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Importance of editing in film
Importance of editing in film
The importance of editing in film
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In this essay I will discussing how the theory of montage is used to construct meaning which results in a response from the audience to watching this specific sequence in Battleship Potemkin directed by Sergei Eisenstein in 1925. The theory of montage has 5 parts to it which I will discuss in detail further on with reference to the Odessa steps sequence. History also plays an important part as to how Pudovkin, Lev Kuleshov and D. W Griffiths influenced Eisenstein to look deeper into editing. Eisenstein gained the knowledge on how editing film could change the emotional impact on the audience through shot size, shot variation, tempos and lengths of a shot and more. All of this elements where studied, used by Eisenstein to produce new ideas and meaning to film but was it unnecessary in film as a whole?
Sergei Eisenstein as a young film student, studying in the Soviet Union who was inspired by D.W Griffiths use of editing techniques in Birth Of A Nation. It was the beginning point in the theory on montage he developed on from Pudovkin and Lev Kuleshov. Eisenstein began to develop his theory of montage which consists of 5 theories, Metric, Rhythmic, Tonal, Over-Tonal and Intellectual Montage that can be seen in the Odessa Steps sequence of Battleship Potemkin. Sergei Eisenstein believed editing should be dialectical, consisting of an idea (thesis), opposing or conflicting idea(antithesis) and solution which is the synthesis in a more cinematic film term “…the conflict between shot A and shot B is not AB (Kuleshov and Pudovkin) , but a qualitatively new factor – C (Eisenstein) –Understanding Movies, Louis Giannetti ,tenth edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, 1993 pg167) My own understanding from the prescribed readings to be an editing te...
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...rified and outraged that the heartless Cossacks for killing innocent mother and son. There is a disconnection within this scene, as the mother runs up toward her son in the direction toward the soldiers the shot cut and she changes direction now walking down to pick up her son.
The second example of this montage is the sequence of the baby carridge is the close up shot of the Cossacks guns being fired, to the close up of the mothers face showing the viewers she has been shot which are juxtaposed against the close up of the wheels of the pram. The juxtapostion of these 3 scenes increases the suspense by the short duration o the shots. The resulting impact is the fact that the mother has been wounded and watching the wheels of the pram on the edge of the step creates a feeling of suspense and intense emotion because we do not know what will happen to the child.
These techniques are significant as it leads the viewers into contemplating about their own High Schools, creating emotional introspection. As a younger viewer it also enables me to empathise with the students being a similar age to the victims of the massacre. The severity of the situation is also felt through the use of sound as the audience can hear the trembling and distraught tones from the emergency calls. Archival sound footage further strengthens the authenticity of the crisis. As the distressed voices are heard as a voice-over, paired with the solemn sound of the acoustic guitar, the camera techniques further complements the disaster.
In cinema, lighting, blocking and panning drastically influence what an audience will notice and take away from a scene. Orson Welles’s 1941 Citizen Kane has numerous examples of effectively using these aspects within mise-en-scène, cinematography and editing to portray the importance of specific events and items in the film. The scene where Kane writes and then publishes his “Declaration of Principles” (37:42-39:42) in the New York Daily Inquirer after buying them focuses on important elements of the film, aiding the audience by combining lighting, blocking and panning to define significant roles and objects that further the movie as a whole.
When I watching this movie, I notice that I felt less separation from the movie. Initially I could not find a reason for that but, soon after I realize that the camera is not static but it wobbling slightly. In most movie, camera does not move and it creates the frame. In the other hand, this movie’s handheld camera type of camera works imitate the human eyesight feeling and make people feels like to experience the event in a movie as a one of the character. In this perspective, do not explain too much about the detail is emphasizing this experience. Consider these things, I really excited and enjoyed couple of scene which are the running through battle field and engaging to the baby. In the every day world, both scene is pretty rare to experience. For the battle field scene, majority of the people have avoiding to be in there so that is rare. The engaging to the baby experience is quite normal event for most people and of course it is grate experience but, in this movie setting, baby is extremely rare and seeing baby is truly miracle event. To emphasize and provide this miracle event, this camera work is perfect to apply.
