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Gramm ar of
the Edit
S E C O N DE D I T I O N

Roy Thompson
Christopher J. Bornren

ffi

ETSEVIER

A M S l t r R t ) n M ' I I O S ' I ( ) N. | | I r l I ) l r l . l l l r l t ( ;. I - ( ) N I ) O N
N t i w Y O I T K' O X I : O R D ' I ' A R I S. S A N t ) l l r ( i o
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F o c aPlr e si sa ni m p r i no tfEs e v r e r
o n/ A,0 1 8 0 3
3 0C o r p o r aDtrei v eS,u i t 4e 0 0B, u r l i n g tN
USA
L i n a cH
r eo u s Jeo, r d aHni l l0, x f o r0dX 28 D PU K

Contents

Inc.Allrights
O 2009,
Elsevier
reserved
Copyright

Acknowledgments

ix

maybereproduced,
Nopart0fthispublication
ina retrieval
stored
system,
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photocopying,
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transmitted
electronic,
mechanical,
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ro, t h e r w i swei t, h 0 ut ht ep r i owr r i t t epne r m i s s oi oftnh ep u b l i s h e r .

In t r o duc t i o n

xi

g asics
C h a p t e0r n e - E d i t i n B

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ISBN9780 240521206

A L r t t l eE d r t r nHgi s t o r y
W h a tF a c t o rMs a yl m p a cYt o u rE d i t r nCg h o i c e s ?
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13

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F o irn f o r m a toi onn

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vi

Contents

Screen
Direction
180Degree
Rule/Axrs
ofAction
30Degree
Rule
Matching
Angles
Matching
Eye-Line
Continuity
of Action
Continuity
of Dialogue
Performance
BeFamiliar
withAlloftheFootage
SoHowDoes
AllofThrs
Help
You?
Endof Chapter
TwoReview
Chapter
Three* Whento CutandWhy?
WhatFactors
HelpMakea Transition
a Good
Edit?
Information
Motivation
ShotComposition
Camera
Angle
Continuity
of Content
Continuity
of Movement
Continuity
Continuily
ol Position
ofSound
Continuity
Sound
lsThere
orWrong
Reason
fora Cut?
a Right
Endof Chapter
Three
Review
Chapter
Four- Transitions
andEditCategories
TheCut
TheDissolve
TheWipe
TheFade
IheFrve
MajorCategorres
of EdrtTypes
TheAction
Edit
I l r cS c r c .[c) r tr s r l Ir r lint
I l r r I: r r r r Ir r i r l

U 0 n t e n t sv i i

A'

44
46
4B
4B
50
51
5?
52
53
AA

55
57
5B
60
62
64
66
66
6B
69
10
70
73
74
15
76

WillI Be0uizzed
onAnyof This?
Four
EndofChapter
Review

96
96

Practices
Chapter
Five- General
for Editors
Partners
Sound
andVision
are
andnotBivals
A NewShotShould
Contain
NewInformation
There
Should
Bea Beason
forEvery
Edit
0bserve
theAction
Line
Select
theAppropriate
Form
of Edit
TheBetter
theEdit,theLesslt ls Noticed
Edrtrng
lsCreating
Endof Chapter
FiveReview

97
9B
99
100
102

Practices
Chapter
Six- Working
Endof Chapter
SrxRevrew

111

- TheFinalCut:Additional
Chapter
Seven
Editing
Topics
YouAre
Boundto Encounter
Addrtional
Terms
Editrng
ParallelEditing
Montage
Multi-camera
Editing
SyncSound
andCounting
Time
Making
Your
WayintotheWorld
ofEdrting
Tools
vs Skills
DrgilalWorkflow
TheRole
ofanAssistanl
Editor
InConclusion
Fndol Chapter
Review
Seven

104
106
108
109

158

161
162
162
162
163
164
166
166
167
168
169
170

BO
B4

Glossary

171

B6
BB
8tl

I r dt e x

199

,il1
rl

o
c
o
c
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(J

Ackno\N ledg ments

I w r s llrt tl l r i r r rt tkt yc r j r l o r s l;or lc i rll' r e s sE,l i n oArc t r p a
r sn dM i c h e lCer o n i fno, rp r e s e n t nr; mr;wrtlrtheworrderlul
to writethesecond
opporturrity
edition
of thistimehonored
texl,Grarnrnar
of theEdit 01 course,
thiswouldnot be possible
withoutthe ground
wrrrkdoneby Mr RoyIhompson
version
on thetirstedrtionlhopethatthisrevised
r;ontinues
to inform
andinspire
all thosereaders
whoareJUSt
beginning
theircreative
pictures
rntotheworldof editing
motion
l0rirney
As aneducator
today,
I wishto acknowledge
thepositive
impact
thatmyinstructors
at
llrandeis
University
andBoston
University
hadon meduring
myownhigher
education.
Ihe broadscope
of theLiberal
Artswasgreatpreparation
for thespeofic
focusand
lechnical
craftsmanship
thatcomewiththefieldof filmproduction.
I present
thesesame
values
to myownstudents
andI thank
themcollectively
foralltheybrought
t0 me.
As a mediaprofessional
today,
lwish to thankmy manycolleagues
andclients
who
project
lrave
helped
meto continue
learning
witheachnew
undertaken
peersin thepreparati0n
I amalsograteful
generous
fortheadvice
offered
byseveral
of thissecond
edition JoeyGoodsell,
Norman
Hollyn,
JaneJackson,
andCatherine
Sellars
Additionally,
lwouldliketo thankmyon-camera
talentfortheirtimeonthisproJectWendy
Chao,
Hannah
Kurth,
Alexander
Stacy
Eliza
Smith,
andRachael
Scott,
Shreffler,
Swain.
All photographs
arebytheauthor,
asarethelineartdiagrams
andmanyof the
rllustrations
I mustoffermythanks
andappreciation
t0 myco-illustrator,
JeanSharpe,
whosedistinct
styleandgenerous
contributions
makethistexta betterlearning
tool.
Also,I otfera noteof krndthanks
forheradvice
to MaryJames
andassistance.
lastly,I acknowledge
my familyfor theirsupport
thankst0
andofferextraspecial
flachael
whohasbeentherethrough
Swain
thethickandthinof it allandreallyhelped
p r r lal l lt l r ep i e c et so g e t h e r
l l r i sb o o kr sf o ra l l p e o p lw
e h ow i s ht o l e a r nt h eb a s i casb o uet d i t r nfgi l ma n dv i d e o
I lropcyrrrr
havefLrn
theridelf youwouldliketo learnmoreaboutthetopic,
anderrloy
l i r r r;ir r I J i l i o nr c; rsl r l r r r : cosr ,i c a r nr n o r ea b o u t h ea u t h o o
r .l e a s vei s i t h e a u t h o r ' s
l r y l l t :l;rt: w w w 1 l Il ' ; w r, y r ;l r i t tl v l s i : r r r r l
I r t l l t Vi l l I l l l l , l

Introd uction
l v r ; r yr r r o l r ol )rrrl l r r ry)0 us r : c ; r r rt rell e v r s jdorna r nyao uw a t c hh a sb e e ne d i t e dE. v e r y
L.olIrTtcrCti]1,
newsr0p0rt,
andtalkshowhasbeenedited.
Almosteverypresentati0n
rrlrrrotrorr
ulragury,
wltether
it ls fictr0n,
non-fiction,
or a melding
of thetwo,hasbeen
- to
padded
rrlrlcrl r;utdown,re-ordered,
out,massaged,
sweetened,
andtweaked
,irrrvt;
thefinalpresentation
versionThatfinalversion
maybe exactly
whatthecre,rtof
rn feel,tempo,
information,
s setoutt0 makeor it maybe entirely
different
and
job
'rrrrotional
impact,
butnomatter
what,theeditorhelpsmakert so lt is,then,the of
producti0n
tlrirr;iiitor
to takethematerrals
created
during
andmanipulate
themto form
r l r r : h cps o
t s s i btlien a l v e r s itohna w
t i l lm e etth eg o a l as n di n t e n t i oonfst h ep r o d u c e r s .
A wrterpensthestory,
the
theactors,
creates
a director
coaches
a cinematographer
'"':;rral
together.
styleof eachshot,andan editorputsall thosepieces
Soan editoris
rr,rllyoneof thelastcreative
project.
people
picture
lt is hisor her
to toucha motion
,lrll,r;raft,
vrsual
thathelpformtheover-arching
styleof thepresentaandgutinstinct
t ln, andoftenit is alsohisor herchoices
0f course,
thatcanmakeorbreak
a program.
rrrrrrlil0r
meaning
canonlyworkas muchmagrc
thattheInitral
as heor sheis given,
quanttty
production
footage
and
of
hasanawfull0tto d0wtththeoverall
appeal
1rr;ility
rl rhetinal,editedresult.
responsibility
rt is n0tall of theeditor's
whena
Socertainly
iswell-received
noris it theeditor's
faultwhenthings
entire
donotgowell BLrt
lrrrrlcct
presentation.
rrloorl
in theoverall
frnalvrsual
editor
canmakethedifference

l l r r s t c xG
t ,r a r n r n a r o t t h e E d r t , i s d e s i g n e d t o i n d o c t r i n a t e t h e b e g r n n e r - t h e n o
- nt0 theworldof motion
rirl ncwbi
prcture
guidelines,
andgeneditingTherules,
r,rlpractices
presented
provide
herein
willhopefully
of thiscraftwitha
a newstudent
rrlrrj
rntjerstarding
forfurther
of thebasics
andperhaps
whettheappetite
exploration
,1lrrrllr
tlredislpline's
history
toward
t0morrow.
anditstrends
lilri,u(lirrss
of whir:lr
direclion
thefledgltng
editorwrllgrow,everyone
needst0 learn
l r ) ! / t o w ; r l kt r r : f o trltr:e yc a r r u na n dt h i st e x ts h o u lhde l pd e f i nteh eb a s i tce r m sa n d
l r r r l yt l r rc o n n r 0ln) r i r 0 t r (o. cl csd i t i n gl t d o e sn o tm e n t i osnp e c i fci co m p u t e r - b a s e d
r t - r : d i t ionogl sl t d o e sn o tw r s ht o d e l i n e a t e
, r l l r rl r i r t r u :l , o 1 l w ; rorrcp ; t r l i r ; l rtlral n
I ' l r ' \ , r ' rl:lrr , r { l rr,.:,,r I l 1 r r0rnr rl )r o
1l r o n
l mo r o n e l e c t r o nainc a l o o
gr
l t r r ; t t tcrrcl t t l s r rfti n
l r r l i l , rr ,l r i l lrrr r r ' , l r r r r i l' l r l l l r r r r r n i ) l r { ) i r I r r ; l rlrnt ir t"yl t c r r s r t lriil r e f t t lll0y e n c o m p a sas
r , r , r i l l l l l r r r l r r r r r r r rlrVl l ) r ,r' ", r y l r r ' l rl lr rl r r l r t l l r r , r l l l ; ,1 r ' l l v r : ; r oo nr l, l r r W t t h A 1 t ; t t
'

,rl

il

1',rI

llrlr',

rl]|llrillillrlflttttt,rvlr|t,tJl|rlrltlttt,ttt

xtl

e n i q upeo i n tT h eg o aol l t h r st e x ti s t o r r r l o rirrll ) c t s orl0 w

e x a m ptloeh e l pt l l u s t r aat u
practices,
to editrng
ab0utthemostgeneric
basics
thereasoning
of accepted
editing
behind
them,andtheircommon
interpreted
meanings
technique
Good
andnotsogood
technique
maybediscussed
andillustrated,
butintheendthereis norightandthereis
therersonlywhatworksandwhatdoesnotwork- andwhy.
n0wrong,

Chapter

One

Erliting Basics

OUESTION:What is editing?
pictures
ANSWER:Editing
formotion
rstheprocess
reviewing,
of organizing,
selectrrrl,arrrlassembling
thepicture
productron.
andsound"footage"
captured
during
The
rr,.;rrll
of theseediting
efforts
should
bea coherent
andmeaningful
storyor visualprepossible
rrrlirtion
thatcomesas closeas
to achieving
thegoalsbehind
theolginal
rrtcniof thework t0 entertain,
to inform,
to inspire,
etc

youwrite,youselect
Wlrrrn
wordsfromyourvocabulary
andstringthemtogether
in a
fashion
t0 construct
sentences
thatwillinform,
entertain,
orevoke
emotional
lr,rrlicular
rr:jl)onses
picture,
process.
withinthereader.
Whenyouedita moti0n
thereisa similar
irrrrhave
to select
shotsandstring
themtogether
in edited
t0 inform,
scenes
entertain,
,rrcvokeemoti0nal
responses
withintheviewer.
Foryourwrittensentences
to make
',u1se
youmustfollowtheknownandaccepted
to readers
grammar
rulesof
for your
- spellrng,
phrase
wrllenlanguage
wordorder,
structure,
tense,
etc.Iherersalsoa
',rrrrrlar
- howtheyareshotand
pictures
visualgrammar
forthelanguage
of motion
lrowtheyareedited
together.
rr tlrecompanion
text,Gramnar
0f theShlt,thesebasicrulesof structure
andformin
',lrrroting
pictures
theindividual
arediscussed
in detailThistext,Grammar
of theEdit,
thebasicrulesof visualconstructi0n
thatwill allowyout0 takethesesame
lrrcsents
,lrolsandassemble
themtogether
you
intoa meaningful
story.
As a creative
entity,
rrriry
youwish,butit mustbeunderstood
choose
to edrtyourvisualelements
however
rlr,iltherearecertain
basicrulesandguidelines
thatarecommonly
accepted
in the
'nlcrtainment
andvisual
fields.
communication
Ihe chapters
of thrsbookaredesigned
trrlrelpyouunderstand
process
thegrammar
theediting
behind
andsetyou0n a path
l r rr l o r trr;ld i t r npqr a c t i c e s

A Little Editing History

people
videotape
andcomputer
editing
software,
theexistence
of digital
Longbefore
pictures.Over
years
theillusion
filmto create
of motion
onehundred
usedemulsion
filmcammovrng
technology
of emulsion
filmstripsandhand-cranked
ago,thenascent
to bephotographed
Manyof the
forroughly
oneminute
of anyevent
erasonlyallowed
in realtime.Very
longrecordings
of events
movies
werejustroughly
one-minute
original
pictures
quickly
moved
fromstrarght
andtheuseof motion
thetechnologies
advanced
presentations
narrative
that
fictional
stories
thatamazed
to moreelaborate
documentary
messv i s u a l l a n l l fo w e d f o r l o n g e r r e c o r d iAnsgftiilm
e n t e r t a r n e d . L o n g e r sf ti lrri n
pa
so
pictures
guage
moreshotvariety
wasintroduced
andmotion
became
began
to develop,
grew
photographic
grander
larger
material
out
of
0f the
in scope.
Editing
the
amourrt
thestoryshownto anaudience.
needto trimthevisual"fat"andto betterstructure
visuallariguage
0f motionpicture
a morecomplex
Withinjusta shortfew decades,
photography
Filmswerequickly
becoming
thelargest
enter
hadevolved.
andedrting
planet.
Theywereheldin highesteem
by
medium
0n the
andinformation
tainment
Motionpictures
andhowtheywereperceived
by audimanyanddefamed
by others.
and
Manytheories
of filmmaking,
abouttheimpact
encesbecame
a source
of study.
process
theworld
fromdifferent
cultures
around
theedtting
especially,
emerged
were
shotswerejoinedtogether
Whentheeditorcutthefilmandhowthevarious
the
actual
story
impact
the
viewing
audience
above
and
beyond
t0
have
an
on
seen
justa means
footage
froma series
trimtheexcess
wasnolonger
to physically
Editing
recognized
toolin thefilmmakers
toolbox.
as a powerful
butit hadbecome
of shots,
perform
thecutshaveevolved
overtime,
andto
Themachines
usedto taketheoictures
grammar
Differing
haveremained
thesame.
editorulesof visual
butm0stof thebasrc
thepractice
are
havecomeandgone.
andintentbehind
butthecoremethods
rialstyles
unchanged
eventoday.

What

Factors May lmpact

Your Editing Choices/

is theassernbly
andsound
rntoa coherent
So,if editing
of rndividual
shotsof picture
thenaneditmustbetheplace
whereyoutransition
fromoneof thoseshotsinto
story,
Putsimply,
thenextwithinthatassembly.
aneditis a cutpoint- a placewhereone
1.2)Theterm"cut"stems
from
shotendsandanother
separate
shotbegins.
{seeFigure
pictures
thedayswhenmotion
wereshotandedited0n verylongstripsof emulsion
film.Looking
at theindividual
0nthatstripof film,theeditorwoulddeterstillframes
pictures.
minewhereto physically
cutthefilmbetween
A pairof scissors
or a razor
(see
point
1..1).
wasusedto actually
Figure
bladedevice
cutthefilmat that
Glueor
tapewasthenusedto jointhedifferent
filmtogether
Thecut
cutstrips
of plastrc
agarn.
thep0int0f transition
fromoneshotto thenext.Thestraight
orjointhenbecomes
cut
just
hereis
descrrbed
onewayt0 movebetween
shots.Howyouchoose
to transilion
frorloneshotto another
deoends
0nmanvvariables.
youmaywishto consider
youareusingto perform
Thefirstfactor
is whatmedium
the
physical
video,
0rcomputeraided
digital
video.
Each
medium,
edits film,tape-to-tape
thatareusedin theeditingprocess.
timeandthedevices
canoflendictatephysical,
related.
limitations.
is
or financial
Manyargue
thatc0mputer-aided
digitalvideo
editing
go,andit is,
themosteconomical
as far as options
for editing
andthemostdiverse
mostlikely,
thatyou,thereader,
In thistextwe
thetypeof editing
will be performing.
grammar
areattempting
t0 keepthediscussions
of editing
as generic
as possible,
so
general
practices
presented
the
rulesand
should
applyto anymedium
andto anyeditingdevice
or software.
Justbeawarethatcertain
terminology
may
usedin onemedium
rooted
haveitsorigins
inanother
andmayvaryfromonesoftware
application
t0 another.
yourediting
factorthatmayimpact
A second
transition
choices
canbethekindof prolyou
you
ectthat areediting.
Are assembling
footage
fora documentary,
nara fictional
rative
shortfilm,a newspackage,
a musicvideo,
a televisi0n
commercial,
or a cousin's

. ' l , l t r 1u t r l | r I r rI 1 , 1 , , l l r t , r I r L r rl i l r ) ( l l , lllirl , l yt r | r . r : : , : , t l , tl .l r{ :l l, li , t icl t l r l t n sq l y l r :

I , r r l r r l l r , r r l rr r r r l r , r r rI' ,r r r ' , l r r r r , , l , l r ( . 1y ,o r n l l r yw t s l rl r t t t s t ;l t ; n g s, l o w d i s , . ' r "l 'r r r r tr t t t t ' r ' l t rl r rl l l t r :l r x l r r r , rr r r r r o rr lryr t r s vr rl l; c r t ,l t t r yt o t tw o u l dn e v e rC O n S t d e r
r r ( ll o l l ( 1r,; l ( t w( l l : i t i c l v {rrt:t;, t l r i i r r l r r l l r r r rl;i ,t r ; l r r ar lt e w sp a c k a g ef o r t h e s i x o ' c l o c k
W r r w r l l r i t : ; t . t t :r;i :t ;s s o l v c nl ; r l ( r r cr l t : t a i l a t e r ,b L r t h e e x a m p l ei l l u s t r a t e tsh e
i , , r r , i r l l o l l t t l l o w t t t rtll t c , l r ; r ; u p t r :rrr1r l e sa n d g L r i d e l r n eosf s t y l ef o r d i f f e r i n gp r g g r a m

, r ,',, , r r r lrrJr r ; r ; n r w
r : rsl l r rtrhr o s rei i s t i ntcyl p e sF.o tr h ep u r p o soefsc l a r r tayn ds i m p l i c ', ,."'lwtllttlrlstly
lrtr:Lrs
otttheqratnmar
andpractices
associated
wrthfictional
narran o l r o nI ) r c l u sr et 0 r y t e l l rbnugt,t h eg e n e r g
au
l i d e l i naepsp ltyo a l lf o r m o
s fmotion
r 1 rp, r r t q r a m r n i r t g .
' l r ' ' rl , t tl r t r si n v o l v ewdr t he d i t o r raanl dt r a n s i t i o n
r w nc r e a t i v i t y ,
c h o i c ei ns c l u dye0 u o
'r
\.r
"
01r0f thedirector,
thesuggestions
of a producer,
andthequality
of therawfootl llrirlyouaretasked
wrthediting
together
Femember,
therighteditorcanbreathe
.'; lrlerntoold.tired,or borrng
material,
butan editormaystillhavet0 answert0
' ' r lrnitingfactors
as discussed
Thepointis,an editorperforms
above.
thetaskof
th
: trrrrl
irrrtsheor hedoesnotalways
havecontrol
overthemanyvariables
thatimpact o
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The Basic Edit Transitions

'il,rt;c:; rlf lltrt Ettrtnt<;

Pro<:t:ss

rtself
.
of editing
withtheedrlpornt
Letusbegrn
ourdiscussion

' , ' r l r l r rl (l rl r ) r l , rl 'r,r r t lr i c r r l r , rrl rl y: l l l l r il r )i t sp o s t - p r o d u c t ioorn

s o r n e l i mj eu s t
r
,
t
t
t
,
i
t
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l
r
t
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l
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l
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ost-production
c
o
m
p
l
e
T
x
h
.
e
ltttsl
;, t lr1tr,tlly{lrt(i0rrtl)iiss0s
itrtyitnriall workontheproject
thatcomes
aftertheshootr i l l r { )p r o d u c t i o nr s) c o m p l e t ePdi c { u raen ds o u n d
t r a c kas r ee d i t e d
t 0 g e t h et 0r
r ir'r,irilIt:llllte story,specral
generated,
visualeffectsare
titles/graphics/credits
r " ' , r i l r j c sr lo, u r redt t e c tasr ec r e a t e ad n, dm u s i ics s c o r eddu r i npgo s t - p r o d u c 0
t i no n
rr rllcrprolects,0ne
person
candoall of thiswork,but0nlarger
prgducti0ns.
several

fromoneshotor visualelement
into
Therearefourbasicwaysonecantransition
another:
o Cut- Anlnstantaneous
of
fromoneshottothenext.Thelastfullf rarne
change
picture
for
bythefirstfullframe
of picture
foroneshotis immediately
followed
thenextshot.
- A gradual
. Dissolve
pictures
fromtheending
of oneshotinto
change
pictures
Thisrstraditionally
achieved
viaa
thebeginning
0fthenextshot.
ramping
superimposition
witha simultaneous
downward
andupward
of bothshots
"dissolves"
particular
period
As
the
the
first
a
time
end
of
shot
of opacity
over
of
at thesame
time.
away,
thebeginning
ofthenextshot"resolves"
0nt0thescreen
. Wipe- A lrne,progressing
moves
thescreen
at someangle,
ora shape,
across
whilesimultaneously
revealing
the
removing
theimage
of theshotjustending
Thewiping
theprevious
nextshotbehind
shotreplaces
thelineortheshape.
sfrotonthescreen
. F a d e- ( 1 ) A g r a d u cahl a n gf e
r o ma s o l i db l a cskc r e ei n t oa f u l l yv i s i b liem a g e
( f a d fer o mb l a cok rf a d e - i n{ 2) .) Ag r a d u cahl a n gf e
r o ma f u l l yv i s r b li e
m a g ien t oa
to blackorfade-out)
screen
solidblack
{fade
in somewayssrnce
theearlydaysof cinema,
but
Thegrammar
of theedithasevolved
haveremained
Nomatter
whattypeof program
thesefourbasictransitions
thesame.
youareediting
is
or whattoolyouareusingto makeit, a cutis stilla cut.A dissolve
youdissolve
n0 matter
whatpictures
fromandto.A wipewill literally
stilla dissolve
out0f black
anda fade-out
still
wioea newshotovertheoldshot.A fade-in
stillcomes
purposes
goesintoblack.
Theyhaveremained
theirindividual
have
thesamebecause
theworldunderstands
remained
the same,and,for the mostpart,everyone
around
whentheyseeonebeingusedasa transition
theirgrammar orwhatit means
analysrs
a morein-depth
of thesebasic
Laterin thistextyouwill be ableto explore
ona much
Fornow,letusplace
themasideandfocusourattentions
editing
transitions.
process
editing
broader
topic a general
approach
to theentire
piecethatplays
foryouraudience
asmuch
Yourgoalrsto havea finished
andprovides
piece,
thatfinished
thereare
though,
entertainnrent
or information
asit can.Toachieve
process
needto f0ll0w.
several
of theediting
thatyouwill,mostIikely,
stages

"

rrrr:'
0l wornen
andmenworkin various
departments
to complete
eachelement
and
rrr,rr:lr
phase
of thepost-production
workflow.

lrr'lrrllowing
rs a low-level
listingof the majorstepsinvolved
in a post-production
.'.rrrl'll0w
process
thatstresses
theediting
forthevisual
elements
of a prolect
. Acquire
. 0rganize
. Beview
andselect
. Assemble
. Cut- r0ugh
. Cut- fine
. Picture
lock
. Master
anddelrver
- Simply
Acquisitron
put,youmustacquire
thefootage
shotbytheproduction
picture
teamMotion
andsound
elements,
whether
onemulsion
film,analog
tape,drgrtal
tape,0r
digitalfiles,
mustbeqathered
toqether
fortheduratron
process.
of thepost-production
editing
Themedium
of choice
depends
onthe
method
of editing
andthephysical
devices
usedto perform
theedrts.
lf youare
using
a computer-aided
digitalnon-linear
editing
system
t0 perform
theedit,
thenyouwillhaveto imp0rt,
capture,
or "dtgrtize"
materials
all
asmedia
on
yourstorage
drives.
These
media
filesmustremain
accessrble
byyouredrttng
forthelifeof theprolect
software
foryouto complete
thework
- Allof theminutes,
0rqanization
hours,
feet,reels,
orgigabytes
of picture
and
sound
elements
should
beorganized
insomeway.lf youdonothavea clear
grouping,
system
of labeling,
orsorting
allof thematelalneeded
foryourproJect,
youwilleventually
havea difficult
timefinding
thatgoodshotorthatgoodsound

t
t,

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(,

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c
gl
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o

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o
o
Et
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ah

1 1 1 g ( ;g1l ,( ; .( l l t l i t t t t u i t l t lot tt ts r t t t t t ;lcr i t l c t t i t l st s t t l t ll l t t ;t t t t t : ,r 11 1 ' t t r r rrr,l I r r l L r ll l l i l

r e r t a i nr nl ya kteh ed i f l e r e r rbceet w r ; c r:r,,rrn r r r r l l r

e d i tp r o g e sbSu,ti t c a rC
ol tlte
one.Marry
andmgrefrustrating
post-pr6ducti6n
anda slgwer
wgrkflow
prized
fortheirorganizational
editorsarehighly
andassistant
better
editors
picture.
intoorderandcrafttheorderintoa motion
Tame
thechaos
skills.
- 0nceyouhaveacquired
allof your
andorganized
Bevrew
andselecti0n
andpickoutthebest
allof thismaterial
to review
it willbenecessary
elements,
"pull
andsetaside
theselects"
Youwill
pieces
thatwillworkforyourproject.
you
you
0utthelunkthat hope willnothaveto use.
theggodstuffwhileweeding
you
because
away,however,
throwanything
Youwouldbewiset0 notactually
a day0ra fewweeksintotheediting
knowwhatmightcomeinhandy
willnever
save
mayJUSt
of theflagwavingin thebreeze
process.
Thatonescrap0f footage
you
0f
it
is
not
one
know
eventhough
available
edit,s0keepit readily
theentire
youroriginal
selections
of theproject
allof themaigrpieces
callsforassembling
Assembly Thisprgcess
a
lf youareediting
elements.
andsound
of picture
sequence
intoa logrcal
thebest
forassembling
asa blueprint
y0uwouldfollowthatscript
story,
scripted
picture,
thatmakeupthemgtign
shotsof thescenes
of thevarious
selections
some
video,
thereis always
0revena music
a documentary
lf youarecreating
parts
into
raw
those
assemble
to anaudience
to beshown
storythatistrying
in itslongest
thestgry,
theproject,
whatgenre
Nomatter
version.
thisskeleton
now.
form,takesshape
andmostrough-hewn
of the
wherethemajority
development
of theproject's
Rough
cut- Thisisa stage
"fat"hasbeentrimmed
tn
thatiscomplete
andyouareleftwitha presentation
perfectly
n0tevery
cutis
Perhaps
edges.
flowbuthasmanyrough
itsnarrative
ormoreelaborate
simple
titlesorgraphics,
timedyet,therearenofinalized
hasnotbeen
mixcertainly
andtheaudio
havenotbeencreated,
effects
downto a goodpace,
Youdohavethetimingofthemainelements
completed.
work,likehow
to whomyoushowthedeveloping
andyou,andothers
however,
maystilloccur.
restructuring
of scenes
although
thestoryunfolds,
of your
thematerial
andmassaged
andre-worked
Finecut- Youhaveworked
willbenomajor
There
tunedpresentation.
project
intoa tightandfinely
towhom
of thepeople
You,andthemaiority
fromthispointforward.
renovations
Thiscutisfine
arerequired.
tweaks
thatn0further
youshowtheprece,
allagree
that
certain
picture
lockwhenyouareabsolutely
lock- Youhavereached
Picture
piece.
youredited
track(s)of
t0 thepicture
youwillnotmakeanymorechanges

I r r l r r r r r r rl lr l , r p r rl L t r rl r l l r , r l i , l r l t ' , .l t l l l ' , , i r i , t r .1k t , i l l ; 1 1l l,i,: ) t s s t : l [ ) t t t , e

y r r lrrr, r vl r r r . l 'lrl r rll) r ( . l 1l r ,r rl ' :(, : , r r r r r l r rl lrtl :c:r; , rllrl u

yrt t t o s tf ltyg u r a t i v e l y ) ,
y r ) ,l r r l l r i rlrrrr r lrr r , r r l r i ryi :o: r; :ri ;r u r l r n
or x rn
r rcqe d 0
s n c et h ea u d itow e a kasr e
I r r r , r l r ,zrrrrtryrjir r r nr rl u : j t (1.l r lrt l i l ; t l:l,t e ny o ua r er e a dtyo rt h el a s st t a g e .
\ ' ' 1 , * l c r r. r r ri;riir : l r v c r yA l lo l y o uer f t o r tisnc r e a t i nagw e l l - e d i tpeide c w
e ill
rncinvcrylrttlerl youcanrrot
deliver
theshowto theaudience
thatneeds
to
sccil Tlrese
yourfinalcutontovideodaysthisprocess
maymeanrecording
printforprolection
lirpe,
crealing
anopticalfilm
in a movie
theatre,
converting

ACOUISITION:
Acquire all visual
and aural clemcnts.

OR6ANIZATION:
Organize, group, or cluster
all materials into easily
sorted categorieJ.

REVIEW& SELECTION:
Watch and listen to atl
materialsand note or put aside
the best elements for the program.

ASSEMBLY:
Edit together the best raw selected
material into a skeleton framework
of the entire story.

ROUGHCUT:
Tweak the assembleedit until
the flow is cleaner.The "fat" is
trimmed away and your story
is in good shape.

o
o
o
I

o
o.
FINE CUT:
The pacing is tighu there
are no glitches in picture or sound.
Final tweaks are made.

Et

c
!,

ut
o
o

PICTURE LOCK:
All visual elements are rock
solid and no further changes
will be made. All major audio creation
and tweaking may begin.

MASTERING & DELIVERY:

The finished produt is authorcd
and delivered to the viewing
audience on film, tape, DVD
or as a computer video filc.

FIGURE
1 . 3 T h eg e n e r asl t a g e s0 f t h ee d i t r n g
process

o
o
ctl
G
at,

1 0 G r a m m aort t h eE d i t

yourstoryintoa computer
videofile,orauthoring
thepieceontoa DVD.
Each
process,
medium
wouldrequire
isthatyouhavea
a unique
buttheendresult
getst0 viewallof yourhard
fullymastered
version
ofyourshowandanaudience
editing
work.
goodideaof whatthebasic
Sowe nowhavea pretty
or post-production
workediting,
projects
Youcertarnly
flowis foranyproject
largeor small.
mayencounter
thatd0not
for
call all thestages
of editing
to beexecuted
in a clearly
delineated
manner,
but,for
themostpart,youwill touchuponsomecombinatron
of each0f thesestages
as you
piece
yourfinrshed
worktoward

C h a p l e0rn e i I d i t r n qt s a s i c s 1 1

t nd of Chapter

One Reviernr

I There
arebasic
andwidelyaccepted
grammar
rulesof visual
thatgovern
the
picture
rnotion
process.
editing
'' Ihegrammar
of theedithasevolved
overa century
of filmmaking,
butthebasics,
covered
inthisbook,
haveremained
largely
unchanged.
I Iherearemanyfactors
picture
thatplaya rolein howa motion
is editedandthe
ctlitor
doesnotalways
havecontrol
overmanyof them.
I llretourbasrc
typesof transition
editsarecut,dissolve,
wipe,andfade.
'

p0st-producti0n
lhehasic
workflow
consists
of thefollowing
stagesacqursition,
orctanization,
review
andselection,
assernbly,
rough
lock,
cut,finecut,picture
,rndrnaster
anddeliverv

.g
o
lc
o
c

o
o

CI
(g

.tr
(J
0
10
c
uJ

Chapter Trnro
Understandi ng the Footage
OUESTION:Why should an editor be well versed in the various
shot types?
- the visual
ANSWER: Consider
the individual
shottypesas the vocabulary
rr,r:res
- usedto edittogether
pictureKnowing
complete
scenes
in a motion
the
.'.',
rrrjs"
andtheirmeaning
willhelpaneditor
construct
more
meaningf
ulvisual
sentences.

,'.'t'n vouwatcha stageplay,a musicconcert,0r

a sports
eventIn an actualpublic
, rtr0,club,0rstadium
yougenerally
onlygetto observe
theactions
of theperform' Irornonestaticviewpoint
- yourseat.lf anyof theseevents
wererecorded
and
rrlr;irst
ontelevision,
theperson
watching
missing
at home,
although
outonthethrill
' t,'r)(lot theliveevent,
"intimate"
will benefit
fromhaving
a more
viewing
experil llranks
postti0ns
to theeventscoverage
bymultiple
cameras
of varying
andlens
"sees"
person
rl lr;nqths
The
at home
moreviewsanddetails
thantheperson
at
rrlLr;tl
event.
tlrrssameconcept
of coverage
thatallowspeople
watching
a motionpicture
to
r',llrough
theyareobserving
actual
events
unfolding
before
theireyesTheyget
,,r,"nrorebecause
places,
thecamera
records
thepeople,
andactions
frommany
points
"' rIrrlviilttoge
production
andwithvarying
degrees
The
of detail.
teamphOto'r',,rll
r;
of thetmportant
fromwhattheyconsider
action
to bethemostadvantageous
points
r i,rr):jsirrv of viewEach
oneof thesecamera
viewsiscalred
a shot.
' ,lrrrlS,
rtrindrvidual
givento theeditor
information,
unitsof visual
areeventually
' I l)():l
Even
though
theeditorhadnocontrol
overwhichshotswere
lrrorluclion
l'il rrrrtlrclilrrrsr:trtrltowtheywerecornposed,
it willbehisorherjobto revrew
' ' t r , i r r , r l r r irri n
r lrrl; h o l t sl lcr cl r e svt i e w p o i n -t sp u l tl h es e l e c -t s a n dc o m b i n e
. r r r r r r ';,l r o l :orr ; l r o w
l l r ci r r r r l i c nt rl r; rcb: e s vt i s u apl r e s e n t a t0i 0f tnh ea c t i o n
rn
'

" r r . ! l r , r l l v l tr l t l , t V l r i r

f1
r) -7

Basic Shot Types

Although
many
witha project
Mosteditors
duringpost-producti0n.
onlygetinvolved
production
professronal
in
in
film
set
or
a
studio
at
some
editors
mayhaveworked
ona
pointin theircareers,
andpostit is notthatcommon
forthemto workbothproduction
production
however,
t0 knowcertain
is theneedforall editors
iobs.Whatis common,

I x l r t ' r r r cL o r r <S; h o t : X L S/ E L S

production
in thevisualgrammar
of
concepts
andterminologres
andbe well-versed
the
themduring
filmmaking.
Knowing
thebasicshottypesandhowt0 bestjuxtapose
fortheeditor.
Heorshemustknowhowto best"show"the
editis a keyresponsibility
whichhighlights
thefollowing
andilluswe willpresent
secti0n
story.
Soasa review,
shots
blocks
of filmlanguage thebasic
trates
themainbuilding

M e d i u mC l o s e - U pM
: CU

V e r yL o n g S h o t : V L S

C l o s e - U pC: U

o Extreme
(XCU
orECU)
close-up
h

. Bigclose-up
(BCU)
. Close-up
(CU)
a

(MCU)
close-up
Medium

Medium
shot(MS)

longshot(MLS)
Medium

Longshot(LS)
orwideshot(WS)

a
a

Verylongshot{VLS)
longshot(XLS
or ELS)
Extreme

Twoshot(2S)

(0TS)
Overtheshoulder

fil,t

,*ftlj\.
,'r\'''y'--'/

l/ \l )_-"r.\
IIJ

Y \\4

L o n gS h o t : L 5

o
-i"r'|},
b -fi : J - i
I

,.lfln
;r*l-.

"i

M e d i u mL o n gS h o t : M L S

M e d i u mS h o t : M S

BigClose-Up:BCU

-*(th

'Sr Fi

Extreme
Close-Up:XCU/ ECU

2-Shot

Over-The-Shoulder
ll(,llnl2l

1"'.r',

t , i l , ' . , 1 , 1 1 1 , ,I I

I t.lrr',r: U;r (R(ltJ)

Shot Descriptions
of varyrrrq
but
Thebasicshottypescanbeusedto record
anysubject
or oblects
srrcs,
grounded
relationshrp,
we aregoingto
to keeptheexamples
in an easilyunderstood
lt should
thenbe pretty
mainly
focus0urattenti0n
ontheframing
of a human
subject.
howto createsimilar
framing
shotdescriptions,
when
clear,
basedon thef0llowing
figures
recording
orfilm spacedevoid
of human
objects

' . r r. r t Ir r rl r ) {r r l ) r r ; , rr,r r rlrrr r ll l r cl t , r r r r r : , t s

l t o s s r l ralret rsl t i l sl h o w st h ek e y
' , r l l r r " r r l l y r , : , ,t t t t l ; t , , l n rt tl t r l t l l t , i l
tIll0

l r r r r r r rt n , r l r :; l u rl lr r r l lsl n ; i t r r l r r ; ndcrcr e c t li yn t h et a c eo f t h es u b j e c E
t .v e r y
l , I r r r r ll l r r l , r r . ri tsl r r r ; l tvl yr : ; r l t ltth: ,r t r e l o tr ae c i am
l o v e m e not sr e x p r e s s i o n s
' , , r' l 1 1l 1n : , r r l r t lVc c r yl i t l l ul t c a rri n o v e m ecnat nb et o l e r a t ebde f o r teh es u b j e c t
rr|!r,,, oltl (JlllillIo

i l r r , , ; l r r rr lsi t l l o u w
t h o a n dh o wt h a t" w h o "t e e l s-

Extreme

Close-Up

(XCU or ECU)

1. Purely
favors
oneaspect
suchashrsorher
a detailshot.Theframing
of a subject
maybea magnification
oritemormerely
eyes,
mouth,
ear,orhand;
of anyobject
jusra parr0ran00Ject
0r rtem
:..^r

^^-+

^{

^^

^L

theaudrence
of reference
to thesurrounding
2. Lackrng
anypoints
environment,
hasnocontext
inwhichto placethisbodypart0robject
detail,
s0understanding
picture.
intothemotion
lt isoften
willstemfromhoworwhenthisshotisedited
inthe
whose
helpful,
thatthesubject
bodydetailisdisplayed
butnotrequired,
for
XCUis shownbefore
maVbeestablished
or afterin a widershotsocontext
theviewer.
magnified
imagery
canbeusedin documentary
worksuch
3. Thistypeof extremely
proiects
like
music
more
fanciful
videos
and
asmedicalfilms
orscientific
studies,
narrative
ina fictional
experimental
artfilms,
or it maybeusedsparingly
story

r lo:;c-Up (CU)
',,rrrrlrrr)es "head
c a l l ead
s h o t b" e c a u st heet r a m i ni g
sp r i m a r ti lhyef a c eb, u tt t
rrr,ry
r.rrloff
thetopof thesubject's
hair.Thebottom
frame
of
canbegin
anywhere
k n da l i t t l eu p p esrh o u l dvei rs i b l e
; L r ,l lr r : l utwh ec h i no rw i t ht h en e c a
A vrrry
rrrtimate
tullfaceshotof a human
subject
shOwtng
intheeyes.lt
alldetail
lonvcys
thesubtle
emotions
thatplayacross
theeyes,
mouth,
andfacialmuscles
rrl,rnactorHealth
conditions
andfacialhairin menandmake-up
useinwomen
, r r rrr; l e a rvl yr s r b l e .
Ar audience
member
should
focused
onthehuman
facewrththis
betotally
l ri r r inn q .
I I lrisshotshows
whobutnotsomuch
whereorwhen.

ai'*
/\h
I
YI

close
FIGURE
2.2 txamples
0f extreme
up(XCU/ECU)
shots

a n g r ys, c a r e dr,o m a n t i ce,t c

I l ( ; l , R 2 . 3 F x a r n p l eost b i qc l o s eu p ( B C Us)h o t s

a^
C

CL

(,

u,
o

o
s
ch

(iu
)\B
shots
FIGURE
2.4 Examples
of close'up
{CU)

2.5 Examples
close
up(MCU)shots
FIGURE
of medium

Medium

Close-Up (MCU)

framecutting
offat the
1. Sometimes
forthetightbottom
called
a "two-button"
ona shirt.Definitely
chest,roughly
whereyouwouldseethetoptwobuttons
joint.
formen0rwomen
frameslightly
cutsoffabove
theelbow
Adjust
bottom
depending
oncostuming.
Where
theeyeslookisobvious,
asis
facialfeatures
arerather
clear.
2. Character's
shots
make-up,
emoti0n,
hairstyleandcolor,
etc.Thisisoneof themostcommon
it provides
aboutthecharacterwhile
infilmmaking
somuchinformation
because
muchbodyor
thatdoesnotinvolve
listening,
or performing
anaction
speaking,

t l t , l l l t l ? . 6 | r , r r r lrrr o l r r r c r i r rsr hr rort {sM S )

llt;tlRf2.7 lx;rrnple
I o n qs h 0 t s( M L S )
o s1m e d r u m

llrrrrran
torsois mostprominent
intheframe.
However,
eyesandthedirection
tlrrry
look,
clothing,
visible.
andhaircolorandstyleareallplainly
Srrbject
movement
framrng
restricts
maybecome
a concern
thetighter
the
since
(have
Ireedom
of gesture.
Becarefuln0t
to breakframe
anactor's
bodypart
picture
Iouch
ormovebeyond
theestablished
edgeof the
frame).
generic
0ertainly
shows
where(inside
whoandmayprovide
detailabout
or
(day
rrutside,
forest,
apartment,
store,
etc.)andwhen ornight,
season)

tr
o

Mcdium Long Shot (MLS)

headmovement.
faceat thispointinthe
to bewatching
thehuman
is supposed
3. Anaudience
holdlittleto
inthesurrounding
environment
should
framing
orobjects
s0actions
noimportance.
youmaydiscern
general
lighting
4. Depending
andcostuming
upongeneral
information
whereandwhen.
about
Medium

Shot (MS)

figure
1. Mdyalsobecalled
the"waist"shotbecause
theframecutsoffthehuman
justbelowthewaistandlustabove
thewristsif armsaredownat theside

o
tl
t,

th

I irstshotwheresurrounding
m0rescreen
space
thanthe
environment
occupies
subject.
Traditionally
framed
suchthatbottom
offramecutsoffthelegeither
forwhereto
0r,morecommon,
theknee.Thechoice
lustbelow,
lustabove
trame
thelegmaydepend
in
oncostuming
or bodymovement
of theindivrdual
thesh0t.lf Voucutbottomof frameabovetheknee,it is sometimes
referred
to
"cowboy
"
(lnclassical
,isthe
Hollywood
it wasimportanl
Westerns,
l0 getthe
"six
obligatory gun"strapped
to thehero's
thighintheshot.)
gender,
flurnan
inclothing,
figure
is prominent
andfacialexpressions
anddetails
t r r ev i s i b l e .
Shows
moreof whothanwhereandmavstillshowwhen.

o
o
o

?l

Long Shot/Wide

Shot (LS/WS)

l o d ys" h o tw, i d eb u ts t l l tl nr . i o rl;or l l r rl r r ; r r r c

1 T h i si su s u a l cl yo n s i d e rae"df u l b
oftenframing
feetjustabove
bottom
of frame
andheadjustbelowtolrol lrarne
It mayoftenbenoted
asa generic
wideshot(WS)as
well.
2. Thetallvertical
lineof thehuman
figure
attracts
theviewer's
eyeawaytromthe
surrounding
environment;
however,
a fairamount
of thecharacter's
surroundings
arestillvisible
andshould
beconsidered
inthecomposition.
3. Maynotworkwellforanestablishing
shotbecause
it maynotshowenough
ol
theenvironment
t0 provide
therequired
information
to theaudience.
4. Shows
where,
when,andwho.Thegender,
clothing,
movements,
andgeneral
f a c i a l e x p r e s smi oanybses e e nb u tr e a l f a c i a l d eitsal ial c k i n g

Very Long

Shot

' orr<;Slrot (XLS/ELS)

| <trcrrrr-L
I A l : ; ror : l c r r lro: r, jt s ,vl { l y w r r sj rl t r 0r lra v e r y w i d e a nsghl e
ot.
Ir , r rIlrrr r r r i rl rl lsyr ;rrrlro x t e l osr h o o t i n g .
j I nr;rrrrrpasses
a largefreldof view,therefore
forms
animage
thatshows
a large
,irnount
of theenvironment
withinthefilmspace
1 0ftenusedasanestablishing
picture
shotat thebeginning
of a motion
0rat the
slart0f a newsequence
picture.
withina motion
', Shows
urban,
suburban,
rural,
mountains,
ocean,
desert,
etc.
li N/ayshowday,night,
past,past,present,
summer,
winter,
spring,
fall,distant
future,
etc.
/ Mayshowthelonestranger
walking
intotownormassive
invading
armyMost
ottenthehuman
figures
in theXLSaresosmallthatdetails
areindistinguishable.
General,
notspecific
information
willbeconveyed.

(VLS)

1. Proud
member
ofthewideshotfamily.
2. Maybeusedinexteriororinteriorshooting
whenenough
widthandheight
existwithinthestudio
setor location
building.
3. Thehuman
figure
isvisible
butonlygeneralities
of race,
mood,
clothing,
andhair
maybeobserved.
Theenvironment
wrthin
thefilmspace
dominates
muchof the
screen.
4. Maybeusedasanestablishing
shotwheremovement
of character
brings
the
figure
closer
to thecamera
during
theactron
of theshot.

n
i)\'
ii 5J.
^ ra

"

-r:

o
c
o
o
o
ah
o

5. Shows
where,
when,anda bitof who.
I IcURE
(VLS)
2.9 Examples
ofverylongshots

o
o

.:i;
.

