Essay

1. Introduction
In this essay I willcritically assess the early developmentand the
purposesof film editing, includingevidenceand examplesto support
my opinions. I will begin by researching early developmentand
pioneersinvolved in the developmentof film. I will then includethe
purposesof editing and why it is importantfor the audienceto have a
clear understandingof whatis happening.
What is film editing?
Editing is a process involved the post-production partof filmmaking
and could be argued to be the most importantand crucial part of the
process as a whole. Editinginvolvesselecting appropriateshots and
then combining those shots together to makea finished productwith
a story line. Editing is very importantas it needsto be doneso it is
actually unnoticeableto the audiencewhen they are watching, the
objective is to make the story line so engaging and captivating that
the viewer isn’t focusingon each cut, that they are focusingfully on
the story line itself. Early filmmakingdid nothave the same
techniques and editing as wedo now, early films, most of the time,
fast consisted fully of one continuous shot. An exampleof this type
of edit is The LumiereBrotherswho
created a short film of one continuous
shot of workersleaving a factory in 1895.
The reasonswhy early filmmakerswhere
restricted to makebetter films was
generally because of technology. At the
time of early filmmaking, the camera that
were used wherebig and had large film
reels connected to them in order to catch
what was happeningwithin the film. This caused filmmakersto be
limited in termsof what they could actually shoot and how much
they could shoot as well. After the actual making of the film, the
editing processhad to be donewhich wasvery differentto how
editing is donenow. In early film editing, it was known as analogue
editing it wasdoneby hand which meantit took and consumed alot
of time, the processinvolved waspausingthe cameraand movingit
to the next shot, further on through the years, a technique called
‘splicing’ was introduced. Splicing wasthe technique were the
editor had to physically cut the film reel and putit back together to
make a shot, which was stereotypically seen as a woman’sjobas it

2. was seen as ‘sewing’. Now, editing is digital and is created by using
modern computersand progammes. Thismeansthat the editor is
fully relied on, for everything, to create the final product. Peoplelike
The LumiereBrothersand Thomas Edison helped the development
of editing as they both invented things to allow film to be developed.
The LumiereBrothersinvented the Cinematographe, which wasa
projector that allowed the film to be shown on walls for peopleto
see. Also, Thomas Edison invented the first motion picture
Kinetoscope, which allowed peopleto see movingimages for the
first time and for these inventions, they became pioneersin the
developmentof film editing. Both of these pioneerswerecrucial and
importantpeoplein the early daysof filmingand editing as their
inventionsactually allowed their work to be watched by an audience,
which most definitely played an importantpartin the development
of editing.
Robert W. Paulcreated another step in the developmentof early film
editing with his Theatograph, which allowed picturesto project
onto a screen as the useof his Theatograph allowed developmentin
cinemas and he started to establish continuity. Continuity editing is
the predominantstyleof film editing and video editing in the post-
production processof filmmakingof narrativefilmsand television
programs. The purposeof continuity editing is to smooth over the
inherent discontinuity of the editing processand to establish a logical
coherence between shots. Also, Robert Paul’s film ‘Come Along, Do’in
1898 wasoneof the first films to feature morethan shot. Editorscan
now break the ruleswhen editing and makesure it looks normal. For

3. example, In CameraEditing is now used to gain time back when
editing. In Camera Editing, is recordingall the scenes in chronological
order so that when it comes to editing, you already have all the
scenes in the correct order, you justneed to putthem all together to
create a final product. Also, RobertW. Paul’s film ‘Come Along, Do’
was an importantfilm for using ‘shot variation’. Shot variationis the
distance between the actor and the camera; for example, a close up
shot is wherethe camera is
just focusingon the face. In
this case, this film used long
and wide shots; the impact
on the audiencefrom this is
that the narrativewas
further developed. A couple
exampleswho have both
used In CameraEditing are
Alfred Hitchcock used the
technique, particularly in Rope. Jean-LucGodard also madeuse of it
in his film Breathless. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-
camera_editing). The main strength of ‘In CameraEditing’ is that
when it comes to editing the footage, it will save time as they scenes
are already in order for you, all that needsto be doneis putting them
together to create a final product. A limitation of this technique was
that it took longer to actually shoot the film as it had to all be donein
order, but this time could be got back when it comes to the editing
process.
Development
In the early daysof editing, it was very differentto how editing is
now and shot variationwas rarely used as the technology used in
early daysof film caused peopleto be limited in termsof what they
could film. This limited the narrativealso because it was just
constantly one variation of a shot, this could also mean that the
audiencecould fully be engaged in the film. Also, following the
actionwas more difficultto do, as they never
had the equipmentto follow the action and
movementmadeby the actors. Nowadays
there will be morethan onecamera at
differentangles to record and catch the action
scene from differentangles, whereas in early
film editingthey may have only had one

