movie editing techniques - with pretty pictures!
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5/29/2015 MovieeditingtechniquesWithprettypictures!
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MovieeditingtechniquesWithprettypictures!
Honeyourunderstandingoffilmeditinguntilyouaredazzlinglybrilliantatit.
Theverybestdirectorshaveacomprehensiveunderstandingoffilmediting.Theyplananddirectshotsinsuchawaythattheycanbecuttogethersmoothlyandcoherently.Ambitiousfilmmakerswouldthereforebewelladvisedtolearnfilmediting.
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5/29/2015 MovieeditingtechniquesWithprettypictures!
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Youshouldgenerallycutonaction,especiallyifyouarecuttingfromawideshotofasubjecttoatightershotofthesamesubjectonthesamevisualaxis.Cuttingonactionmeansthatyoucutfromoneshottoanotherjustasanactionisperformed,suchasanactortakinghishatoff.Whenyoujointheshots,youusethefirstpartofthemotioninthewideshotandthesecondpartofthemotioninthetightershot(youhavetoexperimenttofindoutexactlywheretocutforthesmoothestresultsitdependsontheshots).
Thereareanumberofwaystocutfromawideshottoatightershotsmoothly:
PleaseallowtheanimatedGIFimagessometimetoloadproperly
1.Cuttingonaction
ThefollowingexampleistakenfromafilmIdirectedandedited:
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2a.Cuttingoncrossframemovement:therevealshot
ThefollowingexampleistakenfromamusicvideoIdirectedandedited:
2b.Cuttingoncrossframemovement:therevealshotAsecondexample
ThefollowingexampleistakenfromafilmIdirectedandedited:
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3.Cuttingtoemptyframeandlettingsubjectcomein
ThefollowingexampleistakenfromamusicvideoIdirectedandedited:
4.Cuttingtosecondaryactionfollowedbytilting/panningtomainsubject
ThefollowingexampleistakenfromamusicvideoIdirectedandedited:
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5.Cuttingonanemphaticpartofdialogue
ThefollowingexampleistakenfromafilmIdirectedandedited:
IwasabletomakethecutsshownabovebecauseIknewIwasgoingtomakethosecutslongbeforeIshottheprojects,anddirectedthescenesaccordingly.Noneofitwasaluckyaccident.
PleasenotethatGIFanimationsarenotassmoothaspropervideo.MyhopehereisthattheGIFanimationsabovegiveyouaclearideaofsomefilmeditingtechniquesmuchmoreeffectivethanexplainingwithwords!
Avoidingjumpcuts
Ifyoudonotcutonactionandthetwoshotsarealongthesamevisualaxis,theresultisajumpcut.Jumpcutsarejarringanddisconcerting,
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andprettymuchunacceptable,unlessthatistheeffectyouwantfornarrativereasons.StevenSpielbergsometimesusesjumpcutstopunctuatethedramaofascene,andhealwaysusesthetechniquemasterfully.AnexampleisthesceneinwhichCarlHanrattyseesFrankAbagnalesphotointheschoolyearbookinCatchMeIfYouCan.AnotherexampleisthegasstationsceneinDuel.
Jumpcutscanalsobeusedtocompresstime(SpielbergusedthistechniqueinSchindlersList,inthesceneinwhichSchindlerischoosinghisfuturesecretarywhilehisnewofficeisbeingpainted),butagain,itisaveryspecificlookandthedirectormustplanthesceneverydeliberatelytomakeitwork.
Therewillnotbeajumpcutifyou:
a)cutonaction,asinexamples1and4above,or
b)cuttoanemptyframeandletthesubjectcomein,asinexample3above,or
c)cutfromoneshottothetightershotwhilesomethingismovingacrosstheframe,asinexamples2aand2babove,or
d)cutfromoneangletoanotheranglethatisrotationallyatleast20degreesawayfromthefirstone,or
e)cuttoanothershotandthenbacktothefirstshot,orashotofsomethingelse.
