Editing Film: A History
Having grown up in a world where cinema is a refined process where productions are not screened until every little kink and error is ironed out, it's extremely difficult to imagine that this was not always the case. Editing film did not come until quite some time after cinema's conception, although it is definitely a discipline that has been around for a long time.
The first public screening of a film was on December 28th 1895, by the Lumiere brothers. It showed workers at the Lumiere factory leaving after work. The clip was short and unedited, but at the time people were amazed at this exciting new concept - and excited to see themselves on a silver screen of course!
This got the ball rolling for the Lumiere brothers, two of the most important men in cinema history.
The Lumiere Brothers
Auguste and Louis Lumiere were the sons of a portrait painter from Lyons, a man who eventually abandoned his painting career in favour of manufacturing selling photography equipment (obviously sensing the financial gain to be reaped).
Auguste and Louis, both very technically minded, helped their father in the production of many photographic devices. By early 1895, they had devised a device of their own in order to challenge Edison's Kinetograph, combining camera with printer and projector. They called it the Cinematographe.
The Cinematographe was patented in February 1895 by the Lumiere Brothers. Like Edison, the Lumieres used 35mm film, but unlike Edison opted for a film speed of 16 fps as opposed to the 46 fps chosen by Edison. The main benefit of this being that less film needed to be used, and film was extremely expensive at the time.
George Melies
Present at the screening of "Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory" in 1895 was a magician and illusionist by the name of George Melies. Being a magician, Melies was fascinated by the Lumiere brother's work, as well as the workings of the Cinematographe. Melies had worked in a factory for a long time and was therefore fairly mechanically competent.
He approached the Lumiere brothers and expressed an interest in purchasing the Cinematographe, but because the Lumiere brothers likely saw him as a potential treat and competition, they declined.
This did not deter Melies however, who travelled to London, where he had previously spent a lot of time. There, he sought out Robert Paul, who owned a similar camera/projector known as an Animatograph, or Teatrograph. Melies purchased the Animatograph and reverse engineered it to discover the workings, before eventually constructing his own.
George Melies then began producing and screening his own films as part of his live magic performances, and achieved great results. One day, in late 1896 Melies was filming a bus leaving a tunnel, when the film jammed. Once the camera was operational again, Melies found the Bus was replaced by a hearse. Thus, the jump cut was born. Melies began experimenting with jump cuts and used them to make objects and people disappear and reappear in his films, which is perfect for a magician! Melies is also often credited with developing other editing techniques we still use to this day, such as fade in and fade out, overlapping dissolves and stop motion photography.
Melies' films were all shot in tableau style, meaning they were all shot from one single angle, with the camera completely stationary. The camera never moved, with Melies often going out of his way to move set and actors closer or further away in order to create a desired effect, such as the zoom into the face of the moon in "Trip to the Moon".
Edwin .S. Porter
Porter was a Vitascope projectionist by trade and was responsible for setting up the first Edison projector in Koster and Bial's Music Hall in April 1896. Edison then hired Porter to be his go to director and camera man for future productions.
Edwin Porter is a very important figure in the history of editing. At the start of his career, Porter (like all other film makers at this stage) was still making films in the tableau style and using temporal overlap editing, where the shots have overlapping action. This can be seen in his film "Life of an American Fireman". Over time however, Porter abandoned this technique (for the most part) in favour of editing in scenes without temporal overlaps. He is credited with being the first film maker to see the potential of the "shot" rather than the "scene". He realised that the chronological order of shots could be used to tell a story as well as the actors and objects within the scene. This revelation allowed him to use stock footage and footage from other films edited cleverly to tell a completely different story.
D.W. Griffith and the Editing Conventions He Created
D.W Griffith was originally an actor who, starving and out of work, sent an idea for a film to Edwin .S. Porter. Porter rejected the film on the basis that it had too many scenes, but hired Griffith to star in his next film. "Rescued From an Eagles Nest".
Griffith later got a position at a production company called Biograph in New York, and was given a $45 a week director's contract after he made his first single reel film "The Adventures of Dollie". He went on to make over 450 films in the three years between 1908 and 1911.
Griffith developed filming into the style of multi-shot cinema we are more familiar with today. He first used the "cut in" technique in "Greaser's Gauntlet" in 1908. He cut from a medium long shot of a hanging tree to a full shot in order to emphasise the impact of an exchange between two actors. This had never been done before. Griffith then began to experiment with multi camera filming and cutting between different types of shot, developing what we know today as continuity editing. Continuity editing is defined as " a cutting style that maintains a continuous sense of space and time".
