Manipulation of Diegetic Time and Space Example

Indiana Jones and the temple of doom is the example I have chosen for the manipulation of diegetic time and space.

I have chosen this example because it clearly shows what the director wanted because Steven Spielberg wanted to stretch out the time and space effect to make the audience feel tense because they want the main protagonist to get out of the trapped room alive.

Spielberg has put this effect on and is a very good example of the technique used because the spiked ceiling is coming down fairly fast but at some points it slows down dramatically which is very noticeable and extends the manipulation of time and space element within the editing.

Analogue and Digital

Digital imaging does not require chemicals. Digital images are captured using arrays of photo sensors and these images are then processed by specialised software, or film can remain in digital form for a digital projection.

















Analogue is commonly referred to as chemical photography. Analogue  is contrasted with the digital process. Analogue is referring a signal whose output is proportional to the input.

Shot Variation Example

Engaging The Viewer

Engaging the viewer is very important when making a story, because if the viewer isn't engaged or interested it could result in the viewer turning off the film.

Certain shots will have been filmed in order to maximise the sensory experience for the viewer. This can be achieved through:

• Wide shots which present a panorama of a setting or communicate the scale of an action spectacle
• Aerial shots which follow action while taking in an entire geography
• Crane shots which can scale buildings
• Bullet time camera-setups which allow the viewer to experience a moment of action frozen in the time from 360 degrees.

Variation of shot distance and camera angles, audiences enjoy and expect variations of shot distances and camera angles. Varying editorial pace can engage the audience because it will keep the suspense up when their is a scene with action occurring. 

Audiences like to feel changes in the shape of editorial pacing

• Changing pace - speeding up or slowing down editorial pace can create tension (depending on the context)
• Long takes can also be used to create a sense of naturalism (real time passing) - which can engage an audience by giving the sense of being immersed in a real life situation.  

Shot Variation

Shot variation is a technique used in filmmaking to achieve the most effective coverage of an entire sequence of action. Shots used include wide shots, extreme long shot, long shot, medium shot, medium close shot, close-shot, close up and extreme close up.

These are the different shot variations:

• Wide/Long Shot
• Establishing Shot and Master Shot
• Full Shot
• Medium Shot
• Close Up
• Extreme Close Up
• Insert Shots
• Reaction shot

Wide/Long Shot is used for:

·         Sets the tone of the scene;

·         It introduces the location;

·         Enable the audience to understand the concept of the scene.

·         Long shots are used to present a new location.

Medium Shot is used for:

·          Medium shots are commonly used to show the dynamic of two or three person interaction.

Close Up is used for:

•  Intensity
•  Intimacy
•  Detail

Shot variation is used a lot in action films when a fast paced scene is being shot. In addition to a high number of cuts in a short space of time the variation of shots and dynamism also helps to fasten the pace of the scene.

Storytelling

Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, sound or images. Stories have been shared by human beings for tens of thousands of years as a means of recording and representing the word and for the purposes of:

• Entertainment
• Education
• Cultural preservation
• Instilling moral values

Crucial elements of stories and storytelling include:

• Plot
• Characters
• Narrative
• Point of view

The term 'storytelling' is used in a narrow sense to refer specifically to oral storytelling and in a looser sense to refer to narrative technique in other media.

Visual Storytelling

The phrase "visual storytelling" applies to film and a range of other media. Sometimes it carries perspective edge: in a pictorial medium, you should tell your stories visually - rather than a lengthy piece of dialogue, in other words its more effective to show instead of  telling. 

Visual storytelling refers to the way that producers of moving image products of moving image products convey the meaning of action and events through images without recourse to the written or spoken word. 

This is achieved through two techniques:

• The choice of shots
• The way those  shots are edited together. 

Visual storytelling is purely visual. In film, it needs concepts, music, noises and much of the time a modicum of  dialogue to work most fully. A director who invests in "purely visual" passages first and then considers how his/her images might be reinforced by other inputs, gains huge dividends in the long run.

Film and Video

The word analog or analogue recording comes from the Greek, ana “according to” and logo “relationship”.

An analog or analogue signal is a continuous signal for which the time varying feature of the signal is a representation of some other time varying quantity. For example in an analogue audio signal, the instantaneous voltage of the waves. 

Digital signal differs, in which continuous quantity is a representation of a sequence of discrete values (ones and zeros). The term analogue signal usually refers to electrical signals. 

Analogue is continuous whereas digital is broken down.

Analogue recording is a technique used for the recording of analogue signals which, among many possibilities, allows analogue audio and analogue video for later playback.

Analogue recording methods store signals as a continuous signal in or on the media. The signal may be stored as a physical texture on a phonograph record. This is different from digital recording which digital signals are represented as discrete numbers.