Themiddleshotin(e)isknownasacutaway.Youshouldshootplentyofcutaways,especiallyforinterviewsanddocumentaries,whereyouarenotabletodirectthingspreciselyandneedmoreinsuranceshotsforpostproduction.Cutawayscanbeashotoftheinterviewernodding,orashotofaglassofwateranythingthatyoucancutto.CutawaysarealsoknownasBrollshots.
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Moreonjumpcuts:bearinmindthattheydontonlyhappenwhencuttingalongavisualaxiswithoutactionifyoucutfromoneshottoanothershotthatisperpendiculartoitandinwhichthesubjectisframedinexactlythesameway,thatsajumpcutperhapsanevenmoreirritatingonethanwhenyoucutfromawideshottoacloseupwithnoaction.Forexample,ifyoucutfromafrontalmediumshottoamediumshotthatisframedfromtheactorsside,thatsajumpcut,eventhoughthereisanangulardifferenceofmorethan20degreesbetweenthetwoshots(see[b]above).Avoiditliketheplagueunlessyouareseekingaspecificeffectandaresureofhowtheaudiencewillperceiveit,whichisnotalwayseasytopredict.
Rememberthatjumpcutsareperfectlyacceptableinmusicvideos.Thehumanbrainseemsnottofindjumpcutsdisconcertinginmusicvideos,whichisprettyinteresting.
Youshouldalsobearinmindthatittakesapproximately2filmframes(1/12 ofasecond)forthehumangazetoswitchfromonesideofthescreentotheother.Youshouldallowforthiswhencuttingyourproject.
Wheneditingsoundandpicture,youshouldstaggerthecuts.ThismeansNOTaligningthevideoandaudiocutstheyshouldbeseparatedbyatleastasecond.Ifthecutsarealigned,thechangeinbackgroundnoisewhenyoucutfromonesoundcliptotheotherwillbesimultaneouswiththevisualcutthisbreakstheillusionofcontinuityandwillmakeyourprojectlookamateurish.
Thefollowingdiagramillustratesthistechnique:
Shootingavarietyofanglesandeditingthemtogethersmoothlyenhancesthecinematicillusion,aneffectknownassuperiorcontinuity.
Thebigimplicationhereisthatyoumusttakealloftheseeditingissuesintoaccountwhenyouproduceyourshotlist.Adirectorsweaknessesbecomepainfullyobviouswhenthetimecomestocutthemovietogether
th
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smoothly.
Preparingfortheeditbystudyingandanalyzingeverytakeyoushot
Theeditingprocessalwaysbeginsinthesamewayforme:IsitdownwithanotepadandpenandIwatcheverysingletakefilmedduringprincipalphotography.
AsIwatchthetakes,Imakenotesforeachtake,makingbriefnotesonthecamerawork,performanceandotherrelevantdetails,suchasextraneousnoises.
Forexample,onetakeofagivenshotmighthaveaperfectcameramovebutweakperformances,orviceversa.
Ofcourseinprincipleyouwanttofindthetakethatisthebestineveryrespect,butthisisnotalwayspossible.
Particularlyforverylongshots,theperformancemightvaryinquality,ortheremightbeacameraworkweaknessatsomepointinthetake.
Usuallynoneofthisasaproblem,andforthepurposeofassemblingthebestpossiblesequence,Itypicallyusedifferentpartsofdifferenttakesforanygivenshot.Itworksverywell.
Thisonlybecomesimpossiblewhenashotissupposedtobeleftuncut:inthatcaseyoureallyhavetoensurethatitisperfectfrombeginningtoendduringprincipalphotography.
Inanycase,ensuringthatyouhaveatleastonetakeinwhichboththeperformancesandthecameraworkaregoodisoneoftheessentialdirectingskillsthatyoushouldmaster.
Bytheendofthisprocessofreviewingthefootage,IhaveasetofveryhelpfulnotesthatIuseintheactualediting.