4. camera that had to stay in same place. Some early filmswhere a
crucial part in developingfilm editing. In this section, I will give
examplesand discusssome films that helped to develop film editing.
‘ComeAlong, Do!’was importantin film editing developmentbecause
it wasone of the earliest multi shot fiction films. It is a two shot film
shot entirely on a constructed set and is thought to have been joined
by a simpleslice. The impact of this was that it wasthe beginning of
films havingmore than one shot, which wasstarting to make the
narrativeand the story line in general more entertainingfor the
audience. This meantthat any films being madein the futurewould
use two shots rather than justone, which again, created a better and
moreentertaining narrativefor the audience. ‘The Great Train
Robbery’was importantin film editing developmentbecause the film
used simpleediting techniques whereeach scene is a single shot and
the story is mostly linear, being one of the first narrative movies.
Linear meansthat there was a clear story line that was shot and then
shown in chorological order rather than havingno order which
meant there was no storyline, as directors started shooting in a linear
fashion, it lead to films improvingasthere was a clear and direct
storylineand narrative that the audiencecould understand without
getting confused or bored. This film also caused an effect on the
audienceas in the film, the final shot of a gun being fired toward the
camera; the audiencethought they wereactually going to be shot.
The film ‘The Big Swallow’directed by JamesWilliamson in 1901 is
importantfor the developmentof film editing as it has imaginative
use of an extreme close up of a man advancingtowardsthe camera,
in perfectfocus untilthis mouth appearsto swallow the lens. It then
cuts to the photographer who is apparently disappearinginto a black
hole, the effect of this is that it makes the audiencefeel scared and it
involvesthe audienceas it makes it seems like he is going to swallow
the audienceas it mouthgets closer to the screen. This wascrucial
for the developmentof editing as it showed that directors and editors
to experimentwith shot variation and effects, to again, create a more
interesting storylineand to evokeemotion outof the audiencewho is
watching, in this case, a senseof being scared and feeling intense as
you feel as though you’regoingto be swallowed. ‘The Jazz Singer’
was the first feature-length movie audible dialogue. This was a
crucial film to help the developmentasit meant that it was possible
to have sound and musicin a film, which lead to no more silent
movies. It wasalso the first film musical. This moviewas the decline
of the silent film era. Each of these developmentsin differentyears,

5. caused films to be constantly improved becauseinventionswere
alwaysbeing madeand improved.
Purposes
The purpose of editing is purely to create the story line in the film,
which will then engage the audienceand will create emotion and
meaningwithin the film. Engaging the audienceis a crucial part of
editing as if you don’tengage the audience, then they will find the
movieboring and will not watch to watch it. One way of engaging the
audienceis using pace and exciting scenes, often seen in actions films
to keep the audiencecaptivated and wanting to continuewatching.
An example of this is Mission Impossible – RogueNation directed by
Christopher McQuarriein 2015, when Tom Cruiseis drivingthe car
and sees the girl on the motorbike and chases her. The scene cuts
from the girl on the motorbike
to the car all the time to keep
the audienceentertained on
what is happening. It then cuts
to the top of the stairs where
you are shown a group of
peopleon motorbikesand it
cuts to a pointof view shot of
someoneon the motorbike so it is keeping the audienceinvolved in
the film. Filmmakerswill use very fast cuts to engage the audience,
and make them sit on the edge of their seat almost because how
captivated in the storyline they are. A limitation of usingvery fast
cuts is that if the cuts are to quick, it can make the audiencefeel
confused and uninterested, asthere is too much happeningat once.
Another way to engage the audienceis using action and/or
movementscenes, like fight scenes. For example, in Twilight
BreakingDawn Part2, in the final fight scene with the Cullensand
their witnesses against the Volturi. Assoon as Carlisle was
announced to be dead, the Cullen family began runningto the Volturi
and that’s when the fighting begins. The camera then cuts to the
vampireswith a straightforward shot, running, almosttowardsthe
camera, again engaging and involvingthe audienceto keep them
wantingto watch. It then cuts to a high angle establishing shot to
allow the audienceto see everything that is happening, but, also to
create tension because in this particular scene, you can see the two
groupsof people, the Cullen’sare outnumbered by the Volturi which
is clear to see because of this shot, also, you can see how the Volturi

