1. Purposes:
For this task we are working in pairs. I will be writing about the purposes
of film editing and some of the conventions and techniques used. Editing
and cutting is used in all films some break the rules for a purpose and
some use too many it looks messy. On this blog I will show the technical
conventions used by editors to connect with the audience.
Storytelling
This is the main purpose of a film I think because the audience has to be
able to understand and follow a film by using some kind of story
sequence. Storytelling gives the film motives, a reason for doing
something. The main motive is to entertain, that's what the audience
want to see. Some movies have a motive but go of track and the film gets
confused so when editing, editors have to make sure everything makes
sense in every edit. When storytelling in obvious in a film it’s usually
because there is a clear message in the film, this is to enlighten the
audience and learn something from this film however small or stupid it is.
Engaging the audience is a key point because in the end they are your
real critics. It appeals to all audiences even though when you think of the
word story you think of children, a plot can be told in so many ways, and
it’s all up to the editor how things are shown and implied to the audience.
For example reality TV shows are all edited to how the editor wants the
audience to see it. Each films motive is aimed at different audiences. A
famous editor called Alfred Hitchcock used his skill in editing to create
suspense in most of his films. This will engage the viewer;Hitchcock’s
films were horror/thriller based which is harder to show a good story
in but good editors can use the technique in whatever genre.
Development of Drama
Drama is a genre that can turned into comedy, horror,thriller,action
basically can be combined with all other genres to develop it. They are
plot driven, this is what holds the film together because the audience
want to know what happens next. Some dramas end of cliff hangers, this
is a technique used to keep the audience guessing after the film. However
most dramas round up at the end but use a lot of suspense and try to
make the audience think. Alfred Hitchcock’s type of editing is good for
dramas because he was known as the master of suspense. One quote
from Hitchcock was 'always make the audience suffer as much as
possible'. Now dramas are back on screens in films and TV series much
more this quote is used again when editors are putting shots together.
It’s a big selling point if people are excited to know what happens.
Trailers give enough for people to want to watch the films, they are a big
part of films and so is the editing for them. This is what gets the audience

2. interested. In most trailers for drama genre the type of suspense to be
expected in the film is shown through the trailer so the audience know
style and techniques are coming. In drama there is a lot that can be
developed; life, settings,characters,plot.. Editors can do all this by the
way they cut shots or spend longer on suspense than the climax. The way
the editors manipulate footage together can determine the intensity of
the clip, also using different camera shots from the same clips can benefit
a film and develop the drama. For editors to do a good job on a drama
one of the main things they have to remember is to develop realistic
characters this is because most films aim to tell an honest human story.
Relationship to genre
When editing a film, they use all different techniques to illustrate and
make the genre clear. The genre of a film is important to show through
first the trailer to target the right audience and get people wanting to see
it and then carrying it on through the film making it stronger. The way
films are edited make people’s emotions stronger and captures the
audience to draw them in. Romance films are quite easy to edit to show
the genre clear because of how editors can make characters seem real
together and make the audience believe everything. It takes a good script
director and editor to really make the audience feel a connection to the
main characters in the film. A lot of mid-shots are used in romance films
to show the body language of the characters towards each other and
make us feel closer to know more connected. They also use close ups so
we can see facial expressions and how the characters are feeling in a
certain scene which in romance films its usually always happy and lustful.
The notebook is a good example of old fashioned film love where things
are always romantic or the complete opposite. The humour in Romance
films is usually just shared between the characters it’s not specifically for
the audience to laugh at more to ‘aww’ at. In this scene from the
notebook we see the romance at its height then they argue and then they
are back in love again. This genre is used to play with the viewer’s
emotions. We see the close up and mid shot in this scene.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=l7xf-oj4X8A
Romantic Comedies are a newer way of showing romance, we see a lot
more funny scenes this is a typical part of the films. They meet fall in love
something happens they break up go out with friends do something
stupid and then get back together. There is usually a sad scene to make
the audience feel emotion for the characters or a certain one too. They
always end emotional weather there happy or sad; in the end it’s just as
soppy as an old school proper romance just with a few more
laughs. Because this is such a popular genre used and people usually
know what’s going to happen at the end editors have to try and make it a
bit different to keep people wanting to want to watch them. In this other
clip of the last scene of a film called The Break Up we see the couple who

