Editing the use of time in films is one of the most important edits in films. For example, the use of slow-motion is a really powerful edit. Many films use slow-motion to show emotion, such as in a race. Slow-motion can also be used in fight scenes to show the reactions of people.
Sometimes, film is sped up. In the old days of film, many silent comedies would show characters running away from something and would normally speed it up. It is quite rare in modern film to see films being sped up, however, the ocassional comedy might use this editing technique.
Screen time is a period of time represented by events within a film.
Flashbacks are also very common in films. These are used to show a past event in someones life. Many crime films will show the character comitting a past crime.
Friday 21 October 2011
Transition Types
Through the various uses of editing, there have been countless transition types. Some prime examples include wipe and jump cuts. George Lucas' Star Wars films used the wipe cuts to great effect. Every single Star Wars film has used the wipe cut and it has become somewhat a bit of a private joke with filmmakers in the industry.
Films featuring many action sequences tend to use lots of quick cuts to show the action. Production will involve many cameras to film all the action in order to get the best shots available. Jump cutting is also used to emphasis the transition of one place to another in most cases.
It is very rare for a film to feature a scene with not cuts but one such example 'Children of Men' features an action scene without a single cut, and it's been used to great effect.
Cross cutting is also another form of transistion types and this is used to show the action taking place in two different locations at once.
Films featuring many action sequences tend to use lots of quick cuts to show the action. Production will involve many cameras to film all the action in order to get the best shots available. Jump cutting is also used to emphasis the transition of one place to another in most cases.
It is very rare for a film to feature a scene with not cuts but one such example 'Children of Men' features an action scene without a single cut, and it's been used to great effect.
Cross cutting is also another form of transistion types and this is used to show the action taking place in two different locations at once.
Tuesday 4 October 2011
The History and Developments of Post-Production
Editing has always been an important aspect of the film industry. Without the techniques of editing, a film would just not simply flow. Auguste Lumiere (one half of the Lumiere Brothers) said that despite being one of the pioneers of the film industry he thought that cinema was becoming an invention without a future. This was untrue as 1903 became a pivotal year for film. The release of 'The Life of an American Fireman' saw the introduction of one of the now most well known editing techniques, intercutting.
Intercutting is one of the most well known edits used in the film industry. 'The Life of an American Fireman' was the first ever motion picture to use the process of intercutting. This film showed to seperate shots together of a women stuck in her house which is on fire and then showed a shot of the firemen leaving the fire station.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/p4C0gJ7BnLc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Perhaps one of the greatest editing techniques is the use of 'montage'. The French meaning for the word 'montage' is simply "putting together" or "assembly". There three different sense of the term:
1. In the practice of French film, montage uses it's literal French meaning and simply identifies editng.
2. Soviet film production used the powers of montage as a method of juxtaposing shots so that they derived a new meaning which was not originally intended in either shot alone. This was a big form of propaganda, something which would go on to be used by Germany in World War II. The often cited Kuleshov Experiment established that montage can lead the viewer to reach certain conclusions about the action in a film. US director D.W. Griffiths was not part of the montage scene when it came to film editing, however, his work in the teens was highly regarded by Lev Kuleshov and many other Soviet filmmakers which helped with their understanding of film editing as a medium.
3. Classical Hollywood cinema sees a different meaning to the use of montage. A montage sequence is a short segment in a film in which the narrative information is presented in a condensed fashion.
Intercutting is one of the most well known edits used in the film industry. 'The Life of an American Fireman' was the first ever motion picture to use the process of intercutting. This film showed to seperate shots together of a women stuck in her house which is on fire and then showed a shot of the firemen leaving the fire station.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/p4C0gJ7BnLc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Perhaps one of the greatest editing techniques is the use of 'montage'. The French meaning for the word 'montage' is simply "putting together" or "assembly". There three different sense of the term:
1. In the practice of French film, montage uses it's literal French meaning and simply identifies editng.
2. Soviet film production used the powers of montage as a method of juxtaposing shots so that they derived a new meaning which was not originally intended in either shot alone. This was a big form of propaganda, something which would go on to be used by Germany in World War II. The often cited Kuleshov Experiment established that montage can lead the viewer to reach certain conclusions about the action in a film. US director D.W. Griffiths was not part of the montage scene when it came to film editing, however, his work in the teens was highly regarded by Lev Kuleshov and many other Soviet filmmakers which helped with their understanding of film editing as a medium.
3. Classical Hollywood cinema sees a different meaning to the use of montage. A montage sequence is a short segment in a film in which the narrative information is presented in a condensed fashion.
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