Quiz 3 Review (Chapter 5)
Be aware of all the transitions available to a film maker like the iris or wipes
*1. Cut:* The joining or splice between two pieces of film; a joining of two separate shots; usually follows a particular logic (Contrast shock cut: juxtaposes two different images to create jarring effect) *2. Fade in/out:* Dip up or out to black (Fade out: image gradually darkens to black/ Fade-in: Black screen gradually brightens out to a full picture) -Scene change/start of film -Passage of time between scenes (action resuming the next day) *3. Dissolves:* Superimposes one shot over the next, which takes its place (one image fades out as another image fades in) -Mark pauses between narrative sequences or larger segments of a film (one part of town to another) -Imply passage of time *4. Wipes:* Moving vertical, horizontal, or noticeable line between shots *5. Iris:* Mask that obscures the corner of a frame with a black circular form -Ex. Cartoons
What are the key elements of continuity editing and why was it the focus of Hollywood.
*A. Continuity editing:* Invisible editing; A type of editing in which each shot has a continuous relationship to the next shot B. Reason: Establish verisimilitude ("the appearance of being true") of time and space; allows viewers to accept the constructed world as plausible (Constructing an imaginary space in which the action develops and approximating the experience of real time by following human actions) C. Elements: *-1. 180 degree rule and spatial continuity*: The primary rule of continuity editing that restricts possible camera setups to the 180-degree area on the axis of action drawn between the characters or figures of a scene; any shot taken from the same side of the axis of action will ensure that the relative positions of people and other elements of mise-en-scene, as well as the directions of gazes and movements, will remain consistent -Shot-reverse-shot: It begins with a shot of one character looking offscreen in one direction, followed by a shot of a second character who appears to be looking back -Eye line matches: A cut that follows a shot of a character looking offscreen with a shot of a subject whose screen position matches the gaze of the character in the first shot *-2. Inserts*: a brie shot, often a close-up, that points out details significant to the action; The use of inserts helps overcome viewers' spatial separation from the action, pointing out details significant to the plot *-3. 30-Degree Rule*: This rule specifies that a shot should be followed by another shot taken from a position greater than 30 degrees from that of the first *-4. Match on action*: A cut between two shots continuing a visual action (Ex. matching the movement of a stone tossed in the air to the flight of that stone as it hits a window) *-5. Sound:* Overlapping sound *-6. Mise-en-scene elements* *-7. Point-of-view shots*: Often a character is shown looking, and the next shot shows the character's optical point of view, as if the camera (and hence the viewer) were seeing with the eyes of the character *-8. Reaction shots*: A reaction shot, which depicts a character's response to something shown in a previous shot emphasizes human perspective in a way that can be seen as standing in for the audience's own response *-9. Graphic Match*: An edit in which a dominant shape or line in one shot provides a visual transition to a similar shape or line in the next shot (Ex. Shape of bone -> Shape of a spaceship)
Know the various eras of editing and what was specific to them. Especially the influence of the French New wave style. Also what are some distinctions of the present digital age?
1. *1895-1918: Early Cinema & The Emergence of Editing* -After using stop-motion photography, *George Melies* used editing to create tricks like the rocket striking the moon in "Trip to the Moon" -*Edited cut* appeared: The transition between two separate shots/scenes -*Edwin S. Porter* used editing techniques for storytelling (ex. "Life of an American Fireman" and "The Great Train Robbery;" used 14 shots) -DW Griffith used *parallel editing (crosscutting)* in his rescue sequences and in the climax of "The Birth of A Nation" 2. *1919-1929: Soviet Montage* -*Sergei Eisenstein's* "Strike" influenced the craft of editing and centered on the concept of *montage* to maximize the effect of the juxtapositon of disparate shots -*Intellectual montage*: The juxtapositon of two or more unrelated actions or locations to make viewers form an independent idea -Eisenstein, Lev Kuleshov, Vsevolod Pudovkin, and Dziga Vertov advanced montage (they used the French for editing) as the key component of modernist, politically engaged filmmaking in the Soviet Union of the 1920s 3. *1930-1959: Continuity Editing in the Hollywood Studio Era* -*Continuity editing* gave viewer the impression that the action unfolds with spatiotemporal consistency (until end of the 1950s; studio stability allowed for consistency) -*Cinematic realism* achieved new emphasis as one of the primary aesthetic principles in film editing -*Italian neoralism* influenced films with fewer cuts/longer takes/imagistic depth to capture the integrity of stories of ordinary people and actual locations 4. *1960-1989: Modern Editing styles* -Alternative editing styles emerged that aimed to fracture classical editing illusion of realism; more *disjunctive styles* reflected feeling of disconnection of modern world; inspired by Soviet montage (ruptures in story, manipulation of time) -*French New Wave* produced some of the first and more dramatic examples of modern styles of editing; jump cuts (Breathless) -Music video style appeared in film 5. *1990s-Present: Editing in the Digital Age* -*Non-linear digital editing* allowed for storage on computers and easy organization; sound-editing simultaneous with picture editing; immediate optical effects -*Rapid pace*; average shot length declined significantly -Converging editing styles
What is the difference between constructive and analytical editing?