B'
FIGURE
2.8 Examples
of longshots
{LS)

I I G U R E2 . 1 0 E x a m p l eosf e x t r e m e
l o n qs h o t s( E L S / X L S )

.;-''

,{.

r:l
l)

rlrl

Trnzo-Shot (2-Shot/2

S)

1. Contains
twosubjects
(;irnr{rr,r
whogenerally
either
tacetoward
rrrl,rr.rr,rr.lr
profile
otherin
to camera.
2. Framing
depends
onwhether
thesubjects
arestanding
orsittrng,
moving
or
static,
gestures
0rmaking
andperforming
(M2S)
actions.
A medium
2-shot
is
common
butallowsforlittlegesturing
or bodymovement
Medium
longshotor
longshottwo-shots
willallowmorer00maround
thesubiects
formovement
or
acIr0n.
(MCU,
3. Framing
fortighter
shots
cU)wouldentailextremely
closeproximity
of
sublects'
headsimplying
intimate
connectivity
posturing
or aggressive
liketwo
boxers
in a clutchToseebothfacesof thesubjects
in a tight2-sh0t,
youwould
haveto "favor"
onebodybefore
theother,literally
overlapping
thepeople
within
theframe.
Theperson
closest
t0 camera
andseenfullybythevieweris grven
favor.
persons
4. Adding
(3-shot),
creates
a three-shot
a group
shot,ora crowd

r.r tlrr: Iilrotrl<lcr Slrot

?3

(OIS/OSS)

i i , , r i, ' l r r rt lt r w l t t rr.tl trt r : , r r l r 1r :r,r l.,l t v o r c rl il r" t ; r nc tal t t t e e

r ai t l t efrr a r n e
' r ) rl r , l r . 'r r r ; l ,rrl r r r li r r : r r r l r r ; r
s r l r l cl rr :i lr h
s r so r h e rb a c kt u r n e tdo w a r d
r r , r , ro r l l r r or l r p o : ; r:l;rr r jrt r: lt l r t l: l t r r t e I h e r t o n - f a v o rseudb j e cctr e a t easn
, t rr ! r ' , r rr l r r : r : r k ; c , rtrrrortj t n norl t r a m ew r t ht h eb a c ko f t h e r hr e a da n dt h e i r
' , r l j ' r . l r r r rr : l l r r :n u n r ; T l r e
c a r n e rsah o o t so v e ro n es u b j e c t s' sh o u l d et ro
' r r r r , u l )t l r r l:i r r : c
o l t l r co t l r esr u b l e cf to rt h e v i e w e r t soe e .
"
s
l
r
r
r
r
rlrler"
r ' l rr r l ) r :
s u b l e cpt a r t r a l lcyu to f f a t t h ee d g eo f f r a m et,h e s h o tt y p e
, 1l r r rt l r c( ) I S r n a yt r ea s t r g h ta s a m e d i u mc l o s e - u pA.n y t h i ncgl o s e ar n dt h e
1 r I r ) 'ti r o rw o u l da l t e rt h e b a l a n c oe f t h ef r a m ea n dt h es h o u l d emr a vQ e tl o s t
r ' , , rn
1 ( lw l t i ) ts o m er n a yc a l la d i r t y s i n g l e .
r ' ' ( ) l l o .l r e l p f utlo h a v ea d e c r e a s edde p t ho l f i e l d s o t h ep o r t i 0 n0 f t h e
l r , r r l r | : rs" u b l e cvt i s i b l er nt h ec o r n eor f t h e f r a m ei s b l u r r yw h i l et h ef a c eo f
' l r ' ' l , r v o r csr lL r b j e icstw e l l - f o c u s e d .
H a v i n ga w e l l - f o c u s ebda c k - o f - t h e - h emaadv
l
r
v
r
l
r
)
t
r
e
d
i
s
t
r
a
c
t
i
n
g
I
f o r t h ea u d i e n c e .

shotdepending
onhowmanyrndividuals
areclustered
together
inthe
trame.

o
c
o
c\

(,

ao
o

o
o

I ll,lllll 2 l2

'
FIGURE
2.11 ,n. t ,nn,,rheovertapping
2S.andthegroup
shot

I x ; t m p l eos1o v e rt h es h o u l d e
( 0r T Sf)r a m i n q

Increasing

Shot Complexity
Tall
UP

It is worthnoting
thatall of theshottypesoutlined
abovehaveonethingin common
theybelong
t0 an over-arching
shotcategory
thatwe liketo callsimple
They
shots.
could,
however,
intotwomoreof ourcategories complex
evolve
shotsor developing
shots.
Before
we clarify
whatconstitutes
a simple,
complex,
or developing
shot,we
givejusta bit of attention
should
to thefourbasicelements
of shotcreation
whose
presence
helpsdictate
intowhichcategory
a shotmaybeplaced.

r-i--_l
-F-

lVeutial

- Does
LENS
thecamera's
lensmoveduring
theshot?
Doesthelensalteritslight
gathering
characteristics
whiletheshotisbeingrecorded?
thecamera
Since

Titt
Down

isstationary,
lensmovement
canonlybeachieved
whileusing
a zoom0ra
vari-focallens.Soyouhavet0 determine
if thereis a zoomora local length
theshot.
change
during
- Doestheentirecamera
CAMEBA
is there
bodymoveduringtheshot?Essentially,
a panning
ora tiltingaction
action
executed
whilethecamera
is recording
the
(tripod
Thecamera
mount
shot?
head)wouldhaveto allowforthese
horizontal
(tripodlwould
andvertical
axischanges,
butthecamera
support
notbein motion

I I G U B E2 . 1 4 C a m e rm
a 0 u n t etd0 p a n / t r lttr r p 0 rhi e a d

- Does
physically
M0UNT/SUPPORT
thecamera's
m0unt
0rsupport
movethe
the
film
location
camera
around
setor
during
a shot?
Ina television
studio
the
ismounted
camera
atopa pedestal,
whichcanboomup(raise
camera
height)
orboomdown{lower
height)
thesmooth
floor.
camera
androllaround
0n a film
(for
canbemounted
set,thecamera
to a moving
dollyontracks crabortruck
moves),
it canbeattached
t0 a craneoriib arm,orsuspended
fromcables
ora
Steadicam
andsoforth.
- Does
thesubject
recorded
SUBJECT
withthecamera
moveduring
theshot?
The

.
xo
ona dollv
FIGURE
2.15 A camera

()o
o

.n
C't

(something
people,
subject
canbea person
0rmultiple
ananimal,
ananimate
obiect
itselflikea remote-controlled
capable
ofmovrng
toycar),oraninanimate
object
(something
pirate's
thatdoesnotmove,
likea vase0ra
treasure
chest).

ai
G

E
(,
c

a n da t r e s t .
F I G U R2
E. 1 6 S u b l e c lrsnm o t r o n

eachshotyouaregivenfor these
analyze
youwill nothaveto consciously
As theeditor,
What
will berathernoticeable.
or lackthereof
Mostoftentheirpresence
fourelements.
willfallintowhenoneor
thatshots
categories
arethebasic
youshould
though
understand

FIGUBE
l e n sw i t hz 0 0 m0 r v a n f o c a cl a p a b r l i t r e s
2.13 A camera

CL

aresimpleshots,
categories
These
threebasrc
arepresent.
several
of thefourelements
now
shotcategories
theseover-arching
shots.Defining
complexshots,anddeveloping
laterinthistext
themtogether a topicwec0ver
of editing
wrllhelpusinouranalysis

26 Grammar
ot theEdit

C h a p t eTrw o ] U n d e r s t a n d itnhge F o o t a g e 2 l

Simple Shots
. Nolensmovement
. Nocamera
movement
o Nomount
movement
o Simple
movement
subject
(zooms).
They
Theyhavenofocallength
changes
Simple
shotsarejustthat- simple.
Theyshownocamera
bodymovement
aswitha d0lly
havenotiltingorpanning
acti0ns.
movein simple
waysacross
screen,
standing,
sitting,
ora jib.Theydoshowthesubject
particular
froma
angle,
with
discussed
earlier,
areallcovered
etc.Thebasic
shottypes,

t Ovemenl
I l l , l l R t 2 . 1 7 S i m p l es h o tw i t h n 0 l e n s c, a m e r a0,r m o u n t i nm
g 0 v e m e nbtu tm a y b et a l e n m

mount.
Whatever
simple
action
unfolds
a setfocallength
onthelensanda locked-off
it happens
withinthatsetandfiniteframing.0ften,
simpleshots
before
thecamera,
picture
narrative
motion
content.
dialogue
driven
canmakeupthebulkof fictional

o
o.

.E

28 Grarnma
o rf t h eE d i l

( l h a p r eTr w o U n d e r s r a n d ri nhgeF o o t a g e 2 9
I

Complex Shots
a

Lensm0vement

Camera
movement

Shot I PartA:
Neutral VYide Angte
et Ground Leyl

Nomount
movement
Simple
subject
movemenl
A complex
shotmaycontarn
a
Pan
Titr
a

Panandtilt(diagonal
upward
ordownward
camera
lensmovement)

(zoom
[ensmovement
ora focuspull)

Lensmovement
thecamera)
anda pan(hiding
a zoom
bypanning

Lensmovement
anda tilt(hiding
thezoom
bytiltingthecamera)

Shot t Part B:
Tilt Up and Zoom In
ar Same Time

t I G U R E2 . 1 8 A c o m p l esxh o tc a r rc o r n b i naez o o mw r t ha c a m e r a
t i l t a n ds u b l e cm
l ovement

Subject
movement
anda pan
Subject
movement
anda tilt
(lens
Soif a shotcontains
anycombination
elements
movement,
of thethreeactive
cameramovement,
orsimple
movement),
thenit maybeconsidered
subject
a complex
shot
lf thecomplex
a pan0ra tilt thentheproduction
teamshould
haveensured
shotdoescontain
goesthrough
thatit begins
witha staticstartframe,
itsmove,
andcompletes
witha staticend
pan
frame.
Thestaticstartandendframes
ofthese andtiltshotsareveryimportant
to theedrtor,Youwillfindthatit isverydifficult
to cutfroma staticshotintoa shotalready
inmotion,
or
cutout0f a motion
shotto a staticshot.Entering
movement
or leaving
at thecutcanbevery
is foryouto be presented
Ihe bestcasescenario
withpanandtilt
larringforanaudience.
that
frames
shots startandendwithstatic
andcontain
inbetween.
smooth
evenmOvement

aO

o
ah
x
o
CL

(J

3 0 G r a m m aorf t h eE d i t

Developing

C h a p t el rw o | [ J n d e r s t a n d itnhge f o o t a q e 3 1

Shots

o Lensmovement
. Camera
movement
r Mounting
movement
. Morecomplex
movement
subject
youcanimagA developing
movement
onallfourelements.
Assuch,
shotincorporates
Assubjects
movein complicated
inethattheseshots
arerather
difficult
to accomplish
(perhaps
patterns
a dollyor a
blocking
onset,thecamera
is moved
abouton a mount
zoomed,
andtherewill bea
thelensis beingre-focused
or perhaps
craneboomarm),
point
panning
action
to followtheaction.
0rtitting
at some
youshould
torquality
watchthesedeveloping
shotsverycarefully
assurAs aneditor,
ance.Theywill mostlikelystartandendwrthstaticframes,
butthemiddleportion
Watchfor proper
focus,goodframing,
andsmooth
couldbe a grab-bag
of actions.
developing
shotsaredesigned
bythefilmmovements.
Since
thesetypesof elaborate
that
thereis oftenlittleactual
editing
makers
t0 beusedasonestunning
showpiece,
youmayneedto do beyond
at theappropriate
cuttingtheshotintotheoverallscerte
p0int.
theflowof theentire
intoandoutof moving
shotscanupset
Cutting
developing
Thismaybe necessary,
audience
shotandtakeawayfromits impact
on theviewing
purposes
however,
shotis
for creative
or if someof theactionwithrnthedeveloping
nottopquality.

Reviernring the Footage

Selecting

the Best Shots

We should
all feelrathercomfortable
nowidentifying
thevarious
typesof shotsthar
maybeusedto record
pictureWiththesecommitted
theimages
of a motion
to memory,it will bethatmucheasierto organize
themwhenyouacquire
andreviewthefoot
aget0 be editedBe forewarned,
however,
thatnot everyshottypemaybe usedto
qenerate
c0verage
for a particular
scene.
Forexample,
looking
for an XLSin footage
fromanairplane
cockpit
dialogue
scene
maynotmakemuchsense.
t)nceyouhavethematerialorganized,
rt will behelpful
to revieweachshotfor its te.ch
rtrcal
qualities.
andaesthetic
Certain
picture
criteria
workforsomemotion
genres
but
pr0grams,
notall movies,
commercials,
or musicvideos
canbe heldupto onemaster
r;hecklist
of goodor badqualities
Whatmightneverbeallowed
as acceptable
in one
typemaybeentrrely
youwill haveto
encouraged
in another.
So,asaneditor,
l)rogram
rrrake
yourownludgment
callsdepending
on thetypeof project
youareeditinganrl
whattheendgoals0f thatproiect
aresett0 be

o
E
o

Ul

!0
o
E
I

.g

!
a
I
o
o
|!

ll.

o
a
o
E

.c
i
G

govemenl
FIGURE
2 . 1 9 A d e v e l o p i nsgh o tf o l l o w sc o m p l eaxc t r 0 n
w i t h l e n s c, a m e r aa,n dm o u n l r nm

3 2 G r a m m aorf t h eE d i t

What

Could

Make

or Break a Shot?

plenty
provide
of crishould
notexhaustive,
certainly
although
thatfollows,
Thelisting
Again,
youwill beediting.
of thefootage
teriauponwhichyoumightbaseananalysis
and
thetypeof showyouhaveto cutwill oftencomewith its ownstyle,traditions,
beawareof these
always
andwhatis not,butyoushould
of whatis acceptable
sense
"
"gotchas
potential
a

Focus

Audioquality

andcolortemPerature
Exposure

andcomposition
Framing

direction
Screen

1 8 0d e g r ereu l e

rule
30degree

angles
Matching

eye-line
Matching
of action
Continuity

of dialogue
Continuity

Performance

34 [irammar
of rheEdit

the Footage 35
ChapterTwo I tjnderstanding

Focus
0neof thechiefissues
thatyoumayencounter
asaneditoris incorrect
focusduring
a
shot.Nothing
canruina goodperformance
likebadfocus.
lt isthecamera
department's
good
part,
to
focus
ensure
for
the
most
on
shots,
and,
they
do
excellent
work.lt only
1ob
takesonefalsemove0r latestartwiththefocuspullt0 turna potentially
goodtake
intoa badone.Withscripted
fictional
narrative
filmmaking,
theproduction
teamwill
oftenshootmultrple
takesof a linereading
or an actionto ensure
thattheyhavethe
focuscorrect,
soyoushould
nothavet0 worrytoomuchwiththatmaterial.
Unscripted
projects,
likedocumentaries,
interview
corporate
videos,
or livenewsoftenonlyhave
onechance
at goodfocuswhiletheaction
happens
in frontof thecamera.
A softfocus
talking
headinterview
couldrender
thatentire
interview
unusable
Whyis softfocusor blurry
imagery
sobad?lt istheonetechnical
factorin filmorvideo
post-production.
thatcannot
becorrected
during
Unlike
exposure,
colorcorrectness,0r
evenframing,
thereis nofixforsoftfocusfootage.
lt becomes
a problem
the
because
viewing
is intolerant
audience
of blurry
images.
Ashumans,
is setto
ourvisual
system
yourequire
in sharp
glasses
always
seethrngs
focus(unless,
of course,
0rothercorrectivelenses
to pr0perly
focusthelightin youreyes).
Whenwe watcha moving
image
thathassoftfocus,
we become
distracted
anduncomfortable
as0ureyestryto focus
image
thatcannot
on thescreen
resolve.
lt is unnatural
for ust0 seethingsblurry,
so
purposefully
whena filmmaker
causes
things
to go blurryin a shot,it mustbequickly
followed
by placing
someobjectwithintheframein goodfocusas s00nas possible.
youareexperimenting
Sounless
focusshiftswhileshooting
withradical
fora
footage

t rt.tllll ./70

^ ', I r , t r r . l r) r, r , r lyo r g i v er r u n y
t l r i n g sa b o u ta n r m a g et,j u tt h e yd 0 i l o t l o l e r a t eb l u r r yp r c t u r e sl J s e
' r ! r l l I ' l ) { ) s ll 0 c l t s

youshould
musrc
video,
notbeusingblurry
takes
whenyouedit.

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3 6 G r a m m aorf t h e E d i l

Audio

C h a p t eTrw o I U n d e r s t a n d itnhge F o o t a g e 3 7

Ouality

will be pooraudioqualityThe
for a project
issuewithfootage
bigtechnical
Another
video
filmshootor a single-system
froma two-system
whether
sound,
synchronized
there
badfocus,
to useit in thefinalaudiomix.Unlike
mustbeof goodquality
shoot,
of theaudio,mostly
thesoundquality
aresgmetricksthatcanbe doneto improve
be
thesedays.lf theaudi0is reallybadandcannot
software
withcomputer
achieved
of
option
you
the
package,
then stillhave
withanaudiosoftware
bytweaking
salvaged
exactly.
thepicture
audioto match
recorded
withnew,cleanly
it alltogether
replacing
(ADR).
Soif the
dialoguereplacement
Somereferto thisasloopingor automatic
the
time,andmgney,
ontheprolect,
pictures
aregood,buttheaudiois bad,depending
maystillbeusable.
footage
l i t h t h e b e s ta u d i of i r s t ,b u t t h e r em a vb e w a y st o d o a s i m p l ef i x w i t h a u d i o
F T G U B2E. 2 1 C h o o s m
e a t e n aw
s w e e t e n i n qs "o t t w a r e .

5
.!
5

o
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t

3 8 G r a m m aorf t h e E d i t

Exposure

C h a p t eTr w o I U n d e r s t a n d itnhgeF o o t a g e 3 9

and Color TemPerature

with theexposure
issues
videoeditingsoftware,
Withtheadventof morepowerful
you
to fix.0f course,
thatdifficult
areno longer
0f thef00tage
andcolortemperature
lookforthecolorpalandhadtheproper
werewell-exposed
thatallshots
wouldprefer
thosefirst.But,if
soyoureallyshouldstartby selecting
ettefromtheverybeginning,
(overall
istoobright
image
issues
thathaveexposure
goodmaterial
is present
onshots
overlyblueor overlygrange,
looking
shifts(image
or too dark)or colortemperature
attendto
or a videotechnician
etc.),thenkeepthoseshotsfor useandhaveyourself
you
havenotoolsforsucha purlf
toolsavailable.
withthesoftware
theircorrections
to use.
footage
exposed
andcolor-balanced
pose,
thenlookforotherproperly
thatis eithertoobrightor toodark,andtheydo not
withimagery
struggle
Audiences
in thestoryforthemto have
hasgreenskinwhenthereis noreason
likeit if someone
tt lookto cutback
needsHowwould
ownedrting
green
consideryour
skin.Additionally,
valuable
missing
be
would
andforthtroma darkshott0 a verybrightshot.Oureyes

FIGUBE
2 . 2 2 S e l e ctth ew e l l e x p o s esdh 0 t sl.f y o uh a v et 0 e d i tu s i n gd a r ko r l i g h ts h o t sm
, o s rv i d e oe d r t i n gs o t l
warepackages
comewrthsomebuilt in exposure
andcolorcorrecting
toolsto help

oureyesbetween
adiust
as ourbrains
audioinformation
andpossible
imagery
screen
thesetypesof sudden
tootechnical,
of darkandlightWithoutgetting
theextremes
0n Comwithvlde0playback
rssues
canalsocauseimagequalrty
extremes
exposure
or color
theexposure
sake,eithercorrect
Foreveryone's
puterandtelevisi0n
SCreenS.
if at allposstble.
in thefinalproject
rssues
ordonotusethefootage

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4 0 G r a m m aorf t h eE d i t

( l i r a p t eJrw o I t j n d e r s t a n d itrhr g
eF o o t a g e 4 l

Framing and ComPosition

of
issueis theframing
issueandan aesthetic
a technical
at thecuspbetween
Living
theformatof the
in the sensethatsometimes
technical
a shot.lt canbe considered
(filmor videocamera)
thantheframesizeforthefinal
maybe larger
recording
device
widescreen
shooting
dayswhenpeople
truethese
product.
Thisisespecially
deliverable
ratio
aspect
a
traditional
(H0)
finish
the
show
at
to
16:9highdefinition maybelooking
Asaneditoryoumaybecalleduponto
ot 4:3forstandarddefinilion(SD)television.
sizeforTVor theWeb),or perform
reformatthevideoframe(cutit downto a smaller
format
original
camera
a panandscan,whereyoutakea widescreen
whatis called
panning
leftandrightt0
framesizef romit whilesimultaneously
a smaller
andextract
image
inthenew,smaller
of goodcomposition
maintain
somesemblance
fixes.Youwill
havefewerimmediate
andcomposition
for framing
criteria
Aesthetic
shotsforgoodfocus,butalsoforgoodframing
anddeveloping
havet0 watchcomplex
jumps,
or in some
sways,
movebumps,
camera
lf anelaborate
composition.
andproper
using
notconsider
thenyoushould
talentoraction,
itsmarkwhilecovering
waymisses
prop0rtion
durtng
of thattake.Again,
take,orat leastn0tthatparticular
thatparticular
quality
forreviewing
eachshot,andif theydo not
controls
therearenormally
duction,
haveat leastonegood
perform
soyoushould
theshotagain,
getit righttheyusually
intoplay,
comes
cutting
Thatiswherecreative
foryouredit,butnotalways.
choice
of a shot.ls there
youwill alsowishto gaugethequalitative
attributes
Of course,
look roomor lookingroom?ls the
headroom?ls thereapproprrate
appropriate
be)?ls the
of theframe{if it should
edges
thetopandbottom
horizonline parallelt0
toosubiecangle
camera
vertical
cameraanglet00highortoolow?lsthehorizontal
youareediting?
Veryfew
tive or tooobiective?Doesit workwiththetypeof project
of usingsome
canbefixedbytheeditor{short
shotqualities
of theseotheraesrhetic
them0n the
soit mightbebestto place
or rotatean image)
to resize
effects
software
takes.
anduseanyotherbetter
backburner

.9
th

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t I G U R E 2 . 2 3( A l 1 ) A r r r : x . r m pal rerSotl l l V 4 3 e x t r a c t i o n t r o m a n H O T V 1 6 9 w r d e s c r e e n r m a g e . ( C ) A TL
nexarrrp
' r l r , l n r )w r l l rr ; r r o rl ri r i r r lr o o m ,l o o kr o o r n
l i n e ( D E )H i g ha n dl 0 w a n g l e so n a s u b l e c t
a n da v r s i b l eh o r i z o n
, t I r , t r r i p l rr' l, ,\ l l r l r ' 0 t i v ( ' i : , l t n 0
r ivt { ) f ( l q e ; ror rbdl e c l i vseh o o t l nsqt y l e
co

42 Grammar
oftheEdit

Screen

0 h a p t elrw o

t J n d e r s t a n dti h
ne
gt 0 0 t a g e 4 3

Direction

footage,
Thisis mostlyanissuewithscripted
fictional
narrative
butit comes
upin other
genres
Talent
well.
subject
movement
out
of
the
frame
of
as
or
oneshotandintothe
frameof another
screen
Toclarify,
frameleft
shotmustmaintain
consistent
direction
is screen
leftandframerightis screen
rightwhenwatching
Thefilmspace
theimages.
itself,theworldin whichthecharacters
liveandmove,mustbe considered
as real
t0 thesamerulesof left,right,up,down,
space,
therefore
it is subject
etc.
lf shotA showsa character
exiting
frameleftof a simple
shot,thenwhenyoucutto
fromframeright.Thecharacter's
direction
shotB,thesamecharacter
mustbeentering
of movement
withinthefilmspace
mustbeconsistent rightto leftandrightt0 left
again.lf youshowa character
exitingframeleftin shotA, thenshowthesamecharachassimply
terentering
fromframeleftin shotB,it willappear
thecharacter
asth0ugh
your
location.
Thiswill confuse
turned
around
butrs magically
re-entering
a different
viewing
themt0 mentally
recoilagainst
theedit.
audience
andcause

FIGURE
2 . 2 4 M a i n t a i n i nsgc r e e nd i r e c t i oonf t a l e n m
t o v e m e nbte t w e e n
s h o t sh e l p s0 r i e n t h ev i e w e rw r l h r nt h e
llnt s0acg

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c
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1BO Degree Rule/Axis

of Action

continuing
the logicof ourscreendirectiondiscussion,
youmustalsoanalyze
the
footageto makesurethatthe production
teamrespected
the axis of actionor the
imaginary
line whiletheywereshooting
coverage
forthevarious
scenes.
As a quick
review,
the 180degree
ruleis established
fromthefirstcamera
set up covering
the
action
of a scene,
whichis usually
a wideshotshowing
theplayers
andtheenvironment.An imaginary
line,following
thedirection
0f thetalentssightline,cutsacr6ss
thesetor location
andit defines
whatis frameleftandwhatis frameright.Eachsuccessive
medium
or close-up
shotof thetalentwithinthescene
mustall be setup on
thesamesideof thislineof actionor else,to theviewing
audience,
thespatial
relationships
0f thetalentwill be flipped
leftto rightor rightto left.Screen
direction
is
maintained
byshooting
allthecoverage
fromtheonesideof thisline.

^-lb
'+l

r7

,t80
lf youconsider
oneof thealternate
names
for thispractice,
the
degreerule,it
mighthelpclarify
gorng
is
what
on.whenthecamera
crewphotographs
a two-person
dialogue
scene
forthewidelongshot,theyhaveestablished
thesideof theroomfrom
whichtheywill continue
to shootfor theother,
closer
shotstheywill needfor coveryou
age.lf
imagine
a circle
running
around
thecentral
talent,
thenthecamera
canonty
'180
operate
withinone-half
that
full
of
circle,
orwithina
degree
arc.Thermaginary
line
hasbisected
thefullcircleandmadea semi-circle
withinwhichthecamera
canmove
for moreshooting.
Should
thecamera
havebeenmoved
across
the lineto shootan
rndividual's
close-up,
thatcharacter,
onceedited
intothescene,
willappear
to beturningandfacing
theopposite
direction
Thiswill lookincorrect
to theaudience
because
theanomalous
shotwillbreak
fromtheestablished
screen
directions
forthisscene.
As
youreally
a result,
cann0t
editina shotthathascrossed
the line

^- rb

\r
\ -_:

&{-\

WRONG SIDE OF LINE

FIGURE
2 . 2 5 C o v e r a gseh 0 t st h a t " c r o s st h e l i n e "a r eq e n e r a l lnyo t u s a b l eb e c a u steh e yb r e a kt h e e s t a b l i s h e d

t l 6 G r a r n r noatrt t r eE d i t

30 Degree

0 h a p t eIrw o I l J n d e r s t a n d it nh geF 0 0 r a g e 4 l

Rule

rule,the30degreerulecallsforthecamtheconcept
ofthe180degree
Based
around
before
arcbyat least30degrees
the180degree
around
eracrewt0 movethecamera
lf two shots,say
is simple.
shotof talentThereason
theysetup for a newcoverage
person
areshgtfromtwo locations
shot,of one
longshotanda medium
a medium
is less
set-ups
camera
between
distance
arcandthephysical
the180degree
around

\*\
'Q{;z- 4

wrlllooktoosimtbytheeditor,
whencuttogether
thenthetwoshots,
than30degrees,
"jump"
in themindof theviewer.
a
larandcause
around
movement
from.withoutsuffrcient
Thisiswheretheexpression
iumpcut comes
you
have
to edit
lf
is
too
similar.
offers
thatthecamera
arc,theviewpornt
theshooting
to sufferan immediate
the imagery
will appear
thesetwo similarshotstogether,
lump
andtheshottypemustbedifferin time.Theangles
of coverage
andpossibly
in space
points
thecut As theeditor,
in view
across
alteration
to allowa believable
entenough
placed
coverage,
butyoudo
for
close-up
the
was
yOU
wherethecamera
control
cannot
provided
thereare
at a cutpoint,
t0gether
overwhattwoshotsyouiuxtapose
havecontrol
different
Makesurethatthetwoshotsaresufficiently
of coverage.
morethantwoangles
"jump"
them
tggether
whtlevtewtng
to
inangleon actions0theydonotappear
enough

FIGURE
2 . 2 6 l t i s b e s tt 0 e d r tc o v e r a gseh o t sw h o s er r r d r v i d uaanl g l e so n a c t i o na r eg r e a t etrh a n3 0 d e g r e e s
i l , r r l a i ( ) n q t h e l B 0 d e q r e let at hr ce c a m e r a a n g l e s c o v e r i n g t h e a c t i o n a r e t 0 0 s i m t l a r , a s i n t h i s e x a m p l e , t h
' ' c W ' l p e rt,, V Pr l r n
edrd
t Sd i l t m 0C U I
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C h a p t eTr w o U n d e r s t a n d rt nt rgeF o o t a q e 4 9

4 8 G r a m m aorf t h eE d r t

Matching

Angles

teamwill mostoftenshootwhatare
the production
scenes,
dialogue
Whenshooting
in eachshottypewherethe
of eachcharacter
calledmatchingangtes- coverage
andthefocusontheirfaceareallconsistheirSizein theframe,
angleontheperson,
person's
to theotherperson's
similar
willlookvery
close-up
0ne
tentwithoneanother.

to tracetheimagtnary
linefromtheeyesto theobject
across
thecutp0intandintothe
newshot.lf thislinedoesnotflowcorrectly,
thentheaudience
willfeellikesomething
rsjustnotright.As aneditolyoucannot
reallyfixeye-line
youwill justhave
mistakes;
lo findsomeotherwayto cutaround
theissue(seetheuseof cut-awayshotslaterin
thetext)

youwill often
As aneditor,
sidesof theframe.
buttheywill beon opposite
close-up,
shottypeit maybe)to theotherperson's
shot(whatever
liket0 cutfromonepersgn's
audibytheviewing
accepted
willbeeasily
shot.Ihe backandforthimagery
matching
the
of
people
sides
opposite
on
of two different
although
the images,
encebecause
theymatch.
Inotherwords,
together.
lookliketheybelong
screen,

tIGURE2.28 Theeye-lineor imagrnary

lrnesof atlentronshouldmatchacrossthe transrtron
berweentw0 shots

g o r e[ h a r ]0 n e
tots h o tt y p e sw h e ne d t t i n gc o v e r a gfeo r a s c e n ei n v o l v r nm
angles
2.27 Usematchinq
FIGURE
pers0n

Matching

Eye-Line

eyesto whatever
a character's
(sightline)isan imaginary
linethatconnects
Eye-line
with
arespeaking
withinthefilmworld.lf twopeople
holdshisor herattenti0n
oblect
s0theeyefaceor eyesareoftentheobjectof interest,
theotherperson's
oneanother,
lt couldbe a perB'sface/eYes
As eyest0 character
linewouldtrace fromcharacter
partarises
whenyou
ora dog,ora pileof moneyThetricky
at a wallclock,
sonlooking
(thethinglooked
at)is not
of interest
andtheobject
shotsof people
closer
areeditrng
of
nextt0 theshotof theobiect
in thestmef rameWhenyoucuttheshotoftheperson
r l l g r r : s l l, l t l t V 1 l r r r cr r r r l ; rl n a t r ; l(ts e c I i t l r r r c2 2 t l ) A r l i t t t r l i t l t l tt;ttllt l t t t l t t lttt t t : lllr r ', t l l l t )

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C h a p t eTrw o I l J n d e r s t a n d trhnegF 0 0 t a g e 5 l

5 0 G r a m m aorf t h eE d i t

Continuity

of Action

Continuity

of Dialogue

butrt is a topicthatfrustrates
detaillaterin theb00k.
thisin greater
Wewjll discuss
relperformed
thetalentin oneshotmustmatch,
byoraround
Theaction
rnany
editors.
performed
anglewithinthesamescene.
in a different
thesameacti0n
exactlV,
ativel1l
donotflowWhenthings
flurdity
of motion.
determining
areverygoodabout
Humans
a cut point- rt is easily
d0 ngtmatchacross
actions
continuous
whensupposedly
cutsas bestas p0s(seeFigure
theseactr0n
Yourjobwill be to finesse
2.29).
ngticed

withmostaudioissues,
theremaybea wayaround
themfora fix,sokeepthef00tage
lorlateruse,buttryt0 separate
outallthebestandmostusable
takes
first

glitchin oneentireshot,youmaynotbeableto tell

thereis anobvious
sible.Unless
review
stage.
Savealltheg00dtakes
untilafterthefootage
thatacti0n
is notmatching
cutbestwithoneanother.
andseewhichoneseventuallv

D i a l o g u"el s: a i dn os u g a r

Be awareof linedelivery
whenreviewing
thefoolage.
Doesthetalentsaydifferent
wordsfromtaket0 takeandshotto shot?ls therea different
timbrein thevoiceor a
modified
rateof delivery?
Some0f theseissues
maybecutaround
bylaying
indifferent
justwill notmatch.
audiofromalternate
takesandso forth,butsometimes
things
As

D i a l o g u"el s: a i dn oc r e a m

FIGURE
2 . 3 0 L r n eo
s f d i a l o g uleh a ts t r a yf r o r rtrl r es c r i pm
t a ys ( r l lb eu s e do r e v e rrre p l a c e d

t 0gr t h c e d i t H e r et,h ec o t t e e
s s u ew
s r t h r nt h es h o t sy o ua r ec o n s r d e r t n
2 . 2 9 B ew a t c h l u0l t c o n t r n u l tr Y
FIGURE
m u gj t r m p sh a n d sa c r o s tsh ec u tp O t n t

3
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5 2 G r a m m aorl t h eE d i t

C h a p t eTr w o I U n d e r s t a n d rt rhrrg:F o o t a q e 5 3

Performance

So Hornr Does All of This Help YouT

except
nocontrol
over,
is certainly
an issuethattheeditorhasabsolutely
Pertormance
fixbadactYoucannot
story.
worksbestin theedited
fordeciding
whichperformance
it
mask
it
as muchas
Youcanonlytry to hide or
ingor baddirection
of goodactors.
takes
possible.
therejustis nothing
elseto cutto andthereareno"better"
Sometimes
grinandbearit, and
scene,
t0 use.Cutin whatyouthinkworksbestfor theoverall
their
to match
buttheirability
verystrong
is actually
mOve
0n.lf thetalentperformance
a
(holding
is
what
makes
certain
glass
hair,
their
etc)
or cigar,
brushing
a
business
of
andletthediscontinuity
t0 cutin thebestperformance
beready
takelessappealing,

Thejobof theeditor
goeswellbeyond
justslapping
together
a fewpictures
andsounds
wttha songanda titleortwo Ihe editor
is theperson
at theendof thecreativity
chain
who takesall thathasbeendonebefore(all the production
footage,
etc.)andputs
rt together
in sucha waythatit makes
givesinformation
sense,
tellsa story,
and/or
entertains.
Aneditoris a storyteller
whoalsohasto possess
technical
knowleclge,
not
toolsheor sheusest0 conduct
theedit,butalsoof filmlanguage
lustof theedrtrng
thegrammar
of theshots.

ride.
thelittlebusiness

Be Familiar rruith All of the Footage

at the
issues
useability
for quality
andgauging
thef00tage
Revrewing
andassessing
purpose.0bviously
this
process
a two-fold
actually
serve
of theediting
verybeginning
edit.
orsetasideyourbestshotsforusein theassembly
willhelpyou"pulltheselects"
Thtsis
shotfortheproject.
youto become
tamilrar
wrthallof thefootage
It alsoforces
job
youhaveduring
it willbeyour to knowwhatoptions
because
important
exceedrngly
process
thecutting
y0uaregurded
usually
andfootage
bythescrrpt
fictional
narrattve
stories,
Forscripted
framework.
matches
thatcloselyUsethebestof whatyouhaveto followthescript's
orderand
y0uareoftengiventheability
entirescene
to rework
though,
As theeditor,
for
Youare
called originally
thanwhatthescrrpt
restructure
thestorya bitdifferently
if you
monkey
Addrtionally,
paidforyourstorytellrng
abilities,
notiustasanassembly
"reality"
youwillhaveto be
TVfootage,
news,or even
withdocumentary,
areworking
(theactions
witheverything
or B-roll)and
thatis shown
witheverythtng
rather
familiar
piece
(interviews
footage
willturna
of
Younever
knowwhrch
andsoforth).
thatis said
theedit,thefootage
goodeditintoa greateditAsyoubeginto f ramethest0ryduring
familiar
withallof hrsor her
influence,
etc Aneditor
itselfhelpsgiveit form,direction,
pr0lect
a better
cancortstruct
blocks
buildrng

Thischapter
youwitha revjew
haspresented
of thesimple
shottypes(i e , longshot,
extrerne
close-up,
etc), whattheylooklike,andhowtheymaybe understood
by the
viewing
audience
These
basrc
shotsevolve
intocomplex
anddeveloping
shotsass00n
irstheproduction
pans,
teamupstheanteandintroduces
z00ms,
dollVmoves,
andso
torthYouhavealsobecome
familiar
witha shortlistof criteria
uponwhichto base
yourjudgments
of "good"
or "nogood"wherethefootage
is concerned.
Knowing
what
rof t0 useIn youredrted
preceis almostas important
as knowing
whatto putin it.
t ) n d e r s t a n df ri lnmgl a n g u a gaen dt h ea b r l i ttyo s c a nf o o t a gfeo rc o m p r o m i sqi n
ug
ality
iisues
arerrnp0rtant
tirststepsin becorning
a goodeditor
3

9o.
o

,2

-c
o
o
o

o
o
3
o

E
o
o

End of Chapter

Trnro Reviernr

l Coverage
provides
theeditor
wrthdifferent
viewsof thesameactions
torbetter
choices
of showing
thescene
unfold.
Thebasic
shottypes
areextreme
close-up,
bigclose-up,
close-up,
medium
closeup,medium
shot,medium
rongshot,rongshot,verylongshot,extreme
rongshot,
two-shot,
andover-the-shoulder
shot.

3. Simple
shotswithonlysmallsubject
movement
become
complex
shots
when

Chapter Three
Wlten to Cut and Why?

OUESTION: ls there ever a right way or a wrong way to make an

edit?
ANSWER:Yesandno.

thereisa z00m
ora pan/tilt
action.
complex
shotsbecome
developing
shots
whenyouaddcamera
mounr
movement
aswellasmoreeraborate
subiect
movement.
Reviewing
yourfootage
forbesttechnrcaland
qualities
aesthetic
willhelpvou
pullyourselections
fortheassemble
edit.

ptcture
lrlrlrrrg
a motron
is morethanlustassemblrng
a bunch
0t shotsoneatterthe
lllter lt involves
placement
picture
thecreative
of various
andsoundelements
such
tiratwhentheentirepackage
is viewedby an audience
it is ableto impartinformalron,entertain,
or inspireThislaststatement
reallyhighlights
a fundamental
aspect
0f
(whether
,rrry
picture
motion
it is a feature
film,a TVcommercial,
a situati0n
comedy,
,r rnusic
video,
etc.).Ihe mainpurpose
behind
anyeditedproject
rsfor it t0 beshown
to an audience.
youaretasked
Soas an editor,
withcrafting
an experience
thatwill
rnpacta viewer
producers
prolect
inwhatever
waythe
Intend
0f the
Ihe material
for the project
was writtenwith an audience
in mind,the footagewas
recorded
withan audience
in mlnd,andyoumusteditit together
withan audience
in
rntndAndthisisnotjustanyaudience,
butthespecifrc
audience
thattheproject
istargetrng.A movie
about
thepranks
at a college
fraternity
maynotbeseenbythesamepeople
whowouldwatcha documentary
aboutlatenineteenth-century
NorthAmerican
textile
rnillsUnderstanding
audience
expectations
andtherrdegree
of involvement
in theprogramwillbeanexcellentskillto
yourediting
develop
during
career
Anticipating
theneeds
of theviewer
yourapproach
willgoa longwaytoward
aiding
to editing
thematerial
genres
0f course,
pictures,
different
genres
programof moti0n
different
of television
ming,etc.,mayall require
different
editorial
approaches
Different
content
anddifferenttargetaudiences
will necessitate
different
editing
styles,
techniques,
effects,
and
journey
you
soforthWhile arestarting
0ut0nyourfilmmaking
andyourediting
career
path,youshould
bewatching
anyandall of thesemotion
imagepr0ducts
you
s0
can
beginto seehowtheyaretreated,
thecommon
approaches,
the presence
or lackof
certain
or elements,
aspects
andsoon.Over
time,y0uwillmostlikelydevelop
a solid
just
Interest
(commercials,
andrather
strong
skillsetin
oneof theprogramming
formats
documentaries,
feature
youwilldothemajority
films,news,etc.)and
of youreditrng
rn
thatoenre

ThreeI WhentoCutandWhy? 57
Chapter

5 6 G r a m m aorf t h eE d i t

aboutthefuturejoby0umighthave,let
in suchspecifics
we getembroiled
Butbefore
0f theedit.
thebasicgrammar
to thegoalof ourbook,whichis discussing
us return
jobs
techniques,
editing
for
different
editing will call
it is truethatdifferent
Although
These
of editing.
t0 moststyles
attributes
some
comm0n
there
are
it is alsotruethat
(including
yourself)
audience
thatyourviewing
arethe elements
attributes
comm0n
picture.
0f theseeleconscious
arerarely
People
a motion
willlookforwhenwatching
imagery
overtime,theysubconsciously
filmandtelevision
viewing
ments,
butthrough
in theflowof
meaning
editsandtheycaneasilydecipher
knowhowto "read"certain
inthelanguage
shottypeshavemeaning
Sojustasthebasic
thescreen.
images
across
picture
alsohasmeaninthemotion
thosesh0tstogether
strings
of film,howaneditor
of theedit.
isa grammar
There
ingto theviewer.

What

Factors

Help Make

a Transition

a Good

Edit?

In Chapter
Onewe introduced
the fourmajortypesof transitions
thatare usedat a
picture:
cutpointin a motion
cut,dissolve,
wipe,andfade.Eachoneof thesetransiti0ntvpesenables
theeditorto movefromoneshotto thenext.Wewilldiscuss
what
maycause
fromone0f thesefourtransitlon
aneditorto choose
typesin thenextchapter,butfor now,let us explore
something
evenmorebasic.
Whatfactors
or elements
compel
aneditorto wantto makeanedrtin thefirstplace?
Whycutfromoneshotto
another
veryparticular
in time?
shotat thatverymoment
Thefollowrng
listis meantto serveasa jumping
These
off point.
criteria
aresomeof
forconsidering
themalorreasons
a cutwhendealing
withmostmaterial,
but,aswith
rnany
process,
moments
in thefilmmaking
heremaycome
otherfactors
notmentioned
rntoplay.Using
thislistwillputy0uinverygoodshape
whenediting
decisions
needto
0emaoe.
a

Information

Motivation
Shotcomposition

.E
!t
ul
!,

o
o
(9
G

Contin
uity

c
o
'6
c

Sound

Camera
angle

J
(E

=
_c\
o
I
o

E
G

tl,

o
,c

5 8 G r a m m aorf t h eE d i t

lnformation
present
In a motion
to theviewer.
somenewinformatron
A newshotshould
always
(a
picture,
entering
a scene,
a
bevisualinformationnewcharacter
thismayprimarily
yet,
quite
it
known
but
meaning
is
not
etc
location
shown,
aneventwhose
different
),
etc)
a speech,
narration,theclatterof horsehooves,
mayalsobeaural(voice-over
au
l e s t i o nWsh a t w o u l d t h e a u d i e n c e l i k e t o s e e
A s m a r t e d i t o r waisl lk h i m s es lef v e r q

C h a p t eTrh r e e W h e nt o C u ta n dW h y ? 5 9

better
choice?
lsthereanother
fromthesamescene,
shotperhaps,
whichdoesprovide
rrewinformation
andfitsintothestoryas required?
Nomatter
howbeautiful,
cool,or
expensive
a shotmaybe,if it doesnotaddnewintormation
t0 theprogression
of the
stOry,
thenit maynotbelong
inthefinaledit.

Whatdo
seenext?
Whatcan'tthe
audience
audience
seenext?
next?
Whatshouldthe
to
see
next?
I wishlortheaudience
both
theaudience
Remember,
oneof themanytaskssetupfortheeditoris to engage
(tomakethem
infright.
mentally
etc.)and
cry,scream
emotionally
{tomakethemlaugh,
questi0ns
cleveror
cangenerate
think,guess,
anticipate,
etc.).Askingthe previous
you
ln
mystery
maypurthe
a
waysof showing samestory
less-than-straightforward

FIGURE
3 . 1 F a c hs h o tp r e s e n l etdo t h ea u d r e n cseh o u l db e p r o v i d r nt h
g e mw i t h n e wi n l o r m a t i oanb o u lt h e s t o r y
l o k e e pt h e r ne n g a g eadn da t t e n t r v e

youmayshow
posefully
melodrama
rnformation
andrn a romantic
showmisleading
of thekind
information
thatthecharacters
do notyetknow.Regardless
theaudience
getthem
presented,
theaudience,
thefactthatit is thereto engage
of information
in the motionpicture
involved,
helpskeeptheminterested
andget themthinking
t0 the
attention
is thinking
andfeeling
theyarenotpaying
member
Whenanaudience
and
physical
strong
helpskeepthemovierunning
actof theeditandthisengagement
job
thattheeditorhasdonehisorher well.
lt alsomeans
smooth.
is basicto alledtting
thenthatthiselement
of newinformation
It mustbeunderstood
onehast0 askthatif thereis no
Whenever
onecutsfromoneshotto another,
choices.
rntheshotthatis beingcutto,thenwhyis it beingcutto. ls therea
newinformation

tr

.9
|E
t

Motivation
Thenewshotyoucutt0 should
provide
newinformation,
butwhataboutthesh0tthat
y0uarecuttingawayfrom?what is thereason
to leavethatshot?whenis a goodtime
t0 leavethatshot?
There
should
always
bea motivation
formaking
a transtl0n
away
froma shot.Thismotivation
canbeeither
visual
oraural.
In picture
terms,
themotivating
element
is oftensomekindof movement
bya subject
or anobject
in thecurrent
shot.lt couldbeasgrand
asa carjumping
overa nver,
0r as
simple
asa smallmovement
of a face.Perhaps
a character
in close-up
onlymoves
his
eyesslightly
to theleftas if looking
at something
off-screen.
Editing
logicwouldhold
thatyoucould
thencutawayfromhisclose-up
andcutto theobject
of hisinterest.
The
motivation
t0 cutawaycomesfromthe movement
of theactor's
eyes.Thereason
for
cutting
t0 thenextspecific
shot,letussayof a cat,is to provide
theaudience
withnew
information.
lt shows
themwhatthemanis lookinq
at.

, \ I l r r r r i , rrrrrrrrlr r r : , r r lLv l,! r^r, r' ,l rl yr ' , r r r r l , t r ittrslitrol r i l t s r l t r0lltto t t v aits0r ra t h ecro n r , l r l r rr, n
r lr l si l t : l ; r r A
t eh a ti s c a l l e ad s o u n db r i d g eA. s o u n d ,
p r rl r l r l r rrrn , i yr ; t t ; i tw
rrr:rrrrrrr;ly
gerrr;ratcrl
lrysrlrnctlrrrtg
notseenor knownto theaudience,
begins
under
',lrol0ne lt m0tivates
intoshottwo,wheretheoriginof the strange
the transiti0n
',rrrrrrri
let us saythatwe are
is revealed.
Tomodifyourteakettleexample
slightly,
',rrcirrg
begins
to
withtheteakettlein theMLS.Theaudience
themanin thekitchen
lrr;;tr
Thismotivates
thecut t0 a
as theteakettlewhistling.
whattheymayinterpret
';lrotof an oldsteamengine
train's
whistleblowing.
Thesoundof thetrainwhistle
,rr;ted
theviewer
to leaveshotoneandit actedasa bridge
transitioning
asa motivator
rntothenewinformation
doesnotnotice
andnewlocation
of shottwo.Theaudience
givethem
tlreunexpected
transition
because
the newvisuals
of thetrainwhistling
(see
process
F)
intormation
logic Figure
3.4Eand
t0
andit f0llows
a knowable

lf youwishto usesound
asa motivating
element,
thenyouwouldneedto address
the
picture
editing
of both
andsound
tracks
moreprecisely
nearthattransition.
In rtsm6st
simplistic
usage,
thesoundcouldbe generated
by something
visible
in theshotcurrently0n
thescreen.
Asanexample,
a manstanding
in a kitchen
in a medium
longshot
(MLS)watches
a teakettleonthestove.
Thekettlebegins
to whistle.
Thesound
of the
whistle
starting
in theMLScanmotivate
a cutto a close-up
of theteakettleshowing
steam
shooting
upfromthespoutcausing
(seeFigure
thelouder
whistle
3.2).lt should
be notedthatbecause
theclose-up
shotactually
magnifies
thevisualsizeandimportance0f theteakettle,
it canbe appropriate
to raisethevolume
on thesound
of the
whistle
in youraudiotrackaswell.Thisletsthesizeof thevisual
obiect
influence
the
c

volume
levelof thesound
thatob1ect
is producing

.9
(g

E
o

Changing
thisscenario
slightly,
letusnowsaythatthemanis srtting
at hisdining
room
tablein a medium
shot.Theteakettlebegins
to whistlebuttheteakettleis notvisiblewithinthismedium
shot's
frame.
Youmaythencutto thesameclose-up
of thetea

kettlethatwe usedin theprevious

example,
agarn
witha louder
whistle
on tnenew
shot's
audiotrack.
Inthiscase,
theaudience
willaccept
thedomestic
whistle
sound
of
theteakettle
eventhough
theydonotseetheteakenleThepavoff,andrrewinformation,comes
whenyoucutt0 theclose-up
of theteakettleproperTheaudience
does
notnoticthetransition
fromoneshotto thenextbecause
theyareprocessing
the
information
andit makes
sense
intheirknowable
universe

FIGURE
3 . 2 ( A - B )M o t i v a t i ofno r t h e c u t c o m e sf r o mt h e m o v e m e notf t h em a n ' se y e s(. C 0 ) N , 4 o t i v a t fr o rnt h e
,w
c u t c 0 m e sf r 0 mt h e a u d t ot r a c ko f t h e t e a k e t t l ew h i s t l i n g{ .E F )M o t i v a t i oonf t h e c u t t o n e w r n f o r m a t i o n e
l o c a t i o cno m e sf r o mt h es o u n db r i d g eo f t h e t r a i nw h i s t l eb e g i n n i nugn d e sr h o to n ea n dc a r r y i ntgh e v i e w e ra l o n g
i n t os h o tt w o .

