Chapter 6: Editing

Question 1

Editing

Answer 1

in filmmaking, the task of selecting and joining camera takes

in the finished film, the set of techniques that governs the relations among shots

Question 2

Cut

Answer 2

provides an instantaneous change from one shot to another

Question 3

Fade-Out

Answer 3

gradually darkens the end of a shot back to back

Question 4

Fade-In

Answer 4

lightens a shot from black

Question 5

Dissolve

Answer 5

briefly superimposes the end of shot A and the beginning of shot B

Question 6

Wipe

Answer 6

shot B replaces shot A using a boundary line moving across the screen

Question 7

What are the four basic areas of choice and control that editing offers the filmmaker?

Answer 7

(relations between shot A and shot B)
1. graphic
2. rhythmic
3. spatial
4. temporal

Question 8

What are the graphical relations between shot A and B?

Answer 8

1. the shots display patterns of light and dark, line and shape, volumes and depths, movement and stasis
2. pictorial constrasts can be powerful in guiding our attention

Question 9

Graphic Match

Answer 9

shapes, colors, overall composition, or movement in shot A may be picked up in the composition of shot B

Question 10

What are the rhythmic relations between shot A and shot B?

Answer 10

the filmmaler can adjust the lenghts of any shot in relations to the shots around it

the patterning of shot lenghts contibutes considerably to what we intitively recognize as a film’s rhythm

Question 11

Flash-Frame

Answer 11

a single frame that is completely clear between two shots

may mark transitions between segments or signal flashbacks or subjective sequences

Question 12

What are the spatial relations between shot A and shot B?

Answer 12

editing permits the filmmaker to juxtapose any two points in space and suggest some kind of relationship between them

Question 13

Kuleshov Effect

Answer 13

refers to cutting together portions of a space in a way that promotes the spectator to assume a spatial whole that isn’t shown onscreen

Question 14

Constructive Editing

Answer 14

the filmmaker has decided to withhold an establishing shot

Question 15

Analytical Editing

Answer 15

breaks an establishing shot into closer views

Question 16

What are the temporal relations between shot A and B?

Answer 16

editing can control the time of action presented in the film

Question 17

Flashbacks

Answer 17

present one or more shots out of their presumed story order

Question 18

Flashforward

Answer 18

the editing moves from the present to a future event and then returns to the present

Question 19

Elliptical Editing

Answer 19

presents an action in such a way that it consumes less time on the screen than it does in the story

Question 19

Continuity Editing

Answer 19

uses a variety of classic film editing techniques to blend multiple camera shots — some taken at different times or even different locations — into a seamless, consistent narrative

Question 19

Ellipsis

Answer 19

the narrative device of omitting a portion of the sequence of events, allowing the reader to fill in the narrative gaps

devices like dissolves, fades, and wipes conventionally signal an ellipsis in the action, and you can create one using a cutaway or insert

Question 20

Overlapping Editing

Answer 20

if the action from the end of one shot is partly repeated at the beginning of the next

prolongs the action, stretching it out past its story duration

Question 21

Aspects of continuity editing

Answer 21

1. graphic qualities are roughly continuous from shot to shot
2. the rhythm of the cutting is adjusted to the scale of the shots

Question 22

180 degree system

Answer 22

the filmmaker will plan, stage, shoot, and edit the shots so as to maintain the axis of action from shot to shot

Question 23

What are the functions of the 180 degree system?

Answer 23

1. ensures that relative positions in the frame remain consistent 2. ensures consistent eyelines 3. ensures consistent screen direction 4. clearly delineates space the viewer should always know there the characters are in relation to one another and to the setting- and to know where they are with respect to the story action

Question 24

Establishing Shot

Answer 24

a shot, usually involving a distant framing, that shows the spatial relations among the important figures, objects, and setting in a scene

Question 25

Shot/Reverse Shot

Answer 25

two or more shots edited together that alternate characters, typically in a conversation situation

Question 26

Eyeline Match

Answer 26

occurs when shot A presents someone looking at something offscreen and shot B shows us what is being looked at- in neither shot are the both the looker and the object present

Question 27

Reestablishing Shot

Answer 27

a return to a view of an entire space after a series of closer shots following the establishing shot

Question 28

Match-On Action

Answer 28

carrying a single movement across a cut

Question 29

Cheat Cut

Answer 29

the power of the axis of action and the eyelines it can create is so great that the filmmaker may be able to eliminate an establishing shot, thus relying on the Kuleshov effect

Question 30

POV Cutting

Answer 30

gives us an eyeline match that presents something as seen by the person looking- the shot is more or less optically subjective

Question 31

Crosscutting

Answer 31

the plot alternates shots of story events in one place with shots of another event elsewhere

Question 32

What are the functions of crosscutting?

Answer 32

1. intriduces some spatial discontinuity by shuttling us from place to place 2. by giving us unrestricted knowledge of a situation, it can clarify conflict and build tension 3. by supplying unrestricted knowledge, crosscutting can highlight parallels, even if the charcaters are unaware of them

Question 33

What is the order and frequency that continuity editing typically presents the story events?

Answer 33

1-2-3 (chronological sequence) often presents only once what happens once in the story (one-for-one frequency)

Question 34

Continuous Duration

Answer 34

plot time and screen time equaling story time

Question 35

Elided Duration

Answer 35

story time being greater than plot time and screen time

Question 36

Temporal Continuity

Answer 36

ensures that a film seems to flow continuously in time 1. the narrative progression of the scene has no gaps 2. diegetic sound 3. match on action between shots 5 and 6

Question 37

Montage Sequence

Answer 37

brief portions of a process, informative titles, stereotypes images, newsreel footage, newspaper headlines, and the like can be joined by dissolves and music to create a quick, regular rhythm and to compress a lenghty series of action into a few moments

Question 38

Single-Frame Film

Answer 38

each shot is only one frame long

Question 39

Jump Cut

Answer 39

when you cut together two shots of the same subject if the shots differ only slightly in angle or composition, there will be a noticeable jump on the screen the result looks as if some frames have been cut out of a single shot

Question 40

Nondiegetic Insert

Answer 40

the filmmaker cuts from the scene to a metaphorical or symbolic shot that doesn't belong to the space and time of the narrative