Theories of Editing Pt.

2
Other theories...and some guidelines!
Relational Editing
Many years ago the Russian filmmakers Pudovkin and
Kuleshov conducted an experiment in which they cut
away to shots of various scenes from a scene of a man
sitting motionless and totally expressionless in a chair.

The shots included a close-up of a bowl of soup, a

shot of a coffin containing a female corpse, and a shot
of a little girl playing.
To an audience viewing the edited film the man
suddenly became involved in the emotional scenes.

When the shot of the man was preceded by the shot of

the coffin, the audience thought that the actor showed
deep sorrow.

When the same shot followed the close-up of the food,

the audience perceived hunger in his face; and when it
was associated with the shot of the little girl, the
audience saw the actor as experiencing parental pride.
Thus, one of the most important tenets of editing was
experimentally established: the human tendency to try
to establish a relationship between a series of scenes.

In relational editing scenes which by themselves seem

not to be related take on a cause-effect significance
when edited together in a sequence.
Remember the scenario from last week of the woman
who was apparently murdered by her husband?

What if we preceded the shot of the corpse on the

living room floor with a shot of the woman covertly
cleaning out large sums of money from a home safe as
her husband entered from a doorway?

Is a relationship between these events suggested? Do

we now have a clue as to what might have happened?
It is easy—and generally even desirable—to combine
continuity and relational editing.  

However, when it comes to the next topic, thematic

editing, these fundamental concepts change a bit.
Thematic Editing (Montage)
In thematic editing (also referred to as a montage)
images are edited together based only on a central
theme.

In contrast to most types of editing, thematic editing is

not designed to tell a story by developing an idea in a
logical sequence.

In a more general sense thematic editing refers to a

rapid, impressionistic sequence of disconnected
scenes designed to communicate feelings or
experiences.
This type of editing is often used in music videos,
commercials and film trailers (promotional clips). The
intent is not to trace a story line, but to simply
communicate action, excitement, danger, or even the
"good times" we often see depicted in commercials.

Next up ‘Bondi Tsunami’ a movie that uses several of

these ‘other theories’ of editing.
Bondi Tsunami
Editing Guidelines
Today's non-linear computer editors are capable of just
about any effect you can envision.

Because of this, it's tempting to try to impress your

audience (or is it your production friends?) with all the
production razzle-dazzle you can manage.
But, whenever any production technique calls attention
to itself, you've diverted attention away from what
should be your central message.

Video professionals—or maybe we should say true

artisans of the craft—know that production techniques
are best when they are transparent; i.e., when they go
unnoticed by the average viewer.

This especially applies to editing techniques.

So, in the interest of making editing as smooth and
unobtrusive as possible, several guidelines should be
considered.

As in the case of the guidelines for good composition,

we are not referring to them as rules.

We'll also use this discussion to introduce a number of

editing concepts, or guidelines, to keep in mind. As you
will see, many of these apply to single-camera, film-
style production.
Guideline #1

Edits work best when they are motivated. In making

any cut or transition from one shot to another there is a
risk of breaking audience concentration and subtly
pulling attention away from the story or subject matter.
When cuts or transitions are motivated by production
content, they are most apt to go unnoticed.
For example, if someone glances to one side during a
dramatic scene, we can use that as motivation to cut
to whatever has caught the actor's attention.

When one person stops talking and another starts, that

provides the motivation to make a cut from one person
to the other.
If we hear a door open or someone calls out from off-
camera, we generally expect to see a shot of whoever
it is.

If someone picks up an object to examine it, it's natural

to cut to an insert shot of the object.
Guideline #2

Whenever possible cut on subject movement. If cuts

are prompted by action, that action will divert attention
from the cut, making the transition more fluid.
Small jump cuts are also less noticeable because
viewers are caught up in the action.
If a man is getting out of a chair, for example, you can
cut at the midpoint in the action.

In this case some of the action will be included in both

shots.
Entering & Exiting

As an editor you often must cut from one scene as

someone exits the frame and then cut to another scene
as the person enters another area.
It's best to cut out of the first scene as the person's
eyes pass the edge of the frame on the right (assuming
they are exiting to the right of the frame) and then,

Cut to the second scene about six frames (a quarter of

a second or so) before the person's eyes enter the
frame of the next scene (which, to keep from reversing
the action, would be on the left side of that scene).
The time is significant. It takes about a quarter of a
second for viewers' eyes to switch from one side of the
frame to the other.