Shot Composition
Although
theeditor
cannot
control
thecomposition
of visualelements
Intheshotsthat
heorsheisgiven
toedit,theeditor
cancertainly
choose
whattwoshots
getcuttogether
at a transition.
Provided
thecorrect
composition
is in thevisual
material,
theeditorcan
helpmaketheviewing
of theseimages
moreengaging
fortheaudience
member.
In its
easiest
form,aneditors
choice
canbeto simply
editin allthefootage
fromonebeautifullycomposed
andrecorded
shot simple,
complex
ordeveloping.
Thebeautiful,
well-

, ' r r ( l , r ( l l , l l I r , r r r, r l r, l ,, ,r l r r I i . ;l l r i l r r Il i t k r t tl tl tq0 t ns l t i t t r t. 0l tt tl t i t t tl jo r t l t et t e x b
t tt
, r l r n l o r n r , r l rl ,orll r l l r.,, r L l r l rw
, l l k c c pt l r ev i e w i n eg x p e r i e nicnet e r e s t i nbgu,tm o r e
r : l , i l r r r r as lcei i r r : l r rur:r;, rryr n l ys { l r v e
t o m a k ei t m o r ec o n f u s i nB
ge
. a u t i f ua ln dm u l t i - l a y r r r r ; tsjl r o tc o r n p o s i t r ocnasnl o o kg r e a t0 n s c r e e nb, u t b e a w a r eo f h o wy 0 uc u t i n t oa n d
o r r to f t h e ma n dt h i n ko f h o w t h e a u d i e n cw
e i l l l o c a t et h e n e w ,i m o o r t a ni tn f o r m a t i o n
w i t h i nt h em o r ec o m o l evxi s u ael n v i r o n m e n t .

balanced
shotwasdesigned
to bea showpiece,
it l0oksgreatandplays
welloncecut
tntothepr0gram.
Theaudience
is giventhetimeto appreciate
thesh0tforwhatlt is as
it unfolds
in itsentirety,
andtheirexperience
isenhanced.
Everybody
ishappy.
Another
simpletechnique
is to taketwobasicbutproperly
composed
shotsandtransi_
tionthemoneaftertheother.A two-person
presents
dialogue
the perfect
scenario
to
demonstrate
this.Yourscene
starts
witha wideshotof twopeople
having
a discussion
sittingacross
thetablefromoneanotherAs character
youcutto a medium
A speaks
close-up
of character
A. Heis sittingframeleftwithhislookroomopenacross
frame
right.Nowasaudiences
havegrownt0 expect,
youwillwishto cutawayto character
B
listening.
Youdocutto a matching
medium
close-up
of character
B.Sheis sittinqover
onframerightwithheropenlookroomacross
frameleft.
Eventhough
youin no waycreated
the individual
(MCU)
medium
close-up
shotcompositions,
youusethe alternate
placement
of characters
frameleftandframeright
t0 generate
interest
in theaudience
members
andcausethemto stayengaged
with
theprogression
picture.
of themotion
As youcutfromMCUto MCU,theaudience
is
getttng
t0 expenence
eye-line
match
oreyetrace.

FIGURE
l rsk et h e s ee n g a g et h e v i e w e r sb y a s k i n qt h e mt o t r a c et h e m a t c h i n g
3 . 3 E v e nt r a d i t i o n ac lo m p 0 s i t i o n
e y e l i n ea c r o s tsl r ee m p t vl o o kr o o m0 n s c r e e n .

.9
.g
th

Whena vieweris watching

character
A speak
over0nframeleft,theirattention
is over
on frameleft.Iheyareaware,however,
thatcharacter
As attention
is actually
across
thescreen
over0nframeright.
Whenthecutt0 character
B comes,
theaudrence
rraces
character
A'seye-line
across
theemptyscreen
andrestsuponthenewfaceof character
B
over0n frameright.Thecompositional
placement
of character
B shouid
be in such
a placeas to matchtheeye-line
fromcharacter
A, so the audience
is rewarded
for
following
theeyetraceacross
thescreen
andacross
theedit
Likea tennisballbouncing
backandforthacross
thecourt,theeyesof theviewing
audience
will travelbackandforthacross
the screen
seeking
the new information
fromeacllcharacter
asyoucutfromonesholcomposition
to rheotheryouwantto

CL

o
()
o
o

Camera Angle
InChapter
Two,we discussed
howto reviewyourfootage
andwatch0utfor snotsthal
mayhavebeentakentromtwo positions
on set lessthan30 degrees
around
the 180
degree
arcof theactionline.Thisis oneof thekeyelements
of a shotthatwill helpyou
determine
if it couldorshould
becutnextto another
shot.There
hasto bereasonable
difference
in thecamera
angleonaction
fortwoshotsto be"comfortably"
edited
t6gether.
whentheshooting
coverage
is planned
fora scene,
placements
certain
camera
0rcameraangles
areconsidered
to bethemostadvantageous,
andtheyaretheshotseventuallyundertaken
bythecamera
crew.Duet0 factors
of timeandmoney,
onlycertain
shot
typesfromcertain
angles
willberecorded
andtheproduction
teamtriesto fit themost
information
intothefewest,
butbestlooking
frames
thattheycan.Butan editorwill

g rr n o t i o t t
r , I l r r r l r r r r rrlnl yl l t t :, t t t i t l y tsttlse d t t t t l o
l l l x l r r r r , ' , rjrur m
r pc u l
t h i l ew a t c h r nt hge
I s, i r t t prl eVl e rtso t h ef a c t h a w
i r l r r i r : l,r rl i r r r: ,. , r ' r,,r.' ,r rr r r r ' , 1
) l ' r r rnrr , r ( J rlsl r. r v: r r : w rl:)rr r r u r v rai sl u m pa, g l r l c ho,r e x t r e m ebl ryi e ifn t e r r u p t i o n
on
withangles
of twoshots
,r ,rltcralion
example
shownln ourcurrent
to theprctures
of shotoneandshottwoaretoo
we willfindthattheimages
r tronthataretooclose,
difsufficiently
rrrrrlar
Theaudience
willnotseethemasproviding
intheirappearance.
jump,which
lrrerrtviewsonthesameinformation.
Theimagein theireyeswillmerely
pull
to
themoutof theviewing
it willserve
rlrr;y
notice
andasa result
willconsciously
,,xperience,
always
tryto prevent.
almost
that
the
editor
should
is something
whrch

neverknowfromwherearound
the 180degree
arcthecamera
wasplaced
to record
theactions
of thescene
untilheor shereviews
thefootage.
Theeditor
canonlydohis
or herbestto placeshotsof differing
horizontal
(greater
angles
than30degrees
apart)
nextto oneanother
intheedit.
Thereason
forthisis simple.
lf twoshotsarerecorded
withsimilar
framing
fromtwo,
verynearangles
on action,
thentheirresulting
images
will looktoo similar
to one
another,
eventhough
theyareslightly
different.
Thissimilarity
will register
withthe
viewerashe or shewatches
theprogram
andit mayappear
t0 theeyelikethereis a
glitchora iumpin theimage
at thecutp0int.

g
ct)
c
G

E
(E

()

FIGURE
3 . 4 E d i t r n tgo q e t h etrw Os h o l so f s r m t l acr a m e r aa n g l e sw u c a r r s r; )j l u r l ) , r t l r { r s s l D 0n t l l f t e r i n o
cameranglea
s n df r a m i n w
q i l l h e l pp r e v e nt th e " l u m pc u t "i n t h em i n do f t l t ev r 0 , , v ' r

Continuity
Providing
sm00th,
seamless
continuityacross
transitions
is a veryimportant
element
to
your
keeping editsunnoticed
bytheviewer.
0nceagain,editors
arenotresponsible
for
thequality
of thefootage
thattheyaregiven,
buttheyareresponsible
formassagrng
that
material
intothebestmotionpicture
possible.
lf theproduction
teamandtatentdidnot
provide
thecorrect
visualperformances
t0 transition
withsmooth
continurty,
it will bethe
editorsjobto makeupforthatdeficiency
in somewayin theediting.
Andto makemat_
tersmoreinteresting,
thereareactually
several
different
formsof continuity
thatneedto
beaddressed
points
at various
throughout
process.
theediting
Letustakea roor.
Continuity

r rl l u ,r . , l ; rl :i ,rrrr . r r, tl n r; r , . r t l r rl l ' , l r ot ll r i twt r l l l r o v i ttllct ea p p r o p t rdartset r a 0 tat O

l l dt t
l r r r rlrr:l l clro i r l l t r lwl r r,,r r r r l r : rlrorr. n
r i r ktel t el e a pi n l o g i oc f o b l e ccto n t i n uai tdyj u s t m e n t
( ' ; t r : l r q ul Jtbe)
Srreither
material
to editwrththecorrect
thetootage
already
contains
theproper
conti"explainrrLrity
masking,
theeditormustcreate
somemeans
of hiding,
or
of content,0r
rrrq"thevisualincongruity.
mustremain
No mattertheapproach
taken,
theaudience
you
rqnorant
in
theirbelief thefilmedilluof theissueor else runtheriskof breaking
purposefully
sronln thisrespect,
diseditors
areratherlikemagicians
or illusionists
tracting
t0 cover
thetrickof theedrt
theeyesof theaudience

of Content

Actionsperformed
by the on-camera
talentmustmatchfromoneshotto the next
Because
actorsareobliged
to makethesameactions
fromonetaketo the next,and
fromonecamera
set-upframing
to another,
for eachshotcovered
in the scene,one
hopes
thattheydidthesamethingoverandoverandover.
Thisisnotnecessarily
always
thewayit is.Thecontinuity
0f content
mustbewatched
forbutmaynotbeeasilyfixed.
As an example,
if thefamilydogis sittingin a chairduring
thewideshotot a dinner
tablescene,
thenthedogshould
alsobe seenin thetightershotsusedt0 showthe
remainder
of thescene.
lf thedoghadbeentaken
offsetandtherewerenoothershots
withthedogsittingat thetablewiththefamily,
then,astheeditolyOugetto makea
choice.
Doyoubeginthefamilydinner
scene
without
thewideestablishing
sh0tthat
showsthedog?Perhaps
youstartthesceneona close-up
of thecharacter
speaking
the
firstline.Perhaps
youstartwitha close-up
of a plateof food,thenmoveourr0 a two0rthree-shot.
Additionally,
youhavetheoption
of showing
thedogin thewideshotand
thenlayrng
in thesound
effectof thedogwalking
awayon thehardwood
or linoleum
flooring
whileyoushowthetightershotsof thefamilywithoutthedogat thetable.
youcutin a shotof thedoglyingonthefl00rin a different
Perhaps
partof thehouse.

ffi
?':. I

I I i: r

i t;il il
s$iiliK'

fi

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AT

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it
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'fl

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c
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o
(J

Regardless
of yourapproach,
youaresearching
fora solution
to a continuity
pr00rem
lf a manpicksupa telephone
in an MLSusinghisrighthand,thenthetelephone
device
should
stillbein hisrighthandwhenyounexttransition
intoan MCUof himspeaking
on
thephone.
lf, forwhatever
reason,
theproduction
teamdidnorprovide
anyshotsof the
manwiththephone
inhisrighthand,
butonlyinhisleft,thenyouwouldhavet0curaway
t0 someothershotaftertheMLSandbefore
thephone-in-left
hanrlMCUThiswill give
theaudiehce
enough
of a breakfromcontinuous
actionsothattheyr;arr
believe
rneman
hadtimeto transfer
thetelephone
fromhisrighthandto hrslettwlriktlrewasott screen.

t h e r e q u i s i t be r e a kf r o ma c t i o ns o t h a t t h e a u d i e n cdeo e sn o l
FIGURE
3 . 5 U s i n ga c u t a w a ys h o tm a yp r o v i d e
c o n s c i o u snl yo t i c et h ed i s c o n t i n u iot fyt h et e l e p h o nien t h em a n ' sh a n d

Continuity

of Movement

Screendirectionis themovement
of talentor objects
towardframerightor frame
left.Thismustbe maintained
as youtransition
fromoneshotto thenext,if thenext
shotstillcovers
thesamemovement
0f talentor objects.
Theproduction
teamshould
haverespected
thescene's
screen
direction
andthe'lB0
ruleduring
degree
theshooting
of coverage.
lf theydidnot,andtheshotthatyouwouldliket0 usenextthatcontinues
yourtalent's
movement
contradicts
thealready
established
screen
directron,
thenyou
will haveto inserta logical
shotthatwill continue
the narrative
andstillprovide
a
visual
fromthediscontinuity
break
of movement.
Thisothershot,of whatever
material
youhavethatfitsthenarrative
flow,willoffertheaudience
a break
to allowthecharactertimet0 reverse
hisdirection
in thethirdshotcontinuinq
theorevtous
action

(.rltttlttttlV

<ll I'r )',lll()rI

t a v ea S e n S eO f p l a C e .
, r r r r ;l1l r l l r l r r sr p i i r . ll r , l , r l t t r : t . l t t;tltSl t l O t e da b O V ei ,t a l S Om U S h
l , r l c r r ls L r b l e c tost p l t y s t t ; i t0l b j e c t sw l t h i n t h e f r a m e o c c u p ya c e r t a i ns p a c ew i t h i n t h e

wherethatsubshots
together
to string
fortheeditor
trlrrrwrrrld
aswell.lt is important
framerightin
is
shown
lf anactor
placement
continu0usly.
is maintained
1r;tor obiect
that
during
shots
onframerightinanysubsequent
;frotone,thenhemustbesomewhere
location
,,r.cpe0f cgurse,
moves,
duringtheshot,to a different
if theactorphysically
Cutting
to showhim0na newsideof theframe.
thenit is logical
withinthefilmspace
or objectt0 iumpfromonesideof thescreen
together
twoshotsthatcausethesubiect
willbebroken.
editing
of smooth
andtheillusion
theviewer
willdistract
totheother

c0n
F I G U B E3 . 7 T h ep h y s r c aplo s i t i o no f o b j e c t sw i t h i nt h e f i l m s p a c ea n dl h e s h o tc 0 m p o s i t i 0snh o u l rsl l a y
s i s t e nat c r o s e
s d i tp o i n t sT h t sw o m a na p p e a r ts0 l u m pf r o ms c r e e nl e f tt o s c r e e nr i g h ta t t e rt h e c u t t 0 t h e o t h e r
character

FIGURE
3 . 6 . ( A -B )T a l e nm
t o v e m e nsth o u l dm a i n t a i sn c r e e nd i r e c t r oar r0 r 0 s st l i ( ,c ( l r ti ] ( , r \ 1( 0 t ) l f y o uw i s h t o
r o s h 0 t st h a tr e v e r s sec r e e nd i r e c t i o nt h, e ni t m a yb e a d v i s ; t l t [l o
c u t t O g e t h et w
' L r s r, i, l ] | s e r l s h O t 0 b r e a kt h e
a u d r e n c ea' tst e n t i 0onn t h ed i r e c t r o0nf m O v e m e n t .

E
t
tr
c
o

Continuity

of Sound

Thecontinuity
of sound
anditsperspective
is of critical
importance.
lf theactron
of the
scene
is happening
in thesameplaceandat thesametrme,thenthesound
will continuefromoneshotto thenext.lf thereis anairplane
in theskyin thefirstshot,andit
canbeseenandheard
bytheviewer,
thenthesound
of thatairplane
should
carryover
across
thetransition
intothenextshotfromthatscene.
Evenif theairolane
is notseen
in thenextshotof thissequence,
thesound
of it wouldstillbeaudible
t0 thecharacters;therefore
it should
stillberepresented
t0 theviewing
audience
aswell.
Sound
levels
forvoices
andobjects
should
beconsistent
throughout
aneditedscene.
changes
in objectdistances
fromcamera,
withinthe film space,shourd
arsobe
accounted
for through
raising
or lowering
volumelevelsin the audiomixfor those
shots.
Perspective
increase
ordropoffshould
berepresented.
Additionally,
all spaces
havea background
noiselevellt maybe soft,deep,high,or
louddepending
on the environment
depicted
0n screen.
Thiseverpresent
layerof
sound
iscommonly
called
ambience,
butit mayalsobereferred
t0 asatmosphere
or
naturalsound(natsforshort).
lt is responsible
forcreating
a bedof consistent
audio
toneOverwhichthedialogue
andothermoreprominent
soundeffectsandsoforthare
placed.
Thisextra,uninterrupted
soundbedis eitherliftedfromtheproduction
audio
(sometimes
recordings
calledroomtone),or it is generated
by an editoror sound
designperson
f romothersources.
Thisambience
trackhelpssmooth
outaudiotransitionswhenyoucutfromoneshotwithina scene
to another.
Sound
Because
therearet00manypotential
topics,
we will consider
sound
asourlastmajor
"goodedit"factoror element.
Entire
books
arewritten0nthesubject
of sound
editing
in movies
andtelevision
people
andawards
arepresented
to
whodo it well we will
srmply
scratch
thesurface
0f thetopicto provide
youwitha basrsior ideasandplentv
of foodforthought.
Earlier
we discussed
theteakettlescenario
asa motivator
fortheedrtBeyond
being
a sOurce
formotivation,
thesound
trackcanalsobea greatwayt0 comment
0nsOmethingwrthinthefilm0rt0 juxtapose
messages
withinthefilm;forexarnple,
a womanis
seensittrng
in a norsy
business
officein a longshot.Thereis a cutt0 herrnan MCU.
Onewouldexpect
thenoisybusiness
office
ambience
to continue
to beheard
under
the
newMCUbfthewoman.
lf theaudience
is notpresented
thatcontinuity
audio,
of
they
couldbepulled
outof theviewing
experience
wondering
whathappened
to thesounds.

r r l r , r lrl r l l l t t sl r r t t ll l:t t : t t st t t t tr t l l t r l;lt0. ll Sael t e rl h g

. ' / l r , irll l l r t t , , r r r ,rlr , l , t r r,(, 1
s m a t c thh ec a l m
r t / I l r rr: r n l l\llr r r illo l r l l r r , r r Ll r l r r , i r rtr;yl l,r t ; r et tat lt t sti lct a st e e r nt 0
, r r rl 'r l l l t cw 0 n t ; l tl' isr r ; tI;l t r sl l u a c e tm
u lu s iicsh e ri n t e r nsaol u ntdr a c kT. h ea u d i e n c e
stateof thiswoman.
or emotional
mental
{lrvcn
abouttheinternal
ngwrnformation
Theedicalmandcollected.
,rrrrgll0w,
sheis staying
wrthinallof theofficecraziness,
providing
theaudithrough
to thetransition
I rr rrst:rj
attention
to drawpositive
sound
(seeFigure
3 B)
noises
fromtheoffice
rrrc, an(ithewoman,
witha break
,\llcrnately,
beingpresented
thevisuals
thatgoesagainst
sound
canmakea statement
',rtlreviewer;
youhaveaninterior
shotof a manwhotellshisfriendthat
forexample,
trackandthe
l r: rs "going
t0 huntfora job."Theroarof a lionis heardonthesound
during
combustling
citystreet
tr,rnsition
thepicture
to a wideshotof a crowded,
takes
ambitrackwiththebusystreet
aremixedin thesound
rrilrter
noises
rushhourAnimal
job
the
wild
on
the
in
is
now
out
shot,the hunter,
,,16eThecharacter
fromtheprevious
played
sounds
theanimal
rrrrnr
accept
wouldnotnormally
tora newjob.An audience
job
thecontext
of the hunt,the
it follows
butbecause
r,vlrile
a busycitystreet,
watching
(seeFigure
3.8).
sounds
become
story-enhancing
rl;rppropriate
animal
sounds
actually
presents
sound
another
roarscenario
thelion's
earlier,
example
Aswrthourtrainwhistle
of the
thesound
Inthese
examples,
lrridge.
Theroartakes
usfromoneshotintoanother.
picture
leading
sound
of thenextshotWecallthis
thepicture
Ircxtshotisheard
before
of shotonecarryunderthe
lhe opposite
holdstrueaswell.Youmayhavethesound
youhave
picture
Perhaps
leading
sound.
picture
of shottwo.We callthis
newlyvisible
you
a bowlingballon hisfoot.As heyelpsin surprise,
;r wideshotof a mandropping
of hisyelp
longshot0f thetopsof treesin theforestAsthesound
cutt0 anextreme
of birdsflyupandawayin a sudden
of treetops,flocks
r;ontinues
thenewpicture
under
3.8)
yelpcarried
thebirdsintoflight(seeFigure
sofarit scared
trrght
asif theman's
startearlyor endlateis known
practice
or sound
eitherpicture
of having
Ihisediting
astwo
andsound
a splitedit,anL-cut,or lapping.lf youthinkof picture
ascreating
then
(astheyarewithbothfilmandvideoediting),
elements
orfootage
separate
tracks
m0ment
same
the
track{s)at
andsound
It tseasyto seehowyoumightcutbothpicture
picture
andsoundendand
where
cut
or
straight
in time.Thisis calleda butt-cut
theroughcutswill most
editsandmaybe
beginat thesamepointin time.Assemble
timingof shotsin thefinecut
As soonas youstartto finesse
lrkelybe all butt-cuts.
youaremaking
purp6ses,
picture
forcreative
or sound
andVouoffsetthecutpointfor
thesecanmake
theotherWhendonecorrectly,
trackleadsor follows
splitedits.0ne
theycanput
Whendoneincorrectly,
fortheaudience.
yourtransitions
veryengaging
(seeFiqure
quickly
3 B).
onpretty
thebrakes

TI
c
3

o
o

72 Grammar
ot theEdit

Chapter
lhree J Whent0 CutandWhy? 73

ls There a Right or \rurong Reason

for a Cut?

Yesandn0.As withanything
thatinvolves
a craft,therearethetechnical
methods
and
reasons
fordoingthings
certain
ways,butthentherearetheaesthetic
or creative
reasonsfordoingotherthings
in otherways.Howyoumakeaneditandwhyyoumakean
editaretwodifferent
things,
buttheyarealways
interrelated.
Youcanedita project
as
y0useefit,butin theend,it will betheviewing
audience
thatdecides
if yourchoices
wererightorwrong.
Didtheeditswork0rnot?Didtheaudience
n0tice
themornot?As
longasyouhavereasons
whyyoumadeeachedit,youareontherightpathKeeping
thevarious
elements
mentioned
in thischapter
in mindandpre-thinking
whatyour
audience
wouldappreciate
will takeyoua longway intotheworldof well-received
irditino.

()=

o
tr
o
th

HTAD

'HOT A
PI(TURI

'HOT B
PICTURT

SHOTA
'OUND

'HOT B
,OUND

'HOT A
PICTUNT

'HOT B
PI(TURT

'HOT A
SOUND

'HOTB
SOUND

A
EUTT(UT
u

HTAD

SPTITIDIT
H

(C-D)Ihe lion'sroar
innerpeace.
awavat thecutt0 showthewoman's
drops
FIGURE
3.8 {A-B)the sound
(E F)Theyelp0f themanbridges
across
treatment.
theanamal
s0und
shotonet0 shot2,whichcontinues
bridges
a splitedit
ofthebuttculbecominq
track1GH)Anexample
thesplitpicture
theeditandlapsunder

o
E
ot
c
o

3
o
s,

ot
E
G

o
(,
s
a

7 4 G r a m m aorf t l t eE d r t

End of Chapter Three Review

forthemandtheir
editing
thaty6uarereally
andremember
Knowyouraudience
experience.
viewing
withnewinformation
provide
theviewer
intoshould
Each
shotVoutransiti0n
"story"
of theprolect.
the
thatprogresses
orauralelement
bysomevisual
bemotivated
should
transition
Each
Vgucreate
withintheshotyouareleaving
the
eyearound
t0 leadtheviewer's
sh0tcgmpositi0ns
or interesting
Usediffering
fromoneshott0 thenext.
whentransitioning
framesotheystayengaged
orsequence
withina givenscene
angles
to theviewer
camera
differing
Present
theiumpcutproblem
sotheywrllnotexperience
t0 theappr0priate
conform
thatyourtransitions
asbestaspossible,
Ensure,
position,
andsound
mOvement,
of content,
c0ntinuity
t0 them,is a greattoolto
0rcontrary
thevisuals
matching
whether
Sound,
youraudience
ona
inthestoryandto engage
meaning
orundercut
enhance
level.
sensor\l
different

Chapter Four
Transitionsand Edit Categories
OUESTION:Whatmakes for an ideal edit?
ANSWER:Aneditthatserves
thestoryandkeeps
theaudience
engaged

Nowthatyouknowwhattypesof shots
youwillbegivento edit,andwhatfactors
need
to be considered
you
when
wishto makea solideditfromoneshotto thenext,we
should
really
shedsomelightonthemostcomm0n
typesof transitions
thatyouwill use
at thoseeditpoints
yoLr
havedetermined.
As mentioned
earlielwe will bediscussing
thecut,thedissOlve,
thewipe,andthefade.Each
oneof thesefourtransitions
carries
with rt its ownmeaning
whenviewedwithina programAudiences
understand
these
transitions
andhavecertain
expectations
around
theirproper,
or should
we say,m0re
common
usage.
We will breakdowneachoneandanalyze
howtheyplayintothesix
elements
of information,
motivation,
composition,
camera
angle,
continuity,
andsound

The Cut
Thecutis themostfrequently
usedtransition
outof allthetransitions
considered
here.
It canbedefined
asaninstantaneous
change
fromoneshotto another.
Whenrt ismade
at thecorrect
moment,
following
asmanyof thepositive
editelements
aspossible,
it is
notconsciously
noticed
bytheviewing
audience.
lt is transparent.
As a result,
it is the
onetransition
thattheaudience
hasgrownt0 accept
asa formof visual
reality.

A r , , t r r l r l r l rl )r r r ) r l .r ,, .

rlLr

l r r t ' , L r l ll ,l t c t t t t t l t v i t l (r :r ur ll ) 0 t t tcl l t t t t t ; t t st a y

l r l r . r r r r tr,rr i ,r , r l r i n r , r L r ,l r r r ) l ) ( j : i s l t twl t l l c v e t tb e c o n t ea t l o t i v a t o fr o r t h e c u t .

l l r c s ier r r r o r ror lrllrsr r r,rr:r cq e n e r a nl loy tm a r k eddo w ni ns e c o n d

o sr f r a m ebsu t
"grrt
lirkeorrrnore
leeling"
asa beat.Themotivation
ol a
unitof timeknown
yetknowable
lorthecut'stimrrrg
this
beatora
couldbebased
on
unknowable
teeling
thatit tsn0wtimeto cutt0 something
different.
- Whenyouknowhowthecurrent
Cornposition
shot,shotone,willendyou

Ihe termcutstemsfromtheverybegrnnings
of motionpicture
film.Theactualstripof
plastic
flexible
thatcontained
theimages
in individual
frames
wasphysically
cut,either

frames
to the
knowwhatthecomposition
willlooklikeonthescreen
of those
yetdifferent
viewerA goodedrtwill alsohaveshottwodisplay
aninteresting

withscissors
orwitha straight
razor
device.
Sothepeople
whocutfilmstripswerecalled
cutters
before
theywerecallededitors.
Even
though
computer
software
is usedbymost
people
today
to dofilmandvideoediting
andnotscissors,
theexpression
stillholds.
An
editor
canbecalled
a cutter
andtheactof editing
a filmcanstillbecalled
cutting.
Joining
twoshorter
stripsof filmtogether,
witheithertape0r glue,wastheeasiest,
fastest,
and
cheapest
wayto makea transition.
Hence
it wasuseda greatdeal.Overtheonehundred
years
since
theorigins
ofcinema,
thecuthasmade
pretty
itsmeaning
clear
to allof us

tromshotone.l{ thetwoshots
cutaret00
composrtion
at theinstantaneous
sublect
simrlar
intheircomposition,
eventhough
theyareof totally
different
"JUmp
matter,
it canappear
cut"t0 theaudtence.
asa visual

Thecutis mostoftenusedwhere:

thevisual
of thissecond
shot
experiencing
elements
- Each
camera
beona different
Camera
successive
shotcutto should
angle

. Theaction
iscontinuous
. There
needs
to bea change
of "impact"
r There
isa change
of information
or locale
It is possible
to makegoodcutsandnotsogoodcuts.lf youconsider
allsrxof thefollowing
elements
whenyouaremaking
thecut,youaremuchmorelikelyto helpyourselfmakea goodedit.
- Theshotthatiscurrently
1 Information
playing,
shotone,hasprovided
the
a u d i e nw
c ei t ha l l t h ev i s u a l a nadu r ai ln f o r m a t it oh na ti t c o u l p
r
o
v
i
d
e
d
T h. e
editor
thencutst0 shottwoto provide
theever-hungry
audience
withnew
information.
ldeally,
every
shotin a program
should
offersomenewinformation
suchasa large,
establishing
viewof a location,
a close-up
detailof a computer
screen,
thesound
of rainfallingor a babycrying,
etc
- There
2 Motivation
should
always
bea reason
to makethecut.Something
withinsh0toneleads
to theneedto display
sh0ttwo lt couldbeiusta needro
shownewinformation.
lt couldbea largeaction
withintheframe.
lt couldbe
assmallasanactor's
slrght
eyemovement.
Perhaps
thereisa noise
heard
from
withinthefilmspace
butoff-screen

forces
theviewer
to immediately
in compositron
at cutpoints
Using
differences
inthenewshot.
forthenewinformation
engage
theireyesandbrainandsearch
inthenew
Aslongastheyaren0ttooconfused
byanoverly
busycomposition
get
in
shot,theviewer
doesnotevenn0tice
theactual
cutasthey engrossed

talking
in profile
should
angle
tromthelast.A medium
longshotof twopeople
followed
shotoranover-the-shoulder
shottrom
beimmediately
bya srngle
to a tightmedium
somewhere
elsealongthe180degree
arc.Punching-in
This
wouldnotbea goodchoice.
twoshotfroma similar
angleonthetalent
(wide,
length
issometimes
called
changes
a cut-inoranaxialedit.Focal
in newshotchoices
forthisscene,
medium,
closeshots)may
alsobeconsidered
change
to bemosteffective.
buta cutwouldrequire
anangle
movement
should
ContinuityThecontinuous
0racti0n
bebothevident
in thetwoshots
thecutis
andsimilarly
matching
to becuttogether.
Since
fluid
must
maintained
the
instantaneous,
the
movement be
across cut.Human
inaction
viewers
to discontinuities
across
cutsandthey
areextremely
attuned
areeasily
detected
anddisliked.
- There
ideally
formofsound
continurty
orsound
Sound
should
besome
lf a cuthappens
withinfootage
fromthesame
development
thecutpoint.
across
thentheambience
carry
overacross
thecut.Audiolevels
scene
andlocation,
should
you
perspective
lf
visuals'
on
from
onelocation
or
should
match
the
thescreen. cut
insound
typeandvolume
areencouraged
timetoanother,
thenimmediate
difterences
called
to keeotheaudience
aresometimes
smashcuts.
0ntheirtoes.These

(J
o

oftheEdit
78 Grammar

C h a p t eFr o u r T r a n s r t r 0annsdE d i tC a t e q o r i e s 7 9

0f eachof theaboveelestrong
aspects
world,eachcutwouldcontain
Intheperfect
goalshould
bet0 watch
Your
be
achievable.
maynotalways
ments,
butthatscenario
trainyoureyesandearsto pickupon them
in all of yourfOotage,
fortheseelements
Thecutshould
be whereyou
duringyoureditprocess.
andusethemas appropriate
calltheslop edit dueto how
edit (whatsomepeople
startyourassemble
always
just
andit is stillthe
quickly
youshould
takes
together),
the
selected
able
to
slop
be
be
should
eachcutin yourfinecutsequence
fastest
wayt0 work.Whenfinelytuned,
when
theshow.Straight
cutsarewidelyaccepted
whowatches
byanyone
unnoticed
your
(jump
skill
whentheydonot.Develop editing
theyworkandwildlydistracting cuts)
gowrong.
ot
Playtoomuchwtththegrammar
setaround
solidcutsandyouwillnever
withyourwork.
thecutandyoumayrunintotoomanyproblems

FIGURE
4 . 1 ( A B )A c u t c a nu n i t et w o s h o t st h a tr e p r e s e ncto n t r n u o uasc t i o n( C - D )A c u t m a ye n da s e q u e n c e
. r r r dl e a dt h ev i e w e r n l od n e wl 0 c a t r 0 n

3
(J

The Dissolve
Ihisrsthesecond
mostcommon
transition
in ourquartet,
andurrlike
theslraight
cut,it
attracts
attenti0n
to rtself
0npurpOse.
Asyoumayrecallfrom
Chapter
0ne,thedissolve
is defined
asa gradual
change
fromtheending
pictures
of oneshotintothebeginning
pictures
of thenextshot.Thisis traditionally
achieved
viaa superimposition
of both
shotswitha simultaneous
downward
andupward
ramping
of opacity
overa particular
period
of time.As theendof thefirstshot"dissolves"
away,thebeginning
of thenext
shotemerges
0nt0thescreen
at thesametime.yougett0 seetheimages
overlapping.A dissolve
mayalsobereferred
t0 asa "lapdissolve,"
a "lap,"andsomerrmes
a
"mix."
video
Thedissolve
iscorrectly
usedwhere:
. There
isa change
intime
. There
isa change
in locale
. Timeneeds
to beslowed
downorspedup
. There
isanemotionalappeal
regarding
thesubject
in thestory
o There
isa strong
visual
relationship
between
theoutgoing
andtheincoming
images
A gooddissolve
is achieved
whenasmanyof thefollowlnq
elements
areaddressed
at
thepointof transition:
- Muchlikea straight
1 Information
cut,thenewshotshould
contain
new
information
fortheviewer
to digest.
whether
thedissolve
iscondensing
rrme
overa long,continuous
event,
changing
timeperiods
or locations,
orjorning
drsparate
concepts
through
matching
imagery,
thesecond
shotintowhich
youaredissolving
should
offersomething
newt0 bOth
theviewer
andto the
narrative
of theprogram.
-As withalltransitions,
2. Motivation
thereshould
bea precise
motivating
actign
0rnarratrve
needto applya dissolve.
- Thetwoshotsdissolved
3. Composition
together
should
eachhavecompositions
at themidpoint
youmay
thatoverlap
easily
andavoida visual
contradiction.
dissolve
opposing
(shotone: mainsubject
compositionalframes
frameleft/
:
shottwo mainsubject
frameright)
to unifytheimages
in one,momenrary
yet
well-balanced
dissolve
framing.
Youmayalsodissolve
matching
(called
frames
a
matchdissolve)
wherethecomposition
ofthetwoshotsisverysimilar
butthev

l r , r v r r r l r l lrrr, lr r, I ,

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a p p e a r st o t h e a u d i e n c e .
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event
youarecollapsing
timeforonelong,
continuous
4 Oarnera
angle Unless
you
really
try
to
dissolve
should
fromthesameanglethroughout,
recorded
There
angles
ontheaction.
differing
camera
twoshotsthatpresent
between
when
theusage
ofthiselement
however,
thatwillnegate
aremanyreasons,
wherewe getto see
mightbea scene
Suchanexample
dissolves
areconcerned.
fora phone
call.lt isallshot
waiting
wander
abouthisapartment
onecharacter
timefromlateafternoon
Thescene
encompasses
angle.
fromonlyonecamera
Tocompress
time,theeditor
throughout.
withlighting
changes
to mid-evening
butthe
portions
camera
angle,
allfromthesameunmoving
of footage
dissolves
time.
getst0 seethecharacter
overelapsed
moveaboutthespace
audience
- lt iscustomary
theaudio
tracks
of thetwoshots
to alsomixtogether
5. Sound
forshotone
a crossfade.Asthepicture
inwhatisoftencalled
being
dissolved
image
theincoming
of shottwo,theaudio
under
isdissolving
awaygradually
quieter)while
theaudioforshot
down(growing
trackforshotoneisalsofading
(growing
louder)
twoisfading
up
is itsduration,
or
intheefficacy
of thedissolve
element
6. Time- Animportant
for
the
default
duration
is usually
Onesecond
howlongit lingers
onscreen.
packages,
canlast
buta dissolve
videoediting
software
in computer
dissolves
In
inthetransition.
material
oneachshotinvolved
forasIongasthereisvisual
purpose
in
forits
general,
lastaslongasrequired
thedissolve
should
of course,
just
quick
f
rames,
although
picture.
a
few
overlapping
A
dissolve
of
themotion
andcan
likea straight
cut,doesgobytheeyeveryquickly
n0tinstantaneous
0f theeditarenotmet.A longdissolve
elements
imitate
a jumpcutif various
of thelonger
themidpoint
andmay,along
forseveral
seconds
canbeon-screen

.:

thana
of thetwoshotsrather
morelikea superimposition
appear
duration,
dissolve.

.E

a story
chiefly
allowstheeditorto playwithtime.lf youwereediting
Sothedissolve
present
youcouldtransition
time
fromthelastshotof the
thatinvolved
a flashback,
past
is
the
dtssolve
with
a
dissolve.
0ften
fromthe
frameto thefirstshotof theevents
a
overtime,forexample,
events
thatcondenses
a montageof imagery
usedto create
fromoneto the
parkis shownthrough
tenshotsthatdissolve
dayat theamusement
time.Usually
suchspeof screen
lasting
onlyoneminute
next,thewholesequence
planned
of the
filmmakers
from
the
0utset
the
bv
are
of visualmaterial
cialtreatments

o
0
o
t^

o
o

0 h a p t eFr o u r T r a r ) s r t r 0annsdF d r tC a t e q o r i e s 8 3

o rt t h e F d i t
82 Grarnma

withdissolving
timeif theyfindcerprgject,
feelfreeto experiment
buteditors
should
to betoolong.
tainscenes
by
canalsoslowdowntimewhenaccompanied
It is important
t0 notethatdissolves
sequence
sador moving
or maybe
an emotionally
A romantic
slow motionimages.
timet0
andgivetheaudrence
t0 sl0wdownevents
rather
effectively
canusedissolves
arethe"tear
lt is oftensaidthatdissolves
0f thematerial.
themeaning
viewanddigest
transition.
As theyallowtheviewertimet0 thinkandfeel,theyareassociated
lerker"
responses
or "thoughttul"
emotional
somber,
withmorelanguid,
televisi0n
motionpictures,
narrative
Dissolves
chieflyhavetheirplacein fictional
pressed
in
to finddissolves thedaily
etc, butyouwill be hard
shows,musicvideos,
themanipto represent
Astheyareunderstood
ony0urnewschannel.
newsbroadcast
newsreporting,
in factual
usage
of dissolves
of time,thereis littleappropriate
ulation
intothemedia
is changing
as we movedeeper
buteventhrsruleof visualgrammar
centurv.
overload
0f thetwentv-first

f I G U R E4 . 2 F r a m etsh a l r e D r e s e an t j r s s o l vl cr o mo n es l r 0 t 0 a n 0 t h e l

:
o
o

.9
o
o

The Wipe
Thewipemaybethought
of asa crossbetween
a cutanda dissolve
lt hasa duration
like
a dissolve
butit tendst0 be performed
veryquickly.
Yougetto seebothimages
on the
screen
at oncelikea dissolve
butthereis usually
nosuperimposition
involved.
Wipesare
meantto be noticed
bytheaudience
andoftenappear
in colorful
shapes,
or withother
graphic
elements
associated
withthem.wipescanzigzag,
spiral,
andmovediagonally,
horizontally,
orvertically
across
thescreen
replacing
theprevious
shotwitha newshot.
Thewipeis correctly
usedwhere:
o There
isa change
intime
o There
isa change
in locale
o There
rsN0 strong
visual
relationship
between
theoutgoing
andtheincoming
rmages
. Prolects
graphic
callformorevisually
treatments
at transitions
A goodwipe,oftena highly
stylized
transition
effect,
doesnotalways
havet0 follow
thestandard
elements
thatleadto goodedits.
'1.
- certainlythe
Information
shotwiping
onthescreen
willprovrde
theviewrng
audience
withnewinformation
- Thesimple
Motivation
needforaneditor
to leaveonetocatton
0r0ne

l l tyl t tltl r tst l i l l cr ; l e altrtt t t t lt t ep r e v l o u s

I r r l r r, ,r ;l l r r ,Irl r , . ' . r l r , rr v { ,l' o, l r t t r r i tw
t t g l eaSt eb e s i dteh ep O l nbt ,u tS t i l l
i i e r ) l - C a t n ear a
S l ) {,)rlt ( rl l t r r r r lrr:r, rr r t ; w
l e e l r e rl o r r e i i l r v eel xy p l o ryeo u or p t i 0 n s .
- Depending
can
to use,sound
onthetypeorstyleofwipeyouchoose
5 Sound
mayleadthe
Sound
thetransition.
across
cut0ra dissolve
asa straight
betreated
playing
withhowthe
in
wiping
shotorfollowafterit Onehasa greatdealoffreedom
it isevetr
edited,
0nthetypeof program
thewipe.Depending
during
audio
behaves
"
"swoosh
effect
suchasa
itsownsound
to givethewipeaction
oftenappropriate
- Justasdissolves
time,wipesneedto havedurations
across
happen
6 Time
qurckly
fromoneshotto the
withthemFastwipescantransiti0n
associated
piece
moving
thestoryalong
necessitates
of theedrted
nextwhenthetemp0
wipes,
thentheycouldlast
morelingering
lf theedited
showcallsforslower,
Fastandfunis
fora viewer.
thismaygettedious
although
forseveral
seconds
generally
thewayto go
noteastly
andotherwise
twodisparate
a wayto bridge
Thewipeoftenactsasa filler,0r
theywerea
cinema
of the1930s
Hollywood
In classical
of a program
segments
;oined
place
time
t0 another
from
or
pleasing
wayto transrtion one
moregraphically
tanciful,
visual
havemorepep.Intodays
They
dissolves.
of themoremundane
Ihevtaketheplace
tOuseInallgenres
orformandareapproprtate
wipescantakeonanyshape
marketplace,

segment
of a program
canbeenough
motivation
fortheuseof a wrpeeffect.
Sometimes,
if youhavenopurposeful
wayof getting
fromoneplace
ortime
"entertain"
youcanusea creative
oronetopicto another,
wipeto
theviewer
across
theduration
of thetransition
andleadthemt0 a totally
newtime,place,
ortopicThelongpartof thegrammar
ofediting
transitions,
thewrpeisthe
fanciful
wayof moving
around
timeandspace
CompositionSince
thestyleorshape
ofthewiping
isusually
element
an

o
o
;
o

graphicalcomposition,
interesting
justending
theframing
of theshots
andlust
begrnning
around
thewipedonotrequire
anyspecial
visual
connection.
With
planning,
careful
however,
a clever
filmmaker
mayhaveconceived
of strong
vertical
orhorizontal
movements
withintheshotcomoosition
andtheclever
editor
willrurn
these
visual
elements
intowhatiscalled
a naturalwipe 0blects
withintheaction
of theoutgoingpicture
push
frames
pull
appear
to
or
or rnsomeway"wipe"
across
thescreen,
whichallowsfora cutora wipeto thenextincomingshot.
- Muchlikethefreedom
Camera
angle
foundin thetypesof compositions
thewipe,thereisnorealneedto adhere
around
to thediffering
camera
angle

a r l dr e p l a c erst w l t h a n e wo n e .I h e ym a yb e u s e d
y r p e so n ei m a g eo t f t h es c r e e n
4 . 3 T h ew i p el i t e r a l lw
FIGURE
a s f a s ta n dt u nt r a n s i t i 0 nf rso ma n Ys h o tt 0 a n y0 t l l e rs h 0 t

B/

l , r r i rl r rl r l , rI

The Fade

r I r 1 , , r r r ,t r l l l r cr ; r r r ll l i r l i r t l co u t l t t l t tot t t es c e t t el i t t g e rost t t h e

, r l li r l , rkr , {r u r . r l r ; r r l l c na c c e p t a b lteo t a d e u p t h e n e w a u d i oo f t h e y e t t o b e

pictures
Motion
0rsequences
programs
fromtelevision
traditronally
begin
andendwith
a fade.lf youhaveeverwritten
or reada script,
youmostlikelysawthatthefirstlineis

leadrng
Thisrsanexample
thefadein occurs
of sound
seenncxlsegnlent
betore
prCtu
re.
4 Time- Likedissolves
anappropriate
duration.
andwipes,
thefaderequires
to
fromone-half
second
Depending
ontheproiect,
theycouldlastanywhere
youwilljustfeelwhattherightamount
of timers
several
Usually
seconds.
without
fortoolong,
anynewinformation
because
stanng
at anallblack
screen
track,
willfeeloff-puning.
A goodexample
of whenyoushould
ontheaudio
"beats."
y0ur
gut
listen
to
andfeeltheright

fadein andthelastlrneisfadeout.Thisrneans
thatasa fadein (sometimes
called
a
fadeup),thescreen
starts
outentirely
blackandthengradually
theblackfadesaway
to reveal
a fullyvisibleimageunderneath
it signaling
thatthestoryhasbegun.
As a
fadeout(sometimes
called
a fadedown),theimages
your
at theendof
showgraduallyfadeintoa fullyopaque
blackscreen
signaling
thatthestoryhasended.
Fades
can
takeonanycolor,
butmostoftenyouwillseeblack
andveryoccasionally
whrte.
Thefadein isused:

toolof theeditor
Fades
in andouthavelongbeenpartof filmlanguage
anda standard
picture
prolect.
int0andout
Theyactastransttt0ns
whenstartrng
anyrnotion
orending
picture
viewing.
0f thedream-like
statethatis motiOn

. At thebeginning
of a program
r At thebeginning
of a chapter,
scene,
sequence,0r
act
. Wherethereisa change
in time
. Wherethereisa chanqe
in locale

il
il

Thefadeoutis used:
o At theendof a program

II

f,

o At theendof a chapter,
scene,
sequence,
oract
a

Where
thereisa change
intime

Where
thereisa change
in locale

Fora fadeto bemosteffective,

it should
address
thefollowing
elements:
- Thefactthatthepieceis beginning
1. Motivation
willnecessitate
a fadein and
you
when havereached
theendof a segment
0ract,it is acceptable
to fadeout.

o
.lt

Thatismotivation
enough
forthefade.
- lt canbeveryhelpful
2. composition
rnachieving
a cleanfadeinorfadeout
to usea shotthatwilleitherbegin
orend(orboth)with
a lowcontrastimage.
Compositionally
youwouldnotwishto havelargeareas
speaking
of darkand
lightwithintheframe
area,because
gradually
astheopacity
fillsintheimage
takes
it
or
awaytoward
black,
thediscrepancy
between
thelightanddarkareas
of theframe
willcreate
animbalance
in brightness
andmakethefading
action
appear
uneven
orpoorly
timed.
3 Sotnd- lt rstraditionalto
havethesound
levels
raiseupunder
thebrightening
picture
of thefadein Theaudioshould
alsofadedownasthepicture
doesthe

IE
tt
o

i nst oa l a d ei n
4 . 4 T h ef a d eo u te n d so n es e q u e n caen dl e a d st h ev i e w e rt o n e wm a l e r i aal s i t t r a n s i l i o n
FIGUBE
o n t h e f r r s st h o to f t h en e x ts e q u e n c e .

