Understanding The Development and Principles of Editing

Movies and Film were found in the early 1890s, film is used to make the audience feel sad or the
same emotion as the character they are watching, causing empathy. Movies and film have are a
large part of entertainment in the 21st century. Most of these films were under a minute long and
would usually present a single scene, authentic or staged, of everyday life. There was little to no
cinematic technique: no editing and usually no camera movement in the short films which were
created. Thomas Edison was the 1
st
person to create a movie which was made in 1895, Thomas was
born in France however, and the first film was created in New Jersey. In the 1900 there was
greatness around France as film making and cameras had been created. France experienced the 1
st

commercial film from the Lumiere Brothers. The brothers first creation was Employees Leaving
the Lumiere factory shot in 1896, they also projected there their film with light in Paris by shining
light through the filming projecting the imagery onto a wall on the 20
th
of December 1895.
In 1896 the brothers created a short film with a train on the tack coming at full speed towards the
camera; this was projected to a selected few in the cinema. As they audience were watching it they
felt as the Train was coming directly towards them which scared them, they stood up from their
chairs and ran out the cinema. The film was created to engage the audience, giving off the effect
that theyre in the movie.
George Meiles came across a new effect which was created by him by accident. The film was called
Cendrillion, the purpose of the edit he accidently created was for something or someone to jump
from different places while still on set. Abel Pilashe, the worlds 1
st
female director used the first
every close up in 1901, the edit was used to show what else maybe happening in the shot, while it
cuts out showing what is going in in the whole shot, depending on how many people are in the shot.
The last decade a large number of movies have been shot digitally. Some of them are independent,
low-budget productions, while others are major Hollywood or European productions.
Here are 5 digital videos: TED, Transformers: Age of Extinction, World War Z, 2012, Bearwolf
Parallel Editing:
Parallel editing is when two or more scenes are happening at the same time but from different
locations. In the opening scene of The godfather is an example of them using this technique
because while the guy is at his ceremony meanwhile they are also showing people going around
killing different gangsters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_I82117oAw
Shot reverse shot:
Shot reverse shot is when two characters are having a conversation opposite each other. The camera
focuses on one character in the scene for a few seconds then it goes to the opposite character. An
example of a film that has a shot reverse shot is Hunger games and it shows the two characters
talking and the shots changing opposite sides.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1Ey0a6LJRA

Continuity/Seamless:
Continuity is when different shots are used to maintain continuous narrative action. An example of
an action film, which has continuity, is The Dark Knight Rises and it is a scene of Batman fighting
Bane. This clip shows how continuity is used in the film.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COc6goqmGBY

Jump cutting:
Jump cutting is when a scene is non-linear and pieces of scenes are being jumped over time, which
means that the scene is not continuity.
Fade/Dissolve:
Dissolve is when two shots are blended together in other words it is when one scene fades out and
another scene fades in. An example of this in Ndubz song papa, at the start they fade into a person
sitting down and it say Ndubz on top.



Montage:
The technique of selecting, editing, and piecing together separate sections of film to form a
continuous whole. Here is an example of it being used in City Of God as the knife keeps coming back
into shot.








180-degree rule:
180-degree rule is when two people are talking and I imagine there is a line between them. I would
realise that camera crosses the line if the people in the conversation appear to switch places. An
example of this being used In Spiderman.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrFKYxg6v7Y


Point of view shot:
Point of view shot is when the camera is acting as if it is the eyesight of a person. Sometimes, point
of view shot makes it look as if it is the audience who is in the view. Here is an example of it being
used for American gangster where Denzel Washington is looking at Idris Elba.


Wipe:
Wipe is when one image replaces another by travelling from one side of the frame with a special
frame. Here is an example of it being used
Splicing:
Splicing is when two pieces of a film are joined together. Here is an example of it being used