Vertov uses montage make the viewer understand the connection between individual potential and societal potential, and furthermore, how technology is able to factor into this connection. To achieve his goal, Vertov uses one scene which begins with a close-up, eye-level of a woman cleaning her face with a towel (Vertov, 11’42”-12’11”). The use of a close-up, eye-level shot pins the viewer on the woman’s eyes. The woman abruptly peers up, and as she does so, Vertov fluidly cross cuts to a close up shot of blinds of a window looking out the city opening, successfully blending together the motion of both shots. The window of the house is a unit of the community, and by blending the motion of the woman’s eyes with the blinds of the windows house, Vertov establishes the woman as a unit of her greater society. Vertov uses another crosscut to connect the shot of the blinds to a close up shot of a camera. The camera focuses in and out on a subsequent close-up shot of flowers. Just as the woman can use
In the film V for Vendetta the director James Mcteigue uses a range of different film techniques in order to gain the audience's attention and to make the movie more interesting. The four film techniques I’m going to focus on in this essay are editing, music, camera angles and the lighting. I am going to do this by analysing the ‘Domino Montage’ scene.
Sergei Eisenstein was a Russian film director, that was born in Riga (now, Latvia) in 1898 (Hoobler 75). Eisenstein is considered the innovator behind the montage style of movies
The way that a movie is pieced together by the director/producers has a huge impact on the viewer’s experience. Stylistic elements are used to help engage the viewer; however, without these techniques the viewer will most likely loose interest. In this essay I will be taking a look at a scene within the movie Casablanca directed by Michael Curtiz in 1942. Casablanca is a classic film that is reviewed to be one of the greatest movies of all time. This could be due to the notable quotes used throughout the movie, or its ability to follow a historic, comical, and romantic storyline throughout the course of the film. It caters to several different viewers, making this movie favorable to many. This scene in Casablanca uses specific editing techniques
...successful collaboration of sound, colour, camera positioning and lighting are instrumental in portraying these themes. The techniques used heighten the suspense, drama and mood of each scene and enhance the film in order to convey to the spectator the intended messages.
Montage is from the beginning of the twenties characterized as a process of synthesis, building something new and in terms of the physical planes also something quite simple. Most montage’s films were created as a dialectical process, where initially from a two meanings of consecutive shots form a third meaning.
Vsevolod Pudovkin described shots as the premises that can be used to construct a scene; he built linkage rather than conflict in a...
As an audience we are manipulated from the moment a film begins. In this essay I wish to explore how The Conversation’s use of sound design has directly controlled our perceptions and emotional responses as well as how it can change the meaning of the image. I would also like to discover how the soundtrack guides the audience’s attention with the use of diegetic and nondiegetic sounds.
The development of editing - Editing - actor, film, voice, cinema, scene, story. 2014. The development of editing - Editing - actor, film, voice, cinema, scene, story. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Criticism-Ideology/Editing-THE-DEVELOPMENT-OF-EDITING.html#ixzz2sNiIEQqt. [Accessed 10 February 2014].
The Man with a Movie Camera is a visual glorification of Soviet life. Vertov sought to communicate communist ideals by showing images of life in Soviet society, using the principles of montage to create meaning across what would normally be unrelated imagery. In the beginning titles of the film, Vertov asserts “This experimental work aims at creating a truly international absolute language of cinema based on its total separation from the language of theater and literature.” The Man with a Movie Camera represents Vertov’s ultimate vision for film, which would be distinctly socialist in both form and content. The Man with a Movie Camera one can most effectively show the way that both individual scenes, and the work as a whole, create historical revisionism in regards to the early Soviet Union.
Although admittedly some scenes have a comical side to them, Besson's fast paced action and gruesome images hold the tension and suspense brilliantly. His use of close-ups and camera movements, especially the subjective stance used by the victim, convey the feelings felt by the characters and the way in which they behave. Sound plays a crucial role in the opening sequence because, in my view, it is used to control the level of suspense and intrigue.
Therefore, it is possible to notice how the cinematography, the mise-en-scene and the editing are used to resemble the peculiarities of the space in which the actions are taking place. For instance, the first part is characterized by long pan or tilt shots, the camera is steady but still manages to follow the characters actions. The editing points to the linear occurring of the events. Also, the characters and the objects are usually methodically placed in the scene. All of the elements are used to convey the rigid organization, efficiency and control typical of the military environment. On the other hand, in the second part, there are usually shorter shots and steadicam shots. The camera is free to investigate the space of action. Here, the editing is used to create a dynamic perception of the events. In this way Kubrick is able to bring in the spectators’ minds the chaotic reality of the war. Moreover, colors become another tool to communicate to the audience this sort of split within the film. In fact, after Pyle’s death the viewer can notice how those metallic and cold colors, that are present at the beginning of the film, shift into wormer colors. It is actually through Pyle’s suicide that the the spectator gets this switch. In that scene the dark red blood stains, and ideologically violates, the cold white tiles of the bathroom. This film is also different on