Forexample,whenIgettoaparticularshotinasequence,byreferringtomynotes,Iknowwhichtakehasthebestcameramove,whichtakehasthebestperformance,andideallywhichtakehasagoodcompromiseofboth.Thismakestheeditingprocessmoreefficient,becauseIthoroughlyinvestigatedandanalyzedalltakesbeforehand.
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Iftheprojectyouareeditingwasdirectedbysomeoneelse,studyingallthetakesandfamiliarizingwiththemthoroughlyisevenmoreimportant.Youwonthaveaclueofwhatthedirectordidorwhattheprojectisaboutuntilyouwatchalltherawfootageatleastonce.
Inprinciplethesenotescouldbemadeduringtheshoot,butinpracticethereisntenoughtimeorperspectivetodothisinthepressurecookerthatisprincipalphotography.Thisanalysisofthefootagecanonlybedonewithpeaceandquiet,andtheperfecttimetodoitisbeforeyouactuallystartassemblingtheprojectonthetimeline.
Howtolearnmovieeditingandbecomeahighlycompetenteditor:aquestionfromareader
Whatdoesittaketobeagoodeditor,bearinginmindthateditingshouldnotbetakenforgranted?
Myanswer:
Ah,oneofmyfavoritetopics!
Iagreewiththevitalimportanceofeditingitistheveryheartofmoviemaking.Thisiswhyeveryseriousdirectormustalsobecomeamasterfilmeditor.Iamadirectorwhoalwayseditshisownwork,andIlearnedtheartoffilmeditingconcomitantlywithlearninghowtodirect.Irecommendthispathtoeveryfilmmaker,becauseunderstandingeditingmakesyouamuchbetterdirector,andeditingthestuffyoudirectdoesproducesignificantlybetterresultsinthecompletedproject.Itsimplygivesyouamuchmorecomprehensiveandcoherentvision.
Itisnotenoughtounderstandfilmediting:youmustalsopractice,justasyoucannotbecomeagoodviolinplayerjustbyreadingaboutit.
HereishowIlearnedfilmediting:
1.IreadGrammaroftheFilmLanguage multipletimesthemostusefulfilmmakingbookIhaveeverread!
2.IwatchedmyfavoritefilmsandspottedthetechniquesIreadaboutinGrammarofthefilmlanguage.Watchingafilmwiththesound
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turnedoffisexceptionallyinstructive,becauseyouwillnoticealotmoreabouttheeditingwhenyouarenotdistractedbythedialogue.Istronglyrecommendthis!
3.IwentbacktoGrammarofthefilmlanguageand,havingstudiedtheeditingofmyfavoritefilms,Ilearnedevenmorefromthebook.
4.Ithenwatchedmyfavoritefilmsagain,andspottededitingtechniquesthatIhadnotspottedthefirsttime.Irepeatedthisprocessseveraltimes.
5.Ishotroughpracticesequenceswithmycamcorderandtheneditedthem.
6.Idirected,shotANDeditedmyfirstproject,whichwasa30minutefilm.Directingandeditingyourownprojectswillteachyousomuchaboutfilmmakingthatyouwillabsolutelyvaporizeotherfilmmakerswhodontunderstandeditingguaranteed!BythetimeIcompletedmyfirstproject,Iknew90%ofthefilmeditingIknownow,becauseIpreparedalotandtookitVERYseriously.Onceitclicks,youresortedforlife(butdontstopgrowing!).
ThatshowIdiditthereisnomagictoit,justlotsofthought,studyandpractice.Thepracticalexperiencereallyisessentialstudyingthetheoryisnotenough.
Ihopethishelps,anddokeepmepostedonyourprogress!
Movieeditingresources
AmericanCinemaEditors
CanadianCinemaEditors
AustralianScreenEditorsGuild
GuildofBritishFilmandTelevisionEditors
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July26,2010at1:57pm
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Taggedwith direct ing ed it ing
27thoughtsonMovieeditingtechniquesWithprettypictures!