Film can be a chemical or digital process.

When it is a chemical process a light sensitive silver halide emulsion coated on a film base is exposed to light in a camera. This creates a latended image which is made visible by emerging the film into a chemical solution which we refer to as a ‘developer’.

A movie projector is an opto-mechanical device for displaying motion picture film by projecting it onto a screen.

Digital doesn’t require chemicals. Digital images are captured using photo sensors and these images are then processed by specialised software. Prints can be made through a traditional projection or film can remain digital form for digital projection.

Analogue is referred to chemical photography to contrast with the digital process. Analogue is referring a signal whose output is proportional to the input. 

Development of Drama

The development of drama is all based on the conflict and external conflict of what is happening within the story and what to drive the story forward.

External Conflict

Encounters between a protagonist who has a dramatic need in the scene and an antagonist, who opposes that need in the scene. When things come to a head the editor will often rely on the editorial technique of shot-reverse-shot to move back and fourth between the two characters. Showing the audience a character close-up will immerse the viewer in the growing emotion in that the character; at the same time, the viewer will be anticipating the reaction of the off-screen agent in the exchange.

Characters enjoy the suspense in all its various forms and they like to be teased and challenged.

• Withholding a characters identity at a key moment challenges an audience to make intelligent guesses.
• Cutting away from a scene invites the audience to imagine how the action in the first scene might be continuing. 

Internal Conflict

When a protagonist is involved in a battle with him or herself, a feeling two opposing needs occur and this is when internal conflict arises. 

The editor may favour close coverage to capture this internal struggle. Shots will be selected which focuses on eyes and mouth to show feelings of discomfort, unease, tension or on other bodily parts such as hands, feet to show signs of strain and tension, in hope that the viewer will feel the same struggle.

The Dramatic Context

An editor needs to make sure that the current scene relates to what came before it and what comes after it. 

The editor must also decide whether the level of tension/suspense in successive scenes needs to be maintained or whether relief of some kind such has a comedic tone needs to be introduced. Dramatically effective narratives achieve a variety and balance in the way events are structured. Tension without relief becomes uninteresting. 

Subtext 

An editor can sometimes create subtext through the way shots are assembled for example, a character might be saying one thing, but according to what the editor chooses to show the audience might be led to understand something other than what is being expressed verbally. 

Key Dramatic Beats

The editor can indicate progression towards key dramatic beats in the narrative by cutting from wide coverage of action to close coverage of that action. 

The most obvious example of this is a 2 person dialogue, the editor cuts from a medium, such as a two shot of both characters, to individual close ups (using the shot reverse shot technique). This can add emotion build-up in the exchange and increase dramatic effectiveness to the scene.

Relationship To Genre

Sequences of shots in a scene are assembled by an editor will often be determined by the genre, for example in a drama, an editor may begin with a wide shot, focusing on proxemics which is the distance between two people who have become emotionally estranged from one another.

If the dramatic beat of the scene has been determined as the most explosive moment in an ensuing argument, the editor will often work towards this by using a medium coverage, through which an audience can experience the building tension that the characters themselves are feeling.

In an action adventure film, the editor may need to keep altering between wider shots of the action and closer coverage detailing the responses/reactions of characters. In a chase scene for example, a range of wide production value shots will often intercut with closer coverage of the characters involved responding to the changing strategy, dynamics and stakes of the chase.

In a horror film, a director might elect to stay wide on the action to isolate a vulnerable character. The editor might use a long take, resisting the option of cutting to a new angle, lingering on the action in the same shot size in order to create a sense of stillness. Relationship to the genre is clear through the conventions used within the genre.

Cross - Cutting and Parallel editing

Cross – cutting refers to the editorial technique of cutting between different sets of action that can be occurring simultaneously or at different times.

Cross – cutting is often used to build suspense, by cutting away at a point of heightened tension in the action so as to leave an audience wondering what happened next.

Parallel editing is an editing technique that allows two or more simultaneous sets of action to unfold within a single film sequence.

Parallel editing:

• Creates tension
• Can show multiple points of view
• Can create dramatic irony when the characters are unaware of events unfolding away from the main action.

Both cross – cutting and parallel editing are used to imply a relationship between different sets of action.

What distinguishes cross – cutting and parallel editing

An editor can cross-cut to shots from different time periods, but the term parallel editing is used to show two separate events scenes happening simultaneously. 

Cutaways

In film and video, a cutaway shot is the interruption of a continuously filmed action by inserting a view of something else. It is usually, although not always, followed by a cut back to the first shot, when a cutaway avoids a jump cut.