3. have been on and off through this rom com and gone through a lot, see
each other again after a long time and they say hi and walk away. This is
a different ending to a film and leaves the viewer after the film to make
up their mind on what they think happened, did they get back together or
not? The scene shots a lot of close ups as we see how the characters look
so happy after bumping into each other again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Lv6KX12Fbs&feature=player_embedded
Creating Motivation
This is important when editing and making a film because the story needs
to have stability and the edit needs to influence and have effect on the
audience. To create a motivation edit you need to make the continuity
look smooth making sure nothing looks jumpy and the position for the
shot must be the same each time unless the angle or anything is meant
to be changed. This is a challenging job for editors to try and show
through the editing what the director and production team wanted to
show. It’s all about keeping the audience interested 'motivated' basically
so they enjoy the film and don't notice the editing, if they do it could
make them distracted and not enjoy the film. Editing together montages
is a good way to create motivation because it can make audiences get a
feel about someone in a quicker amount of time so this can make them
feel like they understand more because you’re letting them know little
things that important. Lots of cuts in a certain scene will create
motivation too, not all the time but if there is a conversation going on
then maybe one person’s face to a mid-shot and a long shot of where
they are back to their faces again rather than having one long shot.
Cutting from one scene to another or one character to another will
persuade how the audience feel they will react positively or negatively to
the film. For example the clip below from the film Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows part 2 shows characters all concentrating on Harry Potter
which persuades the audience to feel scared and anxious for the safety of
Harry Potter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_S2U5v1OWps
It is also important to cut at the correct time to enable the narrative of
the story progress and develop further. DW Griffith introduced narrative
and it is very heavily used in the Harry Potters films because of the
complex story and plots. It is also important to choose the correct pace of
the cut depending of the genre of the film and also particular characters.
For example; a romantic comedy genre film the audience are made to feel
sympathy and emotion for the main character so the cuts of this
character will be slow so that the audience are able to learn more about
them.
Combining Shots into Sequences

4. This is getting loads of shots together that relate and get put together to
explain something, whetherit’s a present shot and then a flashback they
relate and are put into a sequence of shots. If shots aren’t put into a
sequence then it can get confusing and the story becomes confusing and
mixed up and the audience can’t relate or connect to anything. Combining
specific shots into a sequence is done to help create a smooth flowing
scene. Once all the individual shots have been corrected such as colour
correcting so that they all match, they are able to be successfully edited
together to merge one scene.
By picking the right shots the editor is able to help the audience
understand where the sympathy needs to be given. I believe this
technique have been successfully used in the 2008 film Changeling
starring Angelina Jolie; the narrative of this film is based upon a grief
stricken mother who takes upon the LAPD when they stubbornly try to
pass of an obvious impostor as her missing child. The audience are aware
that this impostor isn't her child and the camera shots and
editing techniques fully allow the audience to gain sympathy for Jolie.
http://youtu.be/MgBCnwI_Hq0
A film is just lots of shots combined together to create a final edit and
make it look how the film is intended. Majority of films are shot with the
camera still however others like for example Cloverfiled is shot with a
hand held camera style the shots are still put together in a smooth
sequence but the shots are visibly shaky because of the movement of the
camera. These kind of films I would imagine are harder to cut together to
avoid less shake and jerk than is needed for the audience to still be
interested and be able to watch it.
http://youtu.be/RkFcHUvyJ-k
This scene from Cloverfiled shows exactly how the shots are hard to
combine because it has to look like the camera is just cutting out or being
turned off because it’s meant to be the people just filming continuously.
So in this scene when the camera blacks out this is good editing because
it looks as if the camera is breaking up and the image is being distorted.
There is a lot of close ups a zooms as well this is so we can see facial
expressions and stress the point that the film is using hand held camera.
Creating Pace
When creating pace its usually a slow build up to a big scene. Scenes like
this usually start with a chase scene or running scene then the big climax
happens after the big chase. Pace is usually created using music or slow
camera movement. It keeps the film even and makes sure the audience

5. doesn't feel like they missed anything when it gets to the end. It help to
make sure everything that the audience need to know is included and that
it doesn't get confusing or become pointless because the story gets lost.
It’s used to speed up or slow down a film in certain parts for example if
there is a romance scene or it’s a romance film usually they will slow it
down so the audience can connect and understand and feel part of the
characters relationship. In Disney films the pace starts of slow we get to
know the characters and connect with them, but then there is always a
sad part where the pace speeds up because it’s getting more emotional
and its building up to the big happy ending. Action films are the main
genre for creating pace in though, it’s usually always fast paced it’s shown
through short fast cuts from one to another. Drama films use slower pace
this is for the audience to understand the scene; they use longer shots in
scenes.
http://youtu.be/kYrmlP9MQus
In this scene from the hunger games the shots are all fast paced this is a
tense scene. At the start we see a long shot of Katniss in the tree then as
soon as she sees the fire and starts running the shots are seconds apart
which is a perfect example for fast paced editing. Its key to this scene
because it builds tension for the audience and puts them on edge as soon
as she jumps from the tree.