A montage is a film editing technique. There are three senses of the term:
French film
Soviet Filmmaking
Montage Sequence
Soviet montage theory is an approach to understanding and creating cinema that relies heavily upon editing. An example of a Soviet montage is from the film 'Battleship Potemkin' the 'Odessa's steps' sequence. A montage sequence is a series of shots which are then edited into a sequence. It is normally used to advance the story. Sometimes a song will play in the background to enhance the mood. An example of this can be seen in the 1968 film '2001: A Space Odyssey'.
Vsevolod Pudovkin has said that the editing process is the one phase of production that is truly unique to motion pictures. Edward Dmytryk 'rules of cutting' that good editors should follow.
Rule 1: Never make a cut without a good reason for it.
Rule 2: If undecided about the exact frame to cut on, cut longer rather than short
Rule 3: Try to cut in 'movement'.
Rule 4: The 'fresh' is preferable to the 'stale'.
Rule 5: All scenes should begin and end with continuing action.
Rule 6: Cut for proper values rather than proper 'matches'.
Rule 7: Substance first, then form.
When it comes down to film editing, there are six main points on how to decide on where to cut. This is according to Walter Murch. These are in order of their importance.
Emotion (51%) Is the cut that is being shown reflecting the characters emotion and making the audience feel how the character is feeling.
Story (23%) Does the cut advance the story?
Rhythm (10%) Does the cut occur at a moment that is interesting.
Eye trace (7%) Does the cut pay respect to the movement of the audience's focus of interest within the frame.
Two-dimensional plane of the screen (5%) Does the cut respect the 180 degree rule?
Three-dimensional space of action (4%) Is the cut true to the physical/spatial relationships?
Thursday 20 October 2011
Tuesday 18 October 2011
How Editing Manipulates Time
There are 3 different ways in which editing can manipulate time.
Time is expanded: This is where it is slower than real-time. For example you might have a fight sequence in a film that is shown in slow motion. This is just like a scene from 'Lock, Stock Poker Game' where the characters are seen drinking and generally having a good time. It can also be shown from different angles. A sequence like this that only took a few seconds in real time might take at least half a minute on video.
Real Time- This is where the time in the video is exactly the same as the time it was recorded in. An example of this is also in the film 'Lock, Stock Poker Game'. It shows a walk through of the scene without the recording being interrupted.
Time is Compressed: This is the more common way in which editing can manipulate time. Most feature films use this so that stories can be set over weeks, months, years etc. It still fits within a few hours of film time. An example of this can be seen when looking at the video compressed time 'Vancouver City'. You can see the city go from day to night.
Time is expanded: This is where it is slower than real-time. For example you might have a fight sequence in a film that is shown in slow motion. This is just like a scene from 'Lock, Stock Poker Game' where the characters are seen drinking and generally having a good time. It can also be shown from different angles. A sequence like this that only took a few seconds in real time might take at least half a minute on video.
Real Time- This is where the time in the video is exactly the same as the time it was recorded in. An example of this is also in the film 'Lock, Stock Poker Game'. It shows a walk through of the scene without the recording being interrupted.
Time is Compressed: This is the more common way in which editing can manipulate time. Most feature films use this so that stories can be set over weeks, months, years etc. It still fits within a few hours of film time. An example of this can be seen when looking at the video compressed time 'Vancouver City'. You can see the city go from day to night.
Transition Types
There are many different types of transitions that are used within films. A film transition is used in the post-production process of film editing and video editing, where scenes or shots are combined. The first transition that can be used is shot. A shot transition is the most basic. It is the easiest way to join two shots. Because of this, the film does not need any special processes to perform a cut. Here are the different types of cuts:
Jump cut- A jump cut is normally a continuity error that the director has noticed but cannot do anything about it. This kind of cut occurs when a cut is designed to act as a camera angle change and reveals a continuity error between the two shots. An example of a jump cut can be seen from the movie 'A Space Odyssey' when a monkey throws a bone in the air. When the bone is coming back down, it is suddenly cut to a completely different scene with a spaceship.
Another transition type is cross-cutting. This is where in a film it is shown that action is happening at the same time but in two different locations. The camera will cut away from one action to another. An example of cross-cutting can be seen in the film 'Apocalypse Now' where helicopters are seen heading to a location and then it is cut to the location where people are seen panicking. L Cut is another transition type that is used. It is also known as a split edit. For example, an L Cut is where you can hear a character talking but there are not on screen yet.
Another transition type is a wipe cut. This is where one shot replaces another. These are used in films such as Stars Wars where it is wiped to a different location.
Jump cut- A jump cut is normally a continuity error that the director has noticed but cannot do anything about it. This kind of cut occurs when a cut is designed to act as a camera angle change and reveals a continuity error between the two shots. An example of a jump cut can be seen from the movie 'A Space Odyssey' when a monkey throws a bone in the air. When the bone is coming back down, it is suddenly cut to a completely different scene with a spaceship.
Another transition type is cross-cutting. This is where in a film it is shown that action is happening at the same time but in two different locations. The camera will cut away from one action to another. An example of cross-cutting can be seen in the film 'Apocalypse Now' where helicopters are seen heading to a location and then it is cut to the location where people are seen panicking. L Cut is another transition type that is used. It is also known as a split edit. For example, an L Cut is where you can hear a character talking but there are not on screen yet.
Another transition type is a wipe cut. This is where one shot replaces another. These are used in films such as Stars Wars where it is wiped to a different location.
The History & Developments Of Post-Production
Film editing is the post production process of filmmaking. It involves selecting and putting together shots so that they can make sequences. This is then made into a feature film. A long time ago there were no editors so of course that meant no cuts. Filmmakers back then use to take photos of things that caught their eye or amused them. They would hold a shot until they felt the time was right to switch off, the film ran out or they would get bored. After hearing people say that 'cinema was an invention without a future', Edwin Porter proved that this quote was wrong. He found out that by cutting seperate shots together could create a story.
Edwin Porter made 'The Life Of an American Fireman' and 'The Great Train Robbery' showed how by inter cutting two shots that are not related to eachother can still be effective. For example in 'The Life Of an American Fireman', one scene takes place where the fire is whereas the other shows the reactions of people outside. Editing can slow down time or speed it up. Also the timing of a cut can startle people or even amuse them. A major Hollywood production can take up to almost 200 hours of film. An editor can work for months on a film or even years with the outcome being a two hour long feature. The finished film can contains thousands of shots. If you look at the films from the early 1900s and then look at filmmaking in the present day, it really has improved a lot.
Edwin Porter made 'The Life Of an American Fireman' and 'The Great Train Robbery' showed how by inter cutting two shots that are not related to eachother can still be effective. For example in 'The Life Of an American Fireman', one scene takes place where the fire is whereas the other shows the reactions of people outside. Editing can slow down time or speed it up. Also the timing of a cut can startle people or even amuse them. A major Hollywood production can take up to almost 200 hours of film. An editor can work for months on a film or even years with the outcome being a two hour long feature. The finished film can contains thousands of shots. If you look at the films from the early 1900s and then look at filmmaking in the present day, it really has improved a lot.
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