Tuesday, November 15, 2022

 Research: Editing- Purpose of editing and techniques 


Today we discussed the importance of editing and the impact it has over  media, specifically film and TV shows. 



There are different aspects that add towards editing techniques including: 

- Shots and angles 

- Cuts/transitions 

overview: 

Shots- 

Some sots include extreme shot, over the shoulder shots, close up shots, long shot, medium shot, cowboy shot and many more. 

These shots add meaning to a film or TV show or are used in a way to establish the atmosphere and setting of a scene 

Some shots are done on purpose to let the audience know a deeper meaning behind something or to foreshadow something only the audience will know and the character will later find out, creates a deeper connection with audience

I will use some examples of my favorite shots from a TV show and a Movie that I really enjoyed 

In the TV show "Stranger Things" we get many extreme or establishing shots to show where the characters are located in contrast to their surrounding 


In the movie "Tick Tick Boom" we get a close up of Jonathan Larson's face especially his eyes so the audience can see the stress he is feeling
 

Cuts/Transitions: 

Cuts and transitions are used to put different scenes together and to make them flow in the way the editor wants them to be placed. 

Some cuts and transitions include, fade out, jump cuts, match cuts, dissolve, iris wipe, and many more. 

The shots can demonstrate the passage or moving of time between scenes or it can just be a way to place two scenes together in a continuous way. 

Using examples from some of my favorite movies, I will be showing my personal favorite cuts and transitions used

In the movie "Mamma Mia Here we Go Again," the transition used to show the passing or going back in time from old Donna to young Donna uses a match cut sliding down the stairs 





In the TV show the Vampire Diaries, Jump cuts were used a lot especially during flashback scenes and scenes when the vampires would "run" from one place to another



For example, in these flashback scenes, the jump cuts between flashback and current time are abrupt and un announced, which show the clear mark between the two times


In these scenes, jump cuts are used to show how fast vampires really are and their fast reaction time 


There are two ways in which the passing of time can be shown through editing:

- Continuity editing 

- Elliptical editing 

In continuity editing, the passage of time is alluded without showing everything that happens during the time that passes, it only shows what is necessary for the audience to understand 

this is the most common for of editing 


In this clip from "Legally Blonde", we can see continuity editing being used because it makes the audience feel like the events and conversations are happening in a continuous way, flows smoothly 


In elliptical editing, the passing of time is shown with tension and is used to draw the attention of the audience to what is about to happen


In Spider Man No Way Home, elliptical editing is used to shorten some clips as well as to show tension when a villain is about to drop a bomb or break a window 

From this research, I learned that every shot, angle, cut and transition add significant meaning to a movie or TV show and that each one is made with consideration on how someones else will interpret it.