Film Topics: Editing

1. Film Topics: Editing Mr. Skaar ALHS Film Studies

2. Introduction • Physically, editing is joining one strip of film (shot) with another • Shots are joined into scenes. • Editing connects one shot with another, one scene with another. • Editing is the “Syntax” of cinema.

3. Topics of Discussion • Continuity • D.W. Griffith and Classical Cutting • Soviet Montage and the Formalist Tradition • Andre Bazin and the Tradition of Realism • Hitchcock’s North by Northwest: Storyboard Version

4. Continuity • Early film one long shot with a single take • Cutting to Continuity: Preservation of the fluidity of an event without literally showing all of it. • Establishing Shot • Jump Cut • Reestablishing Shot

5. D.W. Griffith and Classical Cutting Classical Cutting: Editing for dramatic intensity and emotional emphasis rather than for purely physical reasons • Use of long, medium, and close-up shots • Reaction Shot • Opposed to Master Shot or Sequence Shot

6. D.W. Griffith and Classical Cutting Classical Cutting: Terms • First Cut • Final Cut • Cover Shots • 180 Degree Rule • Reverse Angle • Parallel Editing (Cross-Cutting) • Flash-Back, Flash-Forward

7. Soviet Montage and the Formalist Tradition Montage: The theoretical premises for thematic editing (Sergei Eisenstein) • Psychological theories of Pavlov • Use of cutting for symbolic purposes • Expressionism • Reflects dialectical tension • Manipulative

8. Andre Bazin and the Tradition of Realism Realism: The belief that film presents its own interpretation • Personalism: The viewer should provide their own interpretation • Devices • Deep-Focus • Widescreen • Synchronized Sound • Sequence Shot

9. Hitchcock’s Storyboard Method • Every scene preplanned with detailed drawings • Film maker (editor) films and composes the film from those shots as a composer of music. • Nothing left to chance.

10. Additional Terms