Contents
A Very Brief History of Film Editing
What Basic Factors May Affect Your Editing Choices?
Degree of Audience Manipulation
The Basic Motion Picture Transitions
Chapter One – Final Thoughts: Editing Purpose and Process
Related Material Found in Chapter Eight – Working Practices
Chapter Two – Understanding the Visual Material
The Medium Shot/Waist Shot/Mid-Shot
The Medium Long Shot/Medium Wide Shot
The Very Long Shot/Very Wide Shot
The Extreme Long Shot/Extreme Wide Shot
Shot Categories: The Increasing Complexity of Motion Imagery
Chapter Two – Final Thoughts: Camera Shots Are Your Building Blocks
Related Material Found in Chapter Eight – Working Practices
Chapter Three – Understanding the Audio Material
Sounds Gathered During Production
Room Tone/Natural Sound (NATS)/Ambience
Sounds Gathered During Post-Production
Automated Dialogue Replacement (ADR)/Looping
Sound Effects (SFX)/Spot Effects
Audio Terms that You May Encounter
Chapter Three – Final Thoughts: Sound as Emotional and Physiological Manipulation
Related Material Found in Chapter Eight – Working Practices
Chapter Four – Assessing the Footage: Selecting the Best Shots for the Job
The 180-Degree Rule/Axis of Action
Continuity of Dialogue/Spoken Words
Be Familiar with All of the Footage
Chapter Four – Final Thoughts: So How Does All of This Help You?
Related Material Found in Chapter Eight – Working Practices
Chapter Five – When to Cut and Why: Factors that Lead to Making an Edit
Chapter Five – Final Thoughts: Is There a Right or Wrong Reason for a Cut?
Related Material Found in Chapter Eight – Working Practices
Chapter Six – Transitions and Edit Categories
The Four Major Categories of Transition Types
The Five Major Categories of Edit Types
Chapter Six – Final Thoughts: Does Everything Always Apply?
Related Material Found in Chapter Eight – Working Practices
Chapter Seven – Editing Terms, Topics, and Techniques
Color Correction/Color Grading
Chapter Seven – Final Thoughts: Old Techniques Done with New Technologies
Related Material Found in Chapter Eight – Working Practices
Chapter Eight – Working Practices
1. Pay Careful Attention to Media and Project Organization
2. Learn and Use Keyboard Shortcuts
3. Organize Your Timeline Tracks and Maintain Consistency Across Projects
5. Review Each Edit or Series of Edits as You Make Them
6. Duplicate Your Sequence Before Making Major Changes
7. Seek Feedback While Editing Your Motion Picture
8. Put Aside Your Edited Sequence for a While and Watch It Again with Fresh Eyes
9. Use Shots with Matching Headroom When Cutting a Dialogue Scene
10. Avoid Shots Where Distracting Objects Are Too Near to the Subject’s Head
11. Avoid Shots Where the Subject Gets Awkwardly Cut Off at the Edge of the Frame
12. Cut Matched Shots in a Back-and-Forth Dialogue Scene
13. Ensure that Subjects Talking on the Telephone Appear to Be Looking Across the Screen at One Another
14. In a Three-Person Dialogue, Beware of Cutting from a Two-Shot to Another Two-Shot
15. With a Single Subject, Try to Avoid Cutting to the Same Camera Angle
16. Beware of Screen Placement Issues with an Object of Interest
17. Edit in a Wide Shot as Soon as Possible After a Series of Close-Up Shots in a Group Scene
18. Cut to a Close Shot of a New Subject Soon After He or She Enters a Scene
19. Use an Establishing Shot to Set Up a New Scene’s Location
20. Use Close-Ups of Subjects in a Scene for the Greatest Emotional Effect
21. Cut Away from Subjects Soon After Their Look Rests upon Their Object of Interest
22. Use J-Cuts and L-Cuts to Smooth Over Transitions
23. Create Continuous Motion Action Edits by Matching Physical Movements
24. When Cutting a Rise as an Action Edit, Cut Before the Subject’s Eyes Leave the Frame
25. When Cutting to a Close-Up of an Action, Select a Version of the Close-Up Where the Action Is Slower
26. Understand the Visual Differences Between a Dolly-In and a Zoom
27. Beware of Shots that Dolly Out without Motivation
28. Select the Best Version of a Pan or Crab Dolly Shot
29. Begin and End Each Pan, Tilt, or Dolly Shot on a Static Frame
30. Avoid Editing a Stationary Simple Shot After a Moving Complex Shot of the Same Subject
31. Avoid Cutting Pans and Tilts that Reverse Direction at the Cut Point
32. Avoid Crossing the Action Line or the Screen Direction Will Be Reversed
33. Avoid Cutting an Action Edit from a Two-Shot to Another Two-Shot of the Same Subjects
34. Allow a Subject to Exit the Frame Completely Prior to Showing Him or Her Entering the Next Shot
35. Maintain Screen Direction Across an Action Edit
36. Avoid Making an Action Edit from a Long Shot of a Subject to a Close-Up of the Same Subject
37. Beware of Editing a Cut-to-Black Followed by a Cut-to-Full-Picture
38. Take Advantage of the Transition Point that Natural Wipes Offer
39. Take Advantage of the Transition Point that Whip Pans Offer
40. Do Not Use Video Track Dissolves During a Dialogue Scene
41. Use a “Soft Cut” or Mini-Dissolve to Mask a Cut in Interview Footage
42. Use a Dissolve Between Simile Shots
43. Handle Continuity, Time, or Information “Gaps” with an Insert Shot
44. Cut to Reaction Shots During Phrases or Sentences Rather than at the End
45. When Editing Dialogue, Avoid Automatically Removing a Performer’s Pauses
46. In Documentary Programming, Edit Out “Ums” and “Ahs” in Interviewee Speech
47. Use a Character’s Cleanly Recorded Dialogue under His or Her Off-Screen or Over-the-Shoulder Line Delivery
48. Do Not Be Too Bound by Dialogue When Looking for a Cut Point
49. Do Not Leave Any Holes in Your Audio Tracks
50. When Appropriate, Edit Video Tracks to the Beats of Music in Your Sequence
51. If Appropriate for Your Story, Make a Cut at a Loud Sound on the Audio Track
52. Hold Off on Adding Music to Dialogue Scenes
53. During the Audio Mix, Make Sure that Music Track Levels Do Not Overpower Dialogue
54. Consider Using a Sound Element Before Active Picture at the Start of a Program
55. For the End of a Program, Use the End of the Music
56. Make Appropriate Font Choices for Your Titles
57. Be Aware of Proper On-Screen Durations for Inter-Title and Lower-Third Graphics
58. Use Still Digital Photographs Whose Image Resolution Is as Large as or Larger than the Project Format’s Pixel Resolution
59. If Working for a Client, Complete Rudimentary Color Correction Before Showing a Rough Cut
60. When Color Grading, Work Through Shots, Then Scenes, Then Overall Look
Chapter Nine – Concluding Thoughts
A New Shot Should Contain New Information
There Should Be a Reason for Every Edit
Select the Appropriate Form of Edit
The Better the Edit, the Less It Is Noticed
The Role of an Assistant Editor
Chapter Nine – Final Thoughts: Key Take-Aways
Appendix A – Helpful Resources for the New Filmmaker
Appendix B – Crew Members Commonly Needed for Motion Picture Production