Research: Editing - Mrs Begum

Research: Editing-Mrs Begum

Intro: What is editing and why is it an important micro-element?
editing is one of the most important micro-elements in a film because it dominates a whole film a regular film can have hundreds of hours worth of footage but editing can take it down to 2 or even less than that. Not only is it useful in the movies themselves, but it is crucial in trailers because  they have to be even more affective because your trying to sell a film to views in the space of 2 minutes on a regular trailer (non extended).
 

Editing definitions with thriller examples

180° Rule  - Before going into the various list of edits and techniques used in film, the 180° rule must be explained. It means anyone recording a film with a camera must imagine a hypothetical line drawn between two or more actors. The camera mustn't shoot on the other side of the line because it would make visual sense to the viewers because to the it could look like two people facing each other talking are facing the same way, this is a basic but crucial rule because you film can have a good narrative but if the filming is poor you could lose the viewers interest very quickly.

Straight Cut - Is a direct edit (cut) from one scene to another with out any transfer effect you may see this in a film when an establishing shot is being shown and then it begins filming a characters face close up. It is the most used edit in film and always will be especially in thrillers because it gets straight to what the viewers want to see  and it creates an affect off panic and adrenaline because there is a lot going on in the scene a great example of this is the classic American thriller 'psycho' during the famous bath scene attack.

Shot Reverse shot - happens during a casual conversation and is the most used when people are engaging in a convocation during a calm scene.

Fade to black - The fade to black edit is when the shot is transferred to another shot but the transition between is black, This gives an affect that the next scene is going to reveal something dark which can make viewers feel uneasy, on edge and expecting something to happen which is a good build up. Not a lot of films actually use this but you tend to see it in George Lucas' greatest movie's 'Star Wars'

Dissolve -When one shot disintegrates into another shot this is another edit that isn't used often but it would be a good way to switch shots if the previous shot was extremely bloody to create affect.

Reaction Shot-

Wipe Cut - When a shot slides into another slide this often happens in Comic book themed movies the most recent thriller to make example of this would be  'Kick-Ass' & 'Kick-Ass 2'

Jump Cut - A drastic movement that is noticeable to the eye in the shot / the edit almost jumps along with the movement. This creates an affect of adrenaline and racing pulses because it can feel like the viewer is in the film  world because it plays a visual affect of the eyes making it look like you jumped also depending how much the viewer is into the film. This would be a perfect edit in something such as a car chase because it is best tailored to the speed of the edit.     

Montage Scene - Was a popular edit used in 1980's action thrillers such as 'MacGyver' Whenever he was making an invention quickly under pressure which kind of gives you an example of just what a montage is. Its a time skip/ fast edit or a scene that has a high concentration of straight cuts and is usually covered with some theme music but a more recent horror film the was used in was 'The Grudge'



Trailers and use of editing

In order to promote a movie a trailer needs to sell the film within a 2-5 minute trailer in order to do this they need to show the best parts

Thriller scene analysis. Analyse a scene identifying three effective uses of editing - use PEER

Conclusion: What types of editing are you planning to use and why?