Editing

Development of editing

Editing is perhaps the most fundamental aspect of film, it enables directors to manipulate

audiences perspective and establishes the pace of which events unfold throughout the narrative. Modern editing continues to advance with the introduction of new technology but it is imperative to understand where it all began and the impact of editing on film. 

In 1895 the Lumiere brothers introduced the first camera known as the cinematographe, a three way machine that recorded, captured and projected a motion picture. It produced one long roll of film, essentially a continuous shot. On the 28th December 1985, the first public screening took place, it inspired the magician, George Méliès to become involved in film. After being refused a purchase of a cinematographe from the Lumière brothers, who saw him as a direct competition, he took it upon himself to purchase an animatograph from which he was able to create his own camera. Along with owning a theatre company, Méliès  began to show his own films. It is from this experience that he began to use jump cuts in his films to create an appearance of things disappearing and reappearing in shots. This effect can be seen in the film The Haunted Castle (1986). 

Méliès also introduced effects known as overlaying dissolves, fade in & fade out and stop motion photography. It is from this that Méliès was able to adapt film in to a storytelling form, something which would both engage and entertain audiences and continue to increase the popularity of film. Méliès theatre background hugely influenced his work, throughout his career he made around 500 films and all were shot from the same angle. Viewing his films was almost like being a spectator in a theatre audience, lots of detail was taking place in the scene but the audience could only see this a single perspective. 

Edwin S Porter is another figure who was emerging around a similar time. He had a background in vita scope projection and went on to become head of production at Edison Skylight Studio. In 1901 Edwin S Porter took a more experimental approach to editing by putting different parts of film together. This produced an image which consisted of several shots and increased in length. Porter was greatly influenced by Méliès and in his film Life of an American Fireman (1903) he combined stock footage and staged scenes to form a narrative. Similarly to Méliès, each shot was a complete scene and used a technique known as temporal overlaps to combine the two together. It is here that he began to understand the importance of the arrangement of shots to create meaning. This breakthrough in editing allowed Porter to create something more complex, a story that exists beyond the image produced. This idea of editing shots in to a sequence is known as 'primitive editing'. 

At the time D.W.Griffith had dreams of becoming a writer and started to write stories for films. He submitted his work to Porter who refused and instead gave Griffith a role in his film as an actor. Griffith then went on to work with the production company Biograph and went on to make around 450 films. In his film Greaser's Gauntlet he used a technique known as the 'cut in', this consisted of cutting a medium long shot to a full shot in the middle of a scene to emphasise the emotional reaction from the two actors within the scene. He also created the term 'continuity editing' a technique which allows scenes to follow a continuous and smooth pace which creates a sense of time and space within a narrative. From this the 180 degree rule was born, he discovered that by keeping the camera on one side of the 'axis of action' he could avoid any conflicts to continuity when cutting from one angle to another. Another technique established by Griffith is 'cross cutting' which allowed him to cut between different scenes in a parallel action which can be first seen in his film After Many Years (1908). Griffith used this techniques to experiment with the pace of the cuts to create a sense of urgency during particular scenes to build a cinematic climax. 

After this, filmmakers went on to establish techniques such as matching eyelines, cutting on action, establishing shots, reverse shots etc. A new wave of cinema was created. Griffith's blockbuster film The Birth of a Nation, used all of these experimental techniques and determined its success despite its controversy for being racist. However, it was soon banned due to its controversy causing riots to take place. Griffith never recovered from this setback and would not make another successful film in his time. Griffith was a hugely influential figure in the world of film and is responsible for the style of continuity editing used in mainstream cinema today. 

The Lumiére Brothers 

Edwin S Porter 

D.W.Griffith

Summer Task Two

Development of editing technology

Early Editing - Cutting:

In early cinema films were done in one shot therefore there was no editing involved. Cutting soon began to emerge and become fundamental to the filmmaking process. There was a trend between audiences and filmmaker alike for longer and more intricate films but this could only be achieved by editing shots together to create a longer narrative. 

In Georges Méliès (1861–1938) A Trip to the Moon each shot is filmed in a single shot 

for example, creates a narrative by assembling a series of scenes, with each scene filmed in a single shot. The edit points occur between the scenes, in order to link them together.

Life of an American Fireman(1903), directed by Edwin S. Porter(1870–1941), presents the same narrative events—a fireman rescuing a woman from a burning building—as seen first from inside the building and then from camera setups outside the building, repeating the same narrative action. From the standpoint of continuity as it would develop in cinema, this duplication of event was a deviant use of editing, although other early films feature this kind of overlapping action. It demonstrated, however, the manner in which cutting could impose its own laws of time and space on narrative.

Griffith became famous for his use of crosscutting in the many "rides to the rescue" that climax his films. In The Girl and Her Trust(1912), for example, Griffith cuts back and forth from a pair of robbers, who have abducted the heroine and are escaping on a railroad pump car, to the hero, who is attempting to overtake them by train. By intercutting these lines of action, Griffith creates suspense, and by shortening the lengths of the shots, he accelerates the pace. Crosscutting furnished a foundation for narrative in cinema, and there is little structural difference between what Griffith did here and what a later filmmaker such as Steven Spielberg (b. 1946) does in Jaws(1975). Griffith extended his fluid use of continuity editing and crosscutting in his epics The Birth of a Nation(1915) and Intolerance (1916). The latter film is a supreme example of crosscutting, which is here used to tell four stories set in different time periods in simultaneous fashion.

