Editing

 The way in which a film is assembled and edited within the post-production phase can have an immense impact on the film itself and what it communicates to audiences.

Order of Shots

The order of footage within a sequence can work to change the meaning of the piece. 

Some theories regarding this concept are:

Soviet Montage Theory- this theory states that the placement of separate shots within a series has the power to create ideas and meaning. (Montage: the assembling of different pieces of film).

The Kuleshov Effect- this is a concept within film created by Lev Kuleshov in the 1920s. It states and explores the idea that the placement of one shot next to another can re-contextualise and create a new idea in comparison to the original. 

Transitions

A transition refers to going from one shot to another. Some of the basic transitions of film are:

Cut- Being the most popular transition, cutting is simply replacing one shot with the next. Another type of cutting transition is called Cross Cutting; this is when two scenes are taking place at the same time, so cross cutting is used to flip between the two scenes by editing together shots from the two scenes one after the other.

Fade- A shot will fade to black as the proceeding shot emerges. This transition is most commonly used to show the passing of time and is often used at the end of a piece when the final shot fades to black. It can also be used to show someone falling asleep or losing consciousness, with the scenes fading to black for a few seconds then the next shot emerging to show the character waking up.

Dissolve/Cross Fade- This is when a preceding shot merges into the following shot, having the two shots briefly superimposed (overlaying each other). This transition can be used to connect and compare two scenes or characters or can also be used to represent a character having a flashback (recalling an event).

Wipe- This being a transitioned that is very rarely used in modern film-making, the wipe is when one image is revealed over another either vertically, horizontally or even diagonally. Its lack of use within the industry comes from it being interpreted as having a cheap or tacky look but for these reasons it can be put to good use in comedy movies; used ironically.

Pace and Rhythm

This refers to how the duration of individual shots can impact whether a sequence feels faster or slower, frantic or calm.

Short shot duration can convey action and urgency, perhaps used in a chase sequence. Whereas long shot duration creates a more slower paced sequence and can build the tension and intensity of a scene, we could be waiting for something to happen or for something to be revealed in the proceeding shot. Long shot duration allows an audience to focus in on characters facial expressions and pay more attention to the background of the scene or any other elements of mise-en-scene which could communicate a message. 

Continuity

When cutting together shots, there needs to be both a cinematic and narrative consistency between all of the shots within the sequence in order to create a sense of realism about the piece. This is known as continuity. If there is a change in character or object position within a scene, there needs to be a shot showing this movement happening on screen. If not, the unexplained movement will break the continuity of the piece and perhaps cause an audience to dwell on production errors. 

There are certain specific rules and techniques regarding continuity within media:

Cross Cutting- this is a editing technique which involves cutting back and forth between two or more scenes that are happening simultaneously (cutting together shots of footage of the different cameras recording the different scenes). 

Match on Action- this rule states that, when an editor is editing together a sequence of an action, the different view shot that they cut to must match the action seen in the preceding shot. For example, a character throwing a brick through a window; a shot will show the character throwing the brick, the next shot must show the brick smashing the window.

Eye-Line Match- This rule refers to the direction in which a character is looking. If the proceeding shot doesn't follow the direction in which a character is looking in the first shot, continuity is broken. 

Establishing Shot- This shot is often in the form of a long shot or an extreme long shot and is used to show where a scene is set, if the next shot in the sequence doesn't match or resemble the location shown in the establishing shot, continuity is broken.

180° Rule- In a scene where two characters a face-to-face (or a character is facing an object), the camera must remain on one side for the entire interaction. If the camera is suddenly positioned on the opposite side the characters will have looked like they swapped places, therefore breaking the continuity.