6. are all stood, which is in a line, almost creating a barrier to stop the
Cullensgetting through. The purposeof this is to engage the audience
and evokeemotion as it is almost predicting the futurebecause the
Cullen’sare outnumbered and you wouldnaturally think that the
Volturi will win the fight, but it makes the audiencewantto carry on
watching so they can see what happens. Also, close upsare extremely
importantto evoke emotion and allow the audienceto fully
understand exactly how the character is feeling, for example, in
Twilight BreakingDawn Part2, Aro, the leader of the Volturi can see
your thoughts through holdingyour hand, so Alice gives him her
hand so he can see what she is thinking, duringthis, is crossingover
between them using
close upsshots on their
face to show the
expression and to tell the
audiencehow they’re
feeling.
Another way to engage
the audienceis using
sound and music in
films. This is often used in horror films when the killer is somewhere
nearby and it cuts to the person who is most likely the victim and will
continuously cutto somewhere else, for example, outside, another
room to create tension but also it will have sound effectsand music
to create further tension. An exampleof a film is ‘Scream’ directed by
WesCraven in 1996. Also, ‘Scream’usesa technique called
motivatededit. Motivatededit is where it is showing the audience
something and then cuts to something completely differentbut fits in
with the story. For example, in ‘Scream’ it is showingthe character
next to some doors, it then cuts to a swing outsidewhich is moving,
clearly telling the audiencethat something is out there. This causes
the audienceto be scared and aware of what is about to happen.
Story telling is a crucial part in engaging the audienceas it causes a
sense of sympathy, empathy and general emotion for the audience.
This can engage the audienceas they could relate to the characters,
or the storylineor justfeel involved. An exampleof this is ‘A Little Bit
Of Heaven’, where Cameron Diaz who playsthe character of Marley
Corbett. The story line is when a youngwoman useshumor to
preventmatters from getting series but then has a life-changing visit
with her doctor where she findsoutshe has terminal cancer. It cuts
to WhoopiGoldberg who playsGod and asks Marley to make 3
wishes. This is already captivating the audiencebecause almost

7. everyonehas lost somebody to cancer so the audiencecan relate to
this film. Two of the wishes are revealed early on the film but the
third isn’t provided untilnear the end when Marley realizes herself
that her final wish was to fall in love which is what she did before she
passed away. The film then endswith her funeral. The editor
specifically providedand withheld informationin terms of the
three wishes to keep the audiencewantingto continuewatching as
they want to know her final wish and if it will come true.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Little_Bit_of_Heaven_(2011_film)
Films also use manipulationof diegetic time and space, This is
where, in a film, the editor changes the speed of which the film goes
to show the audiencea long period of time into a relatively short
time. Films use this to skip through hours, daysor even months. A
good exampleof this would bethe new version of ‘The Karate Kid’.
Through the time he learnsto train, it speedsup to make it last about
15 minutes, when it would havelasted daysor even weeks. As it lets
the audienceknow it’s been a longperiod of time, it also allowsthe
director and editor to add morefootage into the film as it’s shortened
down what would havebeen a long piece of film, showing the
days/weeksof training day by day.
https://ashleighevers.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/manipulation-
of-diegetic-time-and-space/
Furthermore, a film exampleof elliptical editingis Batman Begins. In
this film, there is a scene wherea man is on a journey somewhere
and although it would originally take hours to arrive at the
destination he is walking towards, it transformsinto oneand a half
minutes. It uses shot variation and close upsand showshim walking
but will the cut to another shot where he has progressed in his
journey or he has arrived somewhereelse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpJGC13TG6k

