Editing

The third convention of film art we consider this semester is editing. As we screen Rear Window this week, pay close attention to Alfred Hitchcock’s editing techniques while Jefferies (Jimmy Stewart) et al attempt to solve the mystery across the courtyard. (Obviously, some of these questions cannot be answered until you screen the film…)

First, what is a shot, and how do you know when one is over and another is beginning?

Shots may be joined in two ways: gradually and instantaneously (i.e., a cut). List three gradual ways shots may be linked.

Graphic Relations Between Shots

What is a graphic match?

Rhythmic Relations between Shots

How can editing also construct rhythm?

Skim the section “Picking up the Pace” from David Bordwell’s book The Way Hollywood Tells It (pp. 121-24), and then answer the following questions about ASLs.

What is an ASL?

What is the ASL for films made during the following years?

1930-1960: ______________

mid-late 1960s: ______________

1970s: ______________

1980s: ______________

1999-present: ______________

Do you think we have “hit a wall” when it comes to modern ASLs? In other words, can the editing get any faster? If so, how fast can we go without completely disrupting the narrative?

Why do you think that the rhythm of cutting is usually made dependent on the camera distance of the shot (i.e., long shots are left on the screen longer than medium shots, medium shots longer than-close-ups, etc.)?

Spatial Relations Between Shots

What is an establishing shot?

A shot/reverse shot?

An eyeline match?

And how do these shots/patterns establish space?

In Rear Window, when does Jefferies use eyeline matches?

What is cross-cutting (or parallel editing), and how does Hitchcock use it throughout Rear Window?

Who is Lev Kuleshov, and what did he do with images like the following? Ultimately, what did Kuleshov discover about editing and space?

Below is a video of Alfred Hitchcock explaining the Kuleshov Effect. When you watch Rear Window, see if you can pick out where Hitchcock allegedly plays with this theory he’s describing.

Temporal Relations between Shots

Order

What two ways do filmmakers rearrange the sequence in which stories are shown?

Duration

One can also expand and contract time with editing. In what ways may filmmakers do this?

When do you most notice elliptical editing or ellipses in Rear Window?

What is a montage, and how do you recall it being used in Citizen Kane? (HINT: think about Kane’s first marriage.)

When does Spike Lee use overlapping editing in Do the Right Thing (i.e., cuts that repeat part or all of an action, thus expanding its viewing time and plot duration)?

Continuity Editing / Discontinuous Editing

What is continuity editing (a.k.a. invisible editing)?

Why do the majority of filmmakers want editing to be “invisible”? (HINT: Think about the word verisimiltude.)

What is the editing pattern most directors follow when it comes to setting up a scene?

So that the audiences do not lose track of the setting’s spatial arrangement, what “rule” does the director generally keep in mind? And what does it mean (see sample diagram below)?

There are, however, some directors who like to deviate from this standard editing pattern. What can “breaking the rules” sometimes achieve?

List at least four ways that directors employ disjunctive (or visible) editing.

What is Soviet Montage, and when was it developed?

As always, any questions should first be directed to your classmates on Twitter with the appropriate hashtag; then if you’re still having trouble locating answers, ask Dr. Marshall at @profmarshall.