Editing Techniques

Editing Techniques

What is Editing?

Editing is the process when working with film by putting shots together to create sequences then eventually into a media text. When film was first made there wasn't computer technology that was made to cut,fade,wipe and dissolve. You couldn't do this because it was impossible to do this as they had the strips of reel film that couldn't be digitalised onto computers. Instead you would have to physically take the reel of film and cut the reel of film where you wanted the film to transition. This is called splicing. when digital film wasn't invented this had to be done all the time. However some directors
The transition in editing are the ways in which shots go from one to the other. There are many ways in which you can do these and one way is the simple cut edit. This is when a shot ends instantly then the next shot starts. This transition is the most common and can be seen a lot in the 5-10 minute scenes. A wipe edit is when the first shot ends and the next shot pushes the first shot off screen taking its place. A dissolve edit is when the second shot is slowly shown through the first shot eventually fading onto the screen. Finally a fade edit is when a shot is being played then when it ends it slowly fades to black then the next shot is shown.

Sequence

In this sequence there are many editing techniques used. The scene is set in a ditch were lieutenant Aldo Raine and his soldiers have killed many Nazis and are trying to find out from the surviving soldiers were the other Nazi patrol is located. At the start of the sequence at 0:00 we see that the 180 degree rule has been established. This is used to give the audience an idea of were the two are in the setting. This makes the audience feel comfortable while watching the sequence as they know where the two protagonists are. Another continuity technique is the shot reverse shot from 2:35 to 3:0. There are also establishing shots which show where things are in a scene before we cut in to closer shots. E.g 0.01
2. These shots help the audience understand that the conversation is between them. This allows the audience to become engaged in the conversation and interested in what will happen. Also at 2:48 to 3:03 the
technique that is used is a match on action shot.This is when a character makes a move into a pocket for example before the object is used in the next shot.This is also a form of motivated editing as this is when a event happens which leads the next edit. This doesn't just have to be a a eye line match cut it can also be E.g. sound bridge.This makes the audience feel like the editing is invisible and avoids the audience getting confused. In this case the map has come from lieutenant Aldo Raine. Furthermore a technique that is often used by directors is the eye line match cut. This is included when Sergeant Donnie Donowitz (The Bear Jew) is about to hit the Nazi Captain around the head at 6:27. This lets the audience know to brace for the impact of the blow as they know the Nazi Captain is about to be hit by The Bear Jew.

Also in this sequence the extract includes identification with the protagonists by using other editing techniques. One of these techniques is Screen time. This is when the protagonists take up most of the time they appear on the screen. In this extract it mostly focuses on lieutenant Aldo and the Nazi Captain. This makes the audience fixed on these to protagonists and they will care about them. A very effective technique used to identify with the protagonist is the point of view shot.

This is when the camera is in the perspective of a character in a film. This is used at 5:10 when Sergeant Donnie Donowitz makes his dramatic entrance. This shot is meant to put the audience in the position of the Nazi Captain. This builds up tension in the audience as the shot is making them feel their about to face death. During the entrance of The Bear Jew there is a lot of reaction shots and close ups. This is the technique that is used to understand the characters feelings and  in the scene. In this case at 5:23 we see a reaction shot of a Private Nazi soldier of him terrified of the sounds of The Bear Jew. This makes the audience feel remorse for the soldier and become attached to him.

In this sequence the story line and other aspects is important in making the protagonists interesting to the audience. There are many ways in which this sequence does this and one of these techniques is the use of providing and withholding information from the audience. At 3:44 we hear something coming from the darkness behind lieutenant Aldo Raine.

This creates a tense atmosphere for the audience as the withhold information puts more emphasis onto the danger that the Nazi Captain is in because it lets the audience's imagine what is in the darkness almost creating a horror like character which creates interest in the protagonist. However when Aldo Raine goes on to explain who is in the darkness this is providing information at 3:53. This allows the audience to gain interest in what the Sergeant Donnie Donowitz (The Bear Jew) looks like thus progressing the story line. Another technique in which interest is created is shot variation. This is when in a sequence a variety of shot sizes and angles are used for a reason. In this sequence at 0:04 and 6:06 there is a low angle shot at Hugo Stiglitz and a slightly high angle shot of the Nazi Captain. These variations of shots allow the audience to gain interest in the different protagonists position in the film. For example it shows that Hugo Stiglitz is the powerful one and the Nazi captain is inferior to him. Furthermore cutting to the soundtrack is another way of generating creating tension and suspense. This is heard just before The Bear Jew appears at 5:05. This generates suspense as the music is at a very high pitch and we aren't used to hearing high pitch music so suddenly. Other techniques like editing rhythm is also used to generate lot of tension.

Editing rhythm is the technique in which the editing matches what is happening on-screen. At 0:50 when the Inglorious bastards attempt to recruit Hugo Stiglitz the editing speeds up to match the shooting and the killing. This creates tension because the audience has to focus on what is going on-screen and if this speeds up the audience is forced to focus on-screen and they gets tense when they can't. When at 5:07 you could all most say that some cross cutting/parallel editing goes on because when the Nazi captain is waiting for The Bear Jew there is also something happening in the darkest however you know its The Bear Jew coming to get him. This is tense because you know that the Nazi Captain is going to be brutally killed. Montage isn't actually employed in this sequence however montage is a series of shots put together to create an emotion from the audience. In the film Rocky 1976 montage is used when the main protagonist Rocky is training for his fight. During this montage the use of the shots used of him training gets across to the audience that he is progressing and is getting better. This gives us this feeling of inspiration and is why the film is so iconic and famous as the film won an Oscar for best editing. The construction of space and time is also manipulating the editing. This is when editing is used to manage the time and space of the current events happening on-screen. For example the constructing of the time is by using a transition (most commonly a dissolve) from one event to the other to show your going backwards in time. The construction of space is also used with editing usually a first shot will show a building and then their is a cut to a man in a room. This shows the audience that the man in the room is inside the building we saw in the previous shot. Neither of these are in this clip however the technique is used a lot in film. Multiple points of view isn't used however this is when an event happens and all the characters view points are shown through the editing on the same parallel time scale. A good example of the technique is the film 4.3.2.1 which the film is based on diamonds going missing and the lives of 4 girls being affected by this that going through the same event with each other.A Cut away is usually used to sort out any continuity errors. This is when a cut is used to cover up any weird movements within the clip. When Lieutenant Aldo is clapping with a sandwich in his mouth at 6.03 it cuts to The Bear Jew and the Nazi Captain and then back to him without the sandwich. This keeps the audience from noticing the editing as they know that the sandwich has been eaten. A jump cut is the cutting of two shots that our of the same place and character however it seems like the film has gone forward in time. This isn't used however this is used a lot in films to speed up sequences. Usually these are not keeping within continuity but are used anyway to create fast sequences.