So my tutor told the class today to watch a video clip called 'The Gloaming' and then answer questions on what editing is.
So what is editing? It's often called the 'invisible art' because if its done well, the viewer doesn't notice the techniques. However, if its done badly, you would notice it. Its a collection of shots that creates a story for the viewer to watch. Shots are selected from raw footage and then arrange in such a way that the story runs smoothly.
There are different types of editing and 'elliptical' is one of them. Its a technique used to shorten the actual event's duration in the piece so it doesn't waste time. An example of this was shown in 'The Gloaming' and the girl within the film shows that she has fallen asleep at night and then it cuts to her waking up in the morning. Further evidence that she has fallen asleep over the night is that the campfire has smoke rising out of the campfire from the night before.
During her wakening, there was a long-shot used to remind the viewers of the location that it was shot in. It also gives a sense of the atmosphere. When watched you can see that she is alone and disoriented. Soon after she gets up, she discovers a yellow shirt within the waters. During this shot (Mid-shot then tilt down) there is both diagetic and non-diagetic sounds. The diagetic sounds are of the woods and its surroundings e.g., the bird calls, and dripping water. The non-diagetic sounds is the ominous music that has been layered in during editing. Non-diagetic sound is sound that only the viewers can hear and not the character. The music adds tension and sets the mood.
After continuing watching, you can see that she has discovered a ring. How do we know? Well the character looks down and towards the right of the frame (CU) she bends down. The scene then cuts to a ring that is laying in the grass (CU). Since this shot follows the previous shot of her looking down and bending over, we can fill in the blanks and make the connection that she is looking at the ring.
The Hustle
In this section we are going to discuss the editing techniques that is used in the British Television Drama Series 'The Hustle' which is about a bunch of con artists. At the beginning of this clip there is a overhead establishing shot. This is used to achieve where the action is taking place and the characters position. The camera begins to cut back and forth between to characters that are in conversation with each other. Although we don't see them in the same shot, we know that they are talking because of the position that the shots have been ordered. How do we know this? We know this by the directors' choice in techniques used, which I am going to explain below.
Shot Reverse Shot:
These are shots that cut between the two characters and makes the audience assume that they are talking to each other.
Further evidence to support the assumption that they are in conversation is the director uses another technique called eye-line matching. This is a technique that shows positioning of the eyes. One person is standing up and is looking down off-screen while talking and another is sitting down and looking up off-screen as well. Because of this we assume they are talking and looking at each other.
As we carry on watching the extract, you can see the main character talk to the rest of the group. Even though he is the one talking mostly throughout the scene, the editor has chosen to cut to the other members of the group. They do this to show their faces and their reaction to what is being said. After this the scene is switched with a 'wipe' transition and the action is placed to a different location and time. The location is of a building that is offset by how the camera is positioned. This transition fits in with the 'trendy and hip' style of The Hustle. As we are still on the subject of cuts and transitions, I should mention that the use of quick cuts are used because they set a pace. In the case of The Hustle, its fits in with the theme that the group has to work fast and efficiently. This puts the viewer at the edge of their sits and keeps them interested on what is happening on screen, as well as moving the story along.
