Wipe - gradual spatial transition from one image to another. One image is replaced by another with a distinct edge that forms a shape. A simple edge, an expanding circle, or the turning of a page are all examples.
As a word of warning, wipes should only be used if they are for a distinct purpose. George Lucas used them extensively for his Star Wars films, and although the purpose was to evoke memories of old pulp novels and serials as well as being inspired by Akira Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress (1958), he might have used them a bit too much. Nearly every scene is ended with a wipe, and he uses every type available, so much so that it has been criticised in some circles, not least in this video:
Dissolve - a gradual transition from one image to another. In film, this effect is created by controlled double exposure from frame to frame; transiting from the end of one clip to the beginning of another.
Often the dissolve can be used to show the passage of time, as such it is used in many montages. In this clip from Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) it is used to show the passage of time during a opera performance.
The dissolve can also be used to show the thoughts of a character, ie. a dream sequence, such as this one from Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982).
Thursday, 19 November 2009
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
Parallel Editing
Parallel Editing - an editing technique that allows two or more simultaneous sets of action to unfold within a single film sequence. It can be used to create tension, can show multiple points of view and can create dramatic irony when the characters are unaware of events unfolding away from the main action.
The ending of The Godfather (Franci Ford Coppola, 1972) is perhaps one of the best and most famous examples. Whilst Mafia don Michael Corleone is made godfather of his nephew, several of his henchmen dispatch rival gangsters. Coppola brilliantly contrasts the sacred act of renouncing God during baptism with Michael's bloody instructions being carried out.
Parallel editing is used extensively in action films, Die Hard (John McTeirnan, 1988) and Con Air (Simon West, 1997) being prime examples. However, a fantastic example of it being used to create tension is seen in The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme, 1991).
One of the best pieces of editing around is the famous car chase from The French Connection (William Friedkin, 1971). Not only is it a great example of parallel editing as the action switches between a car and a train, but it also uses many other editing techniques. POV shots are used as Gene Hackman's Doyle races through the busy streets of New York, but also shot/reverse shot and eyeline matches as he attempts to avoid other cars and pedestrians, including a lady with a pushchair. Action matches are used for the car chase and the train speeding along the tracks and there is also the odd match cut between the tracks and the road.
The ending of The Godfather (Franci Ford Coppola, 1972) is perhaps one of the best and most famous examples. Whilst Mafia don Michael Corleone is made godfather of his nephew, several of his henchmen dispatch rival gangsters. Coppola brilliantly contrasts the sacred act of renouncing God during baptism with Michael's bloody instructions being carried out.
Parallel editing is used extensively in action films, Die Hard (John McTeirnan, 1988) and Con Air (Simon West, 1997) being prime examples. However, a fantastic example of it being used to create tension is seen in The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme, 1991).
One of the best pieces of editing around is the famous car chase from The French Connection (William Friedkin, 1971). Not only is it a great example of parallel editing as the action switches between a car and a train, but it also uses many other editing techniques. POV shots are used as Gene Hackman's Doyle races through the busy streets of New York, but also shot/reverse shot and eyeline matches as he attempts to avoid other cars and pedestrians, including a lady with a pushchair. Action matches are used for the car chase and the train speeding along the tracks and there is also the odd match cut between the tracks and the road.
Jump Cuts
Jump Cut - a cut in film editing in which two sequential shots of the same subject are taken from camera positions that vary only slightly. This type of edit causes the subject of the shots to appear to "jump" position in a discontinuous way. For this reason, jump cuts are considered a violation of classical continuity editing, which aims to give the appearance of continuous time and space in the story-world by de-emphasizing editing. Jump cuts, in contrast, draw attention to the constructed nature of the film. Although the term is sometimes used in a loose way, a cut between two different subjects is not a true jump cut, no matter how jarring.
A great example is the opening from Snatch (Guy Ritchie, 2000) which introduces the major characters whilst 'jumping' several times in each location. The opening also comprises many match cuts to move from character to character.
In Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless (1960) shots of Jean Seberg riding in a convertible are cut together in such a way that the discontinuity between shots is emphasized and its jarring effect deliberate.
A great example is the opening from Snatch (Guy Ritchie, 2000) which introduces the major characters whilst 'jumping' several times in each location. The opening also comprises many match cuts to move from character to character.
In Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless (1960) shots of Jean Seberg riding in a convertible are cut together in such a way that the discontinuity between shots is emphasized and its jarring effect deliberate.
Greatest Match Cuts
Graphic Match/Match Cut - any cut from one scene to another which carries over objects or shapes that occupy the same space so as to suggest a relationship between the two scenes or objects, or to create a visual overthrow to establish a continuity of action rather than the abruptness of a Jump Cut.
Perhaps the most famous example of this technique is 1 minute into this clip from Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962) where an edit cuts together Lawrence blowing out a lit candle with the desert sun rising from the horizon. Director David Lean credits inspiration for the edit to the experimental French New Wave. The edit was later praised by Steven Spielberg as inspiration for his own work.
Rivalling Lawrence of Arabia for fame is this match cut from 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968) in which a primitive ape discovers the use of bones as weapons and throws a bone into the air after killing another ape. When the bone reaches its highest point, the shot cuts to that of a similarly-shaped space craft.
Alfred Hitchcock included two brilliant match cuts in his films North By Northwest (1959) and Psycho (1960). In the first (4:50 into the clip) Cary Grant is pulling Eva Marie Saint up from Mount Rushmore before it cuts to him pulling her onto a bed on a train. In Psycho (2:40 into this clip) right after Marion Crane is murdered in the infamous shower scene, the camera shows blood flowing down the drain of the tub, then cuts to a shot of Marion's eye.
Even Coronation Street have managed to get in on the act with a fantastic match cut right at the end of this clip.
Perhaps the most famous example of this technique is 1 minute into this clip from Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962) where an edit cuts together Lawrence blowing out a lit candle with the desert sun rising from the horizon. Director David Lean credits inspiration for the edit to the experimental French New Wave. The edit was later praised by Steven Spielberg as inspiration for his own work.
Rivalling Lawrence of Arabia for fame is this match cut from 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968) in which a primitive ape discovers the use of bones as weapons and throws a bone into the air after killing another ape. When the bone reaches its highest point, the shot cuts to that of a similarly-shaped space craft.
Alfred Hitchcock included two brilliant match cuts in his films North By Northwest (1959) and Psycho (1960). In the first (4:50 into the clip) Cary Grant is pulling Eva Marie Saint up from Mount Rushmore before it cuts to him pulling her onto a bed on a train. In Psycho (2:40 into this clip) right after Marion Crane is murdered in the infamous shower scene, the camera shows blood flowing down the drain of the tub, then cuts to a shot of Marion's eye.
Even Coronation Street have managed to get in on the act with a fantastic match cut right at the end of this clip.
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