The Five Major

Categories

of Edit Types

Sofarwe haveexplored
threecategorres
of shottypes,
eleven
kindsof basicshots,
slxelements
thathelpmakea goodeditpossible,
andfourdifferent
mayor
transitions
Nowwe aregoingto examine
fivemajorcategories
of edrttypes.
Noneof theselists
areexhaustive
andthesefivetypesof editsaren0exception,
butrngiving
themthese
named
categorres,
we aretouching
0nmostof themajorkindsof editthatcanbepertormed
withmostmaterial.
Theremaybe no industry
standards
for theterminology,
butthedefinitrons
willstillapplyacross
theboardGranted,
thetypeof project
y0uare
edlting
willhelpdecide
whichkrnds
of editsyouwillbeablet0 execute
gerrres
Certarn
calltor certain
editorial
treatments,
butmostprograms
couldabsorb
oneor moreol
these
editcategories
anddowellbythem
0urfivecategories
forthedifferent
typesofeditare
o Action
edit
e Screen
position
edit
r Formedit
. Concept
edit
. Combined
edit
As mentioned
earlielall editscanbenefit
frompossessing
attributes
or addressing
conditrons
foundin thelistof sixelements
thatmakeeditsstronger.
Ourfivecateg0riespreviously
listedarealledits,
therefore
it wouldholdthateachtypeof editshould
alsobenefit
fromthesamesixelements.
Letusexamine
eachoneandprovroe
some
examples.

iI

' r r l r l t l r l;l r r ,l r l r t , , . . ,

r r r r , r r l l l l r l l t :o t t l l t u t . t t v uitt t t t w
j t t l t ; lltt r sc y e s s c a t ll l l t :

i r r r l r : t, ; t 1 ; t r l(lry' r r ll r ; r t r ' 41 r )

information
theaudience
withimportant
IntormationIhelongshotprovides
potentrally
or
thesubject,
thetimeof dayif we seewindows
thel0cati0n,
about
quick,
arelike slow,
andwhathisactions
lights
on,howthernanisdressed,
normal,
abnorrnal
Motivation Inthelongshot,themanwillpickupthebookrnfrontof him
to make
thebookwillbea goodplace
of lrtting
tableTheaction
offthelibrary
youalsohavetheopti0n
0f
is themotivator.
0f course,
thecut Theaction
the
theplacement
0f theb00k,over
theaction
edita bitandusing
delaying
title
01
the
book's
and
close-up
man's
face,to rnotivate
a cutinto themedium
tnernans eyes
- Thearrangements
withln
andsetdressing
objects,
of subject,
Composition
There
are
interior
space.
diagonal
a strOng
theframeof thelongshotcreate
shotoffers
layersTheclose-up
andbackground
middleground,
loreground,
upmOst
of the
frame
withthedetails
of thebooktakrng
weighted
a centrally
line
have
more
in
left
may
been
man
toward
the
framing
the
spaceAlthough
of
thetitleofthebookandtheappearance
in thewidershot,
withhisplacement
thingin thisnewshot,sothecentralized
theman's
eyesarethemostimportant
information
inthiscase
tortheconveyance
of narrative
framing
better
isworking

Edit

E
|rI

o
o
o
'tr
o

Thedifference
hrsfacefroma muchmorefrontalframing.
arcandapproaches
for
angles
of thesetwoshotsismorethanadequate
between
thecamera

C)

- Themostimportant
and
editisthecontinuity,
aspect
of theaction
Continuity
in
Thecoverage
really
match
at thtscutpoint.
should
thecontinuity
olmovement

Theactionedit is nearly
alwaysa straight
cut.As its nameimplres,
thiscategory
encOmpasses
editsbetween
shots
thatdepict
continuous
action
ormovement
of subjects
oroblects.
As a result,
thistypeof editis alsosometimes
called
a rnovement
editor a
continuity
edit Thefirstshotin theseries
willshowa person
performing
anaction
cut thenthesecond
shotcontinues
thatacti0n
butwitha different
framinq.
Timeis
unbroken
Movements
appear
t0 besmooth
andcontinuous.
As a simple
example,
in a longshotwe couldseea mansittingat a library
tableHe
leansforward
andprcks
up a bookto readit. In a medium
close-up
we seetheman

tr

- Inthelongshot,thecamera
profile
anglersona three-quarter
Camera
angle
the
hasmoved
around
Intheclose-up,
thecamera
rrghtcheek.
of theman's

thecut
The Action

o
o
q

FIGURE
4 . 5 I h er n o t r oonl r a r s i n tqh e b 0 0 kt 0 r e a di t m o l i v a t etsh ec u t0 n t h t sa c t t 0 ne d l t

ct!
o
.E

0
|!

E
o

':

lr.
o

t l t tl t l t t sg l t t t l t i t tpst u v t ttl let ui i t . l l r o

r t1l l r cn r t r rn, i r : ; r l irr1ri r r r f , r 1,r lI l t r r :
table
a n d0 p e n t ni tgi nf r o not f h i sl a c eI.h ec l o s e - Lr er pp 0 a ltlsr . rsl , r n r c

' , { 1 v 1 l r l l l r l r r r l, l I r ' , , , . r l r l ) r L ) l, t ' , r . r r r i t l

,r,,
I ) o s t l t 0t t: tr i r tl s t l t t ;l t t t d r l r o t ltawl o - p u l

overlapptng
actton
0f thebookraiseandopen,
plusit continues
along
withthe
man's
eyem0vement
across
thepages.
Astheeditorof thisaction
edit,you
wouldbefreeto cutandmatch
themovement
of thebookat anypointduring
the
youcutonaction,
action.
Since
theaudience
isnotperceiving
thecut,butmerely
registering
thepresentation
of newinformation
aboutthebookandaboutthe

wouldcallfor
coverage
Thestandard
andhavea conversation.
r)rir,lacr..
orreanrrtltcr
When
of eachof thetwocharacters.
medium
close-ups
rnedium
shotsandnraybe
:;olrr
shot
intothesolomedium
rl cornes
tlmet0 edit,youcouldgo fromthewidertwo-shot
gestures
with
hts
he
frameleft.Whilespeaking
A whois shownstanding
ol character
B whois
shotof character
solomedium
trameright.Youcutto a matching
Iraldtoward

man's
eyes.
- Because
6. Sound
thisisa library
theambient
scene,
sounds
willberather
sparse,
butthereshould
always
besomesounds
associated
withthebackground
"sniff"
"clearing
perhaps
the
location;
of
a
ora
of thethroat"
hereandthere.
plusthe"hum"ofthelightfixtures.
Youcouldevenaddress
thesound
of the
bookpages
turning
0ncey0umovein to theclose-up
shot
Theaction
editis quitecomm0n
andcanbe usedin veryelaborate
actionherochase
quiet,
scenes
0r In very
slow-moving
melodramas.
As longas thereis a continuous
actionor movement
in theframe,theeditorcanusethatto matchthesameaction
fromanother
shotof coverage
in thescene.
lf thecutaddresses
thesixelements
listed

t OC a m T rl l gS h O tt,W Op e O p l er,n p r O f i l e
, r r rrt l r ; i l o t ; r r ;t r ; r l r rl li r r r ; r t r t t rwt trtl;l t ( t r l l C t l l L lllO

4.6)
frameright(seeFigure
standing
slrown
Theges
fortheaudience
B yieldsnewinformation
shotof character
ihe new,closer
wouldbea tinemotivabeinguttered
A, or eventhelineof dialogue
rurebycharacter
posrtlon
to thescreen
linkage
rs trulythe
composition
tor for thecut.Themirrored
A arrdthen
onframelettforcharacter
hadtheireyesOver
sincetheaudience
categOry,
B in thenew
character
thescreen
at thecutporntto observe
hadto movethemacross
Conttnutty
different
arcaresrgnificantly
theshooting
around
angles
shotThecamera
as
is
continuous
the
sound
means
is metby thecut,whichalso
delivery
of dialogue
butthe
position
all sixof theeditelements,
editwill address
well.Noteveryscreen
m0rethemerrier.
ah

o
o.

above,
it should
besmooth,
unobtrusive,
andallowan uninterruDted
visual
flowforthe
storyunfolding
onthescreen.

.:
!
|rt
o
o

The Screen

Position

o
,tr
o

Edit

El

Thistypeof editissometimes
called
a directional
editora placement
edit "Directional"
because
theedithelpsdirecttheviewer's
eyesaround
thescreen,
and"placement"
because
tt is theunique
placement
of subjects
or objects
in thetwoshotscuttOgether
thatmaketheviewer's
eyesmovearound
position
theframe.
Thescreen
editcanbe

o
o

o
o
G

H G U R E4 . 6 T h es c r e e np o s r t i oenr l r ti n r t sm o s tb a s r cf o r m 0 n e s u b j e cst t a r l d tsr a r n el e f t w l r r l el h e 0 t h e rO c c u

p r e ss p a c eo v e to n t r a m er l g h lI nl h e n e x ts h 0 t

either
a cut0ra dissolve,
butit is usually
a cutif thereis n0passage
of timeimplied
by
theedit.
Thewaytheshotsof a sceneareoriginally
(through
conceived
storyboards
or script
notes),
composed,
andrecorded
will helpaneditort0 construct
position
a screen
edit.
Twoshotsin the coverage
weredesigned
to leadthe audiences'
eyesaroundthe
screen.
Usually
onestrong
visual
element
occupies
onesideof thefrarne
andcastsits
attentr0n
0r a movement
toward
theothersideof theframeCutting
to thenewshot,
the objeetof attention
is usually
shownon thatopposite
sidefulfilling
thevrewer's
needto seesomethlng
thatvisual
occupy
space.

,z
IL

The Form Edit

shape,
froma shotthathasa pronounced
asa transition
Ihe formeditis bestdescribed
dimension,
color,
shape,
to another
shotthathasa matching
or sound,
dimension
color.
preconceived
thewrltingor pre-pr0during
These
typesof editsareusually
or sound.
treatthec0rrect
thatwrllmatchrequire
thevisualelements
duction
ohasebecause
just
blind
rs
torm
the
edit
Barely
directron
screen
and,sometimes,
mentof composition
luckontheoartof theeditor

::'

l l t l s l l l qs 0 l l l l (iil s l l l u t t t t t l l v i t l t t tl n
l t,c l o r r r u
r r l r lr ; , r rl rl { )i } s l l i l ( l l r lr . l l .

rl, I

l u l r r r o r , l{ . , l s g s ,

t h et r a n s i t i w
o ni l lb ea d i s s o l vIeh i si sp a r t i c u l at r luyew h e ,t l r e r res , ir ; r r , r r oq lui o c a tionand/orperhaps
a change
rntimefromoneshotto thenextThetermmatchdissolveisoftenusedto describe
thistypeof formedrt.
A simple
scenario
willserve
to demonstrate
a formedit.Ina storyabouta

manreturningto hissmall,
ruralvillage,
a series
of close-up
shots
weretakenof a jetplane
tire.a
cartire,a bicycle
tire,anda wag0nwheelallsprnning
counterclockwise
astheytravel
overthegroundThefourround
shapes
areframed
roughly
thesamesizewrtha central
placement
in theshotcomposition.
Essentiaiiy
theyaiimatch.
Astheeditor,
rfyourgoal
tsto condense
theman's
traveltime,youcoulddissolve
fromonetireshotrntothenext
unillyouended
upwiththeclose-up
of thewagonwheel.youcouldthencutt0 a shot
of themansitting
among
s0megoatsanddriedcornstalks
in thebackof a muledrawn
(seeFigure
wagon
4.7)
Theaudience
will understand
thatthedissolving
transitions
arecondensing
time.The
technological
de-evolution
of thewheelshapes
willshowtheaudience
thatthemanis
movrng
further
intotheruralareaof hishome
village.
Theconsistency
of shape
andcom_
position
helpskeeptheviewer's
eyetrained
onthecenter
of thescreen
andallowsthem
thefocus
needed
to understand
themeaning.
Thesound
elements
willalsodigress
from
veryloudto rather
quietas theycrossfadeintooneanother
underthecorresponding
,,climate,,change.
pjctures
drssolving
sLrpporting
theaudiences
sense
of location
and
Formeditsarealsooftenusedin advertising
andtelevision
commercials.
Inthirtysecondsrt becomes
difficultto sayyourmessage,
so mostoftenadvertisers
trv t0 show
tnerrmessage
in moreeasily
understood
graphical
ways.Take,
forinstance,
a commer
cialforananti-smoking
campaign.
Thespotcallsfora studio
shotof several
cigarette
packages
standing
uponendin a fieldof endless
white.0nepackage
isthemosrprominentstanding
up in frontof all others.
During
thespOt,
thisshotdissolves
intoa shot
of headstones
at a cemetery.
Eachcigarette
package
wasstanding
in theexactspot
wnerea grave
marker
isstanding
in thesecond
shot(seeFigure
4.7)
An audience
will mostlikelydrawoneconclusion
fromthisformedit- thatsmoking
cigarettes
mayleadto anearlydeath.
whatever
theperceived
message
of theadver_
tisement,
theuseof theformedit(match
dissoivel
is whathelpstheaudience
to interpretmeaning.
Theshapes
aresimple
rectangles.
Thecompositions
match
exactly.
The
juxtapOsition
"union"
andtheimagery
during
thedissolve
generate
a rather
clearmean_
ingandconvey
theadvertiser's
message
smoothly
andsuccinctly.
Provided
theduration
of thisforheditsdissolve
waslongenough,
andtheaudiotracks
worked
together,
the
audience
wouldfloweasily
fromoneshotintothenextthanks
t0 thematchinq
torms.

o
o
ct

.:

E
ltr

p$-{s*

PFM Rffiq

o
th

o
L

Et

o
.g

o
o
.E

FIGURE
4 . 7 ( A - D )I h e f o r me d i to f t h ew h e e l sd i s s o l v r nqgu i c k l tya k e st h ea u d r e n ct e
0 n e wl 0 c a t r 0 n(st G ) T h e
l o r me d i to f t h ep a c k a g easn dt h eh e a d s t 0 n eqse n e r a t easm e a n i n iqn t h em i n d0 t t h ev t e w e {

=
o
':
t!

The Concept

Edit

Theconcept
editmaystandaloneasa purely
mental
These
suggestion.
typesof edits
are sometimes
calleddynamic
editsor ideaedits.Theconcept
editcantaketwo
disparate
shotsof different
contentandthrough
theluxtaposition
of thesevisualelements
at thatparticular
timein thestory,
theycangenerate
implied
meaning
notexplicrtlytoldin thestory.
Thistypeof editcancoverchanges
in place,
time,people,
and
evenin thestoryitself
visual
anyobvious
break
fortheviewer.
, andit candosowithout

M t t s tt l l t c t l l, l l 0 ( l o l l ( i o lt )t lr l t tl s p l i t n r c rllr y l l r i tl t l r l r r r ; t klcr r r n , r r r , r r l y , l , r r ; r lr p r i :

turedevel0pment.
Heor shealready
knowsthatthetwoseparate
slrots,
wltenlorncrl
together
in thenarrative
point,will convey
at a certain
a m000,maKe
somedramatic
emphasis,
0r evencreate
anabstract
ideain themindof theviewer.
lt is rare.butnot
impossible,
foraneditor
t0 create
a concept
editfromfootage
thatwasnotintended
t0
forma concept
edit.Beforewarned
though
thatthesetypesof editscanbetricky,
and
if thetntended
meaning
isnotclearto theviewer
thenyoujustmayhavecontributed
to

ti

anunwanted
interruption
of thevisual
information
flow.
Theprevious
example
packs
of thecigarette
andthegravestones
is verymuchlikea
concept
edit.Therdeathatsmokrng
maybebadforyoustemsfromthepicture
of the
cigarettes
dissolving
intothegravestones
Using
onemayleadto theother
Another
example
of a concept
editwouldbethefollowing
scenario
Twocouples
are
out0n a dateandonewomanannounces
to thegroupthatsheandherboyfriend
are
n0wengaged
to bemarried.
0nemanturnst0 thenewlyengaged
manandasks,,,So
- cuTT0- close-up
howdoesit feelto begetting
married?"
of a televrsr0n
screen
Anoldblackandwhiteprison
playing
movieis
andtheinmate
wearsshackles
around
- cuT T0 - wideshotof engaged
hisankles
manandwoman,
sittingon a couch
watching
(seeFigure
themovie
4.8).
Neither
shothasanything
to do wrththeother.
Thegroupshotof thecouples
at the
restaurant
is,in no way,connected
to theclose-up
shotof theoldprison
movie.
The
sixelements
neednotbeapplied
here.lt is nottheelements
in theshotsthatmake
theconcept
edit,buttheeffectof whathappens
in theviewer's
mindwhenthesetwo
shotsarejoined
together
at thattime.clearly
theengaged
manis havinq
somesecond
thoughts
abouttheconcept
of marriaqe.

tl

il

t 0f n
seemtnqly
FIGURE
4 . 8 T l r ec 0 n c i r Dc td r tc o n l u r easn r d e ar n t h ei r r i n do f t h e v r e w e trh r 0 u g thh e j U X t a p 0 s r t o
. rrc l a l e ds h o t s

(,onsider
in thetrpalaareplayactrng
fantasy
brothers
storywhereyourrg
a children's
witha flashlight
to fightoffsomegoblins
rnasjustbetore
Theyarepretending
bedtrme.
t0 theother- CUTT0 a swordland,rrrd
tosses
theflashlight
a pillow0nebrother
on a narrow
standing
nowcladin battlearmor,
rngin thehandof thesecond
brother,
r e9 )
l e d g Iena c a v e
t i g h t r nogt tr e agl o b l r n( s e eF r g u 4

o
o

tr
E
!
IJ

thatwill makeit a
elements
hasrnany
thisscenario
t planned
wellandshotproperly,
the
qoodcandrdate
across
of tossing
theflashlight
theacti0n
edit First,
fora combrrred
posrtr0n
of theflashlrght
andsword
thescreen
roommakes
edit.Second,
thisanaction
andthehanaresimilar theflashlight
rssimilarThird,
theformsof thetwoobjects
power
may
imagination
be gleaned
of
rlleof thesword.
theconcepl
of the
Andlastly,
intotheheroes
of theirtantasy
lromthisedit Theboysat playactually
transitron

o
o
'tr
o
El
o
G'

C)

o
G

=
o
.t
l!
o

The Combined

Edit

Thecombined
editcanbea difficult
editto comebyin editedprogramming
because
it
requires
a gooddealof pre-production
planning
onthepartof thefilrnmaker
lt would
berarethattwo,unplanned
shots,
couldbemassaged
intoa combined
edrtbytheeditoralone.
Thecombined
editcombines
twoormoreof thefourothertvpes
of editsOne
transition
maybean action
editcombrned
witha screen
direction
edit,anrttneremav
bea forrreditandconcept
editallinone

a t t r t b r l t eosi s e v e r aol t h e re d t tc a t e q 0 r l e s
FIGURE
4 . 9 T h ec o n r t r i l r e d
r lr tt a k e s0 n m u l t i p l e

9 6 G r a m m aorf t h eE d i l

Will I Be Quizzed

on Any

of This?

thesixelements
Mostlikelynot.Thejobof theeditoris nott0 memorize
of goodedits
in thisbook,butto usethereasoning
0r thefivetypesof editcategories
as presented
t0 informhis or herchoices
whilemakingtheedits.Knowing
behindtheseconcepts
meanwipes,
fades
are
made
in
drfferent
ways,havedifferent
thatcuts,dissolves, and
is veryimportant.
ings,andcanconvey
different
experiences
to theviewing
audience
is really
at therighttime,in therightway,fortherightreas0ns
Joining
shotstogether
0f theeditwillhelpyout0 better
exewhatyourgoalshould
be.Knowing
thegrammar
yourskillsto develop
evenm0re
cutetheedit.This,andpractice
overtimewillenable

Chapter Five
General Practices for Editors
OUESTION:Aren't the rules of editing made to be broken?
ANSWER: No,theyaremadeto be followed,
and,perhaps
eventually,
creatively
reinterpreted
byyou.

Thematerial
rnthischapter
will brrefyou0nsomeof themalorgurdelines
foranyedrt
time,thesepractices
session.Over
haveevolved
a bit buttheybasically
staytrueto
End of Chapter

Four Reviernr

in
1 Straight
cutsaregreatforcontinuous
whenthereneeds
to bea change
action,
"impact,"
rnplotpointor location.
andwhenthereisa change
timeor location,
drawoutanemotion,
2. Dissolves
areusedto helpchange
or
theoutgoing
wherethereisa strong
visual
relationship
between
andincoming
imagery

theiroriginal
intentions
because
theyholdup so welln0 matterwhatthe proJect
0r
guidelines
whattheeditingfashion
of the daymaybe Toestablrshed
these
editors,
mayseemquaint
or simplistic,
butwe arelooking
to provrde
somebasicideasforyou,
theneweditors,
so thatyoumayabsorb
theseconcepts
andalsomoveforward
with
y0urcareers.

Thefadeoutendsa program,
4. Thefadein begins
a program,
scene,
0r sequence.
scene,
0rsequence.

practices
p0intat whiclryoubeginto
Ilresegeneral
maybe considered
thestarting
yourapproach
r;onsider
to editing
anymaterial,
buttheyarenottheonlypoints,
norare
lheytheendporntWe wantyouto think0nyourownaswell.Thecomm0n
grammar
presented
getseverybody
onthesamepage,
butyourcreativity
andyourskillwithyour
rrrliting
grammar.
youshould
craftcanoverrule
the
Thatsard,however,
always
be con',r;ious
of therulesthatyouareattempting
to bendwithyourinnovation.

5. Actioneditsjoinshotsthatcovercontinuous,
uninterrupted
actionormovement

Ilregeneral
practices
of editing
to always
consider
areastollows

3. Thewipecanbeusedto jumpintime,jumpin location,

unitetwototally
"stOry"
just
theproJect
unrelated
shotssimply
t0 movethe
along,
or
because
callsfora moregraphically
vitalpresentation.

position
purposefully
6. Screen
edits,
through
well-planned
shotcomposition,
draw
fromonesideof thescreen
t0 theotherat thecutpoinl.
theaudiences
attenti0n
7. Theformeditunites
twoshots
withtwosimilarly
framed
objects
thathave
Thisisusually
witha dissolve
to show
similar
shapes
0rmovements.
executed
theaudience
look
howtheobjects alrke.
pointin
visual
editunites
twoseemingly
unrelated
shots
at a certain
B. Theconcept
result
is
the
thestoryandthe
anidea,concept,
0rmessage
inthemindof viewer
9 . T h ec o m b i n e d i ti ss t i l l u s ta c u t d, i s s o l voerw
, i p ea t 0 n el r a n s i t i obrut ,ti t
c o m b i n e lse m e not fss e v e r o
f
t
h
r
r
:
:
r
j
i
t
t
v
p
r
;
T
s
h c srrn: r r kl rcr r ; r l i r l r r r ir"rvl r r l
al
: ; l o r y l c l l r rrtnr lo n r { l r t : l

. Sound
andvision
arepartners
andnotrivals
. A newshotshould
newinforrnation
contain
. There
should
forevery
bea reason
edit
"action
. [Jbserve
the
line"
. Select
theappropriate
formof edit
. llrctretter
theedit,thelessrt is noticed
bvtheviewer
.

I r l r l t t tttst ( . r { ) ; l l l t ( l

9 8 G r a m m aorf t h e E d i l

Sound

and Vision are Partners

Chapter
FrveI General
Practrces
torEditorsgg

and not Rivals

Thisseems
somewhat
obvious,
butit is surprising
howmanyeditors
allowthesound
"fight"
picture.
to
the
Sound
is a partner
in theproduction
andmustbeedited
withthe
samecareandattenti0n
to detailasthevisual
elements.
Theearandtheeyeworkin
unison,
supplementing
information
to eachother,
soanyconflict
between
thetwowill
cause
confusion
Auralinformation
should
extend
andexpand
themessage
andstoryof thevisuals.
lt
giveinformation
should
thatenforces
andsupports
the shot.Forexample,
if a shot
showsa car passing
a roadsign"Airport,"
thenby addingthe approprrate
airport

A Nerru Shot

Should

Contain

Nerru Information

practice
Thisgeneral
is oneof theelements
of thecutandalsooneof theelements
of
thedissolve.
lt isalmost
important
forit to becalled
enough
a "rule."
Thesuccess
ofa goodprogram
is based
ontheaudiences
expectation
thattherewill
bea continuous
supply
of visual
information.
Thissupply,
if it iscorrectly
delivered,
will
constantly
update
andincrease
thevisualinformation
theviewerhasof theeventsof
theprogram.

(jetengines,
sounds
etc.),
thevisualmessage
is enforced
and,consequently,
moreeasily understood
by theaudience.
Youdeliver
a multi-sensory
experience
an0yousupport,or enhance,
thepicture
A largetruck,
forexample,
demands
thesound
of a larqe
engine
In itsmostsimplistic
terms,
it couldbesaidthataneditorshould
never
havea picture
onthescreen
withsounds
thatdonotmatch.
Thereason
forthisisthatsound
canmore
quickly
create
reality
thanvision.
Theeyetends
to takewhatit seesfactuallv,
whereas
sound
canstimulate
theimagination
in a moredirect
way
consequently,
stimulating
theearto helptheeyeis oneof thebasictasksof theeditor,
butif thesounddirectly
contradicts
thevision,
theresultwill beconfusion
andrivalryin
- unless,
themindof viewer
of course,
thisis thecreative
intention
of thefilmmakers.
An editorshould
always
remember
thatsound
andvisionarebotht00lst0 be usedto
helpshowandtellthestory.
Picture
cangetin thewayof sound
andviceversa,
butif
oneshould
dominate
a shotorscene
it should
betheresult
of a conscious
choice
made
bytheeditor.

.9
aO

c
tr
o

E
3
o

'd
c

()o
=
3
o
o
o
o
3
o

There Should

Be a Reason for Every Eclrt

Thisconvention
is lrnked
withmotivatron,
oneof thesrxelements
of thecut.
lf theshotis goodandcomplete
in itself,witha beginning,
a middle,
andanend,then
It maynotserve
muchpurpose
t0 cuta secti0n
outandreplace
it. Especially
if theoverall resultis notbetteror moreinteresting
anddoesnotfulfilltheexpectations
of the
audience
evenbetterthantheoriginal
shot.In short,do yourbestnott0 cutaparta
shotthatstands
its
on own,intact.
Sometimes
thebestch0ice
foraneditor
to makeis
t0 notcuta shotat all,butsimply
timeitsentrance
andexitwithinthesequence.
Thisdoesn0tmeanthata three-minute
monologue
fromoneperson
to another
should
notbeedited
visually
lf oneperson
is listening,
thenthatperson
is likely
to makesome
formof facialor bodyreaction
to whatis beingsaidThese
reactionshotsshould
be

' r l r vl l r , l yr i r , p l Ir r l t r t ! l ) rr: r lp r o r l u r . l rport(ti,t ucr t0)r t l u tat t ,l dv i e w t t lhga b t tts- t 1

' l r r , r x l t c r .,liir; ri ilrri r r W l r , rrls . r c t ; e p t ai tbtal et ta c t t ost te q u e nicsen o ta c c e p t a bi nl e
a
i ) v {sr c c n rl)h er c r r s ot o
n dv i s i b lteo a l l l f y o u
n m a k et h ee d r st h o u lbdew o r t h w h ial e
,rprtalize
fortheedit,theeditwillthenseemm0re
andthereason
on themotivation
"
r,rlrrral
timet0
to givetheeyesenough
lrnally,
in decrding
thelength
of a shot,it rsessential
"proper"
questi0ning
you
for
duratton
the
lf
are
rracjandabsorb
thevisualinformation.
r i n dw, h a ty o ua r es e e i nrgnt h es h o tW h e n
r s h o tt,h e ny o uc o u l d e s c r i bien,y o u m
"Ihereis a housein the
vit:wing
rnFigure
5.2youcouldsayto yourself,
theexample
l r r l l st h
, e r ei s s m o k ceo m i nogu to f t h ec h i m n eay m
, a ni s w a l k i ntgo t h eh o u s ei t, i s
of theshot.
rrvening
Cutl"Andthatisthelength
thesunis settrng
because

shownt0 helpbreakupthecontinual,
verbal
assault
of theonecharacter
andto providenewinformation
party(seeFigure
aboutthelistening
5.1).lf,however,
theperson
is talking
to himself,
andtherearen0 reasons
to addflashbacks
or to reference
other
shots,
thenthisuninterrupted
monologue
maystandunedited.
Cutting
upa shotsuchas
thtsiusts0theaudience
havesomething
should
elseto Iookat isa poormotivation
and
mayonlyserve
t0 break
themonologue
anddisturb
theaudience.
lf theshotis boring,
thefaultmaylie in thetypeof shotor theshotcomposition,
thescript,
or theactor's
performance.
In recent
history,
a veryfastpaced
editing
stylehasbecome
rather
widespread.
Some
callthistheMTVeffectthanks
to thequrck
cutting
0f manyof themusicvrdeos
once
foundon thatcablenetwork
Thistendency
hasdeveloped
alarmingly
to wherea shot
lasting
morethanthreeseconds
producers
isviewed
bysome
anddirectors
as"borrngly
"
long 0uickcutscanbeveryeffective,
buttheyhavetheirplacelrkeallstyles

,E
lll

o
ul
o
0 i d e c i d i n sq h o tl e n q t hr st 0 t a l ko u t t l r eb a s r cd e s c r i p t i o0nf t h e s h 0 tc o n t e n tl l y o u r
FIGURE
5 . 2 [ J n em e t i r o d
r l y e sa n db r a i nr e q u i r e
t h a t m u c ho r t h a t l i t t l et i m et o d i q e s t h e i m a g et,h e nm o s tv i e w e r sw t l l c 0 m p r e h e nt hd e
v r s r r aal sl a h o utlh es a r n rei r l o

o
o
.(t
o
E

o
o
3
=
o
o

E
o

'
FIGURE
5 . 1 f o r l o n gm o t r o l o q u eyso,ur n a yw i s ht 0 c r r ti n a r e a c l r osnh 0 tt 0 h e l Dk ( r c ttrl r ev r e w e irn t e r c s r errnl
t l t eD r 0 { l e e d i l r u s

It
Observe

the Action

Line

rIr-t

THt IINI

T h ea c t i o nl i n e{ o ra x i so f a c t i o n ) ai sm e n t a l g u ifdoerb o t h
d j r e c t oar rsde d r t o rlst i s
theimaginary
linethatcutsthrough
theareaof action
alongtalent,s
sightlinesor fol
lowsin thedirectron
of anobject's
movement.
with it 0neestablishes
the180degree
arcaround
therecorded
sublect.
lt dictates
fromwhichsideof thatsubject
onersable
t0 sh00t.
Editors
mustmakesurethattheshotstheyusein thefinaledited
versron
stay
onthecorrect
sideof thelineandtherefore
maintarn
theestablished
screen
direction
forthescene.

lA
A

Crossing
thelineresults
in a visually
contradicting
situation
fortheaudience.
Theyare
confronted
witha different
viewpoint
of theaction
andthiswillchange
theirperceptlon
of whatis happening.
lt will,in essence,
flip-flop
theorientation
of leftandriqhtwithin
thefilmspace
(seeFigure
S.5).

Forexample,
if a caris traveling
fromrightto leftacross
thescreen
in shotone,then
theacti0nlinebecomes
the direction
of movement.
lf another
shotis takenfromthe
othersideof theline,andthatshotis thencutnextasshottwo,
thecarwrllappear
to begoingfromleftto rightas if it immediately
turned
around
in itsscreen
direction
ln thefilmsreality,
of course,
thecaris actually
goingthesamewayall of thetime.
Cutting
thesetwo shotstogether,
onefromthefirstsideof the lineandonefromthe
otherwill break
thevisual
flowandtheviewer
willbeconfused
andwillask,,,whvis
tnecarnowgoing
theopposite
(seeFigure
way?,,
5.3).

F I G U R E5 . 3 T h e c a m e r ap l a c e m e nftr o r n s h o t A
e s t a b l i s h etsh e a x i s o f a c t i o na n d t h e s u b s e q u e n t
s c r e e nd r r e c t i o n
f o r t h e m o v i r r gv e h r c l eW h e n t h e
c a m e r ar s m t s l a k e n lm
y 0 v e dt 0 t h e o p p o s i t es r d eo f
t h e a c t i o nl r n e s, h o tB r e c o r dtsh e v e h i c l e 'm
s ovement
again bul this materialwrll appearas a reversalol
s c r e e nd r r e c t r 0wnh e ne d i t e dt o g e t h e rF d i ts h o t st h a t
h a v er e s p e c t etdh e 1 8 0d e g r e er u l ew h e na s s e m b l i n g
o o v e r a gt eo ra s c e n e

D $48i{.

-il"

;-rr

Theeditormustonlyselect
shotsfromonesideof thelineunless
thelineis seento
change,
forexample,
if thecarchanges
direction
0nscreen
during
oneof theshots
Thelinealsoexistsfor people.
A two-shot
wilt establish
frameleftandframeright.
therefore
als0establishing
screen
direction,
lookroom,andlines0f attenti0n
for the
two characters.
character
A is looking
towardframerightandcharacter
B is looking
towardframeleft.Anycoverage
singleshot,suchasa medium
shotcr a medrum
crose_
up shouldkeepthe characters
on the samesidesof the screenandlookrng
in their
appropriate
directions.
Thetwoshotswouldedittogether
(see
weJl Frgure
5.4)
However,
if oneof theshots,
perhaps
thesingle
shotof character
B,wasshottromthe
opposite
sideof theestablished
line,thenthatperson
woutct
atsoappear
t0 be look_
ingtowardframeright.crearly,
withbothpersons
iooking
rrghr,
theywourdappear
t0
be talkingt0
somethird,butunseen,
person
off-screen.
lt lustwoulci
notmakesense
to theaudience
whowouldonlybeableto accourlt
for thetwor;litiracters
Bothshots
mustcomefromtheinitialside,
alongthe180degree
arc,hulnr)vor
on{)Iromeachside

C
FIGURE
5.4 Shots
thatrespect
thelinetorpeople
w r l l c u tw e l l t o g e t h e S
r c r e ed
n i r e c t i ornsm a i n t a r n ef o
drc h a r
acter
A andcharacter
B

I
Select the Appropriate

Form of Edit

lf a cutdoesnotcreate
a successful
transition
two shots,
between
therrit is unlikely
thata dissolve
or a fadewill makeit successful.
An illegitimate
cutis no betterthan
anillegitimate
dissolve.
Depending
0nthepr0gram
edited,
it mightbepossible
t0 usea
"sticky"
wipeto makeaneditworkat anotherwise
cutp0int.lf a wipeis notapproprigenres
atefortheshowthenyouarebackto square
0ne.0f course,
different
of visual

--}-

it'
:*

mediacallfor different
treatments
at transitions.
Carefully
observe
howthingsare
done,replicate
themyourself,
andthentryto break
newground
through
experimentation.Youwillfind,attimes,
thatcertain
editswilliustn0tw0rk.
lf twoshotswillnotg0together
asa cut,thentheywillcertainly
notg0together
asa
dissolve.
Thisisbecause
either:
Theangleiswrong
Thecontinuity
iswrong
a

There
isnonewinformation

There
isnomotivation

WRONG SIDE OF LINE

o Theshotcomposition
iswrong
. There
isa combination
of theabove
.r11
'rrcF

There
isverylittleaneditor
candoto improve
this.

:
,

Forexample,
thelinehasbeenwrongly
crossed
as in Figure
5.5.0bviously
character
B is onthewrongsideof thepicture.
As a cutfromoneshotto theothertherewill be
jump.lt will jar theaudience
an obvious
visually.
The"technical"
interruption
of the
images
will alsothencause
a narrative
interruption
fortheviewerandit will notflow
smoothly
asintended
orneeded.
Clearly,
theeditasa cutwouldbeincorrect.

:
......-

;:.:
.t.:

c
r creed
n i r e c t i oens t a b l i s h e d
FIGURE
5 . 5 S h o t st h a td 0 n o tr e s p e ctth e l i n ef o r p e o p l ew i l l n o tc u tw e l lt o g e t h eS
t o r c h a r a c t eAr r sr e v e r s efdo rc h a r a c t eBr.

lf theeditorweret0 treatthistransition
theseshotsas a dissolve,
between
theedit
wouldbeas equally
for theviewer.
confusing
Firstbecause
thefacesof themanand
thewomanwouldsuperimpose
overoneanother
duringthe dissolve,
whichwould
makea viewer
wonder
if thisvisualtreatment
weresomehow
symbolic
of thecouples
play,
unionor perhaps
thereis somesupernatural
activity
at
andsoforth.Secondly,
it
wouldbeextremely
rareforan editort0 usea dissolve
during
anytraditionally
edited
back-and-forth
dialogue
scene thereis n0reason
forit. lt justdoesnotmakesense
youareemulating
unless
classical,
shot-in-the-studio
soap0pera
camera
switching.
lf an edit'should
bea cutandit failsasa cut,thenthefailure
mightbecompounded,
(see
evenmore,
asa dissolve Figure
5.6)

o f c o v e r a gseh o t s
FIGURE
5 . 6 T h ei n c o r r e ct rta m i n g
w i l l n o t w o r ka s a s t r a r g hcl u t a n d i t i s m a d em o r e
c o m 0 l i c a t ebdv t h ea d d i t i 0onf a d i s s o l v e .

1 0 6 G r a m m aorf t h eE d i t

The Better the Edit. the Less lt ls Noticed

Thisis theidealsituation.
A program
thatis well-edited
will resultin theeditsgoing
lf theeditsaren0tseen,thestoryflowsfrombeginning
unnoticed
bytheviewer.
to end
Sometimes
the editscanbe verypowerful,
merely
because
of the selection
of the
"seen"
shots.
Buttheywillstillnotbe
edited
andassuchwillhelpthevisLral
flow.This
istheworkof a creative
edrtor.
It is equally
truethatonebadeditcanruinan entiresequence
of shots.
Thegeneral
public(notincludrng
filmmakers
andthosefamiliar
withthetechnical
sideof motion
picture
is notlikelyto standup,pointat thescreen
creation)
andshout,"HeylThat
wasa lousyedit."Whatis morelikelyto happen
is muchmoresubtle
andalsomuch
moreinsidious.
Theaverage
viewer,
whenexperiencing
bad
will
a
edit, acknowledge
perhaps
the "glitch",
notconsciously,
butthatvisualor auditory
blipwill register
on
"not-quite-nght
"
theirbrains
as something
As theywatchtheprogram
afterthebad
edit,theirbrainmaystillbetryingto lustify
whatit hadearlier
experienced
at thebad
causing
issues
cut,therefore
withtheviewer's
abilityto absorb
thenewinformation
presented
afterthebadedit.
Bemember,
it is yourjob,astheeditor,
a program
thatwill bepleasing
to an
to create
picture
audience.
lf whatyoudois nott0 theirliking,
or presents
andsound
elements
beyond
theaccepted
filmgrammar,
theyhavetherightto rejectit. lf yourediting
style
fitsthecontent
of the"story"
thentheyaremuchmorelikelyto beaccepting
As many
people
(cutting
withthis"invisible"
areveryfamiliar
technique
of filmediting
thatdoes
youwillnotgowrongbyworking
notpurposefully
drawattenti0n
to itself),
in thisfashproud
you,
ion.Some
0f thebesteditsaretheonesthatn0onenotices
the
but
editor.

108 Grammar
oftheEdil

Editing ls Creating
in thecreative
chain
theeditoris oneof thelastpeople
in thebook,
As stated
earlier
job
picture
producti0n.
of theprolt is hisor her to craftthefinalversion
of a motion
provided
team.
bytheproduction
gramfromall theroughpicture
materials
andsound
to makesurethatthetypesof editsfall
responsibility
Furthermore,
it is theeditor's
genre.
grammar
lf theediting
stylefallsoutside
withintheaccepted
0f thepr0gram's
pr0gram
may
not
be well-received
thenthe
audience's
understanding,
thetraditional
maynotgetit.
andtheysimply
presented
practices
in thisbook,offer,to theneweditorthe
Thegeneral
andworking
startoutunderstanding
Everyone
should
forbasicprogram
editing.
rulesandguidelines
of play,
experimentaintotherealms
existandthenmoveforward
whytheseguidelines
experienced
Thereareverywell-known,
withtheeditingstyles.
tion,andinnovation
produced
the
results
in
breaking
very
have
creditable
who,withtheireditors,
directors
end.
haveevenusedthejumpcutto a creative
Somedirectors
fundamentals
of editing.
a
thepractices
to achieve
Breaking
sequence.
beenfor a special
Butthishasalways
whenaneditoris seeknearly
Certainly,
result
is validunder
allcircumstances.
special
practices
general
maybe
working
some
these
circumstances,
ingto achieve
special

s rI d i t o r s 1 m
C h a o t eFr r v e G e n e r aPl r a c t i c et o

End of Chapter

Five Reviernr

1. Usesound
creatively
to underscore
thevisual
it
andenhance
dataorsubvert
insomeclever
wayandyouwillprovide
theaudience
witha multi-sensory
expenence.
2. Keep
theviewerinterested
newvisual
in each
byproviding
orauralinformation
you
newshot edit.
foreacheditThere
3. Findthemotivation
should
bea reason
to leave
a shotat a
timeanda reason
t0 transition
intothebeginning
certain
of thenewshotat its
special
time
4. Observe
linebyediting
theaction
materialthat
holds
truet0 theestablished
linesof attention,
screen
direction,
andlinesof motion.
theappropriate
formof edit.Learn
whena cutordissolve
5. Select
orwipeis best
noneof themwillworktoyourliking
andknowthatsometimes
- thisisa compliment
6. Good
editing
oftengoesunnoticed
sobeproud
grammar
7. Learn
thebasicrulesandguidelines
andunderstand
of editing
andfilm
language,
to creatively
innovate
butbeprepared
whenyouknowhowandwhy.

ignored,
orsubverted.
changed,
practices
0f thefollowandworking
It is usually
bestto learnthesegeneralguidelines
"grammar"
- the
Butperfect
editconventions.
tryingto break
before
ingchapter
working
alone,
thegreatest
. Andif forthatreason
is notanendin itself
inggrammar
grammar.
practice
creativity
overrules
of allapplies.
effective

.c
o
E
o
lt

o
CL
G

()
o
It
c
gJ

Chapter Six
Working Practices
OUESTION: Do you have to memorize all of these working
practices?
ANSWER: No,butyoushould
at leastbe familiar
withthem.Whenoneof these
the
will
have
idea
howto handle
it.
situations
arises
on iobvou
a better about

practices
guidelines,
Working
arecommonly
accepted
or goodtips,for youto think
rulesto follow,while
aboutduringthedailyprocess
of editing.
Someofferspecific
youmayconsider
otherssimply
suggest
asyouwork.Youmaynot
somegoodhabits
job,butyoushould
encounter
theseprecise
onevery
beawarethattheyrnay
scenarios
comeup.Youwilllearnhowto recognize
themandyouwillfindwaysto dealwiththem
Theyhavebeendeveloped
appropriately.
overtimeandtheyhavebeenfoundto work
genres,
withinmanyediting
beviewed
styles
andwithindifferent
buteacheditshould
practices
withfresheyesandyouwill be leftto judgewhether
0r nottheseworking
thaty0uareediting.
applyto theproiect
you
As manyof themaredirectly
derived
fromthevastgrammar
of filmlanguage,
practices
you
wouldbewell-served
to notstraytoofarfromtheseworking
find
unless
veryg00dreasons
t0 d0s0.
It should
highly
benotedthatin today's
visualmediamarketplace,
thereis a multiplicprogramming,
ityof motion
image
Thevariety
forthe
offerings.
of television
webisodes
Internet,
newspackfilms,documentaries,
broadcast
commercials,
sho(films,feature
ages,andsoforthall require
theyareconsumed
by the
somedegree
of editingbefore
public.
youwillgrowto knowwhateachof
viewing
Asyouadvance
inyoureditrng
career
theseprogram
types
fortheirindividual
styles,
require
editorial
workflow
andestablished
practices
you
wrll
etc.Starting
withthefollowing
section
asa solidbase,
be
of working
"dos"and"don'ts
"
yourownlistofediting
ina goodposition
t0 fine-tune
andaugment
Finally,
therewill be caseswherean editorhasdoneeverything
right- thecorrect
- sothatin theory
typeof edit,thecorrect
thecutordissolve
elements
orwipeshould
work Butit doesnot.Oneof theskillsof an editoris to analyze
andfindoutwhythe
imperfect
Insucha case,it is possible
thattheanswer
editexists.
mayn0tbefoundin

w o r k t t l gp r i l ( ; t t ( j t lt S
t u, l t t t y t t u r0 w r t t ) x [ ) t ] l c t ) l r. cr r w t l l t r t ty o u r { r w r rr , l l r r r l 'r,r l l r r , r l, t n r i

e r r o r0 f c o u f s ei t,c o u l da l s ob e t l t a ta n a l r s w er n
r a yn o te v e n( ] x t s l r l r t r r r gsr r o la
perfect
cratt.Thereis always
roomforcreativity
anddiscovery,
andthatis thebeauty
of theprocess.
practices
forsomeof editing's
Explanations
working
arepresented
herein noparticular
orderof importance.
1. Avoidcutting
fromincorrectly
framed
headroomto a shotwithcorrect
head
room(ortheotherwayaround).
Reasons
Letusassume
thatthese
single
character
twoshotsarepart0f anestablished
(ormore)
person
Tocutfroma shotwithcorrectly
dialogue
scene.
head
framed
r00mto another
shotwithincorrectly
framed
headroomwilllookasif oneof the
hassuddenly
subjects
hisorherheight.
altered
Tocutfroma shotwithincorrectly
framed
headroomto a c0rrect
oneandback
again
willlookasif thefirstsubject
isbobbing
upanddown.
Solutions
Ihe incorrectly
framed
headroomshotisnearly
impossible
t0 correct.
video
Certain
packages
software
havetheability
editing
to resize
andreframe
thefootage,
but
quality
inthiscase,
enlarging
videoframes
rmage
cancause
to degrade.
Perhaps
someof thefootage
mightbeusable
forcut-aways,
if it isnottoobadly
framed.
lf thereisnotmorethanonetakeof thisaction
ordialogue
theentire
delivery,
shotmighthaveto berejected
andreplaced
is not
byanother,
evenif thespeaker
(0TS-2S)may
seent0 bespeaking.
Anover-the-shoulder
two-shot
bea solution.
Exceptions
Theexception
hereiswhenthetwoshotscuttogether
bothsufferfromthesame
badheadroomframing
if
0bviously,theheadroomis completely
wrong,
theshots
willnotlooktraditional,
butsince
mayn0tbeableto do
theeditor
muchaboutit,throwcaution
to thewindandgofortheshots
withthebest
pertormance
regardless
lf theperformance
isengaging
of headroom.
enough,
mostviewers
maynotevennotice
thedifferences
in framing.
2 Avoidshots
wherespurious
objects
appear
t0 betoocloseto thesubject's
head.
Reasons
Thisrs'aquestion
of shotcornposition
thathasfailedat theshooting
Asan
stage.
you
editor, willnotbeableto change
thisquestionably
The
composed
image.

s h e nc u t t i n gs h 0 t s0 t d r a l 0 g t lceo v e r a g e
o f h e a dr o o mi s s u e w
FIGURE
6.1 Beware

o
o
.9
o

background
etc.,intheshot's
signs,
objects,
shapes,
presence
lines,
of unwanted
6
Ina
result
lt
may
also
to theviewer
ordistracting
confusing
canberather
ool
sucha
at thattime.lf offered
bythefilmmakers
reaction
notwanted
c
humorous
shot,it is bestnotto useit if at allpossible
Solutions
was
rfsucha composition
0f course,
is nosolution
to thrsproblem.
really
There
foruse.
thenit wouldbeappropriate
doneintentionally
Exceptions
depth
of fieldandthe
Youmaybeableto usethisshotif it hasa veryshallow
outof focus
completely
(containing
isalmost
obiect)
theotfending
background
wheretheshotisseenonlyfor
useis ina fastmontage,
Theonlyotherpossible
of time
a vervsmallperiod

E
o
=

FIGURE
6.2 Poor
shotcomposition
is notthefaultof thee d a t 0br ,u tt h e u s e0 f t h e s es h o t si n t h e f i n a el d i td o e s
fallunder
herorhisdomain.

