Editing transitions, dimensions, and systems

Question 1

Editing transitions

Answer 1

• cut, dissolve, fade in or fade out, wipe (examples from The Empire Strikes Back)

Question 2

Dimensions of film editing: the four relationships of shot-to-shot

Answer 2

1. Graphic editing:
2. Rhythmic editing:
3. Spatial editing:
4. Temporal editing:

Question 3

1. Graphic editing:

Answer 3

• graphic match or contrast/clash between the purely pictorial qualities of two shots:
  use of light and dark, color, line and shape, volume and depth, movement and stasis

Question 4

2. Rhythmic editing:

Answer 4

• accelerating or decelerating tempo of edits over time

Question 5

3. Spatial editing:

Answer 5

analytical breakdown of space (use a wide shot first to establish space, then cut to closer shots)
- synthetic construction of space (create an implied spatial whole from closer shots)
- the Kuleshov effect: viewers imply a spatial whole that isn’t shown onscreen
- crosscutting across two different spaces (often used in the melodrama convention of lastminute
rescue sequences)

Question 6

4. Temporal editing:

Answer 6

• shapes the film’s chronology/temporal order of plot vs. story, occasionally in cases when the
  screenplay didn’t (The Godfather: Part II)
• flashbacks and flashforwards
• temporal duration: elliptical editing (trimming story events) vs. overlapping editing (repeating
  story events)

Question 7

Clip analysis:

Answer 7

The Birds, Do the Right Thing, Notorious, Citizen Kane, The Godfather, Mahogany

Question 8

Continuity editing

Answer 8

The purpose is to create a smooth flow of shots across space and time, so that the editing seems
“invisible” to the viewer and story engagement is paramount

Question 9

Spatial continuity:

Answer 9

the 180° system

Question 10

• establishing shot:

Answer 10

delineates the overall space

Question 11

axis of action / center line / 180° line:

Answer 11

an imaginary line that connects actors and enables
consistent screen direction

Question 12

• shot/reverse shot:

Answer 12

after establishing the 180° line, one point of the line is shown, then the other,
edited back and forth (as in editing a conversation between two people)

Question 13

• eyeline match:

Answer 13

a character looks at something offscreen in Shot A, then Shot B shows us what
he or she was looking at

Question 14

• reestablishing shot:

Answer 14

resets the overall space that had previously been analyzed into closer shots
this can enable an editing pattern of establishment/breakdown/reestablishment

Question 15

• match on action:

Answer 15

carrying a single action smoothly over a cut from Shot A to Shot B

Question 16

Refinements to spatial continuity

Answer 16

• directors regularly alter the technically correct positions of actors and objects when necessary
• directors may cross the axis, often by including a shot directly on the 180° line before the cross
• an establishing shot is not strictly necessary, if utilizing the Kuleshov effect to connect space
• filming on the axis: in point-of-view (POV) editing, we see through a character’s eyes, which is
  a tactic of including perceptual subjectivity in the narration

Question 17

Clip Analysis

Answer 17

Vertigo

Question 18

Temporal continuity

Answer 18

• story events are typically only presented once in the plot, rather than repeating them
• the narrative progression of the scene has no gaps
• seamless ellipses in the editing are used to trim story time from the plot
• montage sequences of time passing can condense time and preserve continuity (not to be
  confused with discontinuity-style montage, which often does not tell a story)

Question 19

Discontinuity editing

Answer 19

The purpose can be to intentionally disorient the viewer, draw attention to the filmmaking
process itself, or to make intellectual statements about the narrative from beyond the story world.

Question 20

Spatial and temporal discontinuity

Answer 20

• explores purely graphic and rhythmic possibilities of montage, rather than story-driven flow
• makes an ambiguous use of space, including jump cuts (an image seems to “skip” over the edit
  in a jarring manner)
• nondiegetic inserts: disrupts continuity with a metaphorical or symbol shot, or use of text from
  beyond the story world

Question 21

Clip analysis:

Answer 21

2001: A Space Odyssey