A condensed
purpose of editing is that ‘it protects the director from suicide’ as comically
stated by Sean Penn. However, the
very main purpose of editing is the fact that it polishes and brings meaning to
the film. It determines four main aspects:
1. The order of the events within the film
Directors usually shoot the film then provide the editors with shots to
edit. Directors don’t necessarily shoot the film chronologically therefore;
it’s up to the editor to put them in order according to both the script and
their interpretation of it.
2.
The amount of information received (narrative)
This is where the editor recruits their perspective on the narrative.
They choose whether a small or large amount of information should be included.
It usually affects the overall narrative. Editors have the first choice of
withholding certain details until the end or revealing details throughout.
3.
Emotions generated at certain times
Editing can set a certain mood through specific cuts. For example, if
you have a scene in which a woman is ducking down in avoidance of a gunshot,
cutting it there would ruin the suspense. So, editors usually keep that shot as
long as possible and abruptly add the next one in which the bullet is shot. In
that way, the audience would feel fear caused by the sudden shot of the bullet.
Therefore, editing can be used to further exaggerate the mood.
4.
The pace of the narrative
The editor can determine the pace as they can either speed up or slow
down the narrative according to the script. For example, if the genre were
romance, the editor would decrease the amount of cuts made in order to lengthen
the narrative. In this way the scenes would flow smoothly thus gradually
building up the narrative. Another thing editors can do in terms of pace is base
it on the target audience. For example, if the target audience were younger
people then the editor would speed up the pace as it keeps them enticed.
However, with an older audience, the pace is slower as they’re less accustomed
to registering information on a high speed.
In addition to the purpose
above, editing also:
·
Emotionally engages the
audience
·
Manipulates information or
reality
·
Uses sound which can create
suspense
“Once upon a time there were
no editors and no cuts.” Filmmakers used to photograph things that amused them.
A shot was held until they got bored or it ran out. There was no narrative,
plan or edit. The worldwide interest in seeing a moving image wasn’t enough to
pay for. People would eventually realise the shots made are of things you see
everyday, so why pay for it? This is why Auguste Lumière predicted that cinema is an
invention without a future. Little did he know it would become as big as it is
today. However, Edwin S. Porter was able to prove him wrong by discovering cuts. He was able to identify
that cuts created a story. Life of an American Fireman (1903) is a short
film made by Porter himself. It was able to emotionally impact the audience as
there were intercuts of two completely different scenes. One of a woman stuck
in a burning building, and the other a fire-truck speeding somewhere.
Immediately this showed the woman was in danger and the firemen rushing to her
rescue; which built an emotional connection towards the woman’s life. The
Great Train Robbery (1903) was Porter’s next film. This was when the
possibilities of editing were vividly seen. The discovery of editing “gave
birth to a new language”; as seen today.
D.W. Griffith was ‘The First Modern Editor’. He was the first filmmaker to realise the
‘psychological importance of editing.’ Griffith was the first to use close up
(CU) in such a big way. The Birth of a Nation (1915) was the film that
actually brought it together; a collection of ten years’ worth of editing
knowledge put together. It included close ups, flashbacks and parallel action.
He established the classical film editing which mainly relied on the ‘Invisible
Cut’ also known as ‘The Invisible Art’. It was used in Orphans of the Storm
(1921) which masked the cut in order for the audience not to notice. The
purpose of it was to keep the scene continuously moving and fluid. It was also
the first to use continuity editing. For decades, Griffith’s seamless editing
became the ‘most dominant editing style’ in Hollywood movies. An example of a
Hollywood film that used it is The Matrix (1999).
Originally, editing was
considered an easy task. Therefore, women were assigned the responsibility. It
was considered similar to knitting. However, when sound editing was introduced,
it was recognised as difficult for women to manage. Therefore, it gradually
became a man’s job.
