Research - Editing - Ms begum

Editing

What's Editing? Why is it important to use in films?

- The definition I looked up from the internet; "Film Editing  is part of the creative post-production process of filmmaking. The term film editing is derived from the traditional process of working with film, but now it increasingly involves the use of digital technology".
Editing is what makes the film a lot more interesting because if it was all from one shot, you would lose your audience quickly as it would be very boring. having different shots edited together shows the scene from different points of view which does add interest to the film.
So, editing is important because editing is used to enhance the film so the viewers attention is grabbed towards the screen and the film never lets go of the viewers interest. Some edits fit to certain film genres and match up to the genre perfectly. For example, in a horror, a scenario of a killer attacking its victim would consist of fast edits.
In psycho, the shower scene clearly shows a contrast in slow and fast editing at specific points of the scene.
Slow editing is used when she is calmly by her desk and then getting ready to jump in the shower, but when the killer is attacking her, there are approximately 33 edits in the space of 20-25 seconds, which brings excitement in the scene.

What terms and definitions did I learn in the editing lesson?

- There are many editing techniques I learnt which are used in editing films..
 "Straight Cut" is when one shot moves into another shot without any transition, and also doesn't confuse the audience. Its the most simplest way to go from one shot to another.
"Fade to black" is when one shot moves to another but has a black filter in-between, this is used a lot in trailers.
"Wide cut" is when the shot simply slides from one shot to another from the side of the screen, its not used much is horrors or thrillers, but its used a lot in comedies, musicals and other joyful films.
"Dissolve" is when one shot disintegrates into another shot. This editing technique is sometimes used in a very clever way, for example, in the ending scene of psycho when the antagonist is looking towards the screen, it fades into a slight image of a skull but quickly dissolves into the ending image on a dragging car. The Skull is quickly showing a message of how his life may be ending, or probably showing the end of his psychotic days. It all depends on how the viewer sees it.
"Reaction Shot" is any shot (often used as a cut away) in which a subject reacts to another shot, this shows the viewer detail in the actors reaction and is usually a close up so the viewers see the reaction in detail. I learnt many other editing techniques which will help me in the making of my thriller.

A Scene Where Editing Techniques Are Used Effectively.
- The opening scene to scream were the blonde girl is on the phone to the antagonist shows a massive contrast of when she is relaxed and when she is scared and panicking, realising the killer is watching her. This contrast is shown drastically through the editing. This is because when she is calm the editing pace is very slow and calm, whereas when she is being chased and attacked by the antagonist, the editing is fast and makes the audience uncomfortable with the quick edits.

Conclusion, How Has My Research Developed My Ideas For My Thriller?

- Learning all of these editing techniques as given me ideas of how to make my thriller more interesting and unique. My aim is to draw my audiences attention which can be used effectively with editing techniques like straight cut, dissolve, jump cut and many others I have learned from research. One technique which I can use effectively at the most exciting part of my thriller is the montage shot. This is when shots are quickly put together to build excitement, this is mainly used in attacking scenes where the most scariest things happen, and it grabs the audiences attention.