Montage Editing

Montage Editing

This type of editing doesn’t have to tell a story but can be used to convey a character’s emotions/thoughts and show them to an audience. Montages are usually a lot of random clips edited together to give a certain impact. 

An example of this type of editing is: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu00RiPjaa4

This is a very good example as it shows how powerful music within a montage can affect the mood and atmosphere of a montage. In this example the music is very motivating and gets the audience pumped up. It also fits the video footage of people working out.

The montage also cleverly shows the difference between nature and technology. The fast shots between the two tells the audience that the two people training are serious about what they do and that they are willing to do anything. The music helps with this.

A technique used in the montage is a match cut. This is where an action shown in the footage changes quickly to a similar piece of action to represent two similar but different pieces of training activities. This is affective as it shows the similarity between clips so the audience can piece together what's happening in the montage themselves.                    

180 Degree Rule

180° Rule

This rule often comes into use when there is a conversation in a film and is linked closely with Continuity editing.  It says that the line of action should not be crossed.  It therefor precludes a difference greater than 180° between camera angles.

Below is an example of when this rule is broken but still makes sense.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etv0DH3HBZA

A reason why this has been used is because by crossing 180-degree line it looks like the characters have switched places and that something unusual is going on. This reflects the Jokers behavior as someone who isn’t mentally right. It also shows how the Joker is controlling the situation with Batman and that the Joker doesn’t feel intimidated at all by the situation.

Although this rule has been broken, it still makes sense to the audience as the camera starts to move across the line of action before cutting to the other side. Because we started to see the camera move we understand what’s happened and it doesn’t confuse us as an audience. This is a good move as the change keeps the sequence interesting and the audience doesn’t get bored at looking at the conversation from the same angle.   

Although this example breaks the rule, the majority of films keep to the rule. The example below shows a car chase:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSAN7ZX02eA&feature=related

Its essential that the editor applies the 180-degree rule otherwise the audience would be confused as to who is chasing whom and what’s happening. The footage needs to convey the feeling of excitement and danger not one of confusion. 

Continuity Editing

Continuity Editing

Continuity editing is all about creating action whilst hiding the edits from the audience and making all of the footage flow smoothly. Continuity editing can also be known as Transparency editing as the audience wont see the edits. Because of this the audience find it easy to understand and just follow the dialogue.

Good examples of Continuity editing can be found in the Star Wars films, in particular the fight scenes. A good example is the link pasted below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRd9PGmAQUE  

This is a particular good example as each shot flows well with the next and it leaves no confusion with audience as to what is happening.  Even though we as an audience don’t notice the edits, the variety of shots that are involved make sure that the scene doesn’t get boring and upholds the excitement and fast paced action that is needed. Although in some of the fighting scenes I think more edits were needed to uphold the action.   

Another example is from the film Man of La Mancha:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMH7qkgViVs

This is a different type of example as it shows how continuity can be used in a more subtle and way and in a different scenario. At 12.45 you can see how continuity is used to show the reaction of other characters whilst remaining the flow of the conversation. Its also a good shot of eye line matching and match on action. This is important as there are a lot of characters involved and if eye line matching isn’t done correctly audiences will get confused as to who’s talking to whom.