Pioneers of editing

Pioneers of editing.

Editing started with Edwin Stanton Porter, an employee of Thomas Edison.
Porter was the first to use intercutting; a technique where two shots that are not related to each other are put together to create an emotional impact on the audience. 
Life of an American Fireman was the first film to use this technique; switching between the people in the burning house to the firefighters then the same technique was used in The Great Train Robbery switching between the robbers riding away and the little girl untying the unconscious man.
The intercut became revolutionary in the world of film.

D.W Griffiths, much like Porter, also came up with- and used frequently- New techniques that changed the world of film and editing entirely. He created the close up, parallel action, and flash backs.

   
Thelma Schoonmaker was born on the 3rd of January 1940 in Algiers, Algeria. Schoonmaker attended New York University for post graduate work in summer. It was there where she met Martin Scorsese they connected instantly and they worked on the film Who's That Knocking on My Door? in 1967. However Schoonmaker and Scorsese did not work together again until Raging Bull in 1980. They then worked on 16 more films together. including Goodfellas, Gangs of New York, Cape Fear, and The Age of Innocence.

Raging Bull is arguably one of the greatest films ever to be made made and has been nominated for 8 Academy awards and won 2- for Best acting and best film editing. 

Editing 16.1.1

The Gloaming

What is editing?

The process of removing, adding and manipulating source material to create footages and scenes before joining it together to tell a story.

What is Elliptical editing?

A shot that suggests what may have happened in a scene. E.g. a shot of the girl dozing by the fire at night and then the next scene where she wakes up suggesting to the audience that she went to sleep.

Why are long shots used?

It’s used to remind the audience where they are.

What is ‘non-diagetic sound’?

The character can’t hear the music but the audience can.

How do we know she is bending down to pick up the ring? (What shots are used and why?)

She looks down at the floor and then a close up is shown after of her hand picking up the ring and then a shot of her looking at the ring in her hand as the audience makes the connection that she picked up the ring.

Hustle

Overhead establishing shot – what does this achieve?

Sets out the space where the action takes place and where the characters positions within the room. And improves the status of the character standing looking down.

What is Shot-Reverse-Shot?

Cutting back and forth between the two shots with different characters but it is still the same scene.

What is Eye-line matching?

Where the characters in different shots have the same line of sight e.g. the standing man is looking down in the scene and the seated man is looking up in the scene it gives the audience the impression they are looking at each other. Also uses shot-reverse-shot.

Why do we cut to the other members of the group?

So the audience can see they’re reaction to the plan and each other.

What is a wipe?

A video transition that ‘wipes’ away the old scene and at the same time replaces it with the new setting.

What is the effect of using quick cuts?

It gives a fast paced feel to the film rhythm and keeps the story moving along and the audience on their toes.