3. Avoidshotswherethesideedges0f theframecutoff people's

faces0r bodies.
Reasons
Thistypeof framing
maybeconsidered
aesthetically
unpleasing
bymany
who
wouldwatch,
butthatwouldnotbeyourfaultforyoudidnotshoot
thefootage
Attempting
(medium
to usecloser
shots
shots,
medium
close-up)
thathave
suchframing
willcause
complications
fortheedit.whenthepartial
faceof a
character
is in oneshotandthenthatsamefaceneedst0 becutto forthenext
shot,it willcause
a jumpcutorcertainly
problem
a continuity
withaction,
line
performance,
delivery,
0r screen
direction.
Solutions
Sometimes
theshotcanbeused,
butit depends
whatcomes
before
andwhat
comes
after.lt alsodepends
ontheduration
of theshot.
4. Cutmatched
shotsrather
thanunmatched
shots.
Reasons
shotsrecorded
witha similar
focallength
at a similar
distance
fromthesubject
and
under
similar
lighting
conditions
provrded
havea similar
depth
of field,
theshots
havea similar
shotcomposition
andcontent.
Asyouedittogether
a traditional

l i sk et h e s ec a nm a k ea s m 0 0 l he d i tt r r c k yT r yt o a v o r du s r n gt o o t a g et h a t
l c ec o m p o s i t i o n
FIGURE
6 . 3 P a r t r af a
c o n t a i nvsi s i b l ep o r t i o nosf f a c e su n l e s st h e ya r ep a r t0 f a p a no r d o l l yr n o v e

youwillmostlikelymoveinfromthewide
bewveen
twocharacters,
dialogue
scene
to
Thisallowstheaudience
t0 tighter
orover-the-shoulder
shots.
two-sh0t
singles
getmorefamiliar
thescene.
andtheiractions/reactions
during
withtheplayers
teamshotmatchrng
thattheproductron
filmgrammar
wouldsuggest
Established
(this
forthisscene isnotalways
thecase,
butlet
coverage
of eachcharacter
you
within
the
footage
are
we
have
that
much
accomplished
usassume
that
lt is possible
thatyoumayhavebeengiven
a variety
of shottypesfor
editing).
at
o
(medium
and
close-up,
close-up,
over-the-shoulder
shot,medium
eachcharacter
.9
frame
focus (,
matching
composition,
two-shot,
etc.).
Since
shots
oftenyieldsimilar
G
o.
likesto seetwosimilar
shots
cuttogether
as
depths,
andsoforth,anaudience
gl
lt creates
a coherency ,E
to twomismatched
shots
withinthesamescene.
opposed

whencutting
backandtorth
anda flowto thevisualimagery
ina landscape
having
a
1 of Figure
arestanding
ln overhead
6.4,twopeople
positions
1 andplacement
2 areaI a
fromplacement
Camera
conversation.
B.Boththe
fromeachsubject character
A andcharacter
distance
similar
(telephoto
lensangle
or longfocal
forexample,
at a narrow
shotsaretaken,
Whenthtsisthecase,
a medium
close-up.
length)and
boththeshotsareframing
roughly
thesamesizeIntheframeandbackgrounds
theeditor
willhavesubjects
getsto placeits
Theaudience
thatarebothoutof focust0 thesameextent.
onthespeaking
characters
alone.
attenti0n

I t tt t v e t l t e2i r,lrlit cr ; i t r l c lIt) 0 s t l t 0

lln
t rp l l l ; l r l c r7r ll r , l ;r . l r , r r r r l; lrr, ', 1
. l rr l
c O m p 0 s i tsi h0 on u lrde m a itnh es a m e a r n e d i ucml o s t ; . Ll lrt 1
r :tr r l r rlrrrll:l,r c
newcamera
set-up
2,thelensangle
willn0whaveto bewider(shorter
focal
length).
Inthiscasethebackground
maybeinfocus.
Consequently,
theeditor
"out
wouldbecutting
froma medium
close-up
withan
0f focus"
background
to a
medium
close-up
withan"infocus"
background.

"(

\a

Additionally,
plustheincluded
theperspective
oneachcharacter
fieldof viewof
background
elements
willnotmatch
Solutions
lf a selection
of goodshotsisavailable,
thenpreference
begiven
should
t0 those
quality
withsimilarity
in the
of thebackgrounds.
Exceptions
Theexception
to thepractice
iswherea wideanglemustbeusedto showa subject
movement
fromforeground
to background
ortheotherwayaround.
Generally,

A
V

withsrgnificant
light,thewiderthelensangleused,
available
themorethe
picture
(see
background
is infocus.
ln otherwords,
thedepthof fieldisgreater
diagrams
A in Figure
6.4).

"(

Medium
Lens Anglc

o
o
.9
C'
a!
g
ctt
Modarrta

Dcpth ot Ficld

p l a c e m e natn dl e n sa n g l e o f
FIGUBE
6 . 4 ( C o n t i n u e(dB))M a t c h r ncgo v e r a gqee n e r a t ebdy r e c i p r o c a t icnagm e r a
a i s t a n caen df o c a l e n g t h .
v i e w . ( C )M i s m a t c h i ncgo v e r a gdeu et 0 a l t e r e dc a m e r d
Narrow
Lens Angle

Wide
Lens Angle

pauses
unless
never
editouta performer's
drama
dialogue,
5. Whenediting
reOuested
t0 d0s0
Reasons
Lirger Oepth ol Fletd

A.
FIGURE
6 . 4 ( A )T h ed e p t ho f f i e l dc h a n g ews i t h f 0 c a l e n g r h

andthisis oneof themThe

a performance,
There
aresomethingsthatcandisrupt
in
impact
a
emotional
performer
thescript
to achievecertain
willhaverehearsed
wordsisjustasimportant
rightly
between
Actors
claimthatthespace
thescene.
(orbeats
tna
orpauses)
Toeditoutthesespaces
asthewordsthemselves.

E
o
3

ilE

{ll0tl(lloguo
0 r l l l ( l ( l t a l o ( l t t ( li i t l ( t l t i l t ( l c ,n t l t 0 w 0 r s t ( . ( t : i r .l l r r r r ) r r l ) l r t r l t l ( t f l l l ( l

0l tnescene.
Solutions
Accept
thepauses
asa guide
andusethemasa motivation.
Accept
thepauses
as
animportant
integrated
element
inthedialogue
andnotlustasa moment
when
is notspeaking.
someone
Exceptions
Theexceptions
areallto dowiththelackof time.Innews,documentary,
short-form
commercial,
programs,
andcurrent
affairs
wherethemaximum
amount
of visual
andverbal
information
mustbefittedintotheminimum
am0unt
of time,tne
pauses.
editor
maychoose
to editoutunnecessary
6 A reaction
shotseems
morenatural
durrng
a phrase
orsentence
thanat theend.
Reasons
Remember
thateachnewshotshould
convey
somenewinformation
to theviewing
just
audience.
During
a dialogue
scene, because
oneperson
isspeaking
doesnot
meanthattheyarealways
providing
newvisual
information
Tohelpkeepthe
audience
engaged,
it canbeuseful
to cutt0 something
newsuchasthereaction
shotof theothercharacter
listening.
Breaking
upa longlinedelivery
withthe
reaction
shots
of theOther
characte(s)
involved
inthescene
aswellastheirown
linedelivery
canprovide
a rhythm
t0 thescene,
lf youonlyshowoneperson
speaking,
thencutto theotherperson
speaking.
then
cutbackto thefirstperson
speaking
again,
andsoonandsoon,it willbecome
rathermonotonous
fortheviewer.
Solutions
Lookat andlisten
verycarefully
t0 thefootage
to finda motivation,
however
small,
to insert
a cut-away
of thelistener
reacting.
lf thecut-away
isclose
to theend
of thespeaker's
words,thenthecut-away
maybecome
thenextshotwherethe
second
character
willactually
speak
aswell Ihistypeof dialogue
editrng
with
picture
lapping
andcharacter
linedelivery
ismoreinteresting
to theaudience
because
it shows
communication
withbothactions
andreactions.

, r l rl r r r : , r1r r ' , r lrl"rrr r r r lr l r : i r v cl r ryr i ; ft lrtltt l t Cs t r o t t r e

l er rn o t i o ti tm
ap
l a cotn
y ea m o n o l o gdueel i v e r be ydo n es o l o
l l r cl r s l t r r r ,r r r rl r j r r r rArl.si tr rt l,r e rren a b
powerful
perlormance
letit ride.
irrrlividual
is
enough,
lt that
fora cutpoint.
/ Donotbetoobound
bydialogue
whenlooking
Reasons
formotivated
cutpoints
ln dralogue
footage,
therearetwomajorpossibrlltres
willtake
dialogue,
acti0n
andreaction
vision
andwords.
During
a two-person
placelf youonlycutwhenonecharacter's
thenit can
wordsarefinished,
predictable
istalking,
be
theotherwill
become
or boring.
Whileoneperson
provided
listening
thatfootage
wasshotbythe
andmayshowfacialreactions
production
reacti0ns
andcanbeusedasthe
team.
These
areveryimportant
"back
forthescene
motivation
forthe
andforth"editinq
Solutions
it iscommon
to record
theclose
of one
Infictronal
shots
narrative
shootrng,
performance
withanoff-screen
of thelinesforthe
character's
delivery
dialogue
thataneditor
willbeableto
m0ments
lt willbeduring
these
unseen
character.
possible
Also,it maybe
t0 lift someframes
findthereaction
shotsforcut-aways
"action"
wascalled,
orfromtheendafter
0utof thebeginning
of theshotbefore
"Cut,"if thetalentdidnotbreak
tooearly.
character
head"programming,
if notacialreaction
Indocumentary,
news,andother"talking
period,
thenthedirector
orproducer
isevident
during
thequestion
andanswer
noddy
of thelistener
haveshotwhatsomepeople
calla reaction
willhopefully
listener
a reacti0n
simulating
assafety
Noddies
areclose
shotsof the
coverage.
etc When
maybemovements
of thehead,
eyebrows,
to whatwas
said.A noddy
noddies
witha motivation,
theycanlookquitenatural,
arecutrntothedialogue
of artifice
in newsediting
buttheydotipthescales
they
information.
Forinstance,
to editoutpartsof verbal
Noddies
arealsouseful
thedurati0n
answer
orcoverforthe
canbeusedto reduce
of aninterviewee's
"ums"and"ahs"thatarernevitably
present
intheanswer
andedited
numerous
four
of a noddy
bearound
is nowrittenrule,buttheduration
should
out.There
tooquick
Anything
onthecircumstances.
seconds,
butcouldbelessdepending
(maybe
usedasa cut-away
shotmayseem
or less)
twoseconds
larring.

Exceptions

Exceptions

There
ire timeswhena single
character
doesthemajority
of thespeaking
in a
"carry"
lf theperformance
scene.
is powerful
enough
t0
thescene
thenb,,

There
willbenoother
Theexception
willbewhentheprimary
shotisa monologue.
present
inthescene
character
t0 useasa cut-away.

o
o
.9

(,
g
o.
o!
c

E
o
=

8 l t ta t l r r e ep e r s o tdt t a l t - r g Ln rt o) v, crr; r t ll t o r n , rl w o : ; l r r rl li r , r r r r r lrl r rw rr r , l r r r l

Reasons
lf offered
footage
of a three-person
gr0up
dialogue
scene
whichcontains
two-shots,
thenin alllikelihood
thecentral
character
willappear
t0 jumpfromonesr0e
of thescreen
t0 theother(seeFigure
6.5).
A shottakenfromcamera
posrtr0n
1 shows
(character
thecenter
person
B)ontheright-hand
sideof thescreen
withcharacter
A ontheleft.lf younowcutto another
two-sh0t
f romoosition
2,thenthisshotwillshowthesamecharacter
B onthelett-hand
sideof the
screen,
withcharacter
c ontheright-hand
jump
placement
side.Thisis a screen
cutforcharacter
B andcandisrupt
thevisual
flowof theshots
andconfuse
the
audience.
Solutions
Provided
thatothercoverage
shotsareavailable,
cutt0 a single
shotof a person
instead.
Forexample,
cutf roma two-shot
of characters
A andB to a medium

t tt r t e d i uctltot s e - uopl
r . l r r sr r :lr r lr | , r rr r1 r ' r i l r ,r c l v { l : j c ly o, un l i r yt ; u ltr t t t a
r : l r ; r r a rA; llro: ,r rl w o: ; l r ool l t ; l t l t r a c tBear sn dC
trioin between
bothof the
Youcould
als0cutbackouttoa wideshotof theentire
provided
thereisappropriate
continuity.
two-shots
Exceptions
t0 thrspractice.
There
aren0exceptions
thefullerthefacethebetter.
characters,
9 0n closeshots
of single
Reasons
whattypeof coverage
shotsarerecorded
As theeditoryoudonotgetto influence
production,
buty0ucanchoose
whichshotsmakeit intothefinaledit.lf
during
fora scene,
it
close-up,
or bigclose-up
shotsareall recorded
medium
close-up,
facemorefully
thecloser
shotsthatshowthesubject's
is o{tenbestto choose
points
onthestory
of course.
depending
is provided,
butif thefootage
and
Ihe angle
willbeoutof yourhands,
onaction
you
at thatmoment, maybewell-served
depending
onthestateof thenarrative
facein eithera frontal0rthreebyusingtheshotsthatshowthecharacter's
profile
quarter
Ihese
thana fullprofile
backangle.
rather
ora three-quarter
bythe
to beseenmorereadily
frontalangles
allowthefaceanditsfeatures
more
maythenconvey emotion
or any
Ihe face,opentoward
camera,
audience.
fortheviewer.
Thisalsokeeps
thecharacter's
eyesvisible
sortof reaction.
illustrate
if youweregiventhesetypesof
Thefollowing
whatmayhappen
examples
snOts.

2.Shot of A and I

Example 7 - Figure6.6
intoit.The
rings,
hepicks
it upandspeaks
A manissitting
A telephone
at a desk.
these
angle
A andcamera
angleB.Cuttrng
twopictures
areshotfromcamera
facewillbe
willnotproduce
a jumpcut,butthesubiect's
together
twoshots
he
will
Inaddition,
totally
bythetelephone.
anywords speaks
almost
covered
fromthe
andworsestill,anyreacti0n
0remOti0n
notbeseento bespOken,
willbealmost
hidden
subject
entirely

f t C U n f O . U T h r e ep e o p l ec o v e r e d
b y t w o t w o s h o t sw r l l r e s u l tI n a c o m p o s i t i g nj au lm pf o r c h a r a c t eBr f r o m
t r a m er i g h t o f r a m el e f ta t t h ec u tp o r n tI.n s t e a du,s ea n yo t h e rc o v e r a gte0
i 0 i nt 0 t h ei n i t i a tl w o , s h o t .

withthetelephone
in
realizes
theerrorandshoots
takes
Even
if thedirector
several
righthand(ontheopposite
theinformation
coming
sideof hishead),
thetalent's
dueto thefullprofileTheaudience
cannot
fromthrsangleisstillcompromised
really
see
what
of
really
sort facial
seeintothecharacter's
eyesandtheycannot
hemightbemaking
whilehespeaks
andlistens
expressions

o
o
.9

(,
|E

o
ctt
tr

\z

R
\\

Fml

;l

FIGURE
6 . 6 W h e t h etrh e p h o n ei s o n t h e n e a r0 r f a r s i d eo f t h ea c t o r ' h
s e a d t, h e p r o f i l es h o td e p r i v etsh e a u d i
e n c eo f k e yf a c r ailn f o r m a t i o n .

Therefore,
thiseditdeprives
theaudrence
of information.
Even
though
itwould
makea technically
g00dedit,it breaks
theflow0f thestory.
Youshould
lookfora
better
angle
onthecloser
shot.

/'ll

aca

FIGURE
6 . 7 T h et h r e eq u a r t efrr o n t a vl r e wo f t h e m a n ' sf a c ea l l o w st h e a u d i e n cteo s e eh i s e x p r e s s i ownh i l e
h e s p e a k so n t h e p h o n eH o w e v e kr ,e e p i n g
t h e c a m e r ai n t h e s a m ep l a c em a yc a u s ea j u m pw h e ny o uc u t t 0 t h e
r lose'up.

Example 2 - Figure6J
Inthisexample
bothshots
aretakenfromthesameposrtion.
Bychoosing
theclose
shotof a fullerface(thisisa three-quarter
profile),
thesubjects
emotions
and
reactions
canbemoreclearly
recognized.
3n

o
.9
(,

Cutting
these
twoshots
together
runstheriskof a jumpcut,because
thecamera
angle
of theclose-up
isthesameasthecamera
angle
of thelonger
shot.Thisis
sometimes
referred
to asa cut-in
oranaxispunch-in
because
thecamera
willbe

c
Et

.=

seejng
thesamesubject/objects
fromthesamecamera
angleandthedetailin the
tighter
shotwillsimply
bea magnification
ofthesame
viewfromthewidershot.
Therefore,
editing
thesetwoshotstogether
wouldtella bettervisualstory
(allowing
theaudience
to seefacialinformation),
butin technicalterms
it is less
jumpcutalong
acceptable
because
of a possible
thesamecamera
lensaxrs
Example3-Figure6.8
lf youareprovided
thefootage
asseenin Figure
6.8,thenyouwillhavelittlerssue
makipg
thisedit.There
is littlechance
of a jumpcutprovided
thereisappropriate
continuity
of action.

3
FIGURE
6 . 8 W h e nt h e p r o d u c t i otne a ma l t e r e dc a m e r aa n g l ea n d f o c a l e n g t hi,t m a d ey o u rl o b e a s r e tr0 c u t
t h e s et w o a p p r o p r i ast eh o t st o g e t h e r

(1)thecamera
reasons.
angle
forthefollowing
wrllcutwelltogether
Thetwoshots
fromthelongshot,s0thatthecutwill
different
shotis sufficiently
of thecloser
jump;(2)the
fullto camera,
s0thatallauraland
faceis relatively
not
subject's
(3)matching
themovement
facialreactrons
willbeseenbytheaudience;and

I
t ) l l l l t li l r r l l l l l l t t )w t ( j ( i sr i t o t( t r t t mA ) t o t l r cr n o v c t n r ) o
l )ll l l r r i r , r r r , l , r rlror rl r : , r r r r r

in thecloseshot(lrom
B)rsmucheasier
thanin tlreother[w(r[)rr)vr0us
cxarnples
Therefore,
thrscombination
tellsthevisual
storybetter
andistechnically
correct
10. Witha single
character,
tryt0 avoidcutting
to thesamecamera
angle
Reasons
MuchlikeExample
2 inworking
Practice
#9,therersa strong
chance
thata jump
cutwouldresultwhenyouedittwoshotstakenfromthesame0rextremery
(seethesixelements
similar
camera
angle
of thecutin chapter
Three).
This
relates
directly
practice
t0 thefilmshooting
known
asthe30degree
rulewhere
eachcoverage
shotof thesamesubject
orobject
ina scene
should
comefrom
thesamesideof theaxisof action
andbeat least30deqrees
different
in camera
placement
along
the180degree
shooting
arc.

E x a r n p1l e

Indiagram
1 of Figure
6.9,forexample,
cutting
f romthelongshotat camera
position
A intoa medium
close-up
at position
problems.
B wouldpresent
cutting

/^

\z

froma medium
close-up
to thelongshot,however,
is lessof a problem.

't

Solutions
It wouldbebetter
to cutt0 a shotof themedium
close-up
froma different
camera
provided
angle,
onewasactually
recorded
bytheproduction
team.

"l

Indiagram
2 of Figure
placement
6.9,camera
B hasmoved
to therightcreatrng
an
angle
onthetalentthatis m0rethree-quarter
frontal.
lf a shotfromthisposition
wereavailable,
thecutwould
bemoreinteresting
andtheriskof a lumpcut
reduced.

o
o
.9

(,
(E

ln thecasewhereanalternate
angleshotdoesnotexist,
thena cut-away
couldbe
usedto separate
thelongshotandthemedium
close-up
of thesame
character
onthesamelensaxis.Thiscut-away
(ofsomething
appropriate
t0 thescene)
willallowtheaudience
a visual
break
andthejumpcuteffectwillnotbe
experienced.
Thispractice
ismoreor lessacceptable,
if youcutinto thelong
shotfromthemedium
close-uo.
Exceptions
Oneexception
to thispractice
is whencutting
twoshotstogether
rhararevery
dissimilar
suchaswhena greatdistance
iscovered
between
thetwoshotsset
upalong
thesamelensaxis.0f course,
forcreative
reasons,
onecould
edita
"punching-in"
series'of
cut-ins
along
thesamelensaxisto achieve
a quick
closer
andcloser
effect.

F x a m p l2e

o.
ct)
c

t p t i o nt o r t h e c u t
FIGURE
6 . 9 E x a m p l1e s h o w sa c u t , i no r a n a x i a lp u n c h ' i nE x a m p l2c s h o w sa b e t t e rs h O o
A r r e wa n g l ea n df o c a l e n g t hh e l p .

eyesinframeaslongas
tryto keepthesubject's
the"rise,"
11. Whencutting
possible.
Reasons
position
withinthe
froma lowerto a higher
of a subject
Ihe riseisanymovement
sitsona parkbench
thesubject
theeditpointForexample,
frameandacross
Ihe action
editpointmayoccur
(firstshot)
shot).
andthengetsup(second
tOtalmOvement.
withintheactor's
anywhere

E
o

l l w o u l lrtl cr n t t s t ; t t l v r sl 0i rl tl tyl co k c i : lpl t c . t c l otry' sr, : r, r l. , rL, r ' , I r r ( l, r : ,

p o s s i brlnet h et i r sst h o tT h cs u b l e cct 'yse sa r et h en i i l r l , tl lo r , ,pr rl r r r9rltl l r r :
viewer's
attention.
Therefore,
theeyesshould
bein frarne
aslongaspossible
Thisisespecially
trueincloseshots
although
a riseona close-up
willoccur
very
quickly
duet0 themagnification
of theheadwithintheshotsframinq.
Solutions
A womanis seated
at a parkbench.
Theeditpointin shot1 willbewhenhereyes

I l r r sc;u tw o u l db e b e t t e rN o t r c et h a tt h ee v e .as r es t r l lr n t h el r a m er n t h ef r r s st h o t

approach
thetopof thescreen,
frame1B,cuning
to frame2Bin shot2 (see
Figure
Thismayseemonlya shortdistance,
6.'10).
butactuallv
thesubiect
leans
forward
before
rising.
Thishappens
naturally.
lf thesublect
s headisoffthescreen
whenthecutis made,f ramel C,thentheedit
"late."
willappear
to be
lf theeditor
cutsbefore
movement,
frame1A,s0thatall
themovement
isseenonthemedium
longshot,frame2A,thentheeditmaybe
deemed
an"early
cut"
Intheseexamples,
earlycutsarenotnormally
asdisturbing
aslatecutswatching
mostof theaction
(wider)shot
fromthesecond
isnotsowrong,
especially
if the
woman
cOntinues
upandoutof f rame.
However,
thelatecutexample
of shot
1candshot2c presents
theissue
of whattheaudience
getst0 l0okat durrng

N o wh e rh e a dh a sc l e a r e tdh et r a m et,h l sw o u l db e a l a t ei t u l
F l G U B E 6 . 1 0{ C o n t i n u e d )

thelastfewmoments
of shot1 Granted
thistransition
willoccur
relativery
quickly,
butoncetheentire
headclears
thetopof frame,
theaudrence
rsseekrng
somenewinformation.
lt wantsto seethecharacter's
faceaqainandwatchthe
continuous
action
ofthemove.
Exceptions
0neexception
to thispractice
iswhenthefirstshotiscloser
thana medium
closeup.lt is rather
difficult
to cutsmoothly
awayfroma close-up
orbigclose-up
ona
riseAnearlycutisalmost
inevitable
dueto thesizeof thefacewithintheframe
andlackof physical
space
fortheupward
movement.

where
of theclose-up
select
a version
in a close-up
of anaction,
12. Whenediting
is slower.
theaction
Reasons
is thesamespeed
asthatof thewidersh0t,thenthe
lf theaction
of theclose-up
fasterThrsis duetothe
seems
asseenontheclose-up,
speed
of theaction,
it isnowa largeoblect
framing
Srnce
withinthecloser
relative
sizeof theobject
framing.
Anyquick0reven
t0 mOve
withintheclose-up
it hasverylittlespace
"normal"
that
Youareh0plng
to happen
tooquickly.
mOvement
wouldappear
thisphenomenon
andgotsomeof theclose-up
theproduction
teamunderstood
movement.
takesat a slowerspeedof ob;ect

Thesetwo Stotscut t0gether,

but thereis no movement,
so rt rsnot 0n the rise
F I G U R6
E. 1 0 E x a m p l e0sf c u t t i n qo n r h er r s e

A of
thesubject
is picking
upa bookin thewideshot(seeimage
Forexample,
F i g u r6e. 1 1T
) .h ec l o s e - u( ipm a gBe) s h o wt sh eh a n da l s op r c k i nugpt h eb 0 0 k .
leaves
the
speed
andthebooknever
Theaction
onthelongshotis at normal
quickly.
So,if the
outof frame
very
shotthebookmoves
frame.
Butinthecloser
faster
it seems
is carried
outat thesamespeed,
action
close-up

o
o
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atl

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l ) r r yl

FIGURE
6 ' 1 1 B ea w a r eo f s p e e do f a c t r o nr nc l o s e sr h o t sO
. u r cm
k o v e m e nwti l l n o tm a t c ht h ew i o e rs n o r sa c r o s s
a n a c f ; 0 rerd i t .( A )S h o t1 i s a l o n gs h o t0 t a m a np i c k r nugpt h eb o o k{.B )S h o t2 i s a c l o s eL r ps h o w i n g
t h em a nw r t h
t h eb o o kr nh a n d

Solutions
Youhopethatthedirector
hasprovided
anadditional
close-up
witha slightly
slower
acti0n.
Theresult
0f editing
in theslower
versi0n
willappear
morenatural.
Exceptions
Thispractice
doesnotapplyt0 shotsof moving
machinery.
13 Prefer
a tracking
shotto a zoorn.
Reasons
Thrs
goesbacktowhenthezoomlens(asingle
debate
lensbarrelwith
multi-focal
length
capabilitres)
wasfirstintroduced
to themotton
picture
market.
Many
argue
thata z00m
hasa veryunnatural
effectdueto itsmagnification
of distant
oblects
lt hasnochange
(or
in perspective,
sothatthehorizon fardrstancel
ano
themrddle
distance
willcometoward
y0uat thesamespeed
asanyobjects
in
theforegr0und.
Asoureyesdonotzoom,
thelensmovement
wrllseemunnatural
andcanbreak
thevisual
flow.

s i l l a l t e r p e r s p e c t i v eosn t h e h l m s p a c e e, s p e c i a l ltyh e B a c k g r o u n(dA. C i

F I G U R E6 . 1 2 Z o o mm o v e m e n tw
I x a m p l e1 - r 0 0 mm o v e m e n(tD. - F )E x a m p l2e d o l l ym o v e m e n t

provided
movement
it contains
at thesametimewhichhelpsto
another
camera
camouflage
thezoom

lf youareediting
a drama
andy0uareoffered
a choice
between
a zoomcovering
the
action
anda dollytracking
shot(sometimes
called
a truckinora pushin),tryto
avoidusingthezoom.
A track0ntheotherhandis a natural
movement
thatwill
havea perspective
change
andiscloser
t0whatourrrormal
vision
wouldproduce.

Examples
. Iilt witha zoom

0f course,
if a filmmaker
hasit in hisorherheadthata zoom
isthetechnique
they
wishto explore
fora certain
shot,orshots
withina scene,
theninalllikelihood
therewillbenoaccompanying
dollyshots
thatachieve
goals.
similar
Asthe
"gun
editor,
oftenlusta
forhire"youwilleditinwhatever
theproducers
want.

. Dollycrabwitha zoom

Thetwosequences
of shotsin Figure
6.12showthedifference
between
thezoom
andthedollytracking
shot
It isalsoa common
practice
forfilmmakers
to combine
lensandcamera
supporr
movement
wrthina complex
shot.A shotcontaining
a zoommaybeused

r Panwitha zoom
. Pedestal
orboomelevatron
witha zoom,
etc
Exceptions
i.e.,whenit is so
Theonlyotherexample
0f theuseof a zoomiswhenit "creeps,"
you
longtakes
it
zooms
durtng
Slow
slowthat actually
donotrealizeisa zoom.
willevolve
thecomposition
overa longer
of slowaction
ordialogue-driven
shots
will
rnframing
thata viewer
timeandthesubtle
happen
sogradually
changes
this
t0 theactors,
etc.Asaneditor,
mostlikelynotnotrce
astheypayattenti0n

ah

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t y p t rl l l s l l t l w
t t l l l t t :t t t l i t l r v ccl y, r s yl o r . l r ll ) l o l l r r p
; r o r l , r r r1r r L , r I r r l y ,1 r r r r l

upwtthotlterreaction
shotsasrtecessary
because
tlrezoorrr
wrlllrt:r;ostowlrat
cutting
0nthelensmovemenl
wilimostlikely
notbenoticed.
A zoominTVnewsorother"reality"
typepr0gramming
is another
exception
asrhey
aremoreaccepted
withinthosegenres.
0bvrously
a detailof thecontent
rsthe
motivation
to makethezoom.

I x < ; e ;) l r () rr , ,
l l r l r , r rlrx r , l y r l r rt rl rl 'l ,t, ,, r r rw l t c rl rl r a r ;oku tl t r e c e daensa r r a t il vuem pt n
Irmc,lor;alrorr,
or lorll)0,
rrrwlrere
thetrackoutrsthepenultimate
0t the
shOt
production
partly
used
asa background
forsuperimposed
endcredits.
llr Whenedrtrng
in a panora dollycrabmove,
usethebestversion
thatis smooth,
welltrmed,
movement
andleads
thesubiect's

Inaddition,
a zoomina shotwithout
anydiscernible
background,
e.g.,a whitewall
orsky,wouldbeacceptable.

Reasons

14. Beware
of shots
thattrackoutwithout
motivation

{)ollymoves
andevenpanning
shotsthatfollowtalentmovement
areoftenrather
production.
to record
variables
drfficult
during
Several
anddifferent
crew
plustalent,
members,
areinvolved
intheircreation
andit iseasyforthings
to not

Reasons
A dollytrackout(truckout,orpullout)canoftensignal
theendof a sequence
0ra scene,
andtherefore
mayprecede
either
a dissolve
ora cutto another
scene
0revena fadeto black.
lf nocharacter
orobject
movement
comes
toward
thecamera
initiating
thetrackout(backwards),
thenthecamera
takes
ona
conscience
of itsown.Theaudience
maynotbeaccustomed
t0 thecamera
suddenly
moving
asif it weremotivated
byitsownthoughts
ordesires
andthis
maycausesomedisturbance
in theirviewing
associations.
Solutions
Themotrvation
forthetrackoutwrllusually
berncluded
rntheshotInthecase
wherenomotivation
isevident,
or wheremotivation
doesnotexistin the
previous
shot,thetrackoutshould
betreated
wrthextreme
caution.

*-,'-tq)
%
o
o
I
I

v
T
f

.rtr,S
q)
D
o
I
I

shotwillbeunimpressed
experience
willbecompromised.
andtheviewing
Solutions
Again,
aneditor
cannot
change
thequality
of theshotsthatheorsheisgiven,
but
presented
mustworkwiththematerial
theeditor
asbestaspossible
Seekout
thebesttakesthatareavailable
forsucha shotlf there
thatmeetthecriteria
area number
of takes,
a shotshould
beselected
wherethecamera
has"led
(seeFrgure
thesubject"
6 14),i.e.,wherethereis moreframespace
before
thesublect
thanbehind,
hasgoodfocusthroughout,
withgood
andis smooth
(meanrng
pacing
n0ttoofastandn0tt00slow;andrfyouhavet0 err0noneside,
too
fast
choose
overtooslow;youdonotwishto boretheaudience)
Exceptions
Theexceptions
maybefoundinfast-paced
t0 thispractice
action
shots,0r
even
"jerky"
handheld
cinma
veritestyleshooting
wheretheslightly
camera
addsto
a sense
of immediacy,
danger,
orreality.

U
t

member
watching
move,
in the
a bumpy
a badcomposition,0r
a blurry
moment

T
U
C
k

quiteflowasintended.
Whenreviewing
thetakesof complex
ordeveloping
shots
likethese,
watchfortheonewithsmooth
movement,
lead
camera
adequate
proper
roomforthesubject's
movement,
focus,
andgoodpacing.
Anaudience

u
t

tIGURE
6.13 Userruck
ould 0 l l ys h o t st h a ta r em 0 t i v a t ewdi t h c h a r a c t eorr o b j e c rt n o v e m e n t

FIGURE
6 . 1 4 S e l e clth e c r a bd o l l vs h o t st h a tp r o v i daem o l cl e a dr o o ml o r t a l e n m
t ovement

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o
()

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o.
Elt
tr

E
o
3

*r
1 t i [ S e gar r r e
d n r*l t t ; hp a l ,l r l l r, l rr i o l lsyl r oot n , ts l ; t l rl r ., r r r r
Reasons

w(tll l t ni t p a t td,o l l cy r a bo,rt r u c kn,e v ecru t

I I l l l l r r r r r l rt 'l ,r{ r r' , r l , l r| , (, r { r r n o v n
ol llrr l;irrrrc
rftheyarethenstationary.
l0 il sliilrr;
r;lrrrl
rrLtlccts
orsubjects

Cutting
intoa shotthatisalready
in motion
cancause
thejumpcuteffect
withintlrc
mindof theviewer.
cutting
awayfroma shotthatis in motion
to a staticshot
canalsobejarring,
butit maybemoreacceptable
if thenarrative
callsforsuch
an"applying
of thebrakes"
treatment.

movement
willappear
asa jumpt0 theeye.
A cutfromor intoa camera
or pedestal
in shot2 will
in movement
inshot1 butwhois stationary
Anobject
orsubject
intimeora discontinuous
action.
asa yump
appear

Solutions

Solutions

Theproduction
provide
teamshould
footage
of pan,tilt,anddollyshots
thatbegin
witha staticframe,
movefortheduration
of action,
andthenendona staticframe
Thisisnotalways
thecase,
youwouldhopeforthisscenario
butasaneditor

inthe
whoismoving
withina dollymove(Figure
6.16)
Take,
forexample,
a subyect
butonlywhen
t0cutto a staticshotofthesubject,
ofthecrab.lt is possible
direction
timepriort0thecut.Thedollyof
theframefora reasonable
thesubject
hascleared
shot
staticmedium
bestaticpriorto thecutt0 thesimple
complex
shot1 should

lf shot1 isa static,

simple
shotandyouwishto cutt0 thecomplex
moving
shot
(shot2),thenyoushould
keeprhose
sratic
frames
at theheadof shot2.This
youto cutfromstaticframes
allows
to staticframes.
Theaudience
willtreatthis
"invisible"
asan
editbecause
theyareaccustomed
to seeinq
staticshotscutt0
staticshots.
At theendof complex
shot2,afterthetilt,pan,ordollymove,
y0uwillneedto finish
thatsh0tonthestatic
frames.
Youmaythencutto shot3,thenextstatrc
sn0t.
Thisagainprovides
aninvisible
for
edit theaudience statict0 static.
Exceptions
lf youdecide
to string
several
complex
movement
perhaps
shotstogether,
in an
action
sequence,
thenyouwillnotbecutting
statict0 staticbutmoving
to
pace
moving
to keepthe
going.
of theaction
0nethingtowatchoutforin
thisscenario,
however,
isthespeed
of thecamera
movement
andthesublecr
mOvement
withintheshotsyouarecutting
together.
lf thespeeds
aren0t
matching,
orat leastsimilar,
thiscancause
visual
interru0tions
to theflowof
images
andtheaudience
maybeturned
off.

Reasons

int0andoutof
howto handle
cutting
is muchdebate
around
Specialnote:There
isdonotdoit at leastwhile
theaccepted
answer
moving
shots.
Generally,
youarestilllearning
thecraft.
"finish
inthe
forthis.Firstistheadvice
orcleartheaction
There
aretworeasons
panordollyis likely
theperfect
outof theshot."Secondly,
shotbefore
cutting
havea begtnning
likea developing
shot,it should
shot.Assuch,
to bea complex
(thepanwithanother
(theinitial
tiltorzoom),
movement,
a middle
staticframe),
(the
andanend finalstaticframe)
is not
wherethecamera
forthecutisonthestaticf rame,
Theoreferred
olace
maybe.
moving,
thesubject
eventhough
is no
thesublect
thesubject
stops,
and/or
thecamera
stops,
and/or
So,unless
is
if thissubject
nott0 cutto thesamesubject,
longer
inframe,
thenit is better
ry.
stationa
Exceptions

maybeoverruled.
Depending
onthe
wherethisguideline
There
aremanyscenarios
pr0gram
pacing
the
footage,
and
the
scene
cut,
involved,
the
type,
the
of
material
youmaychoose
andstationary
withcutting
intoandoutof actron
to experiment
in proving
to yourself
thatitlustdoesnotlook
Mostlikelyyou
willsucceed
shots.

.g

El

orfeelright
line.Donotcrossit or
moving
in a direction
haveanaction
18. 0b1ects,
likepeople,
is reversed.
thedirectron
,,0Uffi U.ri Static
starlframes
tn dollyshot2 willhelpcreate
anInvrsible
cuttrgmthestatrc
endtrameot
shot1

a
o
.9
o
(g

Reasons
Five.
theaction
linein Chapter
Practices:
0bserve
Refer
to thesection
General

o
=

fr
I r r r i r , r r ; r ,i rIrl r Irr L l r r tr , i I

| , r l l v | y (ljrrc l l t i l t t v cl tso x e l: t^o t tltr a m el e l tt Ot f a t n e

2
r r t l l r, li : ;: , c i r l r r n ( . , i l l u ( lrr o s i t i oAt t T h es h o tr t s e lifs s h o w ni n r m a g e
n ( o v e r h e addi a g r a m1 ) ,t h e n
l l l h e l i n ei s c r o s s e rij c, , t a k e nf r o mc a m e r ap o s i t i o B
l h e b e l ta p p e a rtso b e m o v i n gt h e b o x e sf r o mr r g h t o l e f t( i m a g e3 ) .

Solutions
the
between
fromonesideof thelineonly,0r
usea suitable
cut-away
Select
shots
notshowing
A close-up
of partof themachinery
shotsif thelinemustbecrossed.
programming
you
wouldbesuitable
Indocumentary
orreality
thebeltmovement
alsousea wipeto getfromonesrdeof thebeltt0 theother.
could
weret0 movef romonesideof thebeltto theotherduring
if thecamera
0bviously,
theshot,a jumpcutwillnotappear,
butthedirectron
of thebeltisstillreversed.
ofthesamepeople.
editfroma two-shot
toanother
two-shot
19. Avoid
cutting
anaction
Reasons
actors
areinvolved
nearperfect
continuity.
0ncetwomoving
Anaction
editrequires
fortheeditor
t0 match
both
thatmuchmoredifficult
intheshot,it becomes
movement.
characters
Solutions
FIGURE
6 ' 1 6 A i l o wt h ed o l l ya c r r o ra r r dc h a r a c t er n
r O v e m etn0tl r n r s h
b e t o r ec u t t r n q
t 0 a s l a t i cs h o t0 t t h es a m e
s l a lr o n a rcyh a r a c l e r

fo

shotof oneof thetwocharacters,

cutto a closer
Whencutting
outof thetwo-shot,
possibly
cutto a verylongshotif tt extsts
cutt0 someformof reaction
shot,or
parties
fOrallconcerned
wouldbe
thetootage.
Trying
to match
theaction
among
if youwentforanother
twoshotfroma different
angle.
difficult
Exceptions

. . . " " - l l

T
'll-l--l
lJluuull

nil

le

is
including
ttgures,
thetwoaction
A muchwidershotof theentire
environment,
forth.
Any
event
bodymovements
andso
morelikely
t0 hideanyincongruous
thisissue
since
action
should
multiple
cameras
mayalsoalleviate
shotwith
match
across
a multi-camera
edit
be
together,
theheadshots
should
20. Whencutting
a telephone
conversation
looking
in different
directions
Reasons

ttcUnf o.ri llremachinery

establrshes
a movement
anda screen
drrectron
S h o o l r nlgr o mt l t eo p p o s r rser d eo t
theinitial
180degree
lrnewould
reverse
theflow.

overthe
filmgrammar
indicates
thatthecharacters,
speaking
Traditionally,
the
locations,
willbecomposed
s0theylookacross
telephone
fromtwoseparate
theideain theviewer's
frame,
sides.
Thiswillgenerate
andfromopposite
empty
asyoucutfrom
across
thescreen
mindthattheyare"addressing"
oneanother
onesingle
shotto thenextandbackagain.

o
o
.9
o
G

o.
Et

.=
t
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=

fr

l o c a t r o nssh o u l db e I r e a t e da Sl l t h e Y
I I G U R E6 . 1 9 l e l e p h o r rrei r o l o q uceo v e r a goel f w o p e r s o n isn s e p a r a l e
l o o kr o o ms h o u l db e
L r I r c rl h
1 es a r i l et r l m. p u . , ,n, n , i* a , . , p . J k i n gt 0 0 r l ea r l 0 t h el r lp e r s . nP r o p etrr a m r naqn d
, | n t n l l r l )s h 0 t s

\o
(rit

Cu to
edrls
s ctr0n
F I G U R6
E. 2 0 S c r e edni r e c t r osnh o u l db e m a i n t a r n eadc r o s a

Exceptions
practice.
lf oneperson
thrsworking
to change
reasons
maybegooddramatic
There
of the
thenthedirectron
thecamera,
toward
isshotwithhisorherbackdrrectly
allowsrt
if thefootage
person
maybechanged
Other
character
edrt,theSame
exitsf rameleft,then,foranaction
21 ll acharacter
enterthenextshotframeright
should
at,

Reasons

o
.9
(,

withintheaccepted |!
0rperson
oblect,
thing,
practice
foranymoving
Thisisa verybasic
tr
must
thetransition,
qt
evenacr0SS
direction,
of screen
Thecontinuity
frlmgrammar
tr
of leftandrightwithinthefilmspace
ihedirections
E
lt helpsestablish
beconstant
landscape.
withinthrsfictional
properly
oriented
Iheaudience
andkeeps
l o n gs h o l
t e d i u ml o n gs h o tt o a r r yo t h e rc o v e r a qsel t o tb u ta n o t h enr r e d i t r m
6 . 1 8 C u tt r o mt h ef r r s m
FIGURE

Solutions
to youfor
beprovided
should
direction
screen
withproper
coverage
Theappropriate
then
maintained,
direction
screen
theedit.lf youdonotgettheshotwrthprOper
in between
shotto place
cut-away
youhadbetter
seeka drverting

Solutions
wasdonein sucha fashion
forthisscene
of thefootage
Hopethatthecomposition
you
youhavesince cannot
alterthesubJect's
material
editwhatever
0thdrwise,
withrn
theframe
olacement

Exceptions
are:
to thispractice
I heexceptions
0nscreen
. Thedirection
seent0change
is actually

l h e r ei s a s u g g e s t ctd; h a t t gocl t j t t u t ; l t oo tl t s ( i t r ) { fl 1
l ; l l 1 1r yl lyyr, r r l , t w , r y

o T h ec h a n goef d i r e c t i oi snc a u s ebdyt l r ec u t - a w a( rye , r nl l r cl r , r r r r rnt cuiul s e ,

running
inonedirection,
theghost,
seeing
thenrunning
theopposrte
way)
placement
22. Beware
0f screen
issues
withan"obiect
0f interest."
Reasons
Even
though
thehuman
subjects
areonthecorrect
sidesof thescreen
inthe
cOverage
shots,
theaudience
willhaveanadditionalvisual
reference,
sometimes
theobject
called
of interest
0rthep0intof interest.
Forexample,
(shot1)shows
a two-shot
of a manandwoman
a painting
thatis
framed
center
screen.
Cutting
to theman(shot2)willshowthepainting
screen
(shot3),theobject
left.Cutting
nowto thewoman
of interesr
has
{thepainting)
to screen
right.Even
though
Iheeditistechnically
thepointof
c0rrect,
lumped
jumps,
interest
andthisisvisually
disturbing.

sh
pots.
/ ' . 1 ( i r v r :,,,rvr l r ' , l r r ,t r ' r ) r r , r ,I o s s r l rlltrt t t tar s e r i eosf c l o s e - u
Reasons
especially
of a scene,
to f0rget
theexactlocation
It isveryeasyforanaudience
production.
closemedium
Aitera series
of medium
shots,
during
a fast-moving
"out
particularly
of focus"
backgrounds,
thosewith
shots,
ups,andclose-up
to
lf youchoose
location.
important
to re-establish
thescene's
it becomes
you
wellto
show
close-up,
then
would
do
introduce
of characters,
allin
a series
grouped
together
inthewideshot.
themallagain
Solutions
- unless
thereis a
withonlyclose-ups
sequence
edrtrng
anentire
Becareful
abOut
needto doso
to eachotherand
therelationshrp
of thesubjects
Even
oneshortlongshot,showing
grounding
givesa muchbetter
t0 thescene.
t0 theirsurroundings,

Solutions

Exceptions

Where
anobject
of interest
isevident,
either
keepit ln thesameareaof frame,
or
select
theshotsthateither
eliminate
it altogether
byselecting
closer
shotsof
(shot4).
oneorotherof thesubiects

totheaudience
iswell-known
0rscene
iswhere
thelocation
Theexception
t0thispractice

Exceptions
Anexception
practrce
to thisworking
rswheretheoblect
of interest
issosmarr
as
to benegligible,
whereit isfarinthebackground,
or if it isoutof focus.
Another
iswheretheobject
partially
of interest
is covered,
0rtotally,
byaction.

ornewsubiect,
editrna closeshotof it
of a newcharacter
24. 0n thefirstentrance
Reasons
orsubject.
andthisrnaybethefirst
Theaudience
willnotknowthenewcharacter
needs
to absorb
a newtaceand
has
The
audience
been
seen.
timethecharacter
a dog,a robot,
andsoforth
Thismaybea person,
newcharacteristics.

o
o
.9
C)

L
El

E
o
=

FIGURE
6 . 2 1 M u c hl i k ea p e r s o nc a n" 1 u m ps" i d e so f t r a m er n a " b a c ka n d t o r t h "c l r a l o g uoeb, l e c t s0 f i n t e r e s l
c a nd o t h es a m et h i n g l r y t o k e e pt o c l o s esr h o t st o h i d er h eo b l e cltu m p i n q

FIGURE
s f c l o s e sr h o t st t m a Vb e h e l o l Ltrol s h 0 wa w r d es h 0 lt 0 r e e s l a b l r stllrr es c e n ei l r t h e
6 . 2 2 A t t e ra s e r r e o
v r e w esr m r n 0

