FS 100 - Continuity Editing

Editing

The set of techniques that governs the relations between shots

Shot

One interrupted static or mobile image

Main ways to join shots (5)

Cut: instantaneous transition from one shot to another

Fade-out: gradual darkening to black

Fade-in: gradual lightening from black

Dissolve: superimposition of the end of one shot with the beginning of another

Wipe: boundary line moving across the screen

Formal relations between shots (4)

Graphic, rhythmic, spatial, temporal

Shot transitions can exhibit any combination of these

Graphic relations between shot A and B

Pictorial resemblances and differences between shots

Ex. graphic match

Rhythmic relations between shot A and B

Changes in shot duration, governed by the cutting rates

Ex. fast cutting rate = many short shots

Spatial relations between shots A and B

Changes in the depiction of space in the shots

Affected by camera distance and setting

Temporal relations between shots A and B

Changes in the depiction of time in the shots, and significantly defines shot relations

Ex. flashback (a return to an earlier moment, altering story order)

Continuity editing

Dominant mode of editing in mainstream fiction film or television

Main functions: smooth flow of shot transitions, maintaining spatial and temporal coherence or a scene or sequence, narrative continuity

Continuity editing rules (7)

180-degree system, axis of action, screen direction, eyeline match, shot/reverse shot, match on action, analytical editing

Axis of action

Imaginary line that passes through the main actors in a shot

180-degree system

Stipulation that the camera should stay on one side of the axis of action to preserve consistent spatial relations

Screen direction

Right-left relationships in a scene, often set up by an establishing shot and maintained by eyeline matches

Preservation of right-left movement by adhering to the 180-degree rule

Eyeline match

First shot shows someone looking in one direction, next shot reveals what the character sees

If the character in the first shot is looking left, the character in the second shot should be looking right

Shot/reverse shot

Two or more shots edited together that alternate between characters, usually in a dialogue scene

Match on action

Cut that occurs while a character is in the middle of an action, where the subsequent shot reveals the completion of that action, while appearing continuous

Analytical editing

Breaking down of the space of a scene into progressively smaller camera distances to control viewer attention upon what is narratively salient

Often commences with an establishing shot to establish setting

The Maltese Falcon

Uses the 180 degree system

Mainstream narrative storytelling: subordination of the depiction of space and film style to the telling of the story

Analytical editing becomes a stylistic option

Editing form mirrors flow of information

Formal possibilities of temporal relations between shots A and B

Chronological and continuous and follow story order (dominant way to order shots in a scene)

Elliptical and moments in the story are elided (elliptical editing, montage sequence)

Jump forward/back in story time (flash forward/flashback)

Simultaneous storylines with the editing cutting between the different lines of action (crosscutting or parallel editing)