Editing is perhaps one of the most needed processes in the film industry. A film would be complete with shoddy editing, but one single edit could change the whole story of the film! Editing makes the film look smart and polished and it also shows that the film crew have taken time to make the film look the best it can. Veteran director Stanley Kubrick (The Shining, Full Metal Jacket) once said that editing was his favourite phase of film making. He went on to say that editing is the one true unique phase to making a motion picture.
There are so many different types of editing use in the film industry, some of the most well known include jump-cutting, montage, crosscutting, the point of view shot, and many more. Every film released to the pulic will always use these types of edits to ensure the audiences do not get bored. Some films would also not make any sense to the audience if certain edits were used. One single close-up of a person's face could change the plot, for example, an evil smile could possible indicate they were the killer in a horror film. Every shot and edit is essential to the film.
One of my personal favourite films which emphasises the use of editing is Segei Eisenstein's 'The Battleship Potemkin' with it's cult status scene, 'The Odessa Steps'.
The scene itself show’s the massacre of civilians on the Odessa Steps (also known as the Potemkin Stairs). It is also best to be known that this gem of a film scene never actually took place, but was used instead for dramatic effect in the film.
This film makes great use of cinematography, especially considering how new the art of film was to the Russian’s in the 1920s, which led to the director of the film, Sergei Eisenstein, becoming a film pioneer in Soviet film-making. The editing in this film is also superb. One of the first camera shots shows a woman fleeing from the soldiers but the emphasis is on the umbrella she is holding and the whole screen gets filled up with this umbrella as she runs towards the screen. My personal favourite edit in this scene, shows a close up of a man’s legs as he has just been shot then it cuts to a point of view shot as he hits the floor. I cannot remember seeing this edit used in any other film. Many close-ups are used to show the emotions on the characters, mostly of fear. The film uses an array of different editing techniques to showcase a truly brilliant masterpiece. Perhaps the biggest editing technique used in the film is cross cutting. This is used to create tension and build up suspense.
This film makes great use of cinematography, especially considering how new the art of film was to the Russian’s in the 1920s, which led to the director of the film, Sergei Eisenstein, becoming a film pioneer in Soviet film-making. The editing in this film is also superb. One of the first camera shots shows a woman fleeing from the soldiers but the emphasis is on the umbrella she is holding and the whole screen gets filled up with this umbrella as she runs towards the screen. My personal favourite edit in this scene, shows a close up of a man’s legs as he has just been shot then it cuts to a point of view shot as he hits the floor. I cannot remember seeing this edit used in any other film. Many close-ups are used to show the emotions on the characters, mostly of fear. The film uses an array of different editing techniques to showcase a truly brilliant masterpiece. Perhaps the biggest editing technique used in the film is cross cutting. This is used to create tension and build up suspense.
Similar with other Russian films at the time, ‘The Battleship Potemkin’ was marked as Soviet propaganda and has been called one of the most influential propaganda films of all time. Some critics also note the film as the greatest film of all time and it is even in the public domain in some parts of the world.