'tl
A l t l t l qs l l o tw i l l t l r t l ys l t t t wl l r t t ; l t i t t t t t ;0l ur st u l ) l c (ri rl r r c l , r l r o r , l r r l r l r r r r' ;l rl rr rt rr l r : r ; l s

andto thelocation,
buta newcharacter
needs
to beslrowrr
r;lot'cr
lo lrc
identified.
Solutions
Editina closer
shotof thecharacter
at theearliest
0pp0rtunity.
Thisalsoapplies
if thecharacter
isnotnewbuthasnotbeenseenforsometime.Suooort
the
audience
byreminding
themof events
andpeople.
Exceptions
Theobvious
exceptions
arewhenthecharacter
isanextraorisa "bit"player
or
needs
purposes.
to bekeptsecret
fornarrative
25. Whenediting
a newscene
withnewbackgrounds,
showanestablishing
shotat
t h ee a r l i e os p
t portunity
Reasons
Theaudience
really
likesto knownotonlywhatis happening
in a newscene,
but
whereit ishappening.
Some
formof geography
is required
to establish
intheminds
of theaudience
the
relationship
of subjects
to theenvironment
thatsurrounds
them.
Inshort,
some
formofwideshot,forexample,
a longshot,a verylongshot,oran
extreme
longshot,
willbehelpful.
Thiswideshotshould
serve
a number
of
purposes
give
geography
suchasto
some
0f thescene,
to showtimeof dayor
season
ofyear,
t0 establish
therelationship
of thecharacte(s)
to thesurroundings,
and/or
to establish
a general
impression
ofmovement
of thesubjects
Exceptions
if noexterior
0bviously,
establishing
shotwasrecorded
thenyouwillnothaveit
to editit inat thebeginning
of thenewscene.
Youmayalsoopt,forcreative

,,0Uffi U.ri Appease

andinform
theaudrence
byshowing
thema closer
shotof a newcharacrer
enrennq
a
scene

'

trl

l r { l ; o n lrr, r,r r r l | , r ! ' ! , rr ' , 1r l r l i : , l t t t t t 1t t:t;tltt;ttttttlt,t l l it t tt 0 t l t es c e t tpee, r h a p s

l a c ka n d
du lb
. h e yn o uc o u l p
r r ,r ri ; l o r ;rcr l:r, l r l rl l r , t r r rrnr l c t t t e t t t w itthheisl te t T
wouldstress
audio
Thismethod
of thescene.
slrowa wrticrslrotol tlrelocation
you
grounding
new
viewer
in
the
the
while are
imagery
arnbience
overexterior
fora refreshing
change.
location,
andmakes
t0 a close-up
of the
making
editfroma longshotof a character
26 Avoid
anaction
samecharacter.
Reasons
the
orunless
effectis required
unless
a shock
It isa lumpcutt0 beavoided,
in theIongshot
andidentifiable
is recognizable
character
Example
upto a
a manwalking
schematic
shows
1 of Figure
Inexample
6 25,theoverhead
hts
key.In
it
with
to
unlock
thecardoor
carin a verylongshot.Hestopsbeside
1 of Figure
6.25.
it maylookasit doesin Example
twoshots,
andthevisual
It willcuttogethel
butit istoomuchof a lumpt0 theeyes,
havetheothermanand
or "Where
reaction
maybe,"Whoisthisnewman?,"
well-known
areextremely
andvehicle
thischaracter
thecargone?"
Unless
flowandistherefore
thevisual
thiseditcanbreak
to theviewing
audience,
unacceptable.
2:(1)thelongshotto
asshowninexample
It wouldbebetter
to usethreeshots
(2)themedium
angle;
and(3)nowthathe
longshotat a different
setthescene;
of
shot.Theresult
is readily
identified,
backto thefirstangleandthecl0se-up
floweasier
thetwoshotsis to makethescene
having
theextrashotin between
andwhatheisdoing.
knows
wherethemanisgoing
Nowtheaudience

o
o
.9
o
o
o.
g)

.g

o
=

s t a n e wl o c a t i ocr la nh e l pg r o u n dt h e a u d i
FIGURE
6 . 2 4 U s i n ga w i d e rs h o tt o o p e na n e ws e q u e n coef s c e n e a
e u c hn e e d e d
i n f o r m a t i owni t h o n ei m a g e
e n c ea n dp r o v i d m

.l

l l r ' \ i , r , t l | r l l rl l

i l

r I I I l l l l w r r l w l l r, rc u l l o l u l lp t t t ; t t r t c

[]casolrs

W i d es h o tf r o mC a m e rA
a

it isan
filmproductron
A r.rrl
lo lrl;rr.k
rs;iviiry:icroLrs
stiltr.'menl
innarrative
Since
prcture
it carries
totullblack
wrthit a verydramatic
ill)rrrpt
chanqe
0vertrorrvisible
Inthe
toa new,fullpicture.
whenyoucutstraight
0ut0tthatblack
weiqht,
especially
was
followed
filmedrtrng,
a cutt0 black,
bya cutto picture,
daysof actual
emulsi0n
"missing"
plnt
from
the
work
current
ottenunderstood
to meanthata shotwas
Solutions

andthestart0t
Ilrepossible
tortheertdof a sequence
0rscene
combinations
another
are

Examp1
le
t i l o s gu p5 l r oat l s ol r n mC . r r - n r s , {

r Cutto nextprcture
r Dissolve
to nextpicture
. F a d teo b l a c kf a, d eu pl o p i c t u r e
. C u t ob l a c k , l a d
ue
pt o p i c t u r e
. F a d leo b l a c kc,u tt o p i c t u r e
Exceptions
pr0grams,
0rtwo
is usedt0 break
twoentire
Thecutto black
andcutto picture
productions
effect
itemsfromeachother,
0rfora verydramatic
ortwocomplete
track
trackcanleadthevisual
tltesound
2B At thestartof a pr0gram,

S h o t1 -

W i d es h o tt r o mA

is dead,
without
a picture
without
sound
butsound
claimthata picture
Some
editors
e i)l,l
g es o u n d( sp o s s i bml yu s iac n da m b i e n cw
i sn o tA na u d i e n cuep,o nh e a r i nt h
aboutit
theykn0wanything
to imagine
whatishappening
evenbefore
begin
themulttthencorne
onthescreen,
Thermagrnation
rstrrggered
Astheptctures

"l
SHOTS

Reasons

\
'HOT
S h o t2 *

M e d i u ml o n gs h o tf r o mB

1&3

experence
begrns.
sensory
practice
isandwhattheopening
this
depends
uponwhatthesound
0bvrously
p i c t u r ea sr ei nt h ep r o g r a m .
Exceptions

E x a m p 2l e

thepicture
ts
where
Inshortform(30to 60seconds)televisron
advertisements,
fortimereasons.
onscreen
asearlyaspossible
obvrously
29. Fortheendof a program,
usetheendof themusic
Reasons
S h o t3

C l o s eu J rt r o n A
r

FIGURE
6 . 2 5 l f t h 0c o v e r a ghea sb e e rpt r o v i d e dy ,0 um a yf i n di t n e c e s s a troy c u t n t l t em e d r u rlno n gs h 0 t0 f t h e
c h a r a c t ecrl 0 s etr0 t h i lv e h i c l e
s o t h ea u d i e n cteo l l o w sa l o n qw i t ht h i ss e r r eos l l r r : l r 0rr:rr l s

passages,
verses,
nature,
rsdivided
upintodifferent
Music,
of whatever
usually
willbean
Partof thisstructure
structure
arrdwillhavea distinct
orsegments

o
o
.9
o
G

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E)

E
o
=

t l l l ( j l l l0gl c l l l l l a xI l t t sc l t t t t i tsxl r o L t li rdt ;u s c r tj o r n i r l r .l ll rr r r r r i l J i (l L r r r , l l w r r r r l i i

r llr),'r, rl,rrrr, n , r s { ; c tllttt}rg r e a t ei sr nt p a c t .

, . i 1[ ] : ; r r r . l r r ' , lrI, u

beconfusing
to showthefinalpictures
ofa progrant
wrtlrirn0l)cnnrl
nlusrgal
passage.
Theyjustwouldnotmatch.

Reasons

Solutions
Themusic
should
bebacktimedto finditsc0rrect
startp0intrelative
to thevisuals
of thesequence.
lf thetimingiscorrect,
thelastbarsof themusical
pieceshould
match
thefinalshots
of thesequence.
Thisisespecially
trueat theendot a
pr0gram
whenthelastbarof themusic
equates
withthefinalcaption
andthe
fadeto black.
Exceptions
Themarnexception
to thispractice
iswherethemusic
gradually
is faded
intoor
under
othersound,
dialogue,
ormusic
thatisstronger
thanthefirst.
youredited
30. Putaside
piecefora whileandwatchit again
withfresheyes
Reasons
whenyouareaneditor
of a feature
filmoranylong-form
piece,
documentary
"married"
etc.,youbecome
to themovie.
Youlivewithit dayinanddaVout,
sometimes
formonths
at a time.Youareoftenlistening
to thesamesections
overandoverandoveragain.
Yougrowt0 anticipate
thewordsandthepictures
untiltheynolonger
really
standoutinyourmindbutarepart0f theediting
"wallpaper."
lt becomes
veryeasyto blindyourself
to editsthatarenotworking
orentire
sections
thatmaybebenerin another
location
withinthesequence
Solutions
youwouldbewiseto takea break
Timeallowing,
fromtheediting
process.
A day
ortwoawayfromthewell-known
materialwill
you
help forget
theexactpacing,
thecutpoints,
thelinesof dialogue,
andsoforth;perhaps
n0tf0rget
entirely
but
youwillbewatching
thepiece
withlessanticipation.
Thisresprte
give
should
youa pairof "fresheyesandears"t0 viewandlistent0 yourstory.
Whenyou
approach
thesamematerial
withfreshsenses,
youmaypickuponwhatedits
arenotworking
andwhichscenes
withinthepiecemayplaybetter
elsewhere.
Exceptions
0bviously,
if youareinvolved
withmuchshorter
jobs
0rmorestraightforward
cutting
thathavea "quick
turnaround
you
time,"then willnothavetheluxury
of taking
a
youwillhopethatan
dayortwoawayfromthematerial
yoursenses.
to refresh
ovdrnight
break
willbeenough
timeawayforyouto bemorecrrtical
of v0urown
workcomemorning.

withit a great
Iheclose-up
taceisa veryintimate
shot.lt carries
ol arractor's
information
ontheexpression
of thefaceandthe
and,depending
dealof visual
it canswayanaudience.
Using
sucha
withinthestOry
at thatp0int,
context
powerful
willdilutetheefficacy
of those
shottooearlyin a scene's
development
point
a
whentheyareusedlaterto makeanemotional orunderscore
sameshots
inthestorvline.
certain
counter-current
Solutions
forwhenanaudience
will
shotof thecharacter
orcharacters
Save
theclose-up
lf thedrama
facessolarge
orlooming.
or
mostfromseeing
theactors'
benefit
provide
toward
theclimax
will
is rising,
cutting
to closer
shots
tension
ofthescene
ot
visuals.
Theclose-up
willyieldaneasier
assessment
theaudience
withjuicier
emotional
ormental
statet0 theviewerThiseffectwillbewatered
a character's
development.
shotstoosoonina scene's
downif youg0t0 theclose-up
Exceptions
mostly
in medium
head"interviews
willberecorded
Documentary
andnews"talking
shots
andcloserYouwillhaveto usetheseshotsrrghtawayinthesequence
programming
willhavecoverage
shotswith
narrative
television
0ften,fictional
screen
0nwhichtheyget
moreclose
shotsof individuals
dueto thesmaller
in eachscene
mayevenbeencouraged
to suchshotssooner
displayed.
Cutting
programming
fortelevision
of
assoonashis"look"restsuponhisobject
32. Cutawayfroma character
interest
Reasons
istheperfect
looking
at someobject
of interest
offscreen
A shotdepicting
a character
fora revealto theaudience.
Ingeneral,
onewouldcutto theshot0f the
set-up
look
next.Themotivation
forthiseditrisesoutof thecharacter's
object
of interest
physical
yet-to-be-seen
facial
0nce
the
reaction
to the
oblect
offscreen.
andinitial
willlikewise
wishto
movement
of headandeyeshascometo a resttheaudience
shot
hence
thecutt0 theobject's
upon,
seewhatisnowbeingfocused
Solutions
production
to lookoffscreen
hopes
thattheactorwasinstructed
durrng
Theeditor
the
the
He
further
hopes
that
talent
achieves
andreactto someobject. orshe
lt
andeye-linet0 some
object
offscreen.
lookwitha finalsolidheadplacement

o
o
.9

(,
(!

4
gl

.g

rr

l s t l l us 0 l l ( l l ltyt l t l t el t t t t tl lt t t l k

l l t r ;l o t . r r s r o
r rl ql l t ct ; y r : ; , r l r r r, r lrr;, r r l r r . r r l , r r

Itne- anda facialreaction

of recognition
thatcreate
tltestronrlcsl
r;ulporrrt.
Exceptions
clearly,
if notakeof thelooking
shotendswitha solid,
gazefromtheacror
strong
youwillhaveto simply
theny0ucannot
cutawayat theeyesfocuspoint.
tryt0

findthemostacceptable
pointof recognition
0ntheactor's
faceandthencur.
Faster
actionsequences
0r scenes
thatinvolve
multiple
objects
off-screen
wourd
notnecessarily
callfora staticheadandfocused
eye-line
fromtheactor.
33. Indocumentary
programming,
editout"ums"and"ahs"in interviewee
soeech.
Reasons
yourgoalasaneditor,
Often
especially
in documentary
programming
of realpeople,
isto makethemIookandsound
asgoodaspossible
0nscreen.
A mother
of a
player,
football
a diplomat,
ora scientist
mayallhavecertain
pauses
verbal
in
"umm"
"ahh"
theirvocalized
patterns.
speech
Theymaysay
or
to fillthespace
between
theirthoughts
whilelistenrng
in person,
pauses
theseverbalized
oftengounnoticed
unless
theyareextremely
excessive
watching
a short
answer
filledwith"umm"and"ahh"willbemorenoticeable
andlessappealing
to theviewer.

ir

l{,

Soltttiorr:;
very
t t.h em o u tdho e sn o tm o v e
l r J rot L rl tl r r : svri : r l r [, )r , j r ] sw
o l ir c r t e vpeors s i b l e
fewframes.
is made,
tryt0 cutin roomtoneforthose
muchwhiletlresound
y0u
t0
may
have
cut
awayt0 a
noticeable,
then
lf theoffense
is morevisually
"noddy"
graphic
shotif sucha thingexists.
0rsomeB-roll,0rt0 aninterviewer
Exceptions
"ticks"
pattern
are
theymayexhibit
andtheverbal
speech
0ccasionally,
someone's
pauses
t0
lt willbebestto keeptheseinherent
inextricably
tiedto theirpersona.
provide
character.
of theindividual's
theviewer
withthef ull"flavor"
dialogue.
doesnotoverpower
tracklevels,
makesuremusic
34. Intheaudio
Reasons
forward,
lt canpropela
scene
slowit
creative
device.
Musicisa verypowerful
feelsadorhappy
0rtense
andsoforth.0nceyouget
theaudience
down,make
it willbeimportant
yourpr0gram
bedis in place,
to thepointwhereyourmusic
withthedialogue
or
levels
doesnotcompete
thesound
sothemusic
t0 regulate
your
prece
in
tracks
otheraudio
Solutions
themustc
forallaudio
especially
elements,
to theproper
audiolevelmixrng
Attend
CD
band,
withinthefilmworldbya radio,
is diegetic(generated
lf themusic
playcontinuously
player,
thatscene
under
beawarethatit should
etc.)then
topof the
is
delivered
0n
lf dialogue
does.
untilthemusic
endsorthescene
An
words.
thespoken
levelunder
music
bed,thenmakesuret0 lowerthemusic
theyareusually
Ieveldrops
because
thefactthatthemusic
willaccept
audience
haveto say.
inwhatthepeople
moreinterested
Exceptions
(concert,
gala,etc.)
benefit
fora liveevent
is recorded
if thelocation
sound
Clearly,
inthe
music
levels
to impossible
to lowerthecaptured
thenit willbedifficult
to drown
narrative
storycallsfortheloudmusic
Also,if thefictional
background.
purpose.
word,thenkeepit hotin themixforthisspecial
outthespoken
linedelivery.
orover-the-shoulder
recorded
under
off-screen
dialogue
35. Usecleanly
Reasons

FIGUBE
6.26- Allowrnq
t h ea c t o r 'e
s y e st o l o c ko n t h e o f f s c r e e no b j e c 0t f i n t e r e sgt e n e r a t easn e e dw i t h i nt h e
v i e w e rt 0 a l s d s e et h i sn e wo b l e c tT. h ec u tt o t h eo b i e cot f i n t e r e srtso t t e nc a l l e da r e v e a l

production,
thesoundrecordistmaynothavetheboomoperatorfavor
During
"shoulder"
thattheir
whichmeans
talent,
theoff-screen
orover-the-shoulder

o
o

.c
o
(E
4
ctl

.=
t
o

I
( l t a l o g t lwt )i l l s t t t t r tw
t j t ; i t kw l t r l cl l r c l ; r v o r c il ia l c r t l ' sl l r l r l l i r v rr y l r ! r , rl r l l t { l

r t r l r ' , r ,' i r t r 1J 1 1r i I r r , I

s h ow
t r l ls o u nsdt r o n g .

n t e r - t i t tl reasd, i t i o n a l l y
r r il l t rl:r l l l , r r rl lrrj rrrr v r : rl,rrrl rl r ror rl t l r ce d i t epdr 0 g r aIm
preceded
bya fadeto
areoften
[;lack
ovcrir solrtl
background,
wlrilclt;ltrrrrnrl

Solutions
Saythattheactorwhose
faceisvisible
0nscreen
ischaracter
A andtheactor
whose
faceisnotvisible
ischaracter
B Fortheaudience
to heartheoff-screen
orover-the-shoulder
non-favored
linedelivery
of character
B,useonlytheaudio
trackfroma clean
takewhencharacter
B actually
isonscreen
in hisorher
ownmedium
shotorclose-up.
Thismeans
finding
a shotinthecoverage
where
character
B'spicture
andsound
wererecorded,
butonlyusethesound
trackfrom
thatshotunderneath
theotherpicture
of character
A'ssingle
shotorover-theshoulder
withcharacter
B.Thiswillprovide
clean,
clearaudio
forbothcharacters
durrng
thescene
get
n0matter
whatseries
of shots edited
together.
Exceptions
There
really
should
benoexceptions
to thisguideline.
Youshould
always
strive
to
startwiththecleanest,
clearest,
strongest
audio
signal
whenyouareediting
the
(made
sound
elements
fora pr0gram.
lf thesound
needs
t0 bemodified
worse)
you
fora special
effect
withinthestory,
then should
stillstartwithcleansound
anddegrade
it yourself
ina controlled
fashion.
36 Beawareof proper
durations
forinter-title
graphics.
and"lowerthrrd"
Reasons
Justasa recorded
shotof a person
canstayonscreen
fortoolong,socana titleor
othergraphic
element.
Theaudience
absorbs
visual
information
fromtheshots
based
oncomposition,
lighting,
character
facialexpressions,
colors,
etc.,butthey
absorb
information
frominter-titles
andidentifying
lowerthirdsbyreading
it
lf a titleis notonscreen
longenough,
it cannot
bereadandunderstood.
lf a title
is leftonscreen
fortoolong,theaudience
maybecome
bored
waiting
forthe
nextshOt
orthenextbttof infOrmation.

I , , r ! r r , r r l r rrl i t t w t tl t t t l l l r l t l l t c t t l l t tt ll gt tl h e l l l l p 0 r t a n C e

black
bya tadef romblack.
andlollowed
0 trl 0t nn e w s
l o w c rt l r i r d u
s ,s u a l sl yh o w i nagp e r s 0 nn' as m e , 0 c c u p a t t 0l 0nc, a
programming,
lowerthirdof the
come0nat thebottom
should
ordocumentary
justa bitafterthecloser
hasbeencutto.lt
speaking
shotof theperson
screen
t0 bereadanddigested
fortheinformati0n
longenough
should
stay0nscreen
g0
person
andthenrtshould away.0ftenlowerthirdidentifying
bytheaverage
off- a bit
staysolid,
andthendissolve
onto thescreen,
titleslrkethisdissolve
to usethelower
thana straight
cut0nandoff lt is alsocust0mary
lessharsh
program
There
is no
ina
of a person
title0nthefirstappearance
thrrdidentifying
person
is
again
shown
needto showthetitleagainif thesame
atfullopacity
mosttitlesmayliveonscreen
andonaverage,
Generally
speaking
foryouto
however,
advisable,
lt wouldbe
fromthreeto tenseconds
anywhere
s0youcangauge
getfeedback
whoknowthepro1ect
fromseveral
otherpeople
Often
andlowerthirds.
of thetttleelements
howtheyfeelaboutthetimrng
it
in making
willmakea bigdifference
longer
orshorter
of a second
one-half
"
"
r
i
g
h
t
feel
Exceptions
practice.
of thesecreated
Astheeditor
to thisgeneral
There
arenorealexceptions
you
them
wtsh
to leave
you
how
long
graphrc
over
elements, havetotalcontrol
it becomes
a
hasbeenconveyed,
Afteryouknowtheinformation
0nscreen.
"beats"
duratton.
question
theappropnate
to determine
of

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=

Solutions
"Later
An intertitle
thatsays,
thatsameday.." (only
fourwords)may
beon
screen
foraslittleasthreeseconds.
Aninter-title
thatconsists
of several
short
sentences
mayrequire
10,20,ormoreseconds
depending
onhowmanywords
presentation
andhowcomplex
thevisual
guideline
maybe A general
forthe
is
leave
editor to
a titleonthescreen
foraslongasit takesto readthrough
the
wordsthreetimesin a row.Thisisdependent
uponlength
of written
wordof

o
o
.9

s r q u rar el ) p r o p r | atlre{ nn q 1 0 re a c he d r t e dp i e c eT o os h o r ta n dt h e
FIGURE
6 . 2 7 T i t l e sa n r jl o w e rt l r i r dq r a p h r rr; e
a u d r e n cren a yr n t s so u to n r D t o r r n a t i o n l o o l o n ga n dt h e ym a yg e t i m p a t r e nwta i t i n gt o r t h en e x tv i s u abl i t

3 / . l l a p p l r c a bm
l ea, k ea r ; u t, t ti r l , , r i s , u . r i, r r t l r ' i r u r i rt,r , rLr

Reasons
Loudsounds
areknown
t0 cause
manypeople
t0 blinktheireves.
Solutions
lf usedwiselyandwithdiscretion,
aneditor
maybeableto finda pointin a scene,s
development
wherea loudsound
willoccur
ontheaudio
track.
If thepicture
edit
is madeat thispoint,
it is likelythatthecuttransition
willbehidden
during
the
process
blinking
of theaudience
members
whoarereacting
to theloudsound.
Thisisa bitof a cheat
anda bitof a gamble,
butir maybeeffective
at theright
m0ment
andforthegoodof theoverall
proiect
Exceptions
0neshould
notcutjustanytimethereisa loudsound
ontheaudio
tracksIhisis a
p00rwayt0 c0nstruct
good
a
storyflow.
38. Take
advantage
of thetransition
pointthatnatural
wipesofferwhentheyoccur
inthefootage.
Reasons
Naturalwipesoccur
anytimeanobject
pastthecamera
moves
lensand
momentarily
blocks
thecomposition
of theframebefore
it clears
out.The
movement
provides
theperfect
motivation
to makea cut0ra wipeto a newshot
rnthesamescene
ort0 starta newscene.

l i p ew i t h i nt h e f o o t a g ea n de r t h e cr u t 0 r w t p et 0 a
FIGURE
6 . 2 8 A n e d i t o rc a nt a k ea d v a n t a goef t h e n a t u r aw
n e ws h o ta t t h a tt i m e .

Solutions
Really
thoughtful
filmmakers
pre-plan
willactually
thetalenr
blocking
of main
characters,
0rmoreoften"extras,"
t0 create
thenatural
wipemoment
fortheeditor
to use.0thertimes,
a simple
happenstance
likea vandriving
through
theshotona
longlensexterior
"blockage"
set-up
canprovide
themotivation
andthephysical
for
theeditor
to create
thenatural
wipeonhisorherowninitiative
Regardless
of who
constructs
it,thenatural
wipeisnatural
because
it isoccurring
withintherecorded
- inherent
shotwhileit happens
to thefootage.
Sometimes,
during
a complex
dollyshot,thecamera
maycrabpastcolumns
orpillars
in a hotellobby
ora parking
garage
structure.
Even
though
theobjects
aresolidandunmoving,
thecamera's
pastthemwillcreate
movement
a natural
wipeontherecorded
images.
These
are
convenient
points
andclever
transition
fortheeditor
to use.
Exceptions

pointthatwhippansofferwhentheyoccurin
of thetransition
39. Take
advantage
thefootage.

Justbecause
thenatural
wipeoccurs,
it doesnotmean
thatyoumustavailyourself
of it and
cutorwipeatthatpointinthefootage,
especially
if it doesnotadcltotheoveralscene.

designed
tilts)are
usually
These
whippanshots(andmuchlessfrequentlywhip
production.
thereis a great
Unless
during
bythefilmmaker
andshot0npurpose

Reasons
a veryconvenient
thewhip pan(orflashpan)offers
Muchlikethenaturalwipe,
lf
to another
from
to
transition
one
shot
motivation
visually
interesting
and
at theend
planned
blurgenerated
oftime,thefastmotion
ahead
bythefilmmaker
quickly
witha corresponding
willmatch
horizontally
spins
of a shotasthecamera
Theeditor
to follow.
shotwhichissupposed
motion
bluratthestartof another
when
willjointhetailblurof shotA to theheadblurof shotB andtheillusion,
playitselfthrough,
of theblurring
willbethatthem0ti0n
thetransition
watching
0ra newscene.
theviewerintoa newlocatton
whiphurtles
Solutions

ah

o
.9
(,

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gt

.g

t'
r l c aol l l t i t t r t i l l let ltttlt t i t gt let a w
t l t t l trsl r r r c kkltyl l r t r r r l l rttl,r r r r ! l r l r r : wl rrrll:lr t l l c
opportunity
foraneditor
to create
therrownwhippanrTtotnunls
Exceptions
Notallwhippantransiti0ns
willplayc0rrectly.
Thetailof shotA andtheheadof
shotB mustbewhippanning
inthesamedirection
androughly
at thesame
speed
forthistransition
trickto work.

t ob e
r , l r r r w ryrrr)rrl!r^ , r , Ir i l l l r I ) r ' { ) [ ) l { )bwt r lt lrugpl ) o l l ] tl sh a lt l e e d
, r r l r j r c : ; lr;irl :r rl :ll,;l r , rrll r nr r t tl l r t t tweo r ka, n de v e tpt l a c et sh a ta r er a t h e r
will
of otherpeople
uponthecriticalfeedback
trslcrrrrrg
to andacting
successlul
Youmayfeelthat
asaneditor.
skillthatyouwillneedto develop
beanessential
weight
beara certain
of others
right,buttheopinions
youhavedoneeverything
yourwages.
if theyarepaying
aswell especially
Exceptions

40. Avoidcuttingpansandtiltsthatreverse
direction
at thecut00int.
Reasons

youshould
maketime
always
youlivealonein aniglooneartheArcticCircle,
Unless
piece.
workina void
youredited
Nooneshould
review
to haveotherpeople

Screen
direction
andflowof motionhavea continuity
of theirown.whenobject
m0vement
motivates
a leading
pan
camera 0rtilt ln shotA andthenshotB
"crash"
reverses
thatobjects
mOvement,
a visual
willoccur
at thecutooint.

shotin
at theheadof thesecond
bya fewframes
mgtion
thephysical
42. Advance
edit
motion
action
a continuous

Screen
directions
willhave
suddenly
switched
andtheviewerwillfeelthe
push
pull
or
of disorientation
ofvisual
flow.
Solutions
Youwillhope
thatproduction
maintained
screen
direction
andvisualcontinuitywhile
theywereshooting
thecoverage
forthescene.
lf youdonothavea continuous
direction
in thefootage
between
shotA andshotB thenyoucaneithernoruse
shotB or insertsomeothershotbetween
thetwoto distract
viewers
ano
re-orient
theirsense
of movement
s0thatwhenshotB comes
onthescreen,
thev
arenotdisturbed
bythealteration
inthepan0rtrltsdirection
of movement.
Exceptions
practice,
Asa creative
it maybeworthwhile,
giventheappropriate
topicin a program,
t0 attempt
panortilt shotsto cause
t0 marryreversing
thevisualcrash
foreffect.
41 Whenpossible,
program
showyouredited
t0 someone
elseandgettheir
feedback.
Reasons
A project
worked
onformanyhours,
days,
orsometimes
months,
canbecome
staleto youovertime.Thefresheyesof otherindividuals
mayhelpy0usee
weaknesses
thatyoucouldnolonger
objectively
notice.
Solutions
It isadvisable
butnotnecessary
foraneditor
to showhisorherworkto other
people
to gettheirfeedback.
Justbecause
you,asaneditor,
thinksomething
really
worksdoesnotmeanthatit willplaythesamewayforothers.
0ften,

Reasons
moves
through
Something
m6ti0n.
of continuous
theconcept
understands
A viewer
gccuroverfaster
Spaces
shorter
across
mgvements
time.FaSter
acr0SS
Space
"blink"
of
editfroma widershotof thecoverage
thatistheactual
time.The
tiny
up
a
eats
of thatsameaction
shotof thecontinuation
tothecloser
action
can
of actlgn/time
Therefore,
a fewframes
mrnd.
of timerntheviewer's
amgunt
shot.
beleftofftheheadof thesecond
Solutions
involves
Thesimple
scene
withanexample
Perhaps
thiscanbebestdemonstrated
he
lifts
hisnewspaper, a mug
Ashereads
c0unter.
at a restaurant
a mansitting
- hereads
ShotA isa wldeshotof themanat thecounter
anddrinks.
of coffee
o
close-up
o
andliftshismugof coffee CUTT0 shotB,a medium
hispaper
.9
of thebeverage. (,
sipping
theactual
mugliftandshows
thecoffee
shotcontinuing
(E
pathof theman's
armrising
wheret0 cutawayfromthemotion
0nceyoudecide
shotB.Rather
asto whereyouwillbegin
in shotA,youwillbebetterinformed
place
wherethearm
the
rise
along
to theframethe
thantryingto matchexactly
in timebya
moveforward
shot,youshould
close-up
bein themedium
should
of
alongitspathat thebeginning
andhavethearmbea bitfurther
fewframes
the
mouthin
to theman's
bea bitcloser
themugshould
shotB.Inotherwords,
edit.
shotof theaction
second
a little
andcutting
thesame,
cutting
exactly
early,
withcutting
acti0n
Experiment
will
yourself
acti0n
continuous
(as
for
.
Most
andludge
later inourexample)
flowfeels
shot.Themotion
at theheadof thesecond
fromfewertrames
benefit
to a viewerthiswaY.
morenatural

G
El

E
o
=

tx

t'

FIGURE
6 . 2 9 C u t t i n gi n t ot h e s e c o n ds h o ta f e w f r a m e sl a t e rr n a c t r o nw i l l m o s to t t e nm a k et o r a s m o o t h e r
t r a n s i t i 0anc r 0 s st h ea c t i 0 ne d i t .V i e w e r u
s n d e r s t a nt h
d a tt i m eh a se l a p s e ldu s te n o u g hd u r i n gt h ec u t t o t h e n e w
i n fo r m aito n .

yourrough
43. Keep
cutlong,donotbetempted
to doa finely
tunededitearlyin
theprocess.

f I G U R E6 . 3 0 A d i s s o l v a
e c r o s st h e s et w o s h o t sw i l l h e l pm a k ea c o n n e c t i obne t w e e nt h e mi n t h e m i n do f a
, ' r v r : rl l r eo l dl a r m e r sl i k ea s l e e p i ndgo g .

to
together
timeto cutsomething
havejustenough
finesse
andyouwillsimply
getit to airin therightttmeslot.

Reasons

simileshots.
44 Usea dissolve
between

Nomatter
whatkindof programming
youareediting,
thisguideline
applies.
Keep
yourmaterial
longer
inthefirstpass0rtwoof thefullconstruction
of theshow.

Reasons

withoutknowing
pacing/timing
overall
issues
orscene
ordering
issues,
it will
behardto makefinaldecisions
youwill
aboutshot,scene,
andsequence
length.
bebetter
ableto judge
whatcancomeoutaftertheentireassembly
hasneen
viewed
a fewtimes.
lf it werealready
youmayalsohavemissed
missing,
outon
a bettercreative
opportunity.
Solutions
From
youshould
theoutset,
include
everything
frompicture
andsound
tracks
that
youfeelwillhelpproperly
show/tellthe
story.
At thatearlystage
you
of editing
really
donotknowwhatwillbeuseful
orsuperfluous,
sokeepit allin Aftera
pass0r twoat theentirepiece,
youwill geta muchbetterfeelforwhatworks
andwhatdoesnot,whatshould
stayandwhatshould
go.
really
youhavemuchmorematerialthan
Often
thefinalrunning
timeof theprogram
will
allow(30-second
commercial,
15-minute
educational
video,
30-minute
situation
comedy
show,
2-hour
feature
film).
Some
things
thatwereinitially
included
in
yourfirstversions
of theeditwillstand
outasunnecessary.
youwill
0thertimes,
havet0 makehardchoices
thatcallforremoving
verygoodpieces
lustto make
thefinalrunning
timecut-off.
Begardless,
youshould
always
startwiththemost
material
andthenpareit down . . thatiswhateditinq
is allabout
Exceptions
packages
Some
narvs
haveextremely
shortairtimeandyouwillnotbeableto pad
youwillmostlikelyhavevervlittletimeto
0utthefirstcutsandthentweak.

of thepresent
withinthecontext
in common
Twoshotsthatmaynothaveanything
willunitethetwodifferent
Thedissolve
likea simile.
scene
0rstorycanbehave
A straight
cut
in themindof theaudience.
iscreated
shotsanda newmeaning
theaudience
shots;
therefore
of thetwodifferent
wouldnotunitethesubjects
"literary"
intensions.
thefilmmakers
maynotunderstand
Solutions
different
withtwodistinctlV
srmile
wishes
to makea visual
a filmmaker
Sometimes
using
subjects
of twodisparate
Asyoumayknow,
a simileisa comparison
shots.
to the
oldfarmer
we compare
theretired,
thewordslikeoras.ln ourexample,
a cutt0 himmay
theolddogis partof thenarrative,
olddog.Although
sleeping
to
him
A
dissolve
andbackto the
visual
after
connection.
notcreate
thes0ught
thevisual
simile
t0 understand
oldmanwouldunitethemandallowtheaudience
Exceptions
andif used
in thesilentcinema
hasitsorigins
treatment
Thissortof visual
simile
less
Through
andother,
theuseof sound
handed
todaycanoftenfeelheavy
connection.
a similar
visual
onemightbeablet0 convey
obvious,
elements,
time.
gapsin continuity
orcondense/expand
45. Useinsert
shotsto cover
Reasons
process
of action,
wherecontinuity
editorial
There
willarisea needin every
willalsobe
certain
editsThere
is n0tquiterightacross
ordialogue
direction,
of a scene
timeto helpthepacing
orexpand
to condense
a needfortheeditor

o
o
.9

(,

o
o.

El

.s
t

o
=

I n s e rst h o tas t t dc u l - a w a sy h o t w
s r l l r c l pw r l l tr h i s l l r r :ryj r v r :t rl rl r : , i r r r l r r r n r ; t ) ' s
attentlon
enough
fromtheprevious
shotwithout
breaking
oul0l tlro.grltept
ol
thesceneinwhichtheyappear.
Themomentary
distraction
usuaily
serves
as
enough
of a visualbreakto resettheattention
of theaudience
0nthenexrcut
thatcontinues
theaction
ordialogue
qlitch.
afterthehidden
Solutions
Theeditor
willhopeto havefootage
specifically
shotforcut-away
useorheorshe
willhavemarked
certain
shotsthatcontain
usable
insert
m.ments:
close-uo
of a dog,a clock,
a photograph,
a reaction
shotfromanother
character
in the
scene,
etc.Keeping
theseinsert/cut-away
pieces
available
willhelptheedrtor
maskoverthecontinuity
issues
or helplengthen
a moment
or condense
a ronger
actionbyproviding
a related
andbelievable
distraction
to themindsof the
audience.
Exceptions
certainfootage,
forexarnple,
fromlong-winded
talkingheadinterviews,
tharnas
noB-Boll
or otherrelated
visualmaterial
maynotofferanyopportunity
for
insert
orcut-away
shots.
rftheproject
doesnothavethefootage
anddoes
notcallforuseof full-frame
graphics
or titles,thenyoumaybein aneditorial
quandary.

4 { ; A v r r r ! l r , i v r r. rr rJl r ' r r r l )l!r!, r r r rwl l r r : r ) r ) v rs: tu; ltt l e 0r l ro b t e c lte a v e st r a n t e .

Reasons
I rnptytrames,
evr:rr
wrtha background
provide
showing
andin focus,
n0new
jntormation
to theviewrng
audience.
whena person
is leaving
f rameat theleft
or rightedges,
it is bestto cutawayfromthatshotbefore
theyleavetheframe
entirely.
lt is customary
to cutawayoncetheactor's
eyeshavecleared
theedge
of frame,
sincethefaceandeyesof theactorarewhatanaudience
member
will
bewatching.
Solutions
Asseenin Figure
6.32,leaving
shotBwiththebodyorobject
stillpartially
visible
gives
theaudience
something
to remain
focused
onjustpriorto thecut.
Introducing
shotc, theviewer
willfindanempty
(withnewvisual
frame
datat0
analyze)
andthentheactOr
orobyect
will entertheframewithcontinuous
screen
direction
andmovement.
Ihisallowssomething
of interest
to theviewerto
remarn
onthescreen
at alltimes.
Exceptions
Youreallymaynotwantt0 leavemoreof theexiting
sublects
bodyonscreen
at the
endof shotB orat thestartof shotc, because
withtoomuchbodvvisible
in both
shotsit willappear
asa jumpcut

ah

.c

(,
g
o.
It

.s
t
=

[:*-----*i .

,,
Dr

--

,,nrffi U.rl Theinsen

shorot the dog allowstime to be condensed
so the ridercan arriveat the cabrnthat
much
sooner.

f t G U R E6 . 3 2 l f y o uw i s ht o a l l o ws o m ee m p t yf i l ms p a c ea t a c u t p o r n tm
, a k et h e n e w o r i n c g m i n gs h g ts t a r t
empty.Eventhe emptyframewll provrdenew vrsualdata to the viewerbeforethe charactersrrrdesin from the
e d g eo f t r a m e

t 5 8 G r a m m aorf t h e E d i t

End of Chapter

Chapter
SixI Working
Pracrrcesl59

Six Reviernr

1 Avoidcutting
f romincorrectly
framed
headroomto a shotwithcorrect
head
room(ortheotherwayaround).
2 Avoidshotswherespurious
objects
appear
t0 bet00closeto thesubject's
neao.
3. Avoidshotswherethesrdeedgesof theframecutoff people's
facesor bodies

?1. lf a character
exitsframeleft,then,foranactionedit,thesarne
charamer
should
enterthenextshotframeright.
22. Beware
placement
of screen
issues
withan "object
of interest.,,
23. Givea wideshotassoonaspossible
aftera series
of close-up
shots
24. 0n thefirstentrance
of a newcharacter
0r newsubject.
editin a closeshotof
it.

4. Cutmatched
rather
shots
thanunmatched
shots.

25. whenediting
a newscene
withnewbackgrounds,
showanestablishinq
shotal

5. Whenediting
pauses
drama
dialogue,
never
editouta performer's
unless
requested
to doso.

26. Avoid
making
anacti0n
editfroma longshotof a character
to a close-up
of the

6. A reaction
shotseems
morenatural
duringa phrase
or sentence
thanat the
end.

theearliest
opportunity.
samecharacter.
2J. Beware
of editing
a cutt0 black
followeri
witha cutto fullpicture.

7 Donotbetoobound
bydialogue
whenlooking
fora cutpoint.

28. At thestartof a pr0gram,

thesound
trackcanleadthevisual
track.

B. ln a three-person
dialogue,
nevercutfroma two-shot
to another
two-shot.

29. Fortheendof a program,

usetheendof themusrc.

9. Withcloseshotsof singlecharacters,
thefullerthefacethebetter.

30. Putaside
youredited
piece
fora whileandwatchit again
withfresheyes.

10 Witha singlecharacter,
tryt0 avoidcutting
t0 thesamecamera
angle.
1'l Whencuttingthe"rise,"tryto keepthesubject's
eyesin frameaslongas
ble.
oossi
1 2 .W h e n e d i t i n g i n a c l o s ea-nuapcot fi o n , s e l e c t a v e r s i o n o f t h e c l o s e - u p w h e r e
theaction
is slower.

1 3 .Prefer
a tracking
shotto a zoom.
1 4 .Beware
of shotsthattrackoutwithoutmotivation.
tf,.

Whenediting
ina panora dollycrabmove,
usethebestversion
whichis
smooth,
well-timed,
andleadsthesubject's
movement.

1 6 .Begin
andendeachpan,tilt,ordollyshotona staticframe.
tl

lf theobjects
orsubjects
aremoving
withina pan,dollycrab,
0rtruck,
never
cut
to a staticshotof thesameobjects
orsubjects
if theyarethenstationary.

1B 0bjects,
likepeople,
moving
in a direction
haveanaction
line.Donotcrossit or
thedirection
is reversed.

1 9 Avoidcuttinganactioneditfroma two-shot
t0 another
two-shot
of thesame
oeoole.
2 0 W h e nc L t t t i naqt c l e p h o tcr e
o n v c r s ; r l il o nr l e l l r cl rl r, cl r c , i r i ' ; l r r r t ' , ' ; l rl r rcr r l r l
lrtnltttr; rl lii'ti t'' ri'11'1
llr
1r111,',

31. Useclose-ups
of characters
ina scene
forgrearest
tmpact.
32. cutawayfroma character
ass00nashis"look"restsuponhisobiect
of
interest.
33. Indocumentary
programming,
editout"ums"and"ahs"in interviewee
speech.
34. Intheaudio
tracklevels,
makesuremusic
doesnotoverpower
dialogue.
35. usecleanly
recorded
dialogue
under
off-screen
orover-the-shoulder
line
delivery.
36. Beawareof proper
durations
forinter-title
and"lowerthird,,
graphics.
3/. lf applicable,
makea cutat a loudsound
ontheaudio
track
38. Iakeadvantage
of thetransition
pointthatnatural
wipesofferwhentheyoccur
in thefootage.
39. Takeadvantage
of thetransition
pointthatwhippansofferwhenthevoccurIn
thefootage.
40 Avoid
pansandtiltsthatreverse
cutting
direction
at thecutpornt.
41 whenpossibk-',
showyouredited
program
to someone
elseandqettherr
frt rt r i h i r r ; k
' 1 / A r i v t t trr, rl l r r , l r l r y r l r l ) l | | l r y , tl | W
l r ; t r I c s ; rtll t r l: t 0 a rrlr ft h e S e C O nSChlO itn
,lt()lrlilrtr|t.'r

'

'

,11

.c
o
E
.I

o
o
EL
G

o
o
E
c

ut

1 6 0 G r a m m aorf t h eE d i l

to doa finelytunededitearlytn
43. Keepyourr0ughcutlong,donotbetempted
tneprocess.
slmileshots
between
4 4 .Usea dissolve
time'
/q
orcondense/expand
gapsin continuity
t0 cover
shots
Useinsert

Chapter Seven
The Final Cut: Additional EditingTopics
YouAre Bound to Encounter

f rame
leaves
orobject
a subject
framewhenever
anempty
46. Avoidleaving
OUESTION:What is expected of an editor?
ANSWER: These
of an edrtor.
Depending
on the1obsize,
days,muchis expected
budget,
manyeditors
wrthperforming
m0rethanJUSt
andpurpose,
aretasked
straight
may
cuts- graphics
motion
work,musicselection,
creation,
effects
andaudiomixing
responsibilitres.
allbepartof themodern
editor's

llaving
types,
manytopics
regarding
transition
edrtcatcovered
shottype,shotquality,
practices,
cgories,
we areall in a goodplaceto g0outandstartediting.
andworking
Noonesource
theart,craft,and
of inJormation
willbeableto tellyoueverything
about
you
havea solidhandle
on mostof
of aneditor,
but,bynow, should
;obrequirements
thebasicsIn thischapter
we will augment
ourlistof topicsbyaddressing
a hodgethatwill servet0 flesh0ut
material,
terms,concepts,
andadvice
of additional
lrodge
yourunderstanding
froma bookis anexcellent
wayto startwrapevenmore.Learning
process,
y0ur
there
replacement
for on-the-job
theediting
but
is no
brainaround
I)mg
tririning.
yourknowledge
Finish
thislastchapter
andstartputting
intopractice
Thefun
process
,rrrrl
isto befoundintheediting
itself,
to goto work.
satisfaction
sogetready

ChapterSeverr] llit: Firtal[iit Addrtronal

EditingToprcs
YouAre Bouncl
t0 Enc0unter 163

1 6 2 G r a m m aorf t h e E d i t

Additional

Editing Terms

Parallel Editing
parallelediting(alsoknownascross
filmmaking,
narrative
in fictional
Usedprimarily
actionare
wheretwo plotlinesof thestory's
construction
cutting)callsfor a special
thenthe
of oneplotlineis shown,
Inotherwords,a portion
withoneanother.
inter-cut
theotherplotline,which,in thefilmworld,is supshiftsoverto showing
sequence
durproves
effective
especially
Thistechnique
simultaneously.
posedto be happening
piece
gets
pace
the
the
of
Often,
timeusually.
Sequencea raceagainst
inganaction
as thetwostorylinesunfoldandgetcloserto thegoalof thedramaor
more"frantic"
of a
shotsin thesequence
thesubsequent
bymaking
Thiscanbeachieved
suspense.
audioverto the
of thecutscarries
energy
Thefrenetic
duration.
andshorter
shorter
time.
pacing
race
against
the
and
ofthis
theurgency
whoisfeeling
encemember

Montage
picture
editto mOti0n
whenusedin relation
meanings
hasseveral
Thetermmontage
thefilm,whichis
theactof assembling
describes
thewordsrmply
ing.FortheFrench,
it emerged
0f the1920s,
silentcinema
in Soviet
Formanyinvolved
thejobof theeditor.
canbe
images
whichis a beliefthattwo unrelated
Theory
of editing,
astheMontage
in themindof theviewer.
idea,or emotion
a newthought,
t0 generate
editedtogether
theirwedannouncing
couple
presented
in thisbooktellsof a young
earlier
Anexample
prisoner
witha
by an imageof a
in shotA, whichis thenfollowed
dingengagement
mightgettheideathatthefilmmak
hisanklein shotB.A viewer
around
ball-and-chain
term
witha prison
marriage
ersareequating
of quickcuts,
a series
todayinvolves
0f mgntage
meaning
Ihe morewidelyapplied
version
of actionovertime
thatshowa condensed
by music,
accompanied
usually
getting
ready1or
thefriends
of shotsshowing
it couldbe a series
ln a teencomedy
theelitefighttntl
of shotsshowing
theorom;in an actionmovieit couldbe a series
of shotsshow
it couldbe a series
in a romance
toughtraining;
teamggingthrough
moreandmorein lovewithoneanolhrrr
goingout0ndatesfalling
couple
inga young
plotpolnts
thatml(ltrt
purpose
bycondensing
a useful
serves
in thissense
A montage
'
;
l
t
r
r
t
l
t
;l lt 0, r rcl l i l r )
r
y
e
a
r
s
r
,
r
)
l
o
,
t
a le e k so,re v e n
o t h e r w i suen f o ladc r o sasd a ys, e v e r w
; r r l c a b lrrltt t r i t l i t l t t

Multi-camera

Editing

Mostfictional
narrative
filmmaking
is accomplished
withlustonecameraTheshots
described
earlier
in thisbookarearranged,
lit,andblocked
fortheonecamera
usedto
record
thoseactions.
Therersa practice,
however,
wheremultiple
cameras
areusedon
sett0 shootdifferent
angles
of thesameactiongettingtwodiffering
shotsof coverage
perform
whiletheactors
theaction
onetimeononetake.Thismethod
of usingmultiple
cameras
tsverypopular
wlthrecording
studio-bound
situation
comedies
fortelevision,
programming,
soapoperas,
reality
livetheatre,
performances.
andmusical
Thebeauty
of multi-camera
editing
rsthatall of yoursource
(usually
footage
matches
according
to matching
timecode),
anda cutat anypointwillhavea corresponding
continuous
frameto cutto fromanother
camera
angle.
Mostprofessionaldigital
non-linear
editing
software
havea built-in
process
formatching
your
upallof
camera
source
footyouhavetheoptionof cutting
age As a result,
to anycamera
angleat anypointin
time,muchlikea television
studio
director
in thecontrol
roomhastheoptionof doing
switching
fromcamera
A to camera
C to camera
B, andso on.Because
theaudiowas
alsorecorded
asone,unbroken
trackduring
theperformance,
allof thecamera
imaqes
should
matchupperfectly
whileplaying
overtheonesource
of audro

lrl

F
E

p
E't
c

E
UJ
(!

