editing in tv drama

EditingEditingSpeed and StyleSpeed and Style

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Hitchcock’s PsychoHitchcock’s PsychoWatch this extract from Watch this extract from

Psycho. We join the action Psycho. We join the action where Marion has checked where Marion has checked

into the infamous Bates into the infamous Bates Motel and is about to take a Motel and is about to take a

shower...shower...

Note where the editing Note where the editing speeds up and slows speeds up and slows

down.down.

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Hitchcock’s Psycho

Now watch the extract again and...

❖Count the number of edits in the section a) before the attack b) during the attack.

❖How does the speed of the editing emphasise the action? Be as specific as

you can in your answer.

❖There were practical reasons for the actual attack scene containing so many edits. Can you suggest some of these?

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Speed of Editing❖ When we watch a piece of moving image of some

length we see that it has been joined together at certain appropriate points. Each scene may last a matter of seconds, or it could continue for minutes but the length of each sequence establishes the pace of the action.

❖ The speed of the editing will help determine the mood of what is taking place on screen - if the audience is to feel anxiety and suspense the editing will be quick - the shots frequently changing. If a relaxed mood is desired, the shots last longer and change less frequently.

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Watch the 2 clips from Casualty and count how many seconds each shot lasts for.

❖Why have shot of different lengths been used? What affect do these have upon the

audience?

Clip 1 Clip 2

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Speed of Editing

❖ The speed of the edits you see can be summed up as fast paced edits or slow paced edits.

❖ As you saw in Psycho, a change in pace can have a dramatic effect.

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EditingEditing is a term which is used to describe the

process of looking at all the footage which has been shot during the making of a film or TV

programme, placing it in the desired order and actually joining it together. When we are looking at

editing in moving image there are 2 areas to concentrate on:

❖Speed of editing - how long does each shot last?

❖Style of editing - how each shot is joined to the next?

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The Kuleshov EffectIn the 1920s, Russian filmmaker Lev Kuleshov experimented with editing.

❖Watch the following clips, focussing on the expression of the actors’ face.

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The Kuleshov EffectThe Kuleshov EffectKuleshov was playing with our Kuleshov was playing with our

natural desire to make shots link natural desire to make shots link together in a logical way.together in a logical way.

When the full film was shown to audiences When the full film was shown to audiences they they "raved about the acting.... the heavy "raved about the acting.... the heavy

pensiveness of his mood over the pensiveness of his mood over the forgotten soup, were touched and moved forgotten soup, were touched and moved by the deep sorrow with which he looked by the deep sorrow with which he looked

on the dead woman, and admired the on the dead woman, and admired the light, happy smile with which he light, happy smile with which he

surveyed the girl at play. But we knew surveyed the girl at play. But we knew that in all three cases the face was that in all three cases the face was

exactly the same."exactly the same."

In fact, the expression of the In fact, the expression of the actor is exactly the same in each actor is exactly the same in each shot, as is the contemporary up-shot, as is the contemporary up-

date of the film.date of the film.

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Style of Editing Style of Editing Editing is used to move the Editing is used to move the

narrative and action along. It is narrative and action along. It is typically continuous, chronological typically continuous, chronological

and unobtrusive. and unobtrusive.

Editing that is hardly noticeable is Editing that is hardly noticeable is referred to as referred to as invisible editinginvisible editing.. This is a classic Hollywood style of This is a classic Hollywood style of editing, that helps the audience editing, that helps the audience

make sense of the unnatural world make sense of the unnatural world on screen.on screen.

Shots are joined together by an Shots are joined together by an editor in a variety of ways that can editor in a variety of ways that can

be categorised as be categorised as cutscuts or or transitionstransitions and and effectseffects..

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Cuts/Cutting

Cut:Shot jumps from one to another. A basic

edit.Aids continuity, is the most common edit.

Cross cutting:

Cutting from one action shot to another piece of action in a different location.

Implies that the action is happening simultaneously.

Cutaway:Shot of something other than the main action,

from outside of the frame.Covers up edit. Sometimes shows the audience

something significant.

Reaction Shot:

Cuts to a shot in which the subject reacts to the previous shot.Tells the audience what the subject is

thinking/feeling/is about to do.

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Cuts/Cutting

Shot/reverse shot:

Characters are shown facing towards one another in separate shots.

Characters appear to be looking at one another. Conventional for dialogue.

Elliptical cut:The removal of time between shots.

Elides/omits time, drives narrative forward.

Flash BackShot cuts to a scene from a time in the past.

Elides/omits time, highlights dramatic change of place in narrative.

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Transitions & Effects

Super Imposition:

Wipe:

Fade in/out:

Dissolve:

Signals start/end of film. Loss of consciousness. Some time later ...

Image/subject fades into black/white.

One image/subject pushes another off screen.

One image/subject is placed over another.

Moves narrative/time forward. Draw attention to the edit.

One frame dissolves into another.

Both shots need to be considered simultaneously for a greater effect on audience.

Moves shots gently and smoothly from one to the other. Connotes peacefulness, elegance. Emphasises a graphic match.

Slow motion: Frames move at a slower rate.Intensifies action/emotion.

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Styles of Edit

Use the worksheet to draw examples of transitions.

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Soviet MontageSergei Eisenstein, another Russian filmmaker of the 1920s, thought that film was more effectiveif shots were not obviously linked together. As such, the audience are forced to be more actively involved with the film as they concentrate on how the action fits together.

❖Watch the extract from Eistentein’s film Battleship Potemkin.

The sequence you see is a very famous one set on a flight of steps in the Russian town of Odessa. The townspeople are rebelling against the hardships of the Czarist rule but the Czar’s troops arrive to restore order. As we join the action a young woman just just been shot and her baby’s pram teeters on the edge of the steps.

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Why is it necessary to concentrate when watching this clip? Do you agree with

Eisenstein that you are more involved in the action because of this level of concentration?

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Battleship PotemkinHow does the editing emphasise the following?

❖The attitude of the soldiers and their sheer physical force. (Which parts of the soldiers are shown? In the shots of the soldiers what/who are they next to? How does the pace of the editing reflect the movement of the soldiers?)

❖The vulnerability of the ordinary people. (Which members of the public are shown? What are they doing? What could they be thinking? What shots are placed next to these shots of ordinary people?)

❖The atmosphere of chaos and confusion. (Are there any parts in the sequence where you are unsure what is happening? What type of shot (distance) do we see the most? What type of shot is this put next to? What affect does this have? How does the speed of the editing affect the way we feel?)

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Identifying Editing❖ Spotting editing can be a hard task, due to its

invisible nature!

❖ Make a grid of the various edits you have learnt, like the one below.

CutCut

Fast paceFast pace

DissolveDissolve

❖ Now watch the extracts and tick off the edits that you see.

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Continuity Editinghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6rgwbf2lUQ

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are needed to see this picture.

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QuickTime™ and aH.264 decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

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QuickTime™ and aH.264 decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

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A Medical Drama, with the emphasis on the

drama.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7samYP0uKE