Also, while Griffith was experimenting with multi-camera filming, he inadvertently developed another very important film making rule which is still used religiously by almost all film makers: the 180 degree rule. He and many other film makers experimenting in similar ways discovered that if the camera is kept on one side of the axis of action (the imaginary line where movements and eye lines occur), you can avoid continuity confusion when cutting from one angle to the next.
Another invention Griffith came up with, is the technique of intercutting, or cross cutting. This later proved to be one of his favourite editing inventions. Cross cutting is defined as "cutting between shots in different scenes in a parallel action". A notable example of this is in his film "After Many Years" (1908), where Griffith cuts between a shipwrecked man and the woman he is now missing. This created a fantastic juxtaposition between the feel of the two shots and therefore added a grater emphasis to the emotion of the scenes.
Griffith's film "The Birth of a Nation" in 1915 was the most expensive film ever to be produced at the time and likely the first to receive such large nationwide attention: essentially the first blockbuster. The film incorporated all of the techniques Griffith had developed including many we see today such as establishing shots, cutting on action, matching eye lines and reverse shots. However, the film was ultimately seen as being racist and pro klu-klux-klan. This lead to riots which in turn led to the film's banishment from many states in America.
Editing Machines and Methods of Editing
The Moviola was one of the earliest machines invented that allowed for film editing. Invented by Iwan Serrurier in 1924. Prior to this footage was edited by physically cutting and pasting bits of film together by hand. The main benefit of the Moviola was that it allowed film makers to view footage while editing.
Then came the Steenbeck in 1931. This flatbed editing machine allowed for the editing of both 16mm and 35mm film, as well as sound editing functionality. Steenback machines were (and still are) praised for being easy on film, due to soft nylon rollers.
Film was edited either by hand or by using these types of machines for decades, until the CMX-600 came along in 1971. It was the first non-linear editing suite. This machine had two monitors, the right displaying original film and the left showing edited film.
It was not until 1989 that the first digital editing software, Avid/1, became available. Although computers were complex, large and expensive, they were definitely on the up and it is this type of editing (digital software) we use to this day.
Other Conventions of Editing
Dissolves:
The dissolve is one of, if not the, first editing techniques. It was easy to do and therefore preferable to the time consuming and clunky method of cutting and pasting film. The scene would be shot, the last few seconds of the shot rewound and then the next shot filmed over the top of the last few seconds. Now, dissolves are scarcely used as technology allows for far easier but more complex methods of editing. The dream sequence from "Spellbound" (1945) demonstrates a dissolve well.
Spellbound Dissolve
Shot Reverse Shot:
Shot reverse shot is pretty much the staple of all dialogue sequences, Using the aforementioned 180 degree rule and eye line matching, an actor is shown looking at another actor (often off screen), and then the other actor is shown looking back in the same fashion (the reverse). The illusion is then created for the audience that the actors are having a conversation, even if they are not. Here are a couple of examples.
Spiderman Reverse Spiderman
Cutting to a Soundtrack:
Cutting to a soundtrack is a popular and essential technique when editing music videos. Cutting to the beat ensures that you keep up with the pace of the song, and gives the accompanying video a flow. This method also allows for manipulation of pace , where cuts can get faster and faster as the song progresses. Below is an example of this, which I made myself.
Cutting to a Soundtrack
Purpose of Editing
Editing, as has been mentioned throughout this blog, is practically essential to a comprehensive and understandable storyline. We use editing to tell a story, to add continuity and to allow an audience to process what they are seeing in a chronological fashion. Alongside this however, editing can be used cleverly for non-linear storylines and for telling multiple stories, or different takes on the same story at once. We also use editing to add pace and dynamics to a film. If the story is slow and we are getting a lot of information or dialogue, slow cuts and editing will likely be used, whereas for a car chase or a shoot out, fast cuts will be used. Editing is a very effective tool that can be used by film makers to grip an audience in scenes of action, or to allow them time to think in scenes which are essential to plot.
D.W. Griffith and the Editing Conventions He Created
D.W Griffith was originally an actor who, starving and out of work, sent an idea for a film to Edwin .S. Porter. Porter rejected the film on the basis that it had too many scenes, but hired Griffith to star in his next film. "Rescued From an Eagles Nest".
Griffith later got a position at a production company called Biograph in New York, and was given a $45 a week director's contract after he made his first single reel film "The Adventures of Dollie". He went on to make over 450 films in the three years between 1908 and 1911.