.9
!
It

1 6 4 G r a m m aorf t h e E d r t

Sync Sound

and Counting

Time

Thetermsync (shortfor synchronrcity)

hasbeenusedin filmmaking
for a verylong
time.lt usually
refers
to thesynchronicity
between
thepicture
trackof thefilmandthe
track(s).
lf thereis a mismatch
sound
rnthesync,
thenthewordsarenotheardat the
sametimeastheactor's
mouthmoves
t0 saythosewords.
Achieving
andmaintaining
syncis a veryimportant
aspect
of editing
frlmandvideo.
pictures
Asyouknow,emulsion
filmmotion
areshotwitha camera
that0nlycaptures
plasticTheaudiois recorded
thepictures
flexible
0na stripof Iight-sensitive
bya sepa(formerly
ratedevice
reel-to-reel
tape,butnowchiefly
% magnetic
ondigitalrecorders).
Iheseseparate
elements
0f picture
andsound
arethencaptured
and
ontothecomputer
"married"
"synched
process.
together
or
up"fortheediting
Ihat iswhywe usetheslate
clapsticks
to markthe"sync"pointfor thefilmimageandtheaudiorecording.
Video
cameras
arecapable
of recording
bothpicture
andsoundtracksto theonetapeat the
sametime.Theseelements
thencomeoff thetapeintoyoureditingcomputer
system
your
in sync,
already
responsibility
butit isstill
to keepthemin syncwhileyouedit.
Withoutgettingtoo technical,
matching
frameratesare required
for the syncing
of
persecond
filmandits recorded
emulsion
audio(24frames
or 24fps)Thesameholds
: 25fpsandNTSC
: 30f ps)Thenextunifying
trueforvideo(PAL
factoris time.Film
strips
andperforations
useframes
to keeptrackof timebutvideotape,
having
noperforati0ns,
trackon thetapethatcounts
usesa special
timeaccording
to h0urs,
minutes,
seconds,
andframes
as01:00.00:00).
Sofor PALprolects
onyouredit{oftenappearing
youwouldbe ablet0 watch25 separate
ingsoftware,
framesin onesecond
andfor
projects
you
quickly
NTSC
wouldbeableto see30,buttheyg0 byyoureyeso
in one
thatyoureally
second
donotgett0 distinguish
onefromanother.
Timecode
is thecounting
scheme,
0r thecl0ck,
thatmostvideoediting
software
uses
t0 keeptrmeforframerateplayback
Thepicture
andforkeeping
sync.
information
and
(when
theaudioinformation theycomefromthesametapesource)will
havethesame
matching
timecode
framefor frame.As an example,
thisis alsohowyouknowwhen
youhavecompleted
yourthirty-second
commercial
advertisement
video{thetimecode
foryoursequence
mayread,
00.00:30:00
if youstarted
at thezeromark).

C h a p t eSr e v e r l l r e F r r r a( ll u t A d d i t r o n a
Eld r t i n lqo p i c sY o uA r eB o u n dt 0 E n c o u n t e r 1 6 7

1 6 6 G r a m m aorf t h eE d i l

Making

Your Way

into the World

of Editing

Digital Workflow

Tools vs. Skills

Thepower,
flexibility,
andrelative
convenience
thatc0mputer-aided
digitalnon-linear

for
yearsandvideotapeediting
for overonehundred
hasbeenaround
Filmediting
the
block
editingis thenewkidon
or digitalnon-linear
aboutforty.Computer-aided
havein comtechniques/tools
these
thing
all
of
1990.
The0ne
around
having
itsorigins
a storyof somekindto beshownto anaudiof assembling
monis thattheyaremeans
and
techntcians,
craftspeople,
havebeentheskilled
overtheyears,
Theeditors,
ence.

editing
hasbrought
to theworldof visual
media
creation
areundeniable.
lt is notallfun
andgames,
however.
There
is a responsibility,
oftenplaced
upontheeditor's
shoulders,
t0 beorganized
andknowledgeable
aboutfiletypes,
media
assets,
andinteroperability
of various
software
applications.
Thiscreation,
storage,
andsharing
of videoandaudio
materials
isgenerally
referred
to asworkflow.lt is increasingly
rareforpost-production
(likephysical
workflows
to incorporate
picture
analogsource
materials
strips
of moti0n
filmprints
oranalog
videotape).
Mostindependent
software
users
andpost-production

to anend.
beena means
Thetoolstheyhaveusedhavesimply
storytellers.
using
buttheskillsof theperson
age,thetoolsaredifferent,
in thecomputer
Today,
get
of
people
in
nuances
lost the
Many
or at leasttheyshould.
thesame,
themremain
abiliof theirstorytelling
theimportance
andtheyseparate
software
thelatestediting
theygetsocaught
functionality.
0r worse,
of thecomputers
tiesfromtheirknowledge
application
thattheyforget
editing
thelatestbellor whistlein a specific
upin learning
with
abilities
button-clicking
confuse
goalasa storyteller.
Nooneshould
theirprimary
s o l i de d i t i nsgk i l l s .
available
applications
software
videoediting
of cornputer-aided
There
rsa widevariety
quality
grade
are
by highprofessional
and
used
areof
tgday.
Several
on themarket
andthelike.Many
moviestudios,
networks,
facilitres,
television
end,post-production
hgwt0 usesevKnowing
useandhavefewercapabilities.
formorein-home
aregeared
one
Knowing is a greatstart,
editor.
thefledgling
willbenefit
eralof theseapplications
youriob
fromthehighendis goingto expand
moreaboutusingseveral
butknowrng
whattool
is thatno matter
prospects
thingto remember
Theimportant
considerably.
forcebehind
thestory
youendupusingto perform
theactualedit,youarethecreative
forged.

facilities
arenowdeepintothedigitalworkflow,
whereall videoandaudioelements
rreeded
fora storyarecreated,
st0red,
used,
andauthored
files.
asdigital
Notevery
version
of digital
videoediting
software
usesthesametypesof filesandnot
everyone
encodes,
stores,0r
accesses
thesefilesin thesameway A modern
editor,
rn
addition
t0 being
a greatstoryteller,
mustalsobeknowledgeable
about
thesefiletypes,
leelcomtortable
withgeneral
computer
operations,
andunderstand
mediadrivesand
tolder
hierarchies
lhe userassigned
details
canalsomakea hugedifference
in howsmooth
theworkllowbecomes.
Naming
conventions
differfromplacet0 place,
butlogicdictates
that
rleveloping
projects,
a sensible
andconcise
method
fornaming
bins,sequences,
clips,
lr;lders,
graphics,
s0urce
tapes,
etc.,is essential.
Withclarity
in y0urnames
andorgarrrzation
youarealready
t0 yourraw,drgital
materials,
wellonyourwayt0 a m0recomlortable
prolect
forthelifeof yourediting
digrtalworkflow

3
o
J

3
.9
o

ol the Edil
168 Grammar

The Role of an Assistant

c h a p t eS
r e v r : rIr T h eF i n afll u t .A d d r t i o n a
t dl i t i n gT o p i cyso uA r eB o u n itlo E n c o u n t e r l 6 9

Editor

In Conclusion

down
is passed
guilds,andartisans
knowledge
overthecenturies,
Likemanytrades,
day
the
assistant
edltor.
One
t0
the
or
apprentice
editor
fromthemoreexperienced
t0 branch
out0n her
herself
skilled
enough
andhasproven
knowsenough
assistant

Nomatterwhatcomputer
youendupusingto perform
software
yourdigitalvideoedit,
remember
thatyouaretheeditorandthesoftware
is justthetoolthatheipsyouexecutey0urdecisions.
you
As aneditor are,usually,
thelastcreative
persgn
t0 t0uchthe

editorin herownright.ManywhostartoutInthefieldof
a f ull-blown
ownandbecome
job
gettheirfirst asanassistant
editorandworktheirwayupfromthere.
videoediting

visualandaudrtory
(musical
components
of a project
scoring
andaudiotrackmixing
comeafterpicture
lock)andassuch,youhavean incredible
opportunity
to helpformor
re-form
thestorytold.whatever
youendupcutting,
youshould
your
striveto combine
picture
andsound
elements
in thebestwaypossible.
Theshotchoices
youselect,
the

onthetypeof showproduced,
canvarywidelydepending
forassistants
Besponsibilities
the
speakrng
andso forth Generally
thetypeof postfacility,
thesizeof the budget,
roomwheretheediting
is assigned
to aneditoror aneditsuite(thephysical
assistant
tapesof footage,
therawmaster
for acquiring
Theymaybe responsible
takesplace).
picture
filesonto
and
sound
project
the
capturing
rn
software,
theediting
upa
setting
withintheprolect,
thebinorfolderstructure
organizing
andmediadrives,
thecomputer

rhythm
andpacing
of theindividual
edits,andthetransition
youmakeshould
choices
all servethestorywellandkeeptheviewing
audience
engaged,
informed,
andentertainedIntheend,thegrammar
of theeditistheunderlying
language
usedto sewit all
toqether.

copforapproval
of theeditedprogram
anyfinalversions
theeditoroutput
andhelping
product.
mastering
of thecompleted
iesoreventual
facility
suchas
thatgo alongwithanyediting
nitty-gritty
details
Therearenumerous
particular
driveallocations,
media
formats
or media
naming
conventions,
standardized
as well as in
editorworkswith othersbehindthescenes,
andso forth.Theassistant
workflow
smogth
andeasyfor theeditors0 thathe
front,to keepthepgst-prgductign
focusing
on
perform
w0rry
aspossible
thereby
theeditasfreefromstress
0r
or shecan
elements.
andtechnical
of thejobandless0ntheOrganization
aspect
thestorytelling
ground
for theassisis a greattraining
to bothsidesof theeditingprocess
Exposure
intotheeditor's
chairwhenthe
to transition
tant,andheorshewillbein goodposition
timecomes.
c
o
UI
5

(,

c
o
o

End of Chapter

Seven

Revieur

1 Parallel
editing
cutstwo,srmultaneous
storyplotlinestogether
s0that
concurrent
action
canbeseenbytheviewer
at onetimeduring
theprOgram.
Usually
doneforaction
sequences
2. Montage
editing
callsfora series
of quick
cuts,0r
a series
of shots
that
condense
actions
across
timeintoa shortsequence
usually
accompanied
by
approprrate
music
3 Multi-camera
editing
allowsyouto editfootage
of thesameevent
captured
by
several
cameras
allatthesametime.Useful
forsports
events,
rockconcerrs,
soap0peras,
andstaged
situation
comedy
pr0grams.
television
4 Trmecode
fromoriginaltape
youto maintain
sources
allows
your
syncbetween
picture
andsoundtracks
withinyoureditedsequence
5. Donotletthecomplexity
of videoediting
software
movey0uawayfromyour
solidskills
andgooddecision-making
abilities
asaneditor.
6. Become
familiar
andcomfortable
withtheworkflow
involved
around
managing
digital
media
assets
andthecreation
of computer-based
videoedits.
7 Anassistant
performs
editor
a variety
of important
andnecessary
tasks
that
helpmaketheentire
post-production
process
possible
fortheeditor.
Assisting
anestablished
editor
isa greatwayto learn
whileyouworkandto become
recommended
whena new1obcomes
along
foryou.

Glossary
thatwhenrecordrule,thisruledecries
to the180degree
30 degreerule-A cousin
within
the
film
from
angles
set,thecamera
inqssysrsgs
fora scene differing
camera
fromonesh0tto the
the180degree
arcat least30degrees
should
bemoved
around
shots
sothatthetwodifferent
nextto create
variation
0ntheangle-on-action
enough
in theirframing.
willedittogether
andappear
different
enough
Fourunitswidebythreeunits
ratioforstandard
television.
4:3-Theaspect
definition
highdefinition
thanthemoremodern
tall- moresquare
in its visualpresentation
169 videodisplay.
lineestablished
by thesrghtlinesof talentwithin
180degreeline-The imaginary
is setup for the
arcof safeshooting
wherethe'180
degree
a shotthatdetermines
to theopposite
side
notbemoved
should
camera
coverage
of thatsceneThecamera
direction.
it willcause
intheestablished
screen
linebecause
a reversal
of thisaction
andSightLine.
Rule,
Axisof Action,
Seealso180Degree
180degreearc,or half circle,is
an imaginary
180 degreerule-ln filmmaking,
firstrecords
anangleon
ononesideof theshooting
setoncethecamera
established
thatsame
made
trom
withtn
All
must
be
shots
theactionin thatspace subsequent
is established,
leftandright,fortheentire
scene
direction,
Since
screen
semi-circle.
without
fromtheothersideof thecircle
maynotphotograph
thesubject
thecamera
inthescreen
direction.
causing
a reversal
units
widebynineunitstall- a
ratioforhighdefinrtion
video.
Sixteen
l6:9-Theaspect
widescreen
display
isgenerated
(feature
television,
etc.)the
films,episodic
Act {noun)-ln longformprogrammrng
"story"
narrative
major
known
sections
asacts.Infictronal
isbroken
downintoseveral
the
termed
theset-up,
havethreeactsloosely
filmmaking,
a storywill traditionally
andtheresol
confrontation,
ution.
callsout to signifythatthe actingfor the shotbeing
Action-Whatthe director
recorded
begin.
should
from
sightlineusedto dictate
lineestablished
bytalent's
Actionline-The imaginary
forcoverage
shooting.
maybeplaced
whereonthefilmsetthecamera

l13

A D R( a u t o m a t idci a l o g u e
r e p l a c e m e n t ) - [A) r o ( . ( w
] slsr r r r,,r r r r r r, ,. ru r r t n o so l
dralogue
in a recordirlg
studioUsedto replace
poorquality
or ,rl1tot;t:tlrt;r
rlrssll(l
production
audio.
Aneditor
maythenusethese
cleanrecordings
fortheactual
edit
(sound)-Ihegeneral
Ambience
background
sounds
of anylocation
wherea scene
tor
a filmis shot.Exampres.
schoor
cafeteria,
f.'tbailgamearena,
subway
car.
Analog-Notdigital
in nature.
Composed
of ordesigned
witha morefree-form
variant
notspecifically
limited
to a single,
quantifiable
range.
Angleon action-Theanglefromwhicha camera
viewstheactiononthefilmset.
Angleof incidence-Iheanglefromwhichincident
lightfallsupona filmser.A single lighting
fixture
g0
directry
overhead
wiil havea
(fromhorizon)
degree
anoreof
incidence.
Angleof view-Ihe fieldof viewencompassed
bythelightgathering
powerof a film
lens.A wideanglelenshasa wideangleof view.A teleph'to
lenshasa narrower
angle
of viewontheworld
Aperture-ln m0tion
picture
equipment
terms,theaperture
referst0 therrrsor flexible
opening
ofthecamera
lensthatcontrols
howmuch
orhowlittlelightisusedt0 expose
theimage
inside
thecamera.
A wideaperture
oririssetting
letsina larger
amount
of
light.A smaller
aperture
Ietsin lesslight.0n manycamera
lenses,
theaperture
can
a l s ob ef u l l y" s t . p p eddo w no" r c l o s eadl l t h e w a y f o r t o t a l d a r k0nnet hses
rmage.
Artificiallight-Anylightgenerated
bya man-made
device
suchasa filmtight,
a desk
lamp,
ora neonsign.
Aspectratio-Thenumerical
relationship
between
thedimensions
ofwidthandheight
foranygivenvisual
recording
medium.
Intheexample
16.g,
thefirstnumber,
16,represents
theunitsof measure
across
thewidthof a high-definition
videotrame.
The
second
number,
9, represents
thesameunitsof measure
fortheheiqht
0f thesame
frame.
Assembleedit-The phaseduringthe post-production
process
wherean editorfirst
assembles
therawfootage
intoa basicstorystructure.
Assistanteditor-A support
position
withina post-production
environment.
Theduties
andresponsibilities
of anAEchange
withthecomplexity
of theprogram
edrted,
the
budget,
andthefacility
inwhichtheeditiscompleted.
General
tasks
include
capturing

s eds,
l l rr r , r r r r r r l rl lt rt n
, r r rrtr1r l , r ur lr 1l r, r r L 1 , w
r ltl ;t ;at ;t t ,e r t d ti tottlht ec h i eet d i t o rn' e
: :t;t r v t u wa r t da p p r o v e
a tl ,c .
i r r t t l t o t tl rt tr r lr r r. o
l p r rl o
(sound)-The
wherea scene
general
of anyIocation
background
sounds
Atmosphere
game
car.
football
arena,
subway
cafeteria,
fora filmisshotExamples:
school
particulates
a filmsetor location,
rntheairaround
suspended
Atmospherics-Any
thedistant
background.
obscure
suchasfogormistordust,whichwillcumulatively
Theattention
faces
withinthefilmspace.
inwhicha character
Attention-The
direction
or anything
object,
an tnanimate
character,
maybedrawnbyanother
of a character
theeyesof thecharacter
lineconnects
An imaginary
thatdrawshisor herattenti0n.
willtracethislineto
and,mostoften,theaudience
of theirattenti0n
andtheobject
seesSeealsoSightLines.
alsoseewhatthecharacter
usedin
audiotracks
themanydifferent
together
of blending
Audiomix-The process
(volumes)
Sp0together
program
work
appropriately
suchthattheirlevels
anedited
s0they
effects,
etc.,areall blended
narratton,
music,
sound
voice-over
kendialogue,
track.
goodwithoneanother
thepicture
under
sound
fromthe exactsame
thatviewthe subject
Axial edit-Cuttingtwo shotstogether
SeealsoCutInand
of thesubject
themagnification
butonlychange
angleonaction
n.
Punch
ing-l
bytalentsightlinesthathelpsestablish
lineestablished
Axis of action-Theinvisible
Thecamera
forthatscene.
coverage
thecamera
canrecord
whatsideof theaction
it will cause
a
linebecause
sideof thisaction
to theopposite
notbemoved
should
Rule,SightLine,and
direction.
See180Degree
in theestablished
screen
reversal
l m a g i n aLriyn e

-(E
o

tD

farther
away
thedeepspace
framethatshows
zone
withina filmed
Background-The
the
t0 generate
is outof focus,
butserves
fromcamera.
Mostoftenthebackground
ambrence
of thelocation.
at their
thetalentbutp0inted
behrnd
Back light-A lightusedon a filmsetplaced
by
from
the
thebody
backgroundprovidlt generally
to helpseparate
serves
backside.
head,
andhatr.
of thebody,
theedges
inga rimorhaloof lrghtaround
endpointwithan uncertain
in audiofroma knownanddesired
Backtiming-Laying
startporntInyourprogram.

-9
(,

B e a t - A I I ) 0 t t l ut lt tlll t l l uA. p i i u stur ll o l l t c r ; r lsrur l r nirr;r r,lj [ ) l ) r o, lr)l rl l r l l r r : l l r : r rl :r;l

pieceWhenstrung
theedited
together,
several
beats
lorlltr;r;tlrtrrr's
carrarj0oult
rlrrl
instinct
in proper
timing
of shots,
titles,
trarrsition
effects,
andsoorr

C a m e rsao t - u p A 1 ,r ', , r l l r Il r l r rsr0 lw l t r ) rae( ; a r n errSap o s t t t O t l0erde c o radS n o t .

l r r r ; l r n r rl l: r r r , r r r r i rrr: ,lrt l t y s r r ; at nl loyv etdo a n e wp o s i t i oi tni s c o n s i d e raende w
( ; a r n esreal - u p

Binocularvision(humanvisualsystem)-Having
twoeyeslocated
at thefrontof tlrc
head.
Theslightdistance
between
thetwoeyescauses
thehuman
t0 seenearby
objecls
points.
fromtwodistinct
vantage
Thebrainthencombines
thetwodistinct
images
into
onepicture
wheretheoverlapping
elements
takeona three-dimensional
aspect.

thatis usedto
or pieceof filmequipment
Camerasupport(tripods,etc.)-Any device
etc.,areallexamples
picture
carmounts,
Tripods,
dollies,
camera.
themotion
support
of camera
support.
ktnds
of various

Blocking-Themovement
of talentwithrn
thefilmspace
andthecorresponding
movement,if any,of thecamera
to f0llowtheactions
0f themoving
talent
Eoomarm-Derivingitsnamefromthearmature
ona sailingship's
mast,a boomarm
is usedto swivelandextend
thecamera
s placement
to getsweeping
shotsor keep
thecamera
buoyant
without
a tripod
directly
beneath
it.
Boomoperator(audiorecording)-Thecrewmember
whose1obit is t0 h0ldand
manipulate
theaudiorecording
microphone
suspended
pole
froma long,telescoping
usually
overtheheads
oftheacting
talent.
Breakframe-Whena recorded
objectaccidentally
movesto theedgeof theframe
andfallsoutside
thevisible
areaof theimage.
B-roll-Any footagecaptured
at a location
that showsthe environment
andother
details
or non-specific
visual
aspects
of anarea0r process
thatdoesnotinvolve
the
principle
subject
of focusor maintalent.0ftenusedwithnewsreporting
whilea
reporter
speaks
overtheimagery

Angle.
angle-Seeals0Dutch
Canted
cambuiltintomostvrdeo
lightsensor
device(GGD)-Iheelectrontc
Charge-coupled
getrecorded
These
voltages
voltages.
intoelectronic
erasthatturnslightwaveenergy
ona tape0f harddrtvein thecamera.
andcolotvalues
asbrightness
artsto talkabout
Thetermis usedin thevisual
for light/dark
Chiaroscuro-ltalian
Filmmakers,
areas.
lightareasof a frameanddark
ratiobetween
thehighcontrast
within
visual
elements
to showorhidecertain
usethistechnique
aswellaspainters,
theirtrames.
of theshotwhichis to be filmed0n the
Clapperboard-Thisis thevisualrecord
withotherinformatogether
thescene
andthetakenumber,
is marked
clapper
board
is thepointat
together
Thesound0f theboard"clapped"
tionabouttheshooting.
poslproduction.
lf a board
during
together
whichsound
andvisionaresynchronized
lf theboardis held
andvisionarebeingrecorded.
thats0und
it indicates
is clapped
down
rsshown
upside
lt theboard
recorded
onlyis being
thatvisron
openit indicates
"end
An
board."
an
at theendof theshotandrscalled
it shows
thatit wasrecorded
0rmuteSeealsoSlate.
claoped
canbealsoeither
endboard

Business-Anybusyworkperformed
byan actorwiththeirhands
whileactinqin a
scene.

of onlyoneperson
bodyparts
thatcontains
shotto a close-up
Gleansingle-A medium
scene.
maybepartof therecorded
othercharacters
eventhough

Butt-cut-A straight
editbetween
twopicture
frames
infilmorvideowithnotransitron
effectsuchasa dissolve,
wipe,orfade.

of digitalvideomediafilethatwill be usedin an
Clip-Any pieceof filmor segment

Camera
angle-Theangle
at whicha camera
viewsa particular
sceneCamera
angles
positioning
canbebased
onhorizontal
camera
around
thesubject
orvertical
camera
positioning
beloworabove
thesubject.

of
takesupthemajority
0f interest
Glose-upshot-Any detailshotwheretheObJect
the
photographing
bottom
a
human
being,
When
willbemagnified.
theframeDetails
just
part
graze
andthetopedgeof framemay
the
of
theirshoulders
tgp
will
of frame

o
o

at

Cameraperson/camera
operator-Theperson,
manorwoman,
whophysically
handlesthecamera
during
theshooting.
Themainresponsibrlrty
proper
is to marntain
framing
andcomposition
andto verifygoodfocus

sequence.
edited

justcutoffthetoppartof theirheadorhair.
firston
linesthatarerecorded
vertical
colored
arethethick,
these
Golorbars-ln video,
"line
each
time
machines,
so
that
or
up"theediting
a tapeThevareusedto calibrate

-9
(,

a pl(.lul0
l s c u l l l ( l lt l l t tr ; l l t t t s l l r c s , r t t t t lrl.r u r . r t l o ti sl r : , l t r r r rt l r r ' l ' l t r r l l l r l : ; r ; r t : c 1 ,

yellow,
green.
whrte,
cyan,
magenta,
red,ttlue,
andbla0k
Colortemperature-Often
referenced
onthedegrees
Kelvin
scale,
c0l0rtemperaturr:
isa measurement
perceived
of a light's
colorwhencompared
to thec0l0r0f a "perfect
blackbody"exposed
to increasing
ievels
of heat.Thecolortemperature
forfilmiightirrir
is generally
accepted
asaround
3200degrees
Kelvin.
Sunlight
is generally
accepted
asaround
5600degrees
Kelvin.
Thelowernumbers
appear
warmorange/amber
wherr
"white"
compared
to
andthehigher
numbers
appear
coolblue.
Complex
shot-Anyshotthattnvolves
talentmovement
andmovement
of thecamera
( p a no rt i l t ) .
picture
Gomposition-ln
motion
terms,
theartfuldesign
employed
to placeobjects
of
importance
withinandaround
therecorded
trame
Gontinuity-lnmotionpicture
production
terms:(1)Having
actorsrepeat
the same
script
linesinthesame
waywhileperforming
physical
similar
actions
across
multiple
(2)making
takes,
surethatscreen
direction
rsfollowed
fromonecamera
set-up
to the
next,and(3)in post-production,
thematching
of physical
actionacross
a cutpoint
between
twoshotsof coverage
fora scene
Contrast-The
range
of darkandlighttonalities
withina filmframe
Gontrastratio-The levelof delineation
between
strongareasof darkandstrong
- Key+
areas
of lightwithina filmframeasrepresented
in a ratioof twonumbers
F i iF
l itl
Coverage-Shooting
thesameactionfrommultiple
angles
withdifferent
framing
at
eachcamera
forexample,
set-up;
a dialogue
scene
between
twopeople
mayrequire
a
wide,establrshrng
shotof theroom,
a tighter
two-shot
of bothplayers,
clean
srngles
of
eachactor,
reciprocal
over-the-shoulder
shots
favoring
eachactor,
cut-aways
of hands
moving,
theclock
onthewall,etc.

C r i t i c a l l o c u /s' \ , . r , ' , , r r r r r y { r , l l l r r l j ( , , i 1 l t r r r t t t l y r ) n r ) l ) ( j t t c t t t l l l t y s r t ; i i
e r l e r Ii rl t ep l a r toefc r r t i cfaolc u s
r r : , r l rl l ry, rl l: ,r r r ' , l r , r rI 1l rrrru, , l r r rl l r cr r r r ; l rpr r l( ; t u0t a
r sl l r r s l r t ;ocl l , p , r rr.rrrl :r o r rl rl ll l r el e n st h aw
t r l sl h o wa n yo b l e cwtt t h ttnh a pt l a nteo b e
close-up
theireyes
faceina medium
rntruefocus;
forexarnple,
whenrecording
a person's
plane
focus
the
in
then
of critical
focus.
Whentheeyesare sharpest
should
beinsharpest
awayfromthelensastheactorseyes.
focushasbeenplaced
at thesamedistance
is interwhereoneplotlineof action
of filmconstruction
Crosscutting-Theprocess
given
plotlinesuchthattheaudience
potentially
is
analterrelated
cutwrthanother,
Editing.
a single
SeealsoParallel
nating
tasteof each0nethrough
scene.
applied
to audioeditswheretheendof onepieceof
Crossfade-An audiotreatment
of sound.
audiolevelof thenextpiece
audioisfadeddownunder
therising
rule,
lineor 180degree
t0 theaction
inherent
Crossthe line-Basedontheconcept
recording
line
rnoving
the
and
the
camera
across
thisexpression
refers
to accidentally
direction
whenedited
screen
for a scenethatwill notmatchestablished
coverage
together.
SeealsoJumptheLine
(verb).
picture
Toedita motion
Cut-An editpoint(noun)
in subject
shotthatis different
out0f oneshotto another
Cutaway(verb)-Editing
the
through
coming
matter
fromtheprevious
0ne,e.g.,"cutawayfromthepostman
gatet0 thedoginside
waiting."
thehouse,
thatallowsa breakfromthemainactionwithitt
Cut-away(noun)-Anyshotrecorded
place
intoanedited
of shotswhena visual
a cut-away
scene
Theeditor
will
a scene.
will notedit
coverage
or whentwoothershotsfromtheprimary
breakis necessary
together
smoothly
camera
Cut-in-A tightershottakeneitherwitha longfocallengthlensor a closer
position
Axial
Edit
See
lens
axis
the
original
wider
shot.
also
as
butalongthesame
o rP u n c h i n g - l n

crab-when a dollymoves
thecamera
sideways
or parallel
t0 themovement/action
recorded.
perpendicular
Thecamera
lensis actually
to thesubjects
mostoften.

maybe biasedtowardseeingthe color

Daylightbalance-Filmandvideocameras
"white"
light.Whentheyaresetthisway,theyhavea
temperature
of daylight
as
daylight
balance.

Crane-Muchlikethelarge,
heavy
machinery
usedin c0nstructi0n,
a craneona film
setmayraiseandmovecamera
or havelargelighting
unitsmounted
to it fromhigh
abovetheset.

temperature,
ranglng
a lightsource's
color
Degrees
Kelvin-Thescaleusedto indicate
lightfallsfrom1000to 4000
Red/orange/amber
colored
roughly
from1000to 20,000.
lightfallsfrom4500onupto 20,000
andbluish

tG
o

th

-9
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D e p t h - i l l e d i s l a t t t ;ttr; t t t tlt; t t t t t c tri t ; t ; c t 1 nrrn; l ot l t c l r i r r . k r l r o r r r lrIrllr r , r , t l r l o r ; , r l r r r r r

T h er l l u s r o nft h r e e - d i m e n sdi oeneapslp a c0ent h et w o - d i r n e r r s lrrol rnrp,rrl ;l r r r e

Depthol tield(DOF)-lnfilmmaking
terms,
thedepthof fieldreters
t0 a zone,
some
distance
fromthecamera
lens,
whereanyobject
willappear
t0 beinacceptable
focus
to theviewing
audience.
Thedepthof fieldlivesaround
theplaneof critical
focus,
it
appears
0ne-third
inf rontofandtwo-thirds
behind
thepointof critical
focus
instead
of
centered
equally.
Anyoblect
outside
thedepth
of fieldwillappear
blurry
totheviewer
Thedepthof fieldmaybealtered
or controlled
bychanging
thecamera
to thesubject
distance
orbyadding
lightto orsubtracting
lightfromthesubject.
- a zoom,
Developing
shot-Anyshotthatincorporates
elaborate
talentmovement
a
panor tilt,anda camera
dolly.
Diegetic-Generated
by something
withinthe filmworld,usually
assocrated
with
picture;
sound
elements
in a fictional
playing
motron
forexample,
a song
on a juke
boxin a diner.
(DP,D0P)-Theperson
Directorof photography
0nthefilm'screwwhoisresponsible
picture
tortheoverall
project's
lookof a motion
recorded
imageHeor shehelpsin
planning
theangles,
composition,
andmovement
of thecamera
as wellas desiqn
details
likecolorpalettes,
textures,
andlighting
schemes.
Dirtysingle-A medium
shottoa close-up
thatcontains
themainperson
of interest
for
theshotthatals0contains
some
visible
segment
of another
character
whoisalsopart
0f thesamescenelhe cleansingle
is made"dirty"byhaving
thissliver
of another's
bodvnartin theframe.
Dissolve-Atreatment
applied
to thevisual
trackof a pr0gram
at aneditpointWhile
theendof theoutgoing
shotdisappears
fromthescreen,
theincoming
shotissimultaneously
resolving
0nt0thescreen.
Dolly-Traditionally,
picture
anywheeled
device
usedt0 move
a motion
camera
around
a filmseteitherwhilerecording
or in between
takesA dollymaybe threeor four
wheeled,
rideonthefloororroll(with
specialwheels)along
straight
orcurved
tracks,
orhavea telescoping
orbooming
armthatliftsandlowers
camera.
Domesticcut-off-Theoutertenpercent
picture
of transmitted
informatron
thatis cut
offat theou'tside
edges
of a cathode
raytube(CBT)
television
setandnotviewable
by

l l 1 ' r r rl r r r r r t r , , l r,r l ,r

1 r ll l l r r r { r r o l s l t t t t t l t ju t a k c r tl t l t oa C C O Uwnht e n c o m p o s -

l r l l r t tl t r t l a d u a0snt t e l e v l s l 0 n .
r r r r, tr s l r o l o r , r l r r r l r 'I rl l r , rw

is canted
or
terms,
anyshotwherethecamera
tilt-ln filmmaker
Dutchangle/Dutch
a
line.TheDutchangleis oftenusedt0 represent
horizon
rrotlevelwiththeactual
ordisquietdiabolical,
underhanded,
thataren0tquiteright,
viewof objectsoractions
andasa result
diagonally
askew
lineswithintheframegoslightly
rngAll horizontal
lineswilltipinthesamedirection.
,ny truevertical
a motjon
Toassemble
shots(noun)
twodifferent
cutpointbetween
Edit*Theactual
(verbl.
elements
picture
visual
andauditory
fromdisparate
should
thecamera
to followaction,
hasbeenmoving
Endframe-Anytimethecamera
frame
willbeused
Thisclean,
static
action
ceases
therecorded
to a stopbefore
cOme
shotto anyothershotthatwouldcomenext
t0cutawaytromthemoving
bytheeditor
endf rame
visual
cutandthisstatic
is a veryjarring
f rames
frames
cutto static
Moving
thismrstake.
helpsprevent
lt ts
in a motionpicture.
thefirstshotof a newscene
shot-Traditionally
Establishing
willtake
action
following
wheretheimmediately
thelocation
a wideshotthatreveals
roughtimeof day,roughtirneof year,weather
place0nemayqurckly
learnplace,
thisshot
era,etc.,byseerng
historrcal
conditions,
on
animage
t0 create
picture
it isthelightneeded
camera
terms,
Exposure-lnmotion
lf youdonothave
(either
filmora videolrghtsensor).
medium
emulsion
therecording
t00darklf youhave
yourimage
andit willappear
expose
lightyouwillunder
enough
toobrtght
yourimage
andlt willappear
toomuchlrghtyouwilloverexpose
outside.
anyshotthathasto takeplace
Exterior-lnfilmterms,

o
o

a^

-9

offthemoist
thatreflects
infrontof talent
placed
somewhere
Eyelight-A lightsource
"lite
brings
twinkle
light,"
this
eye
the
called
surface
of theetle.Sometimes
andcurved
is alive
thatthecharacter
an audience
in theeyeandofteninforms
outthesparkle
livingor
is nolonger
of theeyelightcanmeanthata character
Absence
andvibrant.
etc.
ishiding
something,
eyesto s0me
froma talent's
thescreen
across
linethattraces
imaginary
Eye-line-The
SeealsoSightLine
object
of interest.

Eye-linm
e a t c h - W l l e tst h o o t r rtt;gl e a st tr n q l(t i;( J V c r (l r (r lr,{r) r w , r l ) ' , r : ,irl rl . r l s r ; r r 1
scene,
theeyesof thetwo characters
should
be looking
oll lrrrrrrc
rrrllr0drrsr;lrrrrr
of wheretheothercharacter's
heador facewouldbe Eventhough
bothactors
rn,ry
notbesitting
nextto Oneanother
astheywereinthewidertwo-sh0t,
gl
theeye-lrne
each"looking"
at theothermustmatchfromshott0 shotsothereis consrstencv
rrr
theedited
scene.
Eyetrace-The places
ona screen
thatattracttheinterest
of a viewerseyes.As th0
picture
motion
plays
onthescreen
theaudrence
willmove
theirfocus
around
tnecom,
position
to findnewpieces
of jnformation.
Fade-A treatment
of aneditpointwherethescreen
transitions
froma solidc0l0rto a
fullvisible
image
orfroma fullyvisible
rmage
intoa frameof solrd
color.
Fade-in(fadeup)-Transitioning
froma solidblackopaque
screen
t0 a fullyvisible
rmage.
(fadedown)-Transitioning
Fade-out
froma fullyvisible
image
to a solidbtack
opaque
screen.
Fill light-A lightof lesser
intensity
thanthekeylight.lt is usedrohelpcontrot
contrast
ona setbutmostoftenona person's
face.lt is "filling"
in theshadows
caused
bvthe
dominant
keylight
Filmgauge-ln theworldof emulsion
filmmotion
pictures,
thephysicalwidth
of the
plastic
filmstripis measured
in millimeters
(i.e,16mm,35mm).
Ihismeasurement
ot
filmwidthisalsoreferred
to asthefilm's
gauge.
..known,,
Filmspace-Theworldwithinthefilm,bothcurrently
presented
0nscreen
and
to existwithinthefilms reality.
Finecut-A laterstagein theeditrng
process
wheretheedrted
program
is verynear
completion.
Anyfurther
changes
willbeminor.
Fisheyelens-A camera
lenswhosefrontoptical
(orbulbous
element
is so convex
liketheeyeof a fish)that
it cangather
lightraysfroma verywidespan.
Theresuiting
imageformed
whileusingsucha lensoftenshowsa distortion
in theexaoqeratecl
expansion
of physical
space,
object
sizes,
andperspective.
Flashback-Adevice
in filmconstructi0n
thatlumpsthenarrative
fromthepresent
timeof'thestoryto anearlier
time usually
usedto explain
howthecurrent
circumstances
cameabout

F l a s hp a n - A v ' r yr 1 r, | 1 ,r r r l r i r rl lrr , rl lr l r r tl lsr cr n ( r ( li tr ( . r otshset r l r on rv t d e for a m e .

l ) l l i : rrrr s l rrir l ) , n ', t, I w , t yl ( )l r , i n s t l rr0, rnuotf o r t es h oat n di n t ot h en e x t
Focallength-lheangleof viewthata particular
lenscanrecord.
lt isa number,
tradi(mm),
in millimeters
lionally
measured
thatrepresents
a camera
lens'ability
to gather
(ie.,1Omm)
arrdfocuslight.A lowerfocallength
number
indicates
a wideangleof
(i
viewA higher
tocallength
numbere.,200mm)
indicates
fieldof view
a morenarrow
whereobjects
further
fromthecamera
to bemagnified.
appear
Focus-Thestatewhereobiectsviewedby thecamera
appear
to be sharply
edged,
well-defined,
andshowcleardetail.
Anything
outof focusrssaidto beblurry
practice
Foley-A soundrecording
where"artists"
makenoisesin a studi0while
picture.
theywatchtheedited
motion
Thesounds
willreplace
theyrecord
oraugment
thesoundeffects
leather
of thefilmlikefootsteps,
creaks,
doorknobliggles,
and
s00n.
Followingfocus-lf a subject
moves
closer
to or further
awayfromthecamera
but
must
stayswithinthefilmframe,oftenthe camera
assistant
0r camera
operator
manually
focusof therecording
lensto keepthemoving
controlthe
in clear,
subject
lf thesubject
crispfocus.
at theplaneof critical
focusmoves
awayfromthatplane
get
thecorresponding
thecamera
andoutside
depthof field,theywill
blurry
unless
follows
focus
assistant
rawvisualmaterial
Footage-The
wrthwhichtheedttOr
works.
lt is a general
name
givent0 the recorded
images
on thefilmor videotapethatwerecreated
during
prod
uctr0n.
Foreground-The
zonewithina filmedframethatstartsnearthecamera's
lensbut
t
it reaches
zonewherethemainacti0n
endsbefore
a moredrstant
maybeoccurring. a!
o
a,
intheforeground
Anyobject
thatexists
of therecorded
frame
willobscure
everything (,o
in themoredistant
z0nes
outto thernfinitv
ooint
Foreshortening-ln
the visualarts.it is a way thatthree-dimensional
objects
are
plane.
represented
0n thetwo-dimensional Whenpictured
froma certain
viewor
perspective,
the objectmayappearcompressed
from
its
and/ordistorted
actual
shape.
Fourthwall-ln fictronal
narrative
filmmaking,
thistermmeanstheplacefromwhere
thecamera
objectively
theactionon thefilmset Sinceit is possible
for
observes

l l l ( l( l i l r l l ( l roi tl t ; t ; t l ot ttlt l yt i r t t ;ocl t i r t l:o u rw r r l lw

s r l l r r,rirl r l r r r, r , tl l,r l ( j u r lw
l r i t l lt s
thespace
onsetwherethecameta
livesandit is frorntltatprrvrit:qr:ii
wlrgrsrl
lrtirce
observes
theaction.
Frame-Theentirerectangurar
areaof therecorded
imagewithzones
0f t'p, b'tt'n),
left,right,andcenter
Frontlighting-Anylighting
scheme
wherelights
come
fromabove
andalmost
directly
behind
thecamera
recording
thescene.
Talent,
whenfacing
toward
thecamera,
wrll
haveanoverall
evenlighting
thatoftencauses
a flatness
to theirfeatures.
Gearedhead-A professional
pieceof camera
support
usedon doilies,
cranes.
and
tripods
thathastwospinning
geared
wheels
thatallowforveryfluidvertical
andhorizontal
movements
ofthecamera.
Thecamera
operator
mustmanually
cranK
eachqear
wheelto maintain
theappropriate
framing.
Gel-Heat-resistant
sheet
plastic
of flexrble
filmthatcontarns
a uniform
color.
Usedto
adda "wash"ofcolorona filmset.Forexample,
if thefeeling
of sunset
isrequrred
for
a sn0t,anorange/yellow
gelcanbeplaced
between
thelights
andtheserto qrvethe
rmpression
of a warmer
sunset
color.
Goldenhour-Themoments
sunset
butbefore
lustafterdirect
theambient
lightinthe
skyfadesto nrghttrme
darkness.
Filmmakers
oftenappreciate
thevisualquality
the
softtoplightof duskcreates
onexterior
scenes.
Sometimes
called
themagic
hour.
Grip-A filmcrewmember
jobit ist0 move,
whose
place,
andtweakanyof thevarious
pieces
offilmequipment
usedforsupport
of camera,
lighting
units,
ordevices
usedto
block
light,among
otherduties.
A special
dollygripmaybeusedto rigthedollytracks
andpushor pullthedolly/camera
during
therecording
of a shot.
Handheld-0perating
themotion
prcture
camera
whileit is supported
in thehands
or
propped
upontheshoulder
of thecamera
operator.
Thehuman
bodyactsasthekey
suppOrt
device
forthecamera
andis responsible
forall movement
achieved
bythe
camera
during
therecording
process.
Hardlight-A quality
of lightdefined
bythepresence
parallel
of srrong,
raysemrtted
by
thelightsource
well-defined,
darkshadows
arecreated
byhardIight.
Head-Thecommon
filmtermfor thebeginning
of a shot,especially
during
thepost_
productio'n
editingprocess.

d f t h et a l t eb o vteh eh e a o
H e a dr o o m l t , l r ,, l rr r . , i l l r { i l o l )tol rl er e c u r t il er at lr t a
v a l u a bsl ep a c e
w i l lw a s t e
c n l A l y i r i r l iIrrrr r , rl ry, r vlrr r ; , r rol o mI.o om u c h e a dr o o m
yoursubject
to appear
cutoffortruncated.
maycause
in thetramcirnrirrotcncrugh
posifroma vertical
records
theactron
Highangleshot-Anyshotwherethecamera
looking
outa
forexample,
thecamera,
tionhigher
thanmostobjects
beingrecorded;
pulling
below
into
the
driveway
down
house,
records
a
car
floor
window
of
a
third
(HD)-A reference
qualrty
image
andwiderf ramesize
totheincreased
Highdefinition
perframe(720
in lineresolution
Theincrease
format.
digitalvideo
of themorerecent
image
andcolorintensity
of theplayback
increases
thesharpness
or 1080)
ratiobetween
a lowcontrast
stylewherethereexists
High-keylighting-A lighting
gives
even
lit areasandthedarkareasof theframe.0verall, lighting
thebrightly
proper
withinit. No realdarkshadow
t0 mostof thesetandcharacters
exposure
regions.
regions
bright
andnorealoverly
lampburns
insucha wayit emitslightthat
fixture
whoseinternal
HMI-A filmlighting
(5500
Kelvin).
6000degrees
in c0lortemperature
matches
daylight/sunlight
to thehoodof a motor
headandcamera
Hoodmount-A device
usedto mounta trrpod
is
recorded
whilethevehtcle
may
be
of
the
vehicle
vehicle
suchthatthe0ccupants
rtgto the
thecamera
to helpsecure
cupis employed
in motion.
0ftena largesuction
hood.
lt is usedto
linethatcutsacross
a filmframehorizontally.
Horizonline-The distant
0f the
thetopandbottom
thescope
0f thefilmspace
andhelpsdefine
helpestablish
filmworld.
establrsh o
lineestablished
bytalentsightlinesthathelps
line-The invisible
lmaginary
to
Thecamera o
forthatscene.
coverage
canrecord
whatsideof theactionthecamera
-9
(9
it will causea
to theopposite
sideof thisactionlinebecause
notbemoved
should
Line,and
Rule,
Srght
intheestablished
screen
direction.
Seealso180Degree
reversal
Axisof Action.
The
beginning.
picture-Ata cutpoint,
thereisoneshotending
andanother
Incoming
picture
afterthecutpointistheincoming
shotthatis beginning
bul
intoa scenethatis notpart0f themaincoverage
lnsertshot-Any shotinserted
to thestoryunfolding.
relates

I n t e r i o r - l nf i l r nr c r n r tsr,n ys l r ortl r i ri tr r rlso l i r k tp: l r r t r; cr r s r r | :

Inter-titles-Atrtlecardoropaque
graphrc
thatappears
onthescreen
to cor)vev
wrl
teninformation.

' r , ' . r ti ,l r rrlr r r rlsl rl r : t r r llrrlcrrr; t v t ll rt rtt l t er t t c o r npi tilcg

l l r ' r r l ' r ' r. . . t , t ,
r rl l l rI lr l r al t l dI t , u t
I r t t t, :t t t :i ,j t t t t tl t ,r ilft. i , r r S
o ra c a m e rtar l p o d .
L e g s - A na l l e n t J tl tua t t tl e

lris-ln mOtion
plcture
equipment
terms,
theirisrefers
t0 theaperture
of flexible
ope;
ingof thecamera
lensthatcontrols
howmuchorhowlittlelightisusedto expose
the
rmage
inside
thecamera
Mostmodern
videocameras
useanelectronic
iristhathasa
thumb
wheelthat
manually
controls
thesetting
formoreor lesslightMosthigh-end
emulsion
filmandhighdefinition
lenses
useanirisofsliding
metalblades
thatoverlao
t0 maketheaperture
smaller
orwrder.

the
pathcuttlng
thr0ugh
rt ls thecentral
piCture
terms,
camera
Lensaxis-ln m0tion
parallel
to
lensLight
traveling
taking
glass
inthecamera's
foLrncl
rnrclclle
of thecrrcular
therecordexposing
intothecamera
bythelensandbrought
thelensaxisiscollected
(likea
lens
the
camera's
lineoutof
strarght
cantraceanimagrnary
rrrgrnediurn.One
along
isnowplaced
Thatsubject
recorded.
andhaveit fallonthesubject
laserpointer)

Jib arm-A pieceof motion

picture
camera
support
equrpment
thatallowsthecam_
erat0 movearound
a centralfulcrumpoint,left/righllup/downldiagonal.
lt maybe
mounted
ontotripod
legsorona dolly.

of lightfallingona
thequantity
to readandmeasure
designed
Lightmeter-A device
0nthefilmset
fromit Qftenusedt0 helpsetthelevelof exposure
or emitted
scene
iris
onthecamera's
thesetting
and,consequently,

Jumpcut-An anomaly
of theeditedfilmwhentwo verysimilar
shotsof thesame
subject
arecuttogether
andplayed.
A "1ump"
in space
ortimeappears
to occur
that
ofteninterrupts
theviewersappreciation
forthestory.

gazet0 the0bJect
a sublect's
linethatconnects
Line(lineof action)-Theirnaginary
rntheentrywayof
a man,standing
forexample,
bythatsubiect;
viewed
of interest
The"line"would
looksat thenameplateonthedoorbuzzer
building,
anapartment
fromtheman'seyest0 thenameplateonthewall.Thenextshotrnaybe a
betraced
to thequestion,
giving
ananswer
theaudience
of thenameplateitself,
bigclose-up

Jumpthe line-Basedontheconcept
inherent
to theactionlineor iB0degree
rule,
thisexpression
referst0 accidentally
moving
thecamera
across
thelineandrecording
coverage
for a scene
thatwill n0tmatchestablished
screen
direction
whenedited
together.
SeealsoCross
theline.
Keylight-The mainlrghtsource
around
whichrheremaining
lighting
planis

built.
Traditionally,
onfilmsets,it isrhebrightest
lightthathelpsilluminate
andexpose
the
faceof themaintalentintheshot.