During this time whatever is taking place on the screen

becomes a bit scrambled and viewers need a bit of
time to refocus on the new action.

Otherwise, the lost interval can create a kind of subtle

jump in the action.
Like a good magician, an editor can use distractions in
the scene to cover the slight mismatches in action that
inevitably arise in single-camera production.

An editor knows that when someone in a scene is

talking, attention is generally focused on the person's
mouth or eyes and a viewer will tend to miss
inconsistencies in other parts of the scene.
Or, as we've seen, scenes can be added to divert
attention.

Remember the role insert shots and cutaways can play

in covering jump cuts.

Next up ‘The Limey’ an interesting example of how

insert shots, cutaways and jumpcuts can be used in a
very non-traditional way.
The Limey
Guideline #3

Cut away from the scene the moment the visual

statement has been made.
First, a personal observation. From the perspective of
having taught video production for more than five years
I can say that more than 90% of the videos I see from
students are too long.

Most could have been vastly improved by being edited

down—often by at least 30%.

When I tell students this they seem sceptical until I

show them sample scenes from commercials, dramatic
productions, news segments and resume reels from
noted professionals.
If you ask someone how he or she enjoyed a movie
and they reply, "Well, it was kind of slow," that will
probably be a movie you will avoid.

"Slow moving" connotes boring. In today's fast-paced

and highly competitive film and television fields that's
one thing you don't want to be, if you want to stay in
the business.

The pace of a production rests largely with the editing,

although the best editing in the world won't save a
script that is boring to start with.
How long should scenes
be?

First, keep in mind that audience interest quickly wanes

once the essential visual information is conveyed.
Shots with new information stimulate viewer interest.
In this regard here are some additional guidelines.
Complexity Vs. Familiarity

Shot length is in part dictated by the complexity and

familiarity of the subject matter.
How long does it take for a viewer to see the key
elements in a scene? Can they be grasped in a second
(take a look at some contemporary commercials), or
does the subject matter require time to study?
You wouldn't need a 15-second shot of the Statue of
Liberty, since we've all seen it many times.

A one or two-second shot (30 to 60 frames in video

editing) would be all you would need to remind viewers
of the symbolism (unless, of course you were pointing
out specific areas of damage, restoration, or whatever).
On the other hand, we wouldn't appreciate a one or
two second shot of a little green Martian who just
stepped out of a flying saucer on the White House
Lawn.

Those of us who haven't seen these space creatures

would want plenty of (scene) time to see what one
really looks like.
Earlier on I mentioned montage editing. With this
technique shots may be only a fraction of a second
(10-15 video frames) long.

Obviously, this is not enough time even to begin to see

all of the elements in the scene.

The idea in this case is simply to communicate general

impressions, not details.
Next, cutting rate depends on the tempo of the
production content.

Tranquil pastoral scenes imply longer shots than

scenes of rush hour in downtown New York.

You can increase production tempo by making quick

cuts during rapid action. 
Guideline #4

Emphasize the B-Roll.

Howard Hawks, an eminent American film maker, said:
"a great movie is made with cutaways and inserts."
In video production these commonly go under the
heading of "B-roll footage."
In a dramatic production the B-roll might consist of
relevant details (insert shots and cutaway shots) that
add interest and information.

One valuable type of cutaway, especially in dramatic

productions, is the reaction shot—closeups showing
how others are responding to what's gong on.

By using strong supplementary footage the amount of

information conveyed in a given interval increases.

More information in a shorter time results in an

apparent increase in production tempo.
The A-roll in news and interviews typically consists of a
rather static looking "talking head."

In this case the B-roll would consist of scenes that

support, accentuate or in some way visually elaborate
on what's being said.

NOW SHOWING: Scratch - Have a look at how the

editor has used b-roll footage for cutaways and
montage to create both structure, pace & interest in
this documentary.
Scratch
Guideline #5

The final editing guideline is: If in doubt, leave it out.

The final editing guideline is: If in doubt, leave It out.
If you don't think that a scene adds needed
information, leave it out.
By including it you will probably slow down story
development and maybe even blur the focus of the
production and side-track the central message.