Understanding Video Editing

Understanding Video Editing

180 degree rule 

The 180-degree rule is a basic guideline regarding the line between the two characters, which is called the line of action. On one side of the 180 degree line the cameras will be placed when filming .If the camera is passing the line or on the other side its called jumping or crossing the line which means the 180 degree rule has been broken.

In this scene the 180 degree rule is broken when the camera crosses the line. Some directors break the rule to add dramatic effect in there films and in certain scenes. Even if the characters move the line must not be crossed at any time staying on the correct side of the 180 degree line.

The scene starts off from this side of the 180-degree line of action.

The camera then jumps the line and switches to the other side of the line breaking the 180 degree.




Montage Editing 

Montage Editing is a technique in film editing which is a series of shots which are edited together into a sequence.Some montages are faster then others depending on the situation and scene or the emotion trying to be created. Montages are normal used to emphasise meanings or to show different types of shots and different views instead of one image to add extra effect.

 

Montage editing was created by a Russian director and theorist Sergei Eisenstein in the 1920s.Eisenstein believed that film montage could create more ideas to create more impact and effect  instead of just one image.

 

 Here is an example of his work from the start a variety of different shot and shot types are shown in a Montage sequence .All the variety of  shots  are shown in quick succession one after the other and especially in this sequence a number of  different statues arm shown from different angles and shot types to create and show different meanings.Also the different statues show different cultures and backgrounds. This is what Eisenstein was trying to create by using a series of shots all shown together in one sequence  to add more emotive effect and to show more detail of what he was creating.

 

 Here is an a example of a montage of shots in the shower scene in Psycho.When the attack happens a quick transitions of shots are shown of the victims face reacting to the attack showing the characters emotion in detail from different shot types.The montage is very quick in this scene to create tense suspense and added emotive atmosphere .The shot types are close ups show process of the victim being murdered through a variety of shot types and in quick succession which add emphasise and a lot of detailed emotion which is a very creative way of showing a death in a scene .

  Here are some of the shots that are in the sequence of the victims death showing a variety of different shot types which all reflect the death but in different way to add more effect in the scene.

 

Also in the sequence of shots there is symbolism when the pan and the close up of the drain is shown because it symbolises the victims life going down the drain. 

 

Parallel Editing

Parallel editing  is the technique of alternating two or more scenes that often happen simultaneously but in different locations.It means two different scene happing at the same time shown by cutting shot to shot .

In this scene in the God father two events are happening at the same and are cutting between the two different shots which are happening at the same time.In this clip there is a male character who is in a church at a service whilst in the other shots is a gangster going around murdering a number of people at the same time.The use of Parallel editing may lead and link  all the scenes happening at the same time to merge into just one scene.

Walter Murch

Walter Murch is a well known Film editor and sound designer who is well known for his editing techniques.He has worked it many major films such as The Rain people in 1969,The God Father part 1/2 and also Apocalypse which he won his first Academy Award in.

To Make a successful scene Walter came up with six points to follow here are the top 3 main points : 

1:

Emotion-When editing the scene its important to create the correct emotion you are trying to impose or create and not creating false and wrong emotions different to what you are trying to create.

2:

Story-when editing the story need to be understood and corrected to match  to the plot of the film .Also make sure it advances the story and keeping it alive .

3:

Rhythm-This is very crucial to get right because the rhythm of the music or ambient sound has to be in sync to the video footage and the music needs to create the appropriate atmosphere for what is happening in the scene for example:for a horror film tension would need to be created through a slow but disturbing rhythm and beat which would build up and get louder when approaching the climax of the scene .Also the pace of the music is very important as well because it can lead up to climaxes in the scene or created emotions through the layers and pace of the music/ambient sound.The music would have to been in sync to the video footage to match the cut for example:when there is footage of glass cup falling the sound effect must match up and go off ant the same time for it to work.

Apocalypse

At the start of the clip there is a distant noise of a helicopter which has been panned and distorted to create a disturbed feel.  After this a typical vietnamese jungle setting is displayed.  As the music starts a fade of smoke occurs at the bottom of the screen.  The smoke starts to become more visible and appears in a wavy motion which creates the impression of a dream.  The song 'The End' plays with a melodic guitar sound which enhances this feeling that you are in a dream. The panning distorted helicopter sound then returns and then an American Attack Helicopter goes across the screen shown by a mid shot and the peaceful background is then bombarded by a napalm strike.  This is very good imagery used by Walter Murch because he displays a dream like atmosphere, destroyed by the nightmares and horrors of the Vietnam War.  There is then a fade of an American soldier smoking a cigarette, who is depicted staring as though traumatised,  with the battle scenes in the background symbolising him dreaming about the horrors of Vietnam.  The use of the flares to signal the Vietnam war links to the smoke coming from the Soldier's cigarette.  The music then drops in to 'This is the End' which links to how the Soldier is feeling.  This is yet again symbolisation of how he uses music and visual effects to show the emotion felt by the Soldier. A really good shot that is used by Walter Murch featuring a helicopter's blades which fade into the blades of a fan, then fading into the soldier looking up at the fan with a look of guilt on his face.  This symbolises how the Soldier is thinking about the war which shows how traumatised he is.  The shot then shows a close up of images of a woman's photograph and letters giving us information about the character from the start of the film.  
Then it pans through to alcohol and drugs and then a gun making the viewer question 'Is this the End for the American Soldier'.  The fact that he has to take a gun to bed shows that he is traumatised and scarred.  Also there is a close up of the Soldiers face showing the thousand yard stare.  
It is clear through the whole of this opening sequence that Walter Murch is trying to create and symbolise the Soldier's emotions and experiences by the use of edits, video effects and a variety of camera shots. 