8. Conventions and techniques of editing.
This partof the essay, I will be discussingthe techniques that are
used in filmsand TV shows to create a narrativeand a story line and
it makeit looks aesthetically pleasing for the audienceto watch.
Continuity Editing – Continuity of editing is the predominantstyle
of film editing and video editing in the post-production processof
filmmakingof narrativefilmsand television programs. For example,
the film Twilight, when the vampiresare running, itshows the scenes
from differentangles but keepingthe scene continuous, this is
achieved by linkingall the differentshots together so it creates a
seamless outcome. It should be that the audiencedoesn’t think about
what is happeningand is justconcentrating on the scene, which is
importantso that the audiencedoes notget confused when watching.
The purposeof continuity editingis too smooth over the inherent
discontinuity of the editing processand to create coherence between
shots.
Motivated- A motivated edit is when the scene cuts to another scene
or object that was notin the previousscience. Can be used in horror
films, for exampleScream, it shows the phoneand then does a
upwardspan up to the character when she is on the phoneand the
camera is facing her and the doorsare behind, then the next shot is
the swingin the garden slowly swinging, suggesting someoneis out
there which drawsthe audiencein and will makethem wantingto
continuewatching. This technique can be used in horror filmsto
increase tension.
Montage - This technique is used in film editing in which a series of
short shots are editing into a sequence to condensespace, time and
information. For example, Dirty Dancingusesthis technique to show
the woman’simprovement in dancingusingonly a few shots. This
technique is used to condensespace, time and information so the
viewer doesn’t get bored and they
constantly intrigued in the film.
Montagesalso inform the audience.
Russian montage/Soviet montage is an
approachto understandingand creating
cinema that relies heavily upon editing.
One main characteristic of Soviet

9. Montagefilms is the downplayingof individualcharacters in the
center of attention. For example, In Eisenstein's film Strike there is
only onecharacter named individually in the entire film. Also, the
main purposeof Hollywood montageis so reducetime and space,
particularly in filmssuch as Dirty Dancing and Pretty Woman.
http://cinetext.philo.at/reports/sv.html
Jump Cutting - A jump cutis an example of the elliptical style of
editing where oneshot seems to be abruptly interrupted. The
background willchange while the
individualsstay the same. For example,
in the film RoyalTenenbaumswhen the
actor is cutting his hair, it uses very
short clips rather than long shots. Jump
Cuttingis used to show disorientation or
state of mind of a character. Jump
cutting is used in this film is to show the processof his appearancein
quicker times.
Parallel Editing/ Cross Cutting -Parallel editing is a technique used
to portray multiplelines of action, occurringin differentplaces,
simultaneously. A cross cut is where two scenes are intercutwhich
are happeningat the same time but then
join together at the end. A film example
is Inception directed by Christopher
Nolan in 2010, to show someonein a
hotel rushing, but then another scene of
a car chase but both of the scenes link in
some way. Parallel editing is used to add
interest and excitement to an otherwise
boring sequence. Parallel editing is often applied to create suspense.
180-degree rule - The 180-degreerule is a basic guidelineregarding
the on-screen spatial relationship between a character and another
character or object within a scene. The 180-degreeruleis used so
that the viewer doesn’t get confused when watching. The only time
you can cross the lineis if you show it on camera to the viewer. A film
exampleis Mad MaxFury Road, duringafight scene, an actor on a
motorbike is flyingthrough the air on the left side, it then cuts to Max

10. who is shooting at the person on the motorbike lookingto his left so
it constantly stays on the left side.
Splicing - Splicing is the cutting and then joining of two bits of film.
Stereotypically in the early daysof editing when an editor would
physically cut the film reel and stick it back together.
Transitions - A transition can be used to suit the mood of the film
narrative. Transitions can be used to invokeemotions. Examplesof
transitions are fade, dissolveand wipe. Transitions are used to cut
between shots but havingan effect in between.
Cutaways - Cutaway shot is the interruption of a continuously filmed
action by inserting a view of something else. A film exampleis The
Godfather when Michael is telling Kay about his father’s relationship
with singer Johnny Fontaine. It happensright after Michael says,
“That’s a true story.” Cutaway shots are used in dramatic filmsto
adjustthe pace of the main action, to conceal the deletion of some
unwanted partof the main shot, or to allow the joining of partsof two
versionsof that shot. The effect of this on the audienceis that is
makes the viewer confused and intrigued of what is going to happen.
Point of view shot - A camera shot which shows the viewpointfrom
a particular subject. Usually from the characters pointof view. A film
exampleis Twilight
BreakingDawn Part2,
when Bella wakes up as a
vampire; her eyesight is
much better so it shows
you what she can see.
Point of view shots can
be used to involvethe
viewer as it can be as though the viewer is also lookingat what the
character is looking at. The impact of this on the audienceis that
Bella has always wanted to be a vampiresinceshe met Edward so
she could liveforever with him, and the fact that once she has turned
into a vampireand wecan see everythingshe is seeing for the first
time, it invokesemotion as she will be finally be what she always
wanted. Also, a pointof view shot wasimportantin this particular
scene as once Bella wakes up as a vampire, she is seeing herself as a
completely differentperson and by using a pointof view shot here,