The main advantages of a cutaway is that they allow the director to explain the story and allows a break in the action. This is effective because it leaves the viewer at the edge of their seat waiting for the action.

The disadvantage of a cutaway is that it creates an unwanted pause for the audience. This can lead to the audience getting annoyed with the film.

In film and video, a cutaway shot is the interruption of a continuously filmed action by inseting a view of something else. It is usually, although not always, followed by a cut back to the first shot, when the cutaway avoids a jump cut.

The cutaway shot does not necessarily contribute any dramatic context of its own, but it used to help the editor assemble a longer sequence.

The cutaways show the depth and suspense to the scene.

A cutaway can give you a sense of place and time.

Film

Film refers to a chemical process which is used for analogue recording, copying, playback, broadcasting and display of moving visual and audio media on a material called celluloid.

Celluloid is a transparent, flammable plastic made in sheets from camphor and nitrocellulose. It was used for making cinematographic films.

The first celluloid film was a size 16mm. The small negative size meant that films often appeared grainy.

The arrival of a larger 35mm negative brought improved picture quality. The 35mm is better quality video than a 16mm film because you have to blow it up less to the screen so that means better quality.

24 frames per second go through the film gate. 

Multiple Points of View Example and analysis

This clip is from Terminator 2: Judgement Day. 
This clip is showing the terminator T-1000 chasing the character John Connor in an action sequence with multiple points of view. 

The multiple points of view are very important because they show the action from different angles but also shows it from the characters perspective to show the action up close. This is very important for this film as it involves a lot of action anyway and the multiple points of view engages the audience because it helps them understand exactly what is going on at that time.

Master Shot and Coverage, 180 Degree Rule, Match on Action and Shot-reverse-shot

Transitions

Following the Action Example

50 different shot types in 1 minute 27 seconds.,

Transitions

Providing and Withholding Information

Providing and withholding information is a very important strategy used by the editor to keep the viewer engaged. It is a very good effect in genres such as horror and thriller, where what an audience knows or doesn’t know about what is happening in the physical space that the action is situated in is of crucial importance to their emotional response. Information is provided by the employment of cutaways or cut-ins or withheld by the absence of these shots.

Example:
The editor of a horror scene where a character is being hunted by an attacker may elect to use footage shot from the former’s point of view. In the right setting, enormous amount of tension can be built by an audience seeing the events occurring unfolding through the eyes of the character.



 

This is a clip from The Woman in Black. This short clip is withholding information as the protagonist is looking outside the window he sees a mysterious figure, and the information being withheld is that you cannot see the figure's face. This is mainly done because of the shot and angle being used, it is too far away to even get a facial outline of figure with is very important within this clip. On top of that the weather and lighting is a huge factor within this clip because again it is too dark to make out the face of the figure and also that the rainy weather makes it difficult to make him/she out.

Cutting to a Soundtrack

Editing to soundtrack is when the pace of the cuts are motivated by how fast the song is. what i mean by that is an editor when editing with soundtrack will let the sound be his guide, a good example of this is an action scene in a film.

In this extract as the pace of the music increases so does the cuts and edits within the scene. It gradually increases as the action continues.

Montage

Montage

The term montage is French and means monter (verb) which means assemble. Montage (noun means assembly.

When montage refers to techniques in film editing technique is has three sense:

• In French film practice, “montage” has its literal French meaning and simply identifies editing.
• In Soviet filmmaking of the 1920’s, “montage” was a method of juxtaposing shots to derive new meaning that did not exist in either shot alone.
• In Hollywood cinema, a “montage sequence” is a short segment in a film in which narrative information is presented in a condensed fashion.

Hollywood montage

Hollywood montage is a montage style that became a convention during the classical Hollywood era and remained a very popular technique amongst directors and editors.

The montage sequence consists of a series of short shots that are edited into a sequence to condense narrative. It is usually to advance the story as a whole (often to suggest the passing of time), rather than to create symbolic meaning.

In many cases, a song plays in the background to enhance the mood or reinforce the message being conveyed. 

This is a video clip of the montage scene in Never Back Down. This is a typical Hollywood montage sequence and involves short clips of the main protagonist who is training and in the background is music that will enforce a message is being conveyed. There are a range of shots being used and the music is overlapping all of the clips which is building a sense of motivation. 

Soviet Montage

In Soviet montage theory, the editing of shots creates symbolic meaning. For Kuleshow editing a film is like constructing a building as you are putting the shots together. 

Kuleshov conducted an experiment to show that montage can lead the viewer to reach certain conclusions about the action in a film. 

Kuleshov edited together a short film in which a shot of the expressionless face of Tsarist matinee idor Ivan Mosjoukine was alternated with vaious other shots (a plate of soup, a girl in a coffin, woman on the divan).