LaykouThisisgreat,thankyou..Ivegotjustonequestion:Yousaid,soundandpicturemustbeseparatedbyatleastasecondWhichonehastocomefirst?Pictureandthansound?
GreetingsfromSlovakia.
videofilmmakerThereisnohardandfastrule:youneedtoexperimentanduseyourjudgement.
Bestwishes!
ShadiBestYourpointersaresogood.Imaprostillphotog,andIknowstills&lightingbackandforth.Iappreciatethewayyoutaketechnical
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aspectsthatareonlysubconsciouslynotedandexplainthereasoningbehindit.
Icouldnevertechnicallyunderstandwhyvideolookedlikevideo,butnowIknow!
videofilmmakerManythanksforthekindwords,ShadiImdelightedtohearthatmyworkhasbeenofassistancetoyou!
stankillertips.
videofilmmakerThankyou,Stan!
PopescuVerygoodfilmeditingtips!ThankYouverymuchforthepreciousadvice!
videofilmmakerYouareverywelcome!Imgladyoufoundituseful
PrasenjitsinghIamavideoeditor.IstudiedafewbooksoneditingincludingINTHEBLINKOFANEYE,THEARTandSCIENCEOFFILMEDITING.ButIoftenrealizedthatIhavestillnotgottheanswerforwhichIkeptpurchasingthesegoodbooks.NowwhenIfinishedyournotesIhaverealizedthatthesearethethingsIreallywantedtoknow.Thankyouverymuch.Yournotesarereallyworthy.
PrasenjitsinghPleaseelaborateonthisifpossible:Ittakesapproximately2filmframes(1/12thofasecond)forthehumangazetoswitchfromonesideofthescreentotheother.
Thankyou.
videofilmmakerHiPrasenjit,
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August21,2012at5:43am
August21,2012at7:43am
February17,2013at11:17pm
Imgladyoufoundthispostsouseful!
Withregardtoyourquestion,whatImeantisthis:ifyouarelookingattheleftofthescreeninoneshotanditcutstoanothershotinwhichthemainsubjectisontherightoftheframe,ittakesthehumaneyeapproximatelytwoframesworthoftimetoswitchthegazefromthelefttotheright.
Whydoesthismatter?Well,itmeansthatwhenwearelookingatonesideoftheframewhichofcoursehappensallthetimeinwellframedshotsanditthencutstoashotinwhichtheactionishappeningontheotherside,theeditormustbearinmindthatwehavea2frameblindtimewindowinwhichwedonotseewhatishappeningontheothersideoftheframe.
Thismayormaynotrequirea2frameadjustmenttothecut,butitisworthbearinginmind.Foranygivencut,theonlywaytofindoutifitworksistotestit.Ifitsnotsmoothenough,adjustbyoneortwoframesandseeifitsbetter.Thisisthejoyofediting!
Obviouslythe2framedelaydescribedabovetendstobemorecriticalwhentheprojectwasshotinthe2.35:1aspectratio(Cinemascope).
Ihopethisclarifiestheissue!
srikanthrajubitlingYouaremyfilmschool.Iamverygratefultoyou.Ilearnalotofthingsdailyfromyouremails.IusedtofeellowthatIamnotabletoleavemyjobtostartworkingasanassistantdirectororgotoafilmschool.ButnowIlearnmanythingsandpracticewithshortfilms.
Thanksalot.
videofilmmakerThanksforthekindwords,Srikanth.
Donotbesorrythatyouareunabletoattendfilmschool:itisanappallingwasteoftime.
Keepdevelopingyourskillsandbuildingyourreelthatshowitsdone!
Innocent
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Yourpointsaresogood.Sotellme,doIhavetohavemorethanonecameraonsettomakeforexampleCuttingonactionstylepossible?
LAvideoFilmmakerNo,youcandoitwithasinglecamera,makingthesmoothcutwithtwodifferentshotsfilmedatdifferenttimes.ThepointhereisthatitisthedirectorsresponsibilitytoensurethattheactioninthedifferentshotsmatcheswellthisiswhyIkeepsayingthatifyouwanttobeatopnotchdirector,youmustmastertheartoffilmediting.