11. we can also see that which engages the audienceto keep them
involved.
Shot reverse shot - Shot Reverse Shot is where onecharacter is
shown looking at another character and then the other character is
shown looking back at the first character. Since the characters are
shown facing in oppositedirections, the viewer assumesthat they are
looking at each other. A film exampleis The Hunger Gameswhen
Peter and Katniss are talking and it shows you them both. In the
scene, Katniss enters Peter’s room as he is looking outthe window
and begins talking to him and it alwayscuts to show you either Peter
or Katniss when either of them is talking. So, when Katniss is talking,
the camera is showing her and then when Peter is talking it will show
him. Shot reverseshot is used to show peopletalking so you can see
both peopletalking rather than just one.
Editing rhythm - Pace of the edit. Long takes are simply shots that
extend for a long period of time beforecutting to the next shot.
Quick cuts are used to heighten dramaand speed. Long takes can be
used to build suspenseor capturethe attention of the audience
without breaking their concentration by cutting the film and quick
cuts are used to heighten dramaand speed. A film exampleis
Twilight BreakingDawn Part2, duringthe finalfight scene; the cut
are very quick to show the differentpartsof the fight and shows you
everythingthat is happeningby using quick cuts.
Multiple points of view - Multiplepointsof view are where
something is happeningin a scene
involvingmultiplecharacters. We will see
what is happeningwith onecharacter and
then the camera will cut to another
character followed by another character if
there is another and so on. It shows a
scene from the pointof view of all the
characters involved. An exampleof multiplepoints of view is in Iron
Man, directed by Jon Favreau in 2008; it constantly cuts between
each character and their pointof view.
Cutting to soundtrack - Cuttingto soundtrack is when the pace of
the cuts are motivated by how fast
the song is. This technique can

12. invokeemotion but also excite the viewer dependingon the pace of
the shots and the song. Also, this technique is particularly used in
musicvideos. For example, One Direction – Drag MeDown.
Also, a film example is Taken, duringthe car chase scene, when Liam
Neeson’s character is chasing someoneinvolved in the kidnappingof
his daughter; the musicdramatically changes to a moreintense
sound which linksin with the action happeningon screen. The faster
the action, the faster the music. This has a huge impacton the
audienceas it invokesemotion dependingon the pace and speed of
the musicand makes the film more captivating and intriguing.
Conclusion
From my perspective, I think editing is the most importantand
crucial process of making a film/TV show. The reason I think this is
because you could give two differenteditorsthe same shots and
takes and they would both come outwith a differentfinalproduct
because they have their differentperspectiveson things and how
they would like to see it if it wasthem watching the film. So, I think
editing is the most importantas, the edit, is the final thing that the
audiencewill see. However, the post-production processof making a
film/TV show is also extremely importantas that takes up to 70% of
the makingof the whole project. The post-production includesthings
like writing the script, camera techniques, and camera angles, how
things should look on the screen. Also, another very importantfactor
for the making of a film/TV show is the music/and/or sound effects
because without music or sound effects, there would hardly be any
emotion, excitement or intensity and the audiencewould justfeel
bored and not want to continuewatching.
Editorsare debated whether they are artists or storytellers, from my
personalopinion, Ibelieve they are both. Editorsare artists because
generally, artists start with nothing but a plan, editors start with
nothing but clips and a vision, artists then create a final productfrom
their vision for an audienceto see and that is exactly what editors do,
editors start with clips and then create a final product, usually film or
TV programmefor an audienceto see. However, I can also see and
understand why peoplecalleditors story tellers, this is because
although the story is already in frontof them in clip form, they have
to then choose the appropriateclips and everythingin-between. If
you gave three differenteditors the same clips, there would be three
completely differentoutcomesand that is because each editor sees

13. things differently and creates a story with the clips they are given. So,
I believe editorsare artists and storytellers and are the most
importantin terms of creating a project.