visual effects and editing of star wars

When filming in star wars they created a lot of visual effects using a variety of methods,technology and props.For the space battles and vehicles they used small models and props which would be hanged by a small crane with behind it a green or blue screen.The way they filmed the movement of the Vehicles was using stop motion animation which would of took them ages to complete.The magnificent detailed backgrounds would be edited into the blue and green screes which would go with the models.The backgrounds would be made separately and added in when editing.When the Vehicles were destroyed in battle they carefully simulated this by applying a small charge which would be detonated on cue simulating the destruction of the Vehicle.A famous scene were the rebels attack the death start is simply made by a small but very detailed model of the trenches of the death star with blue and green screen background followed by a camera on a crane which would be remotely dragged across simulating the point of view of the rebel pilot.In the scene of obi one tacking down the shield generator instead of them spending millions on the set and background they got a artist to create a glass painting which would be used as a background in the film. 

MTV Style Editing

The City of God film is based in Rio Janero In Brazil set in the iconic Favela slums.This film is in Portuguese and is known for its MTV Style editing.The films editing is very static and shaky camera footage during the chase scene of the chicken giving a realistic view of some one chasing the chicken from a point of view shot, also its shows the point of view of the chicken running and its emotions and how it links to the main characters emotion through the flow of shots giving it continuity and symbolising roar emotion from both characters with a strong link.  

In this scene of the close up of the knife being sharpened symbolises danger towards the chicken and the boy because there is extreme high crime rates in these slums and gangs and the boy could be in danger of murder of knife crime.This shot is emphasized through editing by the clip being sped up and made faster to the point were its static with very loud sound effects of the knife causing tension and ongoing penitential dangers that will occur in the film.

  Through out the opener of the film the boy and the chicken are shown to be in the same situation and a like through symbolism from the different shots. In this mid shot its shows how the chicken is vulnerable to its surroundings and how small it is compared to the objects in the background. This is the same as the boy who is shown to be vulnerable compared to the high-scaled favela slums.

 

In this mid shots shows the expression and body language of the boy on the left that he is scared and worried about what is going to happen or about something that has happened. Also in this shot it shows the poverty of the location the boys are.

 

In this scene it shows the chickens point of view .It shows how vulnerable and small the chicken is to its surroundings and how rundown the area is and shows the poverty and poor conditions. It also gives the viewer the chance to view what it would like to be a chicken. This scene would have been filmed with a camera attached to a chicken to get such an accurate point of view.

 

 I this mid shot of the gang leader show the characters insanity and emotions. Also it highlights the gun, which is a symbol of danger. Also this shot has been edited to focus on the gang leader to show his high profile and power in the favela and that he is a massive danger and villain in the film .

  At the end of the chase this shot mirrors the boy and the chicken at the end of their journeys and its like fate brought them together. This master shot also shows the location and rundown quality of the conditions of the favela. This shot is very powerful because it symbolises the boy being the same as the chicken and they are both in danger .

Hand held cameras,point of view Shots and new Generation of editing 

Hand held camera shots are used mostly to show the point of view of the character and to view other characters.When editing this method viewers believe the character is recoding what is going on with a hand held camera or device .This method is used to make the films seem realistic and make the viewer feel that they are there.This is effective especially for horrors because The jumps,paranormal events and the scares all seem more real through the characters point of view and camera lens.The Paranormal Activity franchise is especially known for this filming technique and edit making its so terrifyingly realistic and popular.Modern horror films now use this technique when editing and filming such as the Pyramid ,all the Paranormal Activity and most horror films released  at the box office starting a new generation and style of filming and editing.

Also there are new films which are based using new digital technology and software's.This new horror film called Unfriended is based on people using social media sites such as Skype and Facebook which are very popular during the new digital age .The story line is a friend posts a embarrassing video clip of a girl on you tube which goes viral ruining the girls life.This leads to her committing suicide and coming back to life murdering all of the friends involved through a Skype call .The way this film is filmed and edited is like your looking on a laptop which is a brand new way of interpreting a film and giving the viewers a brand new point of view of the character making the film more realistic.Most of the film is a point of view of one of the friends lap tops and how she goes from having a fun Skype call and it ending up leading to her death.This is a clever way of editing and filming  because it uses well known social media sites which people use on a day to day basis which would apply to a new digitalised modern audience.This film was realised in 2015 and it could change the way some films are produced and edited.

How i used the principles of editing in My Own video

For this video I used some of the  principles of video editing to make a short chase scene.From the idea of the city of god chicken chase I decided to use this idea to film a chase scene .In this chase scene I used a variety of editing techniques.When editing the footage I put in some black out transitions to add dramatic suspense to my video.To add the black out transitions when editing I cut out the unwanted footage and with the remaining footage I spaced out in the sequence with the black out transitions separating them.Also throughout this video I created a Montage of different shot types to add more effect then one shot type.For the examples of different shots i used in the montage sequence was some close ups,extreme close ups,mid shots ,master shots ,panning  and held camera shots.Just like the psycho shower scene I used this montage at a fast pace to add tension to the chase.Also like the filming of paranormal Activity I used hand held shots to show the viewer the point of view of the victim running in the chance and the character chasing him.This makes the video more realistic for the viewer bringing this short film alive.