Pulp Fiction (1994) At the very beginning, wide shot was used as
an establishing shot, which showed the viewer where the
action will be taking place. It allowed the viewer to have an insight of the
environment and lighting, which set the mood for later. Towards the end of the
clip, the camera angle changed to mostly extreme close ups and zoom ins. The
very act of starting with wide angle then coming in with close up creates
suspense. In this way, the viewer will feel the sudden seriousness of the
situation as it foreshadows something big. The pace in which the shots were cut
was fairly fast towards the end, which allowed the viewer to stay aware of the
suspense.
There was then a
wide shot of Vincent, Lance, Fabienne, Jody and Mia in one room which allowed
the viewer to see the room (setting). At the same time, it showed the
characters’ facial expressions, which helped set the mood- for most of the
part. Jody wasn’t serious, but the rest were. The combination of the two ideas
created an overview of the situation. When it came to the big moment in which
Vincent was going to stab Mia with a needle, everything sort of paused.
Suddenly there were brief shots (ECU) of Vincent, Lance, Mia and the dripping
needle. In that moment, it allowed the viewer to focus on the moment and worry
whether Vincent is able to stab her in the right area without hurting her. The shots
were cut frequently, which caused the narrative to flow quickly with suspense.
I Am Sam (2001) Eye-Level (EL) was used throughout the clip. This is a neutral shot in
which it may seem to not generate any sort of engagement with the audience.
However, because it’s shot in a way that we are used to in real life, it makes
the audience feel comfortable with the characters. Sam, Lucy and his retarded
friends seemed harmless in that scene. This is because the specific camera
angle used aided the character’s level of danger.
Also, I have
noticed that throughout the scene, the camera was simply handheld rather than
static. The simplicity of the scene set the mood in the sense that it reflected
innocence; a retarded father taking his daughter shoe-shopping and resorting to
the help of his retarded friends. It allowed the audience to connect to Sam on
a personal level despite what the court think of him (a bad father not fit for
parenthood).
Another thing is
the constant use of Medium Close-Up (MCU). It not only communicated the
dialogue, but also the meaning behind it. Just the fact that it showed Sam
holding different shoes contemplating which one best fits his daughter Lucy
made the entire scene simple and straightforward. It showed the audience that
he didn’t have an ulterior motive in which he sets out to kidnap his own
daughter. This was done by the use of two simple shots within the montage: EL
and MCU.
The role of a film and TV editor is ‘tough’ as stated
by Christian Bell. Their role is to
polish the shots taken by the director. If the editor is unlucky, they will
have to endure working with a new director. This means having to work around
the shots given to them in an attempt of polishing them. At times, the shots
are useless as it only consists of wide angle, which doesn’t provide much
definition to the scene. Therefore, the director would have to re-shoot the
scene. All this consumes time and so the editor is put to even more work.
Looking on the bright side for once, editors who
possess the ability to edit any genre have more job offers, which guarantees
their pay for at least a year. However, some editors are used to working on a
specific genre due to many circumstances (i.e. being requested for one specific
genre continually), which disadvantages them; as they wouldn’t be able to
freely edit other genres. On the other hand, experienced directors would leave
‘gold dust’ along with the footage for the editor (as stated by Christian Bell). This means they’ll
shoot a few seconds both before and after a shot. In this way, the editor
possesses the luxury to determine which part needs a clean cut.
In conclusion, editing has developed immensely over
the years. It has become a huge part of the TV industry. Seeing it come this
far allowed me to envision a great future for it. However, the technology
behind it seems to be as far as it gets. I too share Auguste Lumière’s theory- there seems to be no
further future for editing.
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4.5 Bibliography
Mark Winokur and Bruce Holsinger. (2001). Movies and Film The Purposes of Editing.
Available: http://www.infoplease.com/cig/movies-flicks-film/purposes-editing.html
. Last accessed 22/09/2014.
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing. (2004) A.C.E, British
Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), NHK Enterprises, TCEP Inc. London. Wendy Apple.