Read more: http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Criticism-Ideology/Editing-THE-DEVELOPMENT-OF-EDITING.html#ixzz5TQ1btQMB

Summer Task Two

How & Why lighting affects camera techniques for moving image:

Lighting has the power to influence and manipulate mood in film. The use of low key lighting has become a mainstream convention of the horror genre to exert a feeling of unease through the use of shadows and contrast. It is almost impossible to watch any horror film without seeing this demonstrated therefore it is clear that this use of lighting is not only much loved by both directors and audiences alike but is also widely successful in achieving its aim of creating an emotional response from its viewers. The amount and direction of light source can also give meaning to the viewer. For instance, as shown in the image (above text) taken from the film Insidious we see a two shot which uses the lantern as its singular source of light therefore demanding the viewers focus to be on the faces of the two people alone and not on the surrounding background of the shot. This is effective because it both manipulates and disorientates the viewer by making it difficult for them to interpret any other details about the scene other than what is expressed by the characters; thus creating a feeling of unease within the audience because of the unknown limits of what is to come. This is a direct contrast to a film that uses natural lighting because then the meaning may change to becoming a form of communication to the audience about the time of day that the scene is taking place which could be of high importance to the overall meaning that the director is trying to convey. Although we can associate certain types of lighting with particular genres it does not however mean that films are restricted with the form of lighting that they use as a combination of a variety of lighting is important to convey the preferred meaning to the viewer. This is reinforced by Blain Brown (2012) in his text "Cinematography Theory and Practice" in which he states "Lighting has nearly infinite permutations and variations. There is certainly no one "right way to light a scene." 

B) Lighting equipment and setups that you would use for the following scenarios:

• A small documentary where portability is paramount
• 
  
• 'Talking Head' style interviews

When conducting an interview it is important to try and capture the interviewee at their most natural and authentic therefore ensuring that they have a brief understanding of how the interview is going to be structured could be useful so they be more at ease as they have an idea of what is to come without having an affect on their answers by allowing them to have a head start on any questions that may be asked of them. 

A suitable background is also essential to communicate information to the viewer about the interviewee that isn't necessarily communicated by them. For instance, if you were conducting an interview with the CEO of a company then a suitable background would be one that is professional and also gives the viewer subliminal information that is relevant to the overall interview. Therefore, in this instance the interview could take place in their office space or a meeting room which would reinforce the professionalism aspect.  

Natural lighting may be used for a 'Talking Heads' style interview as it is the most authentic and flattering lighting for the type of shot. There are a variety of cons that may make filming in natural lighting difficult such as if there are windows behind the subject or in the shot as this may give a reflection of the camera and equipment or the light shining in may create a silhouette which can prove tricky to eliminate. The same may be found if the window is directly in front of the subject as the varying levels of light throughout the day, especially if there appears to be cloud, can cause significant jumps in the level of light which may alter the overall continuity and clarity of the shot. Alternatively, three point lighting would be ideal for this scenario as it is easier to manipulate the light. A three point lighting setup involves a key light as the main source of light facing the subject and a fill light can also be added to balance out the amount of light on one side and a back light makes the subject appear to stand out from the background which makes them the focus of the shot. 

Three Point Lighting Diagram

• Night time shoot 

Use a tripod - a slower shutter speed would be needed to capture an image at night to allow more light in to the lense therefore this increases the risk of camera shake which would be eliminated with the use of a tripod to keep the camera steady at all times and produce a clearer image. 

Night shoot demonstrating the effect of a slow shutter speed

External lighting could also be used to enhance the image as it will make the subject appear more lit which will again be reflected in the clarity of the shot. LED lighting would be ideal for a night time shoot as it would make the subject well lit and paired with reflectors could really increase the quality of the shot. Alternatively, water could be used as a form of reflector and add an interesting aspect to the shot.

4 Hour Film Challenge

Planning

• brief - narrative of a door, match on action
• follows the conventions of horror 
• use of ambient sound to build tension
• walking through doors until the individual reaches the end of the corridor/room
• opening and closing doors 
• equipment - camera & tripod 

Evaluation:

 A strength of our film "Behind The Door" is that we were successful in demonstrating a range of camera and lighting techniques. Some of the shot types we included were medium, close up, canted angle, point of view and long shot. Our range of shot types ensured that we had good match on action throughout the film so each shot transitioned smoothly to the next and it gives the appearance of a real film as it follows the conventions of continuity. 

An element that we struggled with during filming was the lighting because the location that we chose to shoot in was very dark and it had an affect on the overall clarity and effectiveness of some of the shots. For instance the shot where the individual walks up to the first room and looks inside, the use of low key lighting is too dark here therefore we should have used additional lighting such as an LED light to make sure both the subject and room are lit to a suitable level. In spite of this, I do believe that this is also works in our favour because it makes the film appear more disorientating which is a common convention with the horror genre in achieving a reaction from the viewer. Disorientating the viewer means that they are s less likely to be able to guess what it is to come next as it becomes more difficult to keep up with the events that are taking place on screen therefore this adds a scare element. 

In our final shot of the film the individual opens another door and goes in to a room at the end of the corridor and the room is well lit due to the use of natural lighting coming through a large window in the room. This is effective in terms of demonstrating camera and lighting techniques because it gives our film a contrast between the extremes of low key lighting to high key lighting at the end of the film when the film takes a lighter note than what the audience may have expected. 

Contextual Research - Godard: French New Wave

Task: Investigate a New Wave of your choice from a recognised era, critically assessing the impact of their reception. You may focus upon an individual directors work, a range of films from one national New Wave or examine issues of genre

Checklist:
Research on film 1
Research on film 2
Research on film 3
Research on social contexts surrounding your chosen new wave
Essay/Video Essay/Presentation
Bibliography

FRENCH NEW WAVE - GODARD

Film 1: A bout de souffle (Breathless) 1960



Film 2: Pierrot le Fou (1965)



Film 3: Alphaville (1965)