Directions: Editing

There are a variety of editing styles and techniques including:

Continuitey Editing

Rhythmic Editing

Non Continuity Editing 

Match On Action

Up until the early 2000's all films were edited together using a machine called a Steenbeck, splicing the film together with sellotape. 

Video linier editing developed further, whereby you could have a bank of machines with your source material, allowing for faster cuts as well as fades and wipes.

This was pushed foward by the demand for more action based films and music videos.  

However there are alternatives to classic continuity editing style, such as French New Wave, Montage etc; which will be detailed bellow. 

Although it can be hard to cut out material you spent a long time shooting, it is crucial to make a streamline story that has a steady pace. This is crucial because if the film is too fast with too many cuts, the audience get left behind, but the fewer/slower cuts there are the quicker the audience will loose interest. 

Ordinarilly a scene starts wide and slow, and then gets closer and quicker. e.g. a slow stilted conversation becomes more free flowing and ends abruptly.

Where you place your character in a scene is crucial in editing, it will allow you to use space to your advantage to generate emotion and suggestion. 

An emotional scene will hold shots longer, and cuts will be slower. An action scene will cut quicker, A tense scne will utalise long shots with quick cuts, timing is key here. 

Cross cutting and match on action are great editing tools used to craete susoense and drama, especially in action sequences.

Montage means a collective of shots and events filmed over a period of time, and condences it in to a short sequence.