” This changed film in a major way as the techniques that he used set a basis, and idea for other film makers.
1924-Erich von Stroheim: 1924 editing has gone on to add color to parts of films, they had to do this by individually coloring each shot by hand
1956-Henry Ephron: By this time films were in full color and editors began to introduce more advanced editing techniques such as flashbacks and parallel editing

13. History of Film Editing
Film editing is part of the creative process of filmmaking. Film editing is basically the process of working with film, but now it involves the use of digital technology. The film editor works with the raw footage, selecting shots and combining them into sequences to create a finished motion picture. Film editing is described as an art or skill, the only art that is unique to cinema. If a film is very well edited the viewer can become so engaged that they are not aware of the editor's work. On its most basic level, film editing is the art, technique, and practice of assembling shots into a single sequence. The job of an editor isn’t simply to put pieces of a film together, cut off film slates, or edit dialogue scenes, but a film editor should creatively work with the images, story, dialogue, music, cinematography, and the actors' performances to effectively to craft a cohesive story/film. Editors usually play a dynamic role in the making of a film. With the invention of digital editing, film editors have become responsible for many areas of filmmaking that used to be the responsibility of others. For instance, in past years, picture editors dealt only with just the picture. Sound, music, and visual effects editors dealt with the other aspects of the editing process. However, digital systems have put these responsibilities on the editor. Film editing is an art that can be used in diverse ways.