Kuleshov Explained

The audience believed that Mosjoukine's face displayed three different expressions according to what he was "looking at":

• Soup - hunger
• Girl in a coffin - grief
• Woman on the divan - desire

The footage of Mosjoukine was actually the same shot each time. 

Montage works because viewers infer meaning based on context. 

Editing Rhythm

Pacing refers to a varying of the length of shots by the editor. Pacing plays an important role in guiding viewers in their emotional response to a scene.

• Rapid pacing suggests intensity and excitement. 
• Slower pacing is more relaxed and thoughtful. 

Pacing of a scene and establishing its rhythm, an editor has to answer key questions based on his/her understanding of the sequence as a whole. 
The editor must decide what type of transitions are best for the scene; straight cut, jump cut, a dissolve etc. 

Exorcist III Extract 



The editor within this extract has made the shots very long to make the audience feel very uncomfortable while watching this, and making them feel and think that something bad is going to happen to the nurse. When they cut to the ghostly figure coming at her with a knife a sharp sound and rhythm comes in to make the audience jump out of their seat with the surprise. The camera distance indicates that the character is vulnerable and alone as the camera is placed far away from the character. This is very important because as these long shots are being taken place and the nurse is investigating the police officer is walking out of the room which makes her really vulnerable and alone, which indicates even further that something bad is going to happen. Sequences where shots are the same length may result in a rhythm which is less distinct.

In a horror sequence, creating a distinctive rhythm, where the rational is to generate in the viewer feelings of burgeoning tension and suspense, requires that the length of shots should vary.


The Conjuring 2 Extract



The editorial pace of this extract starts of quite slow with some long takes to build the tension, but further on into the scene you get a cut to what the character is feeling which again builds tension for the audience. The the ghostly figure runs towards the character the rhythm of the cuts are much faster to show the action within the scene. This is very significant because by having the editorial speeding up the cuts towards the end and the music it builds up an effective suspense to scare the audience as intended. 

Continuity

Continuity editing is the dominant style of film editing in the western world and most cinematic cultures around the rest of the globe. Its purpose it to 'smooth' over the essential discontinuity of the process of editing and to establish a logical coherence between sequences and the constitutive shots from which they are composed.

The act of cutting represents a detraction from the continuous progression of a piece of action in real time. Removing or adding frames condenses or expands the time of the original action. If we cut from one angle to another there is a noticeable break from the continuous action of the first take to the new shot. The task on continuity editor is to reduce that noticeability, so that the viewer's immersion in the story is undisturbed.

Continuity editing is a process which attempts to make deviations from the continuous real time action of a single stretch of footage as inconspicuous as possible.

Seamless

Seamless, is an editing style and is referred to as classic Hollywood continuity editing and its principle aims is to make the mechanics of the editing process invisible to the viewer.

Good continuity shouldn't draw attention to itself in any way. The viewer's focus and attention should not be taken away from the action, from the story. This aim of invisibility leads us to the term of 'seamless'.

To be seamless, cuts should take on an invisible quality about them, the viewer should not notice them. To be seamless continuity in terms of all elements of mise-en-scene and all elements of action in the frame should be preserved perfectly from one clip or take to the next across the cut.

Any mise-en-scene element such as the position of figure or object changing erroneously across a cut breaks continuity and leads to editing which is not seamless.

Any unit of action that does not match properly across a cut also breaks continuity and this again leads to editing which isn't seamless.

Evaluation of In-camera Edit

For my in-camera edit I feel like I successfully completed the task effectively because I did not edit any of the footage in iMovie or any other editing software.

What I thought I did well was when I did the match on action when cutting from the female going to the door and then cutting to her putting the code in and overall the cutting of her while walking down the stairs was affected because it cut nicely together.

What didn't go so well was that some of the cuts weren't as good as they should've been for example when the female is walking through the first door and it cuts, it showed her standing still for a few seconds which if I was allowed to use editing software there wouldn't have been that problem.

In-Camera edit

What is in-camera editing

In-camera editing – Is a video editing technique that happens “inside” the camera.

Instead of waiting until the post-production stage to organise footage, the cinematographer shoots each unit of narrative sequentially, filming shots in a very precise way, so that the ‘edit’ develops as filming progresses. The film would be finished by the end of production.

Planning shots so that they can be filmed in the precise order they will be presented in requires a great deal of fore-thought.

Some of this time is reclaimed, since no additional editing time is needed to cut out or re-order scenes later on. In an in-camera edit, when the very last scene is filmed, the production is finished.

If footage has been recorded digitally, the film can be played straight from the camera.