1. *Analytical Editing*: Wide establishing shot -> Close up -Analyzes space then moves to closer shots -180 degree principle -Always keeps us in the same side -Eyeline match 2. *Constructive editing*: Filmmaker builds scene and constructs it from close shots -Uses directional cues -Budget -Emphasizes mood
Understand the differences between a scene, a sequence and what segmentation is.
1. *Scene:* Edited shots with same space and time 2. *Sequence:* Different space and time but related thematically or as coherent action 3. *Segmentation:* The process of dividing a film into large narrative units -Consider "Children of Men"
What are some examples of disjunctive editing? (for example jump cuts).
A. *Disjunctive editing*: Visible editing; Calls attention to the cut through spatial tension, temporal jumps, or rhythmic or graphic patterns and therefore makes a definitive break from cutting in the service of verisimilitude; aims to call attention to the editing for the aesthetic, conceptual, ideological, or psychological purposes, or to disorient, disturb, or affect viewers viscerally B. Examples: 1. *Jump cuts*: A cut that interrupts a particular action and intentionally or unintentionally creates discontinuities in the spatial or temporal development of shots; Cutting a section out of the middle of a shot causes a jump ahead to a later point in the action; Sometimes the background of a shot may remain constant while figures shift position inexplicably; Two shots from the same angle but from different distances also creates a jump when juxtaposed 2. *Montage*: Aims to grab viewers' attention through the collision between shots -*Dialectical montage*: The cutting together of conflicting or unrelated images to generate an idea of emotion in the viewer; Eisenstein argued that two unrelated images will allow viewer to generate an idea of emotion
Know parallel editing and its nuances in terms of what it communicates - simultaneity, comparisons and suspense (for example)
A. *Parallel Editing:* An editing technique that alternates back and forth between actions in separate locations, often implying simultaneity
What was soviet montage and name a famous filmmaker who captures this movement?
A. *Soviet Montage*: A movement that focused on an approach that relied heavily on montage using unconnected imagery to create an idea or feeling in the minds of audiences following the Russian Revolution; maximized the effect of the juxtaposition of disparate shots -*Intellectual montage*: The juxtaposition of two or more unrelated actions or locations; (Rather than being unaware of the effects of editing on their ideas or emotions, a viewer forms an independent idea) -*Dialectical montage*: The cutting together of conflicting or unrelated images to generate an idea of emotion in the viewer (Eisenstein argued that two contrasting or otherwise conflicting shots will be synthesized into a visual concept when juxtaposed) B. *Sergei Eisenstein* influenced editing -"Strike": He interposed images of gunfire and the fleeing and falling crowd with gruesome closeups of a bull being butchered in a slaughterhouse -"Battleship Potemkin": The shots of several stone lions juxtaposed in sequence suggest that one stone lion is leaping to life
What does editing have to do with temporality? Think in terms of screen time, plot time and story time. What are flashbacks and flashforwards?
A. *Temporality*: Editing is one of the chief ways that temporarily is manipulated in narrative film; Through its power to manipulate chronology (the order according to which shots or scenes convey the temporal sequence of the story's events) editing organizes narrative time B. *Plot vs. Story vs. Screen Time* 1. *Plot time:* The length of time implied by the shown events 2. *Story time:* The sequence of events inferred during the telling of a film story 3. *Screen time:* The actual length of time that a movie takes to tell its story C. *Flashback vs. Flashforward* 1. *Flashback*: A sequence that follows an image set in the present with an image set in the past - may be introduced with a dissolve conveying the character's memory or with voiceover narration indicating the shifting time frame 2. *Flashforward*: A sequence that connects an image set in the present with one or more future images -Because it involves "seeing" the future, the technique usually is reserved for works that intentionally challenged our perceptions - movies focused on psychology or science fiction
