Editing Techniques

Editing - History and Development

Editing is a huge and important process which takes place after a shooting of a production. This involves combining shots into sequences and frames by the use of manipulation, which can consist of inserting transitions. This could be a traditional cut which originated a long time ago while they would in literal terms cut the reel of film using scissors. Dissolve, fade and wipe are also frequently used transitions while others are extremely out dated. An example of a transition which is out dated is called an iris which are mainly used in cartoon programmes such as Betty Boop or films (Types of Transition, 2014). Transitions are used in general to cover up any unintentional jump cuts in a production and can also be used to show the passing of time or the significance of a certain mood which a producer is trying to convey. Before editing was used in films, a production would run on for as long as the film lasted and would generally have no story to the film (Film editing, 2014). This is because many people would find fascination in any kind of motion and there would be no editing process involved. The first film that established continuity and featured more than one shot was in the 1900's and is called "Come Along, Do!" (Come Along, Do!, 2013). The development of editing continues as more advanced techniques of editing were used in 1903 with "The Great Train Robbery" created by Edwin S. Porter (The Great Train Robbery and after, 2013) which used techniques such as cross cutting and the use of sped up time. David Griffiths is also known as the inventor of the famous technique, parallel editing which is seen in The Birth of a Nation (Constantinuo, S, 2012)

Continuity

In the scene which I have chosen from The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, there are many shots which allows the audience to understand each shot and generally allows each shot to flow. If we were to watch a scene which contained continuity errors we are more likely to notice the errors rather than where the continuity system is used correctly. This system consists of establishing shots, which is not made obvious in the clip which I have chosen as it is at a stage of the movie which is much more tense than the start of the film would be. This kind of shot allows the audience to become aware of the surroundings, which is usually used at the start of a film but also can be used throughout a film.There are occasions where these are used as short and snappy shots in this extract such as here where the kitchen is established by the use of a dissolve, to remind the audience of the characters location. 

Another stage of the continuity system is the 180 degree rule which is a crucial part of a production to maintain the flow of mostly conversations or scenes with repetitive action and this avoids confusion within the audience. Although this is the case, you come across some productions which deliberately break the 180 degree rule, such as a show called "Homicide: Life on the Street" which breaks this rule to disorientate the audience. This rule is used appropriately throughout this clip as well as the shot reverse shot seen here:

Shot-reverse-shot is very similar to the 180 degree rule although instead of this being used mostly for conversations or fighting scenes, it is used to show two characters looking in the opposite direction to establish the mood or feeling of the characters on screen. In the two shots above, it brings a distressed feeling between the two characters in shot as their facial expressions are emphasized as this is what the audience will concentrate on. 

Match on action cuts are separate shots which begin in the first and ends in the next which are then combined together to create action. This is used multiple times in this scene as the action becomes kinetic so that the movement on screen is continuous and brings a much more dramatic sense to the scene. 

Motivated editing is a type of editing which carefully move a story along with the use of shots to bring realism to the audience. Motivated editing are frequently used for genres such as horror movies. This type of editing is when the scene cuts to another scene or object that was not in the previous frame, which can be eye line match-cuts etc.. An eye line match is used at 1:22 which brings the action to a wide shot. This eye line match is significant in this extract as it backs up the dialogue used at 1:18 with "Why can I see you and no-one else can?" which denotes that the character she is speaking to is not actually there.

Identification

In the clip I have chosen, it becomes much more clearer to the audience who the main protagonist is from the amount of screen time this character has. The amount of screen time a character has in any film is important for the audience to have a better understanding of the characters and their importance. The audience may be mislead to believe that the protagonist is the character which starts the scene in The Mortal Instruments, but the actual protagonist begins to take more screen time which may cause confusion.

Close ups are also a huge part of a scene as it again adds to the audiences understanding of what could be a main character, location or prop. Close ups are used in the clip I have chosen several times as without them, the scene would be too much the same the whole way through which could potentially bore the audience. 