Obviouslyshootingwithmultiplecamerasmakesiteasier,butdirectorsmustlearntheskillsrequiredtoachievethesameresultwithasinglecamera.Youwillnotregretdevelopingtheseskills.
rahulAmazingtipsthanku..aquestion..Canweusesomesortofwipesorflashestoshortenadialoguethatmighthavesomeboringlineswedontwanttokeepifsokindlyexplainhow..AlsocanyouguidewhereIcanreadmoreonthesame.
Rajkamalpatilcanigettipshowtoworkinfrontofcameraorhowtoactinfrontofcamera..iwanttoimprovemyactingskillssoineedurhelp..bro
hadishafieheyijustgotinterestedinfilmmakingfirstiwantedtodoarmybutichangedmymindandiloveeditingfilmsandcanuhelpmeout.meandmyfriendswemadeadocoandgotintothisfestivalandcamefirstsoiwannadomorefilmmakingineedalotofhelp.
ShankarWonderfulinformation.Havejuststartedwithfilmmaking.Thankyouverymuchforpostingthis.Itreallymeansalottomanylikeme.Thegifimagesareveryusefulinbetterunderstanding.Keepgivingusmore.Bestwishes.
LAvideoFilmmakerThanks!
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October23,2013at6:14am
November1,2013at8:13pm
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HarshSaraiyaheyreallylovedyourblog.ihaveworkedasanassistanteditorforamovieandiwanttobecomeaFilmeditor.Canyousuggestsometipsoncuttingatraileroranyintensescene?
SimonWilliamsWhatagreatresourceyouhaveprovidedhereforbuddingfilmmakers.Iteachabasicintroductiontofilmmakingcourseatmiddleschoollevel(1013yearolds),andIfoundyourhintsonTVcommercialfilmingparticularlyinterestingasIamthinkingofintroducingaunitonthisnextyear(sofarwehavebeenfocussedonfilmingnarratives).
WeuseiMovietoteachthekidsediting,andiMovie,ofcourse,hasafewlimitations.LcutsandJcutsofthesortyoureferredtoinyoureditingpagearequitetrickyforkidstomanageforexample.Wealsodonthavealotoftimetodomultipletakes,sowetendtofilminsteadwith3or4camerasfocussedondifferentactionorcharacters(TVstyle).Thisgivesthekidssufficienteditingmaterialformanyofthenormaleditingtechniquesyououtlines.ItalsomeansthatratherthanusingLorJcuts,Icanhavethemusetheaudioshotsfromonecamerathroughout,effectivelyeditinginalternativeshotsascutaways.
Thanksforallyouworkonthesite,andthegifanimationsareperfectfordemonstratingyourexplanations.
Cheers
Simon
LAvideoFilmmakerHiSimon,
Thanksforthekindwordsandfortakingthetimetoprovidefeedback.Imgladyoufindmyworkhelpfulthereismoreinthepipeline.
Asateacheryoumighthavespecialinterestinwatchingthefilmmakingpracticevideopostedbyayoungfilmmaker.Improudofthisyoungmansworkethic!
KeepmepostedonhowyourTVspotdirectingunitgoes.
Thanksforfollowingmywork!
Cheers,
Ed
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December1,2013at1:23pm
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August5,2014at1:06pm
KiranThisisawesome!Youvereallycompiledagreatlistofpointersandtipshere.Ivebeeneditingforanumberofyearsandthisisstillagreatreminderofsomeofthemostimportanttechniquesandrules.Hopefullysomebuddingfilmmakers/editorswillfindthisvaluableresourceaswell.Cheers!
LAvideoFilmmakerThanks,Kiran!Welcometomywebsite.
Ed
JacobIamdoingaschoolprojectandIwaswonderingyourname.Ineeditformyworkscited
ChristineGreattipspresentedinaveryclearway!Nicearticle!
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