What is editing? Why is it an important micro-element?
Editing is the process of improving, arranging and
organizing a piece into a perfect final product. Correcting mistakes is one
meaning of editing; the other meaning of editing in terms of films is visually
changing the camera and position or movement to have a different effect of the
scene through the eyes of the producers and the audience. It is an important
micro-element as it plays a major part in the effect a film has, a film with no
sound will have no effect on an audience whereas a film with sound would have
more of an effect. Try watching Sixth Sense with no sounds, it would not feel
like a thriller film.
How is editing used in films?
Editing is used in films to (like I said), visually change
the camera and position or movement to have a different effect of the scene
through the eyes of the producers and the audience. Editing enables us to
perfect and improve a scene to make it better than the original, this helps
directors better their original cut to attract audiences and drive away
critics. Editing is used a lot in media and film and many other things.
Key terms:
Straight Cut – Fluent edit to the
next scene or image which creates normality to the viewer and does not confuse
the events on screen. This type of edit is averagely used the most as it
creates the most fluency and understanding to the audience.
Montage – Series of images that come
on-screen at various speeds like flashbacks. These images can present someone
growing up, partaking in a series of events etc. It is usually shown to show
some sort of progression of what is happening or happened with a character.
Shot Reverse Shot – Shot from one
person to another and is commonly used during a conversation or a fight scene.
This helps the audience to understand that there is a conversation currently
going on between two characters.
Reaction Shot –
The camera is placed in the direction of the actors’ reaction, commonly
used in horror films and scary movies. This is used to show the audience that
the character is obviously reacting to something but the camera doesn’t want to
reveal it to keep the audience on their feet.
Slow Editing – Slowing down the
scene, slow motion. Commonly used in a fast paced fight scene or a mafia film
to emphasize the fact that there is a war between two sides.
Fade to black – The process of an
image fading into the next image with a black filter in between, commonly used
in superhero thriller films like the trailer for the upcoming Batman vs
Superman movie by DC.
Dissolve – The process of an image
disintegrating into the next image.
Wipe – Moving an image vertically or
horizontally into the next scene, commonly used in pop style films.
180 rule – An actors’ placement
should remain the same of the line of the 180 rule. If a character is on the
right hand side of the camera then wherever the camera is placed it should stay
on the right to not confuse the audience and erases all mistakes that could be
made without the 180 rule.
Trailers
Trailers to a thriller
normally use fast paced editing and fade to black to conjure up the notion that
it will have an effect on the audience and therefore gain a psychological
response. Trailers such as Batman vs Superman inputs a lot of fade to black
editing to give the vibe that it will take on that traditional thriller
conventions.
Thriller opening analysis
In the opening of John Wick the use of editing is remarkable as it
uses several different techniques to orientate something great. One type of
editing used is the fade to black, this creates the effect that there is a lot
of darkness and evil or that there may be a lurking of the dark sides within
the movie. Another effective use of editing is the 180 rule, they use this to
create the effect that the actors from the camera’s point of view always remain
on the same side even when the camera is switched to different angles and
positions. The last good effective use of editing is the reaction shot as it
keeps the audience peeled to the screen as they are curious to know what the actors
and characters are reacting to and/or surprised at.
Conclusion
From the editing
identified, I am going to use fade to black to give off the effect that it will
be an epic thriller and there is a flicker of darkness in the waters. This will
help the audience understand that it is a dark thriller and enable a path for
me to create a good thriller. Another editing I would use is the 180 rule so
that I know the positioning of my actors at all times during filming and the
audience knows right from left. I may use more as I have not fully decided.
Your research here into editing is near proficient. To ensure proficiency;
ReplyDelete-in your introduction, the focus should be on editing being important rather than sound
-think about the fluency in scenes as well as new cinematography types which is what editing allows
-differentiate the difference between edits and transitions
-your opening analysis of editing at the end needs to follow the PEER structure. Why has it been used? Why is it conventional of the thriller genre? What response does it create from the audience?