Day 9

Three Act Story:

Post-Production

 

Review Editing Techniques 

 

We've already covered a lot of ground in editing. I'm putting a link below so you can easily access that info but this is what we've covered so far:

• Getting your footage to the computer.

• Starting your project

• Organizing your project

• Rough cut part 1: Putting your footage down first

• Rough cut part 2: Putting your music down first

• Using Art List to help with your music

• How to use titles including opening title sequence and end credits

• Emailing your video and/or uploading to YouTube.

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Editing Part 2: The Kuleshov Effect

 

I want to go into the big picture of editing and talk a little about editing theory. The video below will introduce to you the Kuleshov effect which is a foundational principle in editing and most of your editing decisions are based on this idea. Essentially, an audience projects meaning when images are displayed to them in a sequence. In other words, the audience not only projects meaning on images individually but creates meaning from images strung together.

 

Let's watch the video:

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Practical Applications of the Kuleshov Effect: Cuts and Transitions

 

So how do we apply the Kuleshov effect in our own films?

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Two major ways are cuts and transitions. These are the different ways we move from one clip to another clip in our film.

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Let's look over some of the major cuts and transitions in this video.

 

 

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Summarizing the Major Cuts and Transitions

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• Cutting on action is when you cut between two clips at the point there is an action. It can be a punch or a door opening or someone just turning. The cut amplifies the action and the action helps make the cut seem seamless.

• A cutaway is when footage extraneous to a scene is overlaid, visually interrupting the narrative but perhaps displaying some important action taking place simultaneously, or an action referenced in dialogue. Audio cutaways are much less common, as they do not achieve the same effect.

• A cross-cut is similar to a cut used in dialogue, but where the subjects are not necessarily in the same setting (or even time frame). It establishes the same intimate relation as a dialogue cut.

• A jump cut is a cut, within the setting and time frame of a scene, where continuity is visibly broken. Though a mistake in many cases, it can also be used for dramatic effect. It is not to be confused with a cut used where a dissolve or wipe would be (perhaps more) appropriate.

• A match cut, like the cross-cut, links together two scenes that visually or otherwise resemble each other.

• Fade in and fade out is when we fade from black to an image or we fade from an image to black.

• Dissolve is when we fade from one image to another image. Often, this signifies the passage of time or dream sequences.

• Smash cut is an abrupt transition. It's when we move from something quickly to something very different like slow to quick, soft to loud.

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Examples of Editing Part 1: Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times

 

Let's look at some examples of these cuts and transitions with Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times. Charlie Chaplin was one of America's first big movie stars from the 1920s to the 1940s.

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Chaplin wrote, directed, produced, edited, starred in, and composed the music for most of his films. He was a perfectionist, and his financial independence enabled him to spend years on the development and production of a picture. His films are characterized by slapstick combined with pathos, typified in the Tramp's struggles against adversity. Many contain social and political themes, as well as autobiographical elements. He received an Honorary Academy Award for "the incalculable effect he has had in making motion pictures, the art form of this century" in 1972, as part of a renewed appreciation for his work. He continues to be held in high regard, with The Gold Rush, City Lights, Modern Times, and The Great Dictator often ranked on lists of the greatest films of all time.

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In this video, there is not a lot of editing because in the early days of filmmaking the cameras were large and it usually took a lot of time, effort, and money to set up a shot. So, when you watch these old silent-era films, a lot of the action is captured in the wide shot or the medium shot. While you might say this is limiting, it's interesting to see how much they can do with wide and medium shots. Like a play, they have to make the action interesting in the frame of the shot.

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Also, look at how Charlie Chaplin uses cross-cutting in the video to create tension in the film.

 

 

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Examples of Editing Part 2: What Lives On

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Now we'll watch a short film made by one of my former students, Jesse Rosenberg. He made this film while at the NYU summer program when he was in high school. This film became his portfolio film for his application to the NYU Tisch film program for undergraduates. It was in large part because of this film that he got into NYU. Jesse graduated from NYU and is now a professional filmmaker. Check out his website below.

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In What Lives On, check out how Jesse uses cross-cutting, cutaways, and jump cuts.

 

 

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Examples of Editing Part 3: The Closet

 

Now we'll watch The Closet, directed by Stewart Hendler and edited by Craig Fields. I think this short film is a great example of how editing can really convey the emotional inner life of a character without much dialogue.

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Here are some editing techniques to look for: smash cut, cutaways, cross-cutting, cutting on the action, and match cut.

 

 

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Activity: Share What Editing Techniques You'll Use in Your Film.

 

At the end of class today, we'll share what editing techniques we'll use for our films. Here's a reminder of the techniques we talked about today:

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• A jump cut is a cut, within the setting and time frame of a scene, where continuity is visibly broken. Though a mistake in many cases, it can also be used for dramatic effect. It is not to be confused with a cut used where a dissolve or wipe would be (perhaps more) appropriate.

• A cutaway is when footage extraneous to a scene is overlaid, visually interrupting the narrative but perhaps displaying some important action taking place simultaneously, or an action referenced in dialogue. Audio cutaways are much less common, as they do not achieve the same effect.

• A cross-cut is similar to a cut used in dialogue, but where the subjects are not necessarily in the same setting (or even time frame). It establishes the same intimate relation as a dialogue cut.

• A match cut, like the cross-cut, links together two scenes that visually or otherwise resemble each other.

• Cutting on action refers to a cut that links together two compositionally similar scenes. For example, the imminent pulling of a gun trigger may, prior to the gunshot, cut to a champagne cork firing off.

• Smash cut is an abrupt transition. It's when we move from something quickly to something very different like slow to quick, soft to loud.

• Fade in and fade out is when we fade from black to an image or we fade from an image to black.

• Dissolve is when we fade from one image to another image. Often, this signifies passage of time or dream sequences.

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