speed/style of editing

1. Speed/style of
editing
By Viktorija Petronaviciute

2. Editing is the process of looking at
all the footage shot during the
making of a film or a TV
programme and placing it in the
desired order by joining it
together with transitions etc. by
using editing programmes
• There are 2 key areas to
concentrate on with editing
1. Speed of editing – how long
does each shot last?
2. Style of editing – how is each
shot joined to the next?
What is editing?

3. Speed of editing
In a film each scene may last a matter
of seconds, or it could continue for
minutes but the length of each
sequence establishes the pace of the
film moving the action along.
The speed of editing will help to
determine the mood of what is taking
place on the screen.

4. If the audience is to
feel anxiety and
suspense the
editing will be quick
– the scenes/shots
changing
frequently. For
example in an
action sequence in
a film such as ‘The
Bourne Ultimatum’.
If a relaxed mood is desired by the
director/editor of the film, the scenes
then last longer and change less
frequently. For example in a romantic
comedy such as ‘Sleepless in Seattle’.

5. Does a film really need editing?
Nethertheless a film does not
necessarily need any editing. The
film ‘Russian Ark’ was filmed in
one take by using a steadicam
and a digital camera. However,
this required split-second timing
and organisation which is often
very difficult to accomplish.
Fast editing
A trailer for a film need to pack
in detail from throughout the
film. Therefore editing will be
very fast. The trailer for ‘The
Man in the Iron Mask’ is an
example of this as it includes
156 number of edits in just the
trailer
‘Russian Ark’ trailer ‘The Man in the Iron Mask’ trailer

6. • How shots are linked together in a film
• The movement from one shot to the next is called a transition
 The most common and “invisible” form of transition is the straight cut
One shot moves instantaneously to the next without attracting the
audience’s attention
Straight cuts help retain reality. They do not break the viewers
suspension of disbelief
o Fades are another form of transitions where there is a gradual
darkening or lightening of an image until it becomes black or white
o One shot will fade until only a black or white screen can be seen.
Fades are used to:
o Indicate the end of a particular section of time within the narrative
o Can also sometimes show the passing of time
Style of editing

7. ‘Wipes’ are where one imagine is pushed off the screen by another
Images can be pushed left or right
It is common for the imagine to be pushed off the left-hand side as this
movement is more consistent with the sense of time moving forward.
It is used to signal a movement between different locations that are
experiencing the same time
 ‘Jump cuts’ are transitions which
bring the audiences attention into
focus
 This occurs by breaking the
continuity editing
 This is known as
discontinuity
 It appears as if a
section of the sequence
has been removed