Point of view shots are in literal terms what the shot is named, it is showing a character/object etc.. from another characters point of view. These shots can also be portrayed from how the characters sees this character/object from their point of view. There are multiple ways which allows the audience to see a characters point of view, such as an over the shoulder shot. This shot is used throughout this extract while conversations take place which is extremely effective as they allows the audience to create a feeling of actually being there.

This can therefore influence the audience to portray this point of view shot to the same light as how the character sees it. For example a dramatic soundtrack in the background while a point of view shot is in screen can make the audience vulnerable to think ahead of the movie and possibly make the character a victim to who's point of view it is.

A reaction shot is created to see a characters close-up reaction after a previous scene which allows us to see the characters non verbal communication. In this reaction shot, the character is seen as shocked by her use of expressions, therefore almost foreshadows that something bad will happen next, which it does.

Conclusion
Throughout my chosen extract, there are many techniques used which constructs the story line and creates suspense and excitement. Firstly there are many examples of consistent shot variation such as the low angle shot used at 0:14, which shows the significant dominance between the two characters and is the only low angle shot used throughout the whole extract. 

There is also an example of a birds eye view as the action begins. This shot used in The Mortal Instruments straight off presents this character with very little power as the audience are looking down to this character. These types of shots develops an unnatural angle which makes the shot dramatic and gives the audience a view from an unknown perspective.  

There are also an example of a montage used at 3:25 which was used very simply with a dissolve transition to show that time has passed, such as here:

A dissolve was used several times in this scene which gives a transparent look to each shot. This brings realism as the previous shot presents an explosion and this diaphanous look adds to the smokey effect. Even though the following shot is the same time of day, this transition suggests that time has passed since the previous shot.

A method to show the passing of time is extremely important in a production and is also a prime example of how continuity errors occur. There are many films which make the mistake of shooting a shot in daylight which is followed by a next shot that is much darker without using a technique to present this adjustment.

In this clip it is apparent that information is being withheld from the audience when the break-in occurs and the first dialogue which is used is "Wheres the cup Jocelyn" while the audience remains unhinged. This information is withheld from the audience throughout the whole extract while there are segments of foreshadowing between the two characters at 1:50 with "You tell Valentine he'll never have the cup". This use of dialogue provides the audience with more information than they previously had by the enigmatic name that is mentioned, but still leaving the audience confused.

Parallel editing is a technique in this extract which is used simultaneously as other scenes are taking place by the use of cutaways. The use of parallel editing which is also known as cross cutting, used from 0:00 to 1:45, gives a riveting effect to the scene involving violence. This allows the audience to become vulnerable to what happens in the following scene as these two scenes involving different locations becomes one.  

The pace of the action dramatically changes at 2:00 which is followed by a soundtrack that is the same rhythm as the movement on screen, this is called editing rhythm. This sudden change in pace creates a scene of exuberant which the audience are likely to react to. In this scene, both the audience and the action on screen becomes intense as our attention is caught up in the narrative. As the action on screen slows down, the ambient sound and soundtrack eventually fades out.

In the extract that I have chosen, jump-cuts are not used obviously and are not necessarily needed. The reason for this is tension has already built rapidly through the use of the dramatic soundtrack and the fast motion action on screen and the only real use of a jump-cut throughout this extract would be between 1:58 to 2:06. An example of a film which use several jump-cuts is Kidulthood which conveys a jarring feeling. Here is how jump-cuts are used in this film:

 References:

- Types of Transition, (2014) [online] available at: http://www.elementsofcinema.com/editing/types-of-transition.html [date accessed: 1/2/14

- Film Editing, (2014) [online] available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_editing [date accessed: 1/2/14]

- Come Along, Do!, (2013) [online] available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_Along,_Do! [date accessed: 1/2/14]

- The Great Train Robbery and after, (2013) [online] available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_S._Porter [date accessed: 29/1/14]

- Stefan Constantinuo, (2012) [online] available at: http://www.slideshare.net/stefan-constantinou/history-and-development-of-editing-14850912 [date accessed: 1/2/14]