Editing: blog task

Key terminology for editing:

• Transitions
• Continuity editing
• Montage
• Pace
• Juxtaposition

Continuity editing

Most editing of narrative film is continuity editing.  This is when shots are placed logically so that one event follows on from the next.  We, as the audience, automatically try to make sense of one shot joining the next one.  For example, if we see an exterior shot of a school and the following shot is a classroom, we assume that the classroom is inside the school building we saw in the previous shot.  

Transitions

• A straight cut is the most common method and the audience are so accustomed to seeing these that we rarely notice them when they occur.
• A fade out – the screen fades to black.
• A dissolve - one image blurs into the next.
• A wipe – one part of the screen wipes across the other.
• A jump cut – an unexpected edit where the audience’s attention is forced to focus on something very suddenly.  

Pace

The speed at which the film cuts from one shot to the next makes a huge difference to the experience for the audience.

Generally, slow-paced cuts build tension while fast cuts suggest action and excitement.

Juxtaposition
The word juxtaposition literally means ‘the act of placing together side by side’.


In film, two shots may be placed together to create meaning for the audience. E.g. A shot of the hero may be followed by a shot of his love interest to link these in the audience’s mind. This may also take the form of an eye-line match where a character looks in a certain direction and the next shot cuts to whatever they are looking at.

Montage

A montage sequence involves shots being placed next to each other that do not necessarily convey a linear narrative.  Instead, the shots tend to convey a message, provide an overall impression or shorten a story that takes place over a much longer period time.  For example, a sequence that included consecutive shots of a school building, classrooms, students playing football and teachers in the staff room may be aiming to give an overall impression of school life. 

In film, two shots may be placed together to create meaning for the audience. E.g. A shot of the hero may be followed by a shot of his love interest to link these in the audience’s mind. This may also take the form of an eyeline match where a character looks in a certain direction and the next shot cuts to whatever they are looking at.

This clip from Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" has been edited so beautifully that it inspired me as the audience to learn more about space. The juxtaposition in the clip show's how chaotic it is at the front and it makes the audience tense because they feel like the ship could rip apart at any moment. However, at the back, it intrigues the audience because it was both beautiful and ominous how she was touching something or someone from another side of the wormhole. Also,  the pace of the adventure through the wormhole increases as it increases tension. When they enter the wormhole, the alarms go off straight away which show's how dangerous it is inside the wormhole and it makes the audience worried that the main characters may be in danger. There was also continuity editing because it gives the audience an understanding that they are now travelling through a wormhole and that they were heading towards it from the beginning, if there was no continuity editing, then the audience would have been confused about where they were in the middle of the clip and it would also throw off the atmosphere of the situation. There aren't any distinctive transitions that I can recognise but there were many cuts that weren't exactly a straight cut or a jump cut but they just showed what the crew were looking at and what they were doing. There was action cut when the crew entered the wormhole to show the audience how they reacted to entering the wormhole. They also did this to get back to the main characters because it would have been a bit boring to see a clip of a ship passing through a wormhole without it going back to the characters. The clip has also been edited so that it can create a story for the audience, if it was not in chronological order, it would be boring and confusing. This clip also showed the exterior of the ship so the audience can see how the ship looks before it enters the wormhole. The clip also shows the exterior of the ship so it can have a montage-like effect so the audience can see how the ship looks like if they are curious about it. The clip also has lots of eye line cuts so  the audience can see what the protagonists are looking at and it shows the audience that the characters are fascinated and curious about the wormhole, especially when the girl first looks at where the wormhole has overlapped with the person on the other side and she touches their hand. It shows how intrigued she was and how she really wanted to communicate with the person even if it may mean danger to her or her crew members. The clip also has many cinematic shots of outer space and the wormhole so the audience can observe it through the eyes of the crew members. There is also a juxtaposition between the cinematic clip of the wormhole and the atmosphere within the ship which is somewhat calm until they enter the wormhole, one of the crew member also says "there's nothing you can do now" which means the pilot cannot move the ship in any way because it is disabled which adds a feeling of tension to the clip because if they pilot can't move the ship, it makes the audience worried that something might happen and the protagonists may be in grave danger. The