Style Of Editing

The Style of Editing are how shots are linked together or the transition from one shot to another.

Straight Cut
A Straight Cut is probably one of the most commonly used transitions.
Straight Cuts are used as they do not attract the audiences attention, they just go straight from one shot into another without anything in between. Straight Cuts are useful when you don't want to break the audiences concentration from what is happening.

Example of a dissolve

Dissolve
A Dissolve is when one shot fades into another as the other shot fades in so the audience can see both of the shots during the dissolve as one fades away and the other fades over the previous shot. Dissolves are used to show connections between objects, characters or places.

Fade
A Fade is a transition where a shot will fade out to a solid colour, most oftenly black or white until only the solid colour can be seen. Fades often indicate the end of a scene and are often used at the end of films to show that it is the end of the film, they can also show how time passes and white fades can often signify death as though someone has seen the light and is passing away.

Jump Cut
A Jump Cut is not commonly used in films as they can easily be done badly.
Jump Cuts go against the rules of continuity by appearing to leave out chunks of the film.
Time still continues to pass in the film and it is filmed within the same setting but a jump cut will create a leap from when one thing happens to another.



Wipe
Wipes are an editing technique well known for it's use in the famous Star Wars films but aren't commonly used in films today as it often looks quite shabby. Wipes are used to show a passing of time where one scene is pushed off the screen by another scene.

Speed Of Editing

In a film the length of scenes can vary between seconds to minutes as a technique to show the pace of the film and how the action moves along. The speed of editing can determine the mood and what is happening within the scene and present a certain atmosphere.

Scenes that involve fast paced editing are short and the shots change quickly. This is used to create a sense of suspense and can be used in scenes that involve action, such as fighting scenes.

An example of quick editing being used is in the above extract taken from Batman Begins in which we see Batmans fight against the ninja thugs. The shots used are no longer than a few seconds and are at various angles to show what is happening from different perspectives so we can see everything that is happening. The pace of the shots gives the audience a sense of action as we associate action with being fast paced and gives a sense of adrenaline. We get to see everything that happens within the shots but as they are fast paced we don't get much time to take it in, the audience are left feeling suspense as anything could happen at any moment.

On the other hand the speed of editing can be slow if you desire a different atmosphere. Slow editing requires longer shots that change less frequently. Slow editing is usually used in romantic scenes.

Trailers require a lot of detail packed into a small amount of time so the audience get an idea of what the film will be about and so the editing used in trailers is very fast paced so they can put as much information into the short space of time they have.

Editing used at the beginning of films is usually very slow to introduce the audience to the characters, the scene and the story so we have enough time to realise what is going on the shots are long and slow. But this can change as the film carries on and the pace may quicken and edits can become faster as the film carries on.