Lecture 4

Question 1

Editing

Answer 1

(1) In flimmaking, the task of selecting and joining camera takes
(2) In the finished film, the set of techniques that govern relations among shots

Question 2

shot

Answer 2

the smallest unit of editing is the shot (the duration
between edits); these combine to create larger structures,
scenes

Question 3

Scene

Answer 3

usually depict an uninterrupted span of time, and multiple scenes combine into sequences

Question 4

Various methods - can be selected to join one shot to the next

Answer 4

Cut, fade, dissolve, wipe

Question 5

Cut

Answer 5

instantaneous change from one framing to
another

Question 6

Fade

Answer 6

a shot gradually disappears as the screen
darkens (or potentially to another solid color)

Question 7

Dissolve

Answer 7

the first image gradually disappears while
the second image gradually appears

Question 8

Wipe

Answer 8

a line passes across the screen, replacing image

Question 9

Editing and time

Answer 9

can represent time as continuous or it can
deliberately distort time. It can do the latter in two different
ways:
(1) elliptical editing
(2) overlapping editing

Question 10

Elliptical editing

Answer 10

Shor transitions that omit time. Often it will exclude parts of an event, causing an ellipsis in plot duration

Question 11

Overlapping editing

Answer 11

repeats part or all of an event, thus
expanding its viewing time and plot duration

Question 12

Graphic Match

Answer 12

two successive shots joined so as to
create a strong similarity of compositional elements. It is
often used to naturalize elliptical edits

Question 13

Crosscutting

Answer 13

editing hat alternates shots of two or more lines of action occurring in different places, usually simultaneously

Question 14

Continuity editing

Answer 14

In keeping with classical norms, the editing style most
typical of classical Hollywood puts style at the service of
storytelling and effaces its own techniques. Spatial and
temporal relations are supposed to be clear and readily
comprehensible.
- the 180-degree system
- the axis of action

Question 15

The 180-degree system

Answer 15

the continuity approach to
editing dictates that the camera should stay on one side of
the action to ensure consistent left-right spatial relations
between elements from shot to shot

Question 16

The axis of action

Answer 16

the imaginary line that passes
through the main actors of the principal movement. The
axis of action defines the spatial relations of all the
elements of the scene as being to the right or the left

Question 17

Features of the continuity system

Answer 17

Establishing shot, shot/reverse shot, eyeline match, match on action, POV (point of view) shot

Question 18

Establishing shot

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Shot/reverse shot

Answer 19

two or more shots editing together
that alternate characters, typically in a conversational
situation

Question 20

Eyeline match

Answer 20

a cut obeying the axis of action principle,
in which the first shot shows a person looking off in one
direction and the second shows a nearby space
containing what he or she sees

Question 21

Match on action

Answer 21

a continuity cut that splices two
different views of the same action together at the same
moment in the movement, making it seem to continue
uninterrupted

Question 22

POV
(point of view) shot

Answer 22

a shot taken with the camera
placed approximately where the character’s eyes would
be, showing what the character would see: usually cut in
before or after a shot of the character looking