Griffith developed filming into the style of multi-shot cinema we are more familiar with today. He first used the "cut in" technique in "Greaser's Gauntlet" in 1908. He cut from a medium long shot of a hanging tree to a full shot in order to emphasise the impact of an exchange between two actors. This had never been done before. Griffith then began to experiment with multi camera filming and cutting between different types of shot, developing what we know today as continuity editing. Continuity editing is defined as " a cutting style that maintains a continuous sense of space and time".
Also, while Griffith was experimenting with multi-camera filming, he inadvertently developed another very important film making rule which is still used religiously by almost all film makers: the 180 degree rule. He and many other film makers experimenting in similar ways discovered that if the camera is kept on one side of the axis of action (the imaginary line where movements and eye lines occur), you can avoid continuity confusion when cutting from one angle to the next.
Another invention Griffith came up with, is the technique of intercutting, or cross cutting. This later proved to be one of his favourite editing inventions. Cross cutting is defined as "cutting between shots in different scenes in a parallel action". A notable example of this is in his film "After Many Years" (1908), where Griffith cuts between a shipwrecked man and the woman he is now missing. This created a fantastic juxtaposition between the feel of the two shots and therefore added a grater emphasis to the emotion of the scenes.
Griffith's film "The Birth of a Nation" in 1915 was the most expensive film ever to be produced at the time and likely the first to receive such large nationwide attention: essentially the first blockbuster. The film incorporated all of the techniques Griffith had developed including many we see today such as establishing shots, cutting on action, matching eye lines and reverse shots. However, the film was ultimately seen as being racist and pro klu-klux-klan. This lead to riots which in turn led to the film's banishment from many states in America.
Editing Machines and Methods of Editing
The Moviola was one of the earliest machines invented that allowed for film editing. Invented by Iwan Serrurier in 1924. Prior to this footage was edited by physically cutting and pasting bits of film together by hand. The main benefit of the Moviola was that it allowed film makers to view footage while editing.
Then came the Steenbeck in 1931. This flatbed editing machine allowed for the editing of both 16mm and 35mm film, as well as sound editing functionality. Steenback machines were (and still are) praised for being easy on film, due to soft nylon rollers.
Film was edited either by hand or by using these types of machines for decades, until the CMX-600 came along in 1971. It was the first non-linear editing suite. This machine had two monitors, the right displaying original film and the left showing edited film.
It was not until 1989 that the first digital editing software, Avid/1, became available. Although computers were complex, large and expensive, they were definitely on the up and it is this type of editing (digital software) we use to this day.
Other Conventions of Editing
Dissolves:
The dissolve is one of, if not the, first editing techniques. It was easy to do and therefore preferable to the time consuming and clunky method of cutting and pasting film. The scene would be shot, the last few seconds of the shot rewound and then the next shot filmed over the top of the last few seconds. Now, dissolves are scarcely used as technology allows for far easier but more complex methods of editing. The dream sequence from "Spellbound" (1945) demonstrates a dissolve well.
Spellbound Dissolve
Shot Reverse Shot:
Shot reverse shot is pretty much the staple of all dialogue sequences, Using the aforementioned 180 degree rule and eye line matching, an actor is shown looking at another actor (often off screen), and then the other actor is shown looking back in the same fashion (the reverse). The illusion is then created for the audience that the actors are having a conversation, even if they are not. Here are a couple of examples.
Spiderman Reverse Spiderman
Cutting to a Soundtrack:
Cutting to a soundtrack is a popular and essential technique when editing music videos. Cutting to the beat ensures that you keep up with the pace of the song, and gives the accompanying video a flow. This method also allows for manipulation of pace , where cuts can get faster and faster as the song progresses. Below is an example of this, which I made myself.
Cutting to a Soundtrack
Purpose of Editing
Editing, as has been mentioned throughout this blog, is practically essential to a comprehensive and understandable storyline. We use editing to tell a story, to add continuity and to allow an audience to process what they are seeing in a chronological fashion. Alongside this however, editing can be used cleverly for non-linear storylines and for telling multiple stories, or different takes on the same story at once. We also use editing to add pace and dynamics to a film. If the story is slow and we are getting a lot of information or dialogue, slow cuts and editing will likely be used, whereas for a car chase or a shoot out, fast cuts will be used. Editing is a very effective tool that can be used by film makers to grip an audience in scenes of action, or to allow them time to think in scenes which are essential to plot.