Kickerlight-Anylightthathitsthetalentfroma three-quarter
backsrde
placement,
lt
oftenrimsjustonesideof thehair,shouldet
or1awline
[-cut-A cutpointwheretheprcture
trackandthesound
track(s)
arenotjorned
exactly
at thesameframe.
Picture
trackwilllastlonger
andplayoverthenewincoming
audio
tracks,
or a newpicture
trackappears
at thecutpointandplaysoverthecontinuing
audiofromtheoutgoing
shot.Theclipsegments
around
thiseditwilltakeona hori_
"1"
zontal shape.
SeealsoSplltEditandLapping.
Lapping(pictureandsound)-Ihe practice
of editing
wherecorresponding
outgorng
picture
andsound
tracks
aren0tcutstrarght,
butarestaggered
sooneis tonqer
and

theaxisof thelens

"Whatis helooking
at?"
are
headpanandtilt controls
of a shotwherethetrrpod
description
Locked-ofl-The
to make
lf it wasnecessary
of thecamera
tightsotherewillbenomovement
locked
wouldbe loosened
thepanandtilt locks
shooting,
to theframeduring
adjustments
movement
forsmooth
slightly
a shooting
Thislistiscalled
downwhileshooting.
allshotsarewritten
Log-Generally,
project,
shotsthatareg0lngt0 be usedlrom
of an editrng
thecreation
G
log.Durrng
o
ul
anedit
rscompleted,
Aftertheentiresequence
arealsologged.
tapesgurces
orrginal
-9
(t
to keeptrackof theshotsusedandthe
list(aneditlog)canalsobecreated
decision
withthem
associated
timecodes
theirentirebodyis vistble
human
being,
a standing
Longshot-Whenphotographing
is alsovisible
environment
withinthe frameanda qooddealo{ the surrounding
tnem.
around
it is thespace
a pers0n
room-when photographrng
room/nose
Lookroom/looking
is positioned
edgeol thefilmframelf a pers0n
theirfaceandthefarthest
between

l r a t t tl e l t t t l t jsl t l t l k t t l t ; , t (c. nr ol ls) :l yi; l ) , i c i rl ,r r, lr r rrrrrr:l l rt tl , 1 1 ' , , , r

l ) t yr I r , t ( ., r,
constdered
thelookro0rTl
or|OseroOtn
(audio]ecording)-Anaudio
Looping
post-production
process
where
acrors
re-rec0r(r
quality
better
dialogue
performance
ina controlled
studio.
Ihisnew,clean
audro
trir.,k
isthenedited
intothemotion
picture
andappears
in syncwiththeoriginar
prcture
Low angleshot-Any shotwherethecamera
records
theactionfroma vertical
posi
tronlowerthanmostobjects
recorded,
forexample,
thecamera,
0na cttVsrdewalk
pointsupto thetenthfloorto record
twomencleaning
thewindows
lower thirds-A titleorgraphic
thatappears
asa superimposed
visual
element
across
thebottom
lowerthirdof thescreen.
usually
usedto identify
a person
or placein a
factual
newspieceora documentary
interview
low-keylighting-A lighting
stylewherea largecontrast
ratiobetween
rhebrightly
lit areasandthedarkareas0f theframeexist;for example,
filmnoirusedlow_key
lighting
t0 create
deep,
darkshadows
andsingle
source
keylighting
forexposure
of
principal
subjects
of importance.
Mastering-Theprocess
of creating
thefinalversion
of an editedprogram
thatlooks
andsounds
thebestandwillbeusedto create
otherversions
fordistriburron.
Match dissolve-A dissolve
between
two sh.tswhosevisualelements
arecomp'sitionally
similar.
Shape,
cololmass,
0r brightness
of theoutgoing
shotwilldissolve
intovisually
similar
shape,
color,
mass,
orbrightness
of theincoming
shot.
Matchingangles/shots
(reciprocating
imagery)-whenshooting
coverage
for a
scene,
eachcamera
set-up
favoring
eachcharacter
being
covered
should
beverysimi_
larif notidentical.
Oneshould
match
theframing,
camera
height,
focallength,
lighting,
andsoforthwhenedited
together
the"matching
shots,,will
balance
oneanother
and
keeptheinformation
presented
abouteachcharacter
consrstent
Mediumshot-whenphotographing
a standing
human
being,
thebottom
ot theframe
willcutofftheperson
around
thewaist.
Middleground-Thezonewithina filmed
framewherethemajonty
of thermportant
vrsualaction
willtakeplace.0blects
in themiddle
grourrd
maybeobscured
byother
objects
intheforeground,
butmiddle
ground
oblects
maythenalsoobscure
obrects
far
awayfroTn
camera
in thebackqround.

M o n o c u l avri s i o r(rc o n r o rlror r r s ) A v r ; L r sr ly s l c rrrtrtw l r t t ;ol r t l yt t r t el e r t st t t k e tst l

t aelcotf h u m abni n o c u lvarrs i oirst r l o t
, r r r r rl : r . o r,rrll:l,,1 , r t ,l lrr r ,! l r r r iirl r r r r c r t s rar tst p
l ) r e s einntl l r tr r r o r r r r rv. ur sl ;rrorot Jtt h ef i l mo rv i d e co a m e r a .
thathappen
overttmebutare
0revents
of edttsthatshowanevent
Montage-Aseries
to music.
time.lt is usually
edited
of screen
intoa briefepisode
condensed
trackthatwasrecorded
a picture
M0S (minusopticalstripe)-A termthatdescribes
film.
in thedaysof emulston
Thisoriginated
wrthout
anysound.
tromsomelight
t0 becoming
light-Light,seen0na filmset,thatappears
Motivated
filmworld.
source
withintheactual
sources
Naturallight-Anylightthatismadebythesunor fireNon-man-made
onvideo
recorded
sounds
ambience
orbackground
Naturalsound(natsound)-Audio
beingrecorded
tapeat thetimeof thepicture
theframe
thatcanmoveacross
andobscure
element
Naturalwipe-Any largevisual
naturally
wipestheframe
Thisobject
a shotona filmsetor location
whilerecording
orobject
of interest.
theviewof themainsubiect
andblocks
wherein
or emptyspacewithina
unoccupied
concept
Negativespace-An artistic
andis
has
mass,
weight,
andimportance
objects
also
of
orarrangement
composition
worthattention.
a camera
of lightentering
theamount
Neutraldensityfilter-A devicethatreduces
(neutral).
is
lt
erther
a
of thatlight
butdoesnotalterthecolortemperature
idensity),
lensor,withmanyvideocamglass
filterthatonecanapplyt0 thefrontof thecamera
lighteffect
thereduced
thatreplicates
electronics
withinthecamera's
eras,a setting
filters.
density
of neutral
with news
Mostoftenassociated
shotusedas a cut-away.
Noddy-Any reaction
pieces,
nodding
areusually
theseshotsof heads
interviews
andsomedocumentary
int0 cover
upaudt0
edtts.
andareedited
recorded
afterthemaininterview
replicates
whatthefieldof
lenswhosefocallength
closely
Normallens-A camera
wereseen
perspective
if
these
same
objects
on
certain
objects
mightbe
viewand
eyes.
withhuman
the
addresses
wherethetalentnever
0peration
0biectiveshooting-A styleof camera
partictpating
notactively
is a neutral
observer
Thecamera
of thecamera.
existence

o
o
o
0

l n l l l i l l l ( . o t ( l l l jl v l | l

l r t t l : , r t t r p l y l, ri lr r ; , 1 , , t! l l l v l t i r l l l t r r
,r.r

l r l r r , l t t , lrrt ll t l t r

au(jje|(;0

outgoingpicture-Ata cutpoint,
thereisoneshotending
ar)dan(rtlter
begrnning.
Ilrr:
sh0tthatisending
priorto thecutp0inttstheoutgolng
ptcture
Overexposed-A
stateof an imagewherethebrightregions
contain
no discernabre
vrsuar
databutappear
as growing
whitezones.
Theoverail
tonarity
of thisimage
mayalsobe racking
in true"brack"
varues
so everything
seemsgreyto whrtein
l u mi n a n c e .
0verheads-Drawings
or diagrams
of thefirmset,as seenfromabove
likea birdseye-vrew,
thatsh'wthepracement
of camera,
righting
equipment,
tarenr,
andanyset
furnishings,
etc.These
overheads
wiilactasa maptoreachdepartment
to prace
the
necessary
equtpment
in thoseroughed-out
regions
of set.
Overlapping
action-whireshooting
coverage
fora particurar
scene,
certarn
actions
madebytarentwiil havet0 be repeated
fromdifferent
camera
angres
andtramings.
Whencuttinqthefilmtogether,
theeditorwill benefit
fromhaving
thetalentmaking
tneserepeated
movements,
oroverrapping
actr.ns,
rnmurtipre
sh.tss0whenthecut
rsma0ertcanbemadeonthemovement
of theaction
fromthetwoshots.
over-the-shoulder
(0TS)shot-A shotusedin filmmaking
wherethebackot a character's
headandoneof his shoulders
occupy
the left/bottom
or right/bottom
foreground
andactasa "lrame"
forthefullfaceof another
character
standrng
orseated
rnthemiddleground
opposite
fromthefirstcharacter.
Thisshotis oftenusedwhen
recording
a dialogue
scene
between
twopeople.
Overwrite-Mostly
associated
withvideo
editing,
aneditcommand
thatactually
writes
newframes
of picture
andsound
over0ntopof,andrepracing,
exrsting
video
Pan-shortforpanorama,
thehorizontar
m.vement,
fromreftto rightorrightto reft,of
thecamera
whileit is recording
acti0n.
rf usinga tripodforcamera
supp'rt,
thepan
isachieved
byroosening
thepanrockonthetripod
headandusingthepanhandre
to
swivelthecamera
around
thecentral
pivotp0rntof thetripodto followtheaction
or
reveal
therecorded
environment
Panand scan-A pr'cessusedin terevision
broadcasting
wherean o'ginarwide_
screen
m'tr0nprcture
image
rscropped
downtofitintoa 4.3aspect
ratiowrndow
(the
screen
slzeof sDTV)and
slidorpanned
leftandrightto helprnaintain
some
deoree
ot

I l t l i l t t ' ll ) l tl i l ) I r

'

.. r,

r r I r r r T r ( t (rllrt r tl t r l l t , t v tl :l l ( ll ) , l l (l l l l (ll; ( , ( lllllO i l t l l l U l ) 1 ,

r l w o r r l rl Jr , t v rl ,r l r r i r r l . l r t l I r t r 0 xl r I i r l i l r C nl 0l s l t t t wl l t ( le t l t t r ew l d e s C r e eanS p e 0 t
r , r l r rt t t s t i llcl r r t t r r t r 'r, r 1 L r , r t. ii :l,Vi s c r e e t l .

pivotaxrsallowsforthepanning
action
tteadwitha horizontal
Panhandle-A trrpr-uJ
metal
tubing
pan
length
of
handle
rs
stick
0r
a
eitherleftor right.The
of thecamera
therate0f
to control
thecamera
operat0r
headandallows
offthetripod
thatextends
axis
pushing
thecentral
it around
panbyphysically
orpulling
mgvement
ofthecamera
pointof thetripod.
whereoneplotlineof actionis
of filmconstruction
Parallelediting-Theprocess
is givenan
plotlinesuchthattheaudience
potentially
related
inter-cut
withan0ther,
Cutting.
sceneSeealsoCross
a single
taste0f eachonethrough
alternating
free-wheel
thathasvertical
boomand360degree
device
support
Pedestal-Acamera
studio.
Mostoftenusedonthefl0orof a television
caoabilities.
picture
willbenomoreaddiwherethere
a motion
of editing
Picturelock-Thephase
theremainFrom
thatpointforward,
track{s)
tromthepicture
tignst0 orsubtractions
place
maytake
construction
andtweaking
ingaudio
stanceThe
anyshotthattakesona subjective
terms,
Point-of-view-lnfilmmaking
srtsin place
isseeing.
Thecamera
records
exactly
whatoneof thecharacters
camera
t0 represent
is supposed
audience
andwhatit showsto theviewing
of thetalent,
rsactually
seeing.
whatthecharacter
of light
instance
froma specific,localized
thatis derived
Pointsource-A lightsource
lightsource.
generation/emission.
A non-diffused
happens
phaseof motionpicture
thattradrtionally
creation
Post-production-The
(!
caninclude oo
Post-production
isshot(production).
filmorvrdeo
afterallof thelive-action
color -9
rendering,
motion
effects
creation,
picture
editing,
titleandgraphics
andsound
(,
mixing,
etc.
musical
scoring,
correction,
framethat
shot's
fixture
visible
intherecorded
lighting
on-set
Practical-Afunctional,
Forexample,
a shotof a mansitting
helpilluminate
thesetforexposure:
mayactually
theface
lightilluminates
thedeskisa desklampwhose
downata deskat nightUpon
of theman
priorto the
picture
project
thatOccurs
period
ofworkona motion
Pre-production-The
(productton).
photography
start0f principal

Production-llle
p e r r t ltttil w t r t k0 l i t m 0 l r 0In) l t r u tlrJ) r o l lr (l t rr t r r r L r rw
: ; l t r l ll l r l
scenes
arerecorded
onfilmorvideo.
Thiscouldbeassllort,rsir :;rrrillr:{l(ry
rorAgonl
mercral
ormusic
vrdeo
or lastseveral
months
fora feature
film
Proscenium
style-ln theatre
aswellas motion
pictures,
a wayt0 stagetheaction
suchthatit isseenfromonlyonedirection
Theaudrence,
or ina film,s
case.
thecam_
era,viewsandrecords
theaction
fromonlyoneangre.
Pullingfocus-Camera
lenses
thathavemanual
controls
for thefocuswill allowa
camera
assistant
orcamera
operator
to movetheplane
of critical
focuscloser
to the
camera,
therefore
shifting
whatappears
to be in sharpfocuswithinthe recorded
frame.
Thisis oftendoneto shiftfocusfromonefarther
obiectin theframeto one
closer
object
withintheframe
Punching-in-See
alsoAxialEditandCut-ln
Pushing
focus-Camera
lenses
thathavemanual
controls
forthefocuswill allowa
camera
assistant
0rcamera
operator
t0 movetheplane
of critical
focusfurther
away
fromthecamera,
therefore
shifting
whatappears
t0 beinsharp
focus
withrn
theframe
beingrecorded.
Thisisoftendoneto shiftfocusfroma nearobjectin theframeto one
further
away,
Rackfocus-During
therecording
of a shotthathasa shallow
depth
of fietd,
thecameraassistant
orcamera
Operator
mayneedto shiftfocus
fromonesubject
intheframe
t0another.
Ihisshifting
of planes
offocusfromonedistance
awayf romthecamera
t0
another
is called
racking
focus.
Reaction
shot-A shotin a scene
thatcomes
aftersomeactionor lineof dialogue.
Thefirstshotis the catalyst
for the reaction
depicted
in the second
shgt.tt tetsa
viewerknowhowtheothercharacters
arereacting
to theacti0n,
event,
0r dialoque
lustshown.
Reformat-changing
theshape,
size,andsometimes
frame-rate
of a motion
oicture
s0thatit will playon different
sizedscreens
or in different
countries
witnatternate
standards
formotion
picture
display.
Reveal-Anytimethefilmmaker
showsnew,important,
or startling
visual
information
on thescreen,
eitherthrough
camera
movement,
talentblocking,
or edited
shotsin
post-prodLrction.
Thereveal
of information
is thepayoffaftera suspenseful
expecta_
tionhasbeenestablished
withinthestory.

R i ml i g h t - / \ r r yr r l l r lL , r r l r , r y l r rr:i ;t {y:l"jr l l r lt"l t " l t a l ot"l t ee d g eos l a s u b ; e co tr a n

1 l, l r : rsrc ts o t t t e w h b
r r l r l t ior l l l r rl r l r r' ,i r r o
ee
r eh t ntdh eS U b J e c t .
in everyroom
tgnepresent
thatis theunderlying
of "silence"
Roomtone-Thesound
at least
willcapture
recordists
Mostsound
takesplace.
wherefilming
9renvironment
use
Editors
filming
has
occurred.
location
where
of roomtoneat every
thrrty
sec0nds
level
tracks
sort hasa continuous
space
ontheaudio
thistoneto fillingapsof empty
or tonethroughout
comeslustalterthe
editingthat usually
Roughcut-An initialstageof program
phase
of theedtt.
thisconstruction
outduring
stageThestoryis "roughed"
assemble
gridof
whereanimaginary
gauge
composition
of filmfranre
Ruleo{thirds-A common
Placat themarkofthirds.
andhorizontally,
bothvertically
theframe,
linesfallsacross
points
is
lines
considered
of twoof these
theselinesorat thecross
ingobjects
along
partof thetriedandtruecomposition
of filmtmages.
from
program
takesto playthrough
time-The actuallimean entireedrted
Running
startto finish.
phenomenon,
lineis
thesafeaction
cut-off
to thedomestrc
Safeactionline-Related
action
composed
andisusedto keeptheimportant
camera
viewfinders
onmany
found
frombelng
action
important
Thisprevents
of theframe.
theinnerregron
moretoward
cutott.
may
A scene
picture
thattakesplaceat onelocatton.
of a motion
Scene-A segment
or iustoneshotfromone
fr6mdrfferent
Camera
angles
OfmanySh6tS
becomprrsed
set-uD.
camera
oroutof theframe;
moves
across
in whicha subject
Screendirection-Thedirection
walksoutof f rameletl
off ramesuddenly
atthecenter
standing
forexample,
a person
Whenthenextshotiscut
screen
direction.
to thelettistheestabltshed
Themovement
f romf rameright,
continumustenterthef rame
thesameperson
f0rthestory,
together
left
journey
the
in thesamescreen
direction fromtherightto
rngtherr
action
or event
thatdepict
a particular
together
of shotsloined
Sequence-Anumber
mayhavesevscene
program
likened
t0 a scene,
buta longer
Sometimes
in a longer
playoutinside
of rt
eralkeysequences
t0theam0unt
youshoot
fora project
compared
ofmaterial
ratio-Ihe am0unt
Shooting
you
fourteen
takesof
For
shoot
it intothefinaledit example,
thatmakes
of material

.E
o
a^

I
0

0 t t Ci l ( i t 0st i l y [ ] ( l ,lir r r r l:r, r r 0l | l y r r : ; Ir r r r r : 0l l r r r : ,Li r: I r : , ,

r r rl l , I
i 4 : 1 s h o o t i r rrga t i of o r t l r a to n e l r l c o l r l t a l o q u e

rrrl ll,tvl,t

Shot-Oneacti.nor eventthatis recorded

byonecamera
at 0nelrrneA shotis tlr'
smallest
building
biock
usedto edita motion
picture.
shot list-A listof shots,
prepared
usually
bythedirector
pre-producrron,
during
thar
will act as a guidefor whatshotsarerequired
for bestc.verage
of a scenein a
motionpictureproject.
lt shouldshowtheshottypeandmayfollowa number
and
letternaming
scheme.
shot-reverse-shot-A
termapplied
t0 anediting
style,whereoneshotot a oarticular
(medium
type
close-up)
is usedononecharacter,
thenthesametypeof shot{medium
close-up)
is editednextto showtheothercharacter
youseetheshot.
in thescene.
reverse
thecamera,
andseea matching
shotof theother
Sidelighting-A method
ofapplying
lighttoa subject
orfilmserwhere
theliqhrs
come
tromtheside,notabove
or below.
Sightline-The imaginary
linethattraces
thedirection
in whicha subyect
rs looking
onscreen.
Sometimes
called
a lineof attention.
Sightlinealsoestablishes
thelineof
actionandsetsupthe1B0degree
arcforshooting
coverage
of a scene.
Silhouette-Aspecial
wayof exposing
a shotwherethebrighter
background
iscorrect
in itsexposure
onfilmbutthesublect
(inthemiddle
ground
orforeground)
isunderex_
posedandappears
asa blackshapewithn0detailbuttheedgeshape.

Smashcut

A r r l r , 1' r I

r l rr

llrl(l

l r , l r : l l r ( rttnt l w r c r t l w ( rc o n l r i t s l l t i()l ( ; l t t ) 1 s

l l l i t ll ) , t l ) l ) u r ,rtl lr l l r , r r 'lirrlll r , 'l,r p l , i r . r ; s

Softlight-Arrylrr;lrt
tlr;rthasdrttused,
non-parallel
rays.
Strong
shadows
areveryrare
i f o n eu s e s o t tl t g htt0 i l l u m i n at tael e n t .
givento a cutpointwhereeither
Soundbridge-Anaudiotreatment
thesound
of the
outgoing
shotcontinues
picture
underneath
thenewimage
of theincoming
trackor
thenewaudro
of theincoming
shotbegins
to playbefore
thepicture
of theoutgoing
shotleaves
thescreen
Sounddesign-Theprocess
of building
audio
tracks
thatactto augment
andenhance
the physical
actionsseen0n the screenandthe sounds
fromthe envrronmenrs
rn
whichthestory's
action
takesplace.
These
sounds
maybeactual
sounds
orfabricated
t0 generate
a hyper-reality
program
of theaudio
elements
in a
Soundontape(S0TFMost oftenassociated
withthespoken
wordfromnewsreportersordocumentary
interviewees.
SOIsarethesoundbites
Soundrecordist-Theperson
on a filmcrewresponsible
for recordtng
spoken
dialogue,
ambience,
androomtone.
(verb).
Splice-Tocuttwoshots
together
0riginated
whenactual
filmstrips
weretaped
or gluedtogether
to jointhemat aneditpoint.
point
Theactual
cut
ona strrpof film
(noun).
wheretwopieces
aregluedortapedtogether

simpleshot-Anyshotthatonrycontains
min'rtarent
movement
butusesn0zoom,
n0
tilt/pan.
n0camera
dolly,andnobooming
actionsLocked-off
framrng

Splicer-ln film,thefootage
is physically
cutwitha smallmachine
splicer
callerla
and
thepictures
glue
are"spliced"
together
with
orspecial
transparent
tape.

slate {nounFTheclapboard
usedto identify
the shotrecorded.
Oftenthe nameof
thepr,duction,
directolDptheshooting
scene,
andthedatearewritten0ntheslate.
usingtheclapboard
sticks
tomake
a "clapping"
sound
thatwillserve
asa synchroniza_
ti0np.intof picture
andsound
tracks
during
theeditprocess
(verb).

Splitedit-A cutp0intwherethepicture
trackandthesound
track(s)
arenotj0ined
exactly
at thesameframe.
Picture
trackwilllastlonger
andplayoverthenewincompicture
ingaudiotracks,
a
new
or
trackappears
at thecutpointandplaysoverthe
continuing
audiofromtheoutgoing
shotTheclipsegments
around
thiseditwilltake
"1"
ona horizontal shape.
SeealsoL-Cut
andLapping

slop edit-An assembry

editdoneveryearlyon rntheeditprocess
wherespeedof
creatlon
overrides
theprecision
of theactual
points.
cut
Thegeneral
structure
of the
storyis hastily
assembled.

Spot-Slangtora television
commercial
advertisement.

Slowmotion-Anytreatment
infilmorvideo
where
theactual
timeofanevenr
i0 'ccur
rsslowed
downconsiderably
soit lastslOnger
in screen
timeandm0redetail0f the
actionc'anbeanalyzed

Spreader(tripodl-Thethreelegsof a tripodareoftenattached
to a rubber
0r metal
device
to keepthelegsfromsplaying
toofarapartwhiletheheavycamera
sitsatop
thetripodheadIhisthree-branched
brace
allowsforgreater
stability,
especially
as
thetripodlegsarespread
further
andfurther
apartt0 getthecamera
lowerto the
ground.

6
at

.9
I

S t a g i n g - l l t cl t l i r r ; t : r rrrrcll ri r l e ni t r r roii r l c i ,w
l sr l l r rlll n l r l r r, , r , 1
(SD)-A reference
Standard
definition
qualily
to thenormal
image
irrrrl
trarne
sizeol
mOst
televisions
around
theworldduring
thetwentieth
century.
Limrtations
in broadcastbandwidth,
among
othertechnological
reasons,
required
a lowresolution
image
of the4.3aspect
ratiofortelevision
reception
in thehome
startframe-Any timethecamera
needsto movet0 followaction,
thecamera
should
beginrecording,
staystationary
fora fewmoments
whiletheacti0n
begins,
andthen
startto moveto followtheaction.
Thestartframeis required
bytheeditorof the
filmsothesh0twillhavea staticf rameto start0nat thebegrnning
of thecut.Static
f rames
cuttomoving
f rames
isa veryjarring
visual
cutandthisstatic
startf ramehelps
prevent
thismistake.
Sticks-(1)Analternate
name
fora camera
tripod
and(2)theclapboard
orslateusedto
pointof picture
markthesynchronicity
andsound
being
recorded.
storyboards-Drawings
oftendoneduringpre-production
picture
of a motion
thatrepresent
thebestguess
of whattheultimate
framing
andmovement
of camera
shots
willbewhenthefilmgoesintoproduction.
Thecomic
booklikeillustrations
wrllactas
a template
fOrthecreative
photography
teamwhenprincipal
begins.
Straightcut-An editpointwherethe picturetrackandsoundtrack(s)
arecut and
at thesamem0ment
in time.SeealsoButt-Cut.
loined
Subiectiveshooting-A styleof camera
operation
wherethe talentaddresses
the
camera
intothelens(asin newsbroadcasting)
straight
or whenthecamera
records
exactly
whata character
isobserving
ina fictional
narrative
aswiththepoint-of-view
shot.
suite-A smallroomin whichediting
machines
arekeptandused.
Theactual
editing
of theprogram
willoftenoccur
in thisprivate,
dark,quretr00ms0theeditor
canstay
focused
0nthef00tage
andthesound
elements
without
outside
disturbances
Superimposition-When
an imageof lessthan100%opacity
is placed
on top of
another
imageThisis likea dissolve
thatlastsfora Ionger
timeonscreen.
sync-Shortforsynchronicity.
In filmwork,it refers
playin
t0 howtheaudiotracks
corresponding
trmewiththepicture
youhearthe
track.
wheny0useethemouth
move
appropriate
audioplayat theexactsametime.

T a i l - l l r ' , r r r r r r rlrrr r, ,t rr r rlrr r l l r r : r r r i li ot sl l t o cl .s l t t ; t ; tdi tul lryi r tt hg ep o s t - p r o d u c t i c . r r t

r r i r l t n1t r; t r r r . u , : ,
tstheprocess
Tailslate-Often
documentary
footage,
usedwhilerecording
a tailslate
"clapping"
theshotand
theslateaftertheaction
hasbeenrecorded
but
of rdentifying
thecamera
before
siopsrolling.
in a shotmayneedto be
Take-Eachaction,
delivery
recorded
event,or dialogue
repeated
untilitstechnical
of the
andcreative
aspects
aredoneto thesatisfacti0n
"take."
Takes
filmmakers.
Each
timethecamera
rollsto record
thisreoeated
event
isa
"
"
0
n
e
a r et r a d i t i o n anlul ym b e r setda r t i nagt
picture
Takinglens-Theactivelensona motion
orvideocamera
thatis actually
collecting,
focusing,
thelightfortherecording
of theimage.
0n certain
andcontrolling
modelsof emulsion
filmmotionoicturecameras
therecanbe morethanonelens
mounted
to thecamera
bodvMostvideocameras
havebutonelensandthatwould
"taking"
lens
bethe
shotor closerthatreallyjustfocuses
0n one
Talkinghead-Any medium
close-up
person's
news,and
headandshoulders.
Usually
associated
with documentaries,
footage.
interview
method
whereyouemploy
Threepointlighting-A basicbutwidelyusedlighting
a
the
keylightformainexposure
ononesideof talent,
a filllightto contrast
control0n
side,anda backlightforsubject/background
opposite
separation
whileit is
Tilt-The vertical
movement,
eitherdownup or up down,of thecamera
recording
lf usinga tripod
forcamera
byloosening
action.
supp0rt,
thetiltisachieved
headandusing
thepanhandle
to swingthecamera
lensup
thetilt lock0nthetripod
G
o
or downto foll0wthevertical
action
therecorded
environment.
orreveal
th
thatis
Timecode-Acounting
scheme
minutes,
seconds,
andframes
based
onhours,
placement
keep
track
image
video
tapes
and
within
computerusedto
of
andsound
on
digital
based
videoediting
software
atopa
Trackin/out-Moving
thecamera
int0setor pulling
camera
outof set,usually
in andtrucking
dollyontracks.
Alsoknown
astrucking
out
metalrailsare usedto
Tracks/rail-Muchlike railroad
tracks,
thesesmall-scale
rolla dollyacross
t0 geta moving
shot.
smoothly
surfaces,
eitherinside
oroutside,

o
I

T r i p o d - At t t r e e - l e gdgte; vr lt crttll,l c t r w t l l t l c l c s r ; lot p

; rr1rrstrq,: , r : r l,lrl r y r p r r r ls,licr ri r i i y
thecamera
for motionpicture
shootingIhe carr)era
attacltes
to,r rjevrce
capable
of vertical
andhorizontal
axismovement
called
thetripodhead,
whrchsitsatopthe
balancing
legs

Voiceslate/^\|||l,,..1rlllrrIlr''trItl|.il;Ittll.tIlrltlllr:(,ijII]()li]tsttl||tttt1;tttl1
y p e a kt h e
( l a l l l e lA
a S S l S t aW
n tr l lv e r b a l l S
l r r r l r r rl Il r r r i r r I lr I r r , r l l, , t tl t t t t t 0 l l t l t t i, t
t h a t m a y b e r e c o r d e ds e p a r a t e l y
s r ; 0 | r ri;r n ( l t i r k t ;r r r r i l r t r 0l trr r t l e n l r t yt h e a u d i o d a t a

Tripodhead-Thedevice,
usually
mounted
ontopof tripodlegs,
towhichoneattaches
thecamera.
Theheadmayhavepanning
andtiltingfunctionalrty

Whippan-Anextreme|yquickpannrngactionthatwi||causeseveremotionb
at a
beginanother
andthenquickly
0ftenusedto exita scene
image.
therecorded

Truckin/out-Movingthecamera
Int0setor pulling
camera
outof set,usually
atopa
dollyontracks.
Alsoknown
astracking
inandtracking
out.
Tungsten
balanced-Filmandvideocameras
maybebiased
towardseeing
thecolor
temperature
of tungsten
lampsas"white"light.Whentheyaresetthisway,theyhave
a tungsten
balance.
(orbodyparts)
Two-shot-Anyshotthatcontains
thebodies
of twopeople.
Underexposed-Astateof an imagewherethedarkregions
contain
no discernable
visualdatabutappear
asdeepblackzones.
Theoverall
tonality
of thisimagemay
alsobe lacking
in true"white"valuesso everything
seemsgraydownto blackin
luminance.
Vanishingpoint-A long-established
technique
in the visualartswhereopposing
dtagonal
linesconverge
at thehorizon
lineto rndicate
theinclusion
of a greatdistance
in theimage's
environment.
lt is anillusion
usedto helprepresent
three-dimensional

trotnthePicture

tirneorPlace
different
wipestheexlstlng
literally
image
shOt's
whereanincoming
transition
wipe-An editing
fromthescreen
image
slrot's
outgotng
andcompletassets'
edited
material,
of source
organization
Workflow-A pre-planned
beknown
thatshould
elements
of post-production
distribution
A charted
edprograms.

bya||invo|vedpartiessothatthejobcanworksmoothIyfromstarttofinish
barrel
andtelescoping
construction
lenswhosemultr-lens
Zoomlens-A camera
orfieldofviewandalsofroma very
lightfroma widerange
allowrtto gather
design
bychangof thelensisaltered
fieldofview.Thefocallength
(more
magnilred)
narrow
itselfMost
withinthelensbarrel
contained
of theopticalelements
ingthedistances
from
thatcanbe adjusted
zoomlenses
havebuiltin optical
vrdeocameras
modern
withthetouchof a button
wideto telephoto

space
0na two-dimensional
surface.
Vari-focal
lens-Another
namefora "zoom"
lens.A lensthathasmultiple
elements
thatallowit to catchlightfromvarious
focallengths
orangles
of view0na scene
Videoformat-Videotapesrecord
electronic
voltage
fluctuations
ordigitalbitdatathat
picture
represent
andsound
information.
Video
cameras
aremanufactured
to record
thatdataontothetapein a particular
way.Theshape,
amount
of data,framerate,
colorinformation,
gets
that
etc.,
recorded
isdetermined
bythetechnologies
inside
the
videocamera.
Examples
include
NTSC-525
line,PAL,
HD-1080i,
andHD-720p.
Visiblespectrum-Thezonein electro-magnetic
energywavesthatappears
to our
eyesandbrains
ascolored
light.
Voice-over
narration-Aneditedprogram
mayrequire
thevoiceol anunseen
narrator
whoproyides
important
information
0r commentary
aboutthestorythatis unfolding.
"over"
pictures
Thevoiceis heard
the
andtheNats.

o
o
th

Index
A

framing
andcomposition,
40
A c q u i s i t iaosne,d i t i nsgt a g e7.
16:9,40-41,171
Assemble
Act
edit
d e f i n i t i o1n7.1
cutfactors,
78
fade,86
definition,
172
Action
asediting
stage,
I
Assistant
d e f i n i t i o1n7,1
editor
pre-call
d e f i n i t i ol Tn2, - 1 7 3
shots,
119
Action
edit
o r g a n t z ast ikoinl l sS,
r o l e1, 6 8
characteristics,
88-90
Atmosphere
combined
edit,94-95
continuous
delinition,
173
motion,
153-154
cutting
sound
therise,125
continuity.
69-70
frameenter/exit,
Atmospherrcs,
definition,'l
i36
73
longshottoclose,up,
Attention
141-142
screen
a c t i olni n e1,0 2
direction,
137
two-shot
audience1
,6
cuts,135
i 68,i, 2 5 ,1 2 9
A c t i olni n e
definition,
173
camera
eye-line,
angle,
48-49
64
insertandcut-away,
d e f i n i t i o1n7,1
156
editpractices,
oblect
ofattention,
102-103
90
o b 1 e clt3s3. - 1 3 5
andshotcomposition,
62
p a nd. o l l yt r, u c k13, 3
A u d im
o ix
sate,191
definition,
173
ADB,seeAutomatic
shotconsrderations,
dialogue
replacement
(ADB)
36-37
"Ahs,"
Audio
recording
documentary
editing,
146-1
47
Ambience,
definition,174
sound
continuity,
69-20
Analog
sound
continuity,
70
definition,
syncsound,
172
163
'i
Audio
anddigital
tracks
workflow,
66
s m u s i c1,4 7
tape,7
d i a l o g uy e
A n g lo
e na c t i o n
dissolve,
81
tade,
camera
87
angle.
64
formedit,92
definition,
I 72
l i n ed e l i v e r1y4.8
stngle
character
shots,
121
l o u ds o u ncdu t1, 5 0
30degree
rule.46-47
'l
Angle
motivation,60-61
of incidence,
definition.
72
Automatic
Angle
ofview
dialogue
replacement
(ADF)
deflnition,
a u d im
o i x3, 6
172
m a t c h t n g c o v elrla7g e ,
d e f i n i t i o1n7,2
Axialedit
Aperture,
definition,
172
Artificial
light,definition,
cutfactors,
77
172
Aspect
ratio
definition,
173
Axrsof action
definition,
172
4 . 3 , 4 0 - 4117, 1
definition,
173

A x r so 1a t ; l t u r\r0 o r t l r n L t t : t l )

o b s e r v i n1g0,2i 0 3
s h oct o n s i d e r a t i4o4n4s5,
s i n g lceh a r a c ct eurt s1, 2 4
B
Backgro
und
action
edit,89
definition,
I 73
e s t a b l i s hsi n
hg
o tI,4 0 _ 1 4 1
'l
Back
light,definition,
73
B a ctki m i n g
definition,
173
p r o g r am
mu s i c1.4 4
BCU,
seeBigclose.up
shot
{BCU)
Beat
definition.
174
a n dm o t i v a t i 7
o7
n,
B i gc t o s e - (uBpC U
) ot
sh
cutting
ontherise,126
description,
17
B i n o c uvl ai sr i o n
d ,e f i n i t i o17n4,
Black,
tofullpicture,
142-143
Blocking
definition,
174
d e v e l o p si nhgo t s , 3 0
pre-planning,
150
Boom
arm
definition,
174
d e v e l o p si nhgo t s , 3 0
Boom
operator
definition,
174
off-screen
r;s.0TSdialogue
,147_14g
Break
frame
definition,
174
m e d r usmh o ti ,9
B-roll
definition,
i 74
d o c u m e n teadriyt i n 1
g4,7
footage
familiarity,
5Z
B us in e s s
d e f i n i t i o17n4,
s h oct o n s i d e r a t i5o2n s .
BUtt-CUt
'l
definirion,
Z4
a n ds o u n d
Tl,

c
Camera,
shofcomplexity
increase,
24
C a m ear an g l e
action
edit,Bg

, l t ,r ] t l l , | t l 0 r , I r , 1 I r

d e l r r r r t rIo/ 4n ,
d r s s o l vBej ,
shotconsideratrons,
40_41
s i n g lceh a r a c tje7r4, - 1 ? s
wipe,84-85
person/operator,
Camera
defi
nition,
174
Camera
set-up
content
continuity,
66
definition,
i 75
matched
shotcuts.116
30degree
rule,46
Camera
support
definition,
175
shotcompJexity,
24
tracking
shotvs.zoom,
12g
'179
Canted
angle,
definition,
CCD,
seeCharge-coupled
device
{CCD)
Charge
coupled
device
{CCD),
deflnition,
175
Chiaroscuro,
definitron,
I 75
C l a p pbeor a r d
definition,
lT5
syncsound,
163
C l e asnr n g ldee. f i n i t r o1n7,5
Clip
definition,
1Z5
digital
workflow,
167
C l o s e -(uCpUs)h o t
aclon,121-128
action
edits,141-142
characters,
l45
cutting
ontherise,I 26
definition,
175
description,
17-1B
matched
sh0tcuts,115_.1
16
newcharacter
entrance,
139_j40
single
characters,
121-1?4
betore
wide,139
Color
bars,
definition,
175-116
Color
temperature
definition,
I 76
shotconsiderattons,
3g-3g
Combined
edit,characteristlcs,
94_95
Complex
shot
d e f i n i t i o17n6,
description,
2B-29
Composition
actionedit,89
ascutfactor77

I r l t r r ol r l , i '
( l r s s v( r{ r i. l lI i l l
lade.8tr
h e a ds h o t s ,1 1 2 1 1 4
p a r l j atl a c e s , 1 1 4 - 1 1 5
qcroon nncitinn pdit

Q1

40-41
shotconsiderations,
shotcut,62-63
wipe,84
Concept
edit,characteristics,
93-94
Content,
66-67
continuity,
Continuity
a c t i o n , 5107,2 , 1 5 5
action
edit,89-90
content,
66-67
77
ascutfactor,
d e f l n i t i o1n7,6
dialogue,50-51
gapcoverage,
155-156
mOvement,
67-68
overview,
66
position,
68-69
sound,69-70
Contrast
176
definition,
fadeandcomposition,
86
176
Contrast
ratio,
deflnition,
Coverage
action
edil,89-90
line,102
action
44
andaxisofaction,
a n dc a m e raan g l e6,4
145
character
close-ups.
t hgel i n e , 4 5
crossin
176
definition,
dia109ue,113,120,148
matching
48
angles,
n h i p r t n f i n t o r p s t 1? A

panandtiltcutting,
152
direction,
screen
68,137
position
screen
edit,90
shotmatching,1l5,117
s h ost e l e c t i o n , 3 l
'1
s i n g lceh a r a c ct el or s e - u p2s1,
subjective,4l
rule,46
30degree
viewing
experience,
13
Crab
1/6
definition,
increase,
shotcomplexity
24

: i t i i l sr (l .r or l: r rll.,J . 1
l 34
a n ds u b l e cItn' so v e m e1n
3 t' l,
ne
Cra
'176
definitron,
increase,
shotcomplexity
24
inediting
Creativity,
choices,
5
focus.
177
Critical
definition,
Cross
cutting
definition,
177
162
technique,
fade
Cross
d e f i n i t i ol TnT,
dissolve,
81
C r o st sh el i n e
d e f i n i t i o1n7,7
44-45
shotconsiderations,
CU,seeClose-up
shot
{CU)
Cut
factors,
affecting
57
b l a ctkof u l lp i c t u r1e4, 2 - 1 4 3
64-65
camera
angle,
content
continuity,
66-67
continuity,66
76,177
definition,
d i a l o g u1e1,9
e d i t i ncgh o i c e4s ,
edittransitions,
6
79
example,
g o a l s7,8
head
room
s h o t s11, 2
information,
58-59
list,76-77
motivation,60-61
movement
67-68
continuity,
position
continuity,
68-69
purpose,
55
shotcomposition,
62-63
sound,70-72
sound
continuity,
69*70
Cutaway
145-146
character
to object,
content
c0ntinuity,
66
177
definition,
Cut-away
d e f i n i t i o1n7,7
movement
continuity,
67
49
shotconsiderations,
s r n g lceh a r a c ct earm e raan g l e ,
1?4
f o rt i m ea n dc o n t i n u i1t y5 ,6
practices,
working
118

x
o
!t
g

Cut'in
cutfactors,
77
definition,
177
single
character
camera
angle,
1?4_125
t ,a n a
C up
t o i np
s n dt i l t s1, 5 2
Cutting
0ntherise,conside
ra,Lions,
1?5_127
0
Daylight
balance,
definition,
177
Degrees
Kelvin,
definition,
177
g_10
Delivery,
asedlting
stages,
Depth
d e f l n i r i o1n7,8
focus,
116
Depth
of fietd(D0Fl
d e f l n i t i o1n7,8
headshots,
113
m a t c h e d s h lol 5t s ,
m a t c h rcnogv e r a g1e1.7
over-the-shoulder,
Z3
Developing
shot
definition,
i 78
description,
30
D i al o g u e
A D B , 3 16 7, 2
audio
tracklevels,
147
back-and-forth,
104.138
connnuity,50-51
c u tp o i n t1,1 9
e d i t i npgr a c t i c eI js6., 1j B
endof program,
144
freshperspective,
144
a n dh e a dr o o ml i,Z
i n s e sr rh o t s1,5 5 - 1 5 6
matched
sh0tcuts,115
matching
angles,
48
v s .m u s i c1,4 7
a n dn a t u r saol u n d s , 7 0
off-screen
or0IS delivery,
147-149
r e a c t i os n
h o t1,1 8
s h ost e l e c t i o n . 3 1
srmple
shots,
26
t e l e p h o n13e7,
t h r e e - p e r s1o2n0,- j 2 1
tracking
shotrzs.
zoom,
129
two-person,
62,91
Diegetic
definition,
178
d r a t o g vusem
. u s i c, l,4 7
Digital
workflow,
characteristics,
166_167

l i t ( , ( . 1 00rl l l l l r l o i l r , t l ,, r

d e t i r r i t rIo/ rl r .
Dirtysingle
definition,
178
over-the-shoulder.23
Dissolve
correct
usage,
80
't
definition,
80. 78
edittransitions,
6
elements,
80-81
example,
83
playwithtime,8j-82
b e t w e esni m i lseh o t1, 5 5
usage,
82
0ocumentaries
a c t i olni n e s' 1. 3 5
assembly,
8
character
close-ups,
145
cutdecisions,
55
dialogue
cutpoints,
11g
d i a l o g u e p a ul lsSe s ,
editing
choices,
4
editing
history,
2
tootage
familiarity,
52
freshediting
perspective,
144
Inter-titles,
149
" u m sa" n d" a h s "1. 4 6 - 1 4 7
XCU,16
D0[ seeOepth
offietd(DOFI
Dolly
definition,
178
shotcomplexity
increase,
24-25
static
frame,
132
static
shotcut,133-134
andsubject's
movement,
131
vs.z00m
sh0t,129-130
0omestic
cut-off,
definition,
17g-179
Dutch
j 7g
angle/Dutch
title,deflnition,
E
ECU,
seeExtreme
(XCUECU)
close-up
practices,
Editing
general
action
line,102-103
appropriate
form,104-105
editing
ascrearing,
10g
edrtpurpose,
100-j0l
goodrs.badedir,106
list,97
newshotinformation,
99
sound
andvisiongB

lllllJlrrr'l
tlltllL

rr

lr

l.

, t t : l t tr;rtrri r lI'.,1I l . ) ,
t t l a ct kof r r l it r r . l r rI r4rl: 1 4 . 1
c f l a r a c ct el or s u
e p s1. 4 5
character
cutaway,145-146
'139
closeupatterwide,
c O n t r n um
o uost i 0anc t i 0end i t1, 5 3 - 1 5 4
c u t t i nognt h er i s e1, 2 5 - 1 2 7
d i a l o g u e clul 9t s ,
d i a l o g ueed i t i n 1
, 18
g1, 6 1
d o c u m e n t"aurm
y sa" n d" a h s "1, 4 6 - 1 4 7
frame
empty
avoidance,
157
feedback,
I 52-153
frame
exits-entrances,
136-137
freshperspective,
144
headroomshots,
112
headshots,
112-114
insert
155-156
shots,
inter'titles
andlowerthirds,
148-149
loudsound
cut,150
ys.unmatched
matched
115-117
shots,
m u s iycs d. i a i o g u1e4, 7
natural
wipes,
150-151
newbackground
establishing
shot.
140-141
newcharacter
entrance.
139-140
object
line,133-135
action
off-screen
vs.0TSdialogue
,147-148
overvrew,11l-112
p a nr,i l t d
, o l l y1,3 2
p a na n dd o l l y13
,1
panandlilt cuts,152
p a r t i af al c ec o m p o s i t i o11n4s -, 1 5
program
endmusic,
143-144
program
sound
andvisual,
143
r e a c t i os n
h o t1,1 8 - 1
ig
rough
cut,154-155
placement
screen
issues,
138
s i m i lseh O r1s5, 5
s i n g lceh a r a c ct earm e raan g l e ,
174-125
s r n g lceh a r a c ct el or s seh o t s1,? 1 - 1 ? 4
staric
shOr
cut,133-134
telephone
conversations,
135-137
three-person
dralogue,
120-121
tracking
shotys zoom,
128-130
t r a c ok u ta n dm o t i v a t i o
1 r3r0, - 1 3 1
t w o - s haoct t i oend i t1, 3 5 - 1 3 6
w h r p a n s1,5 1 - 1 5 2

i Ll rl r r r rl lr t o tr r : ,
rlt;ltrrrlr0
I tr.
ltrstory,2

s t a g eTs -, 1 0
t o o l sv s s. k i l l s1,6 6
transition
choices,
4-5
Editors
assistant
editor,
8, 168,112-113
expectations,
161
Edittypes
action,
88-90.141-142,1
53-154
a s s e m b8l e, 7, 81. 7 2
axial,77, 173
categOries,
88
combined.
94-95
concept
edit,93-94
definition,
179
f o r m9, i - 9 3
m u l t i - c a m1
e6
r a2,- 1 6 3
p a r a l l e1l6, 21, 8 9
position,
screen
90-91
s10p,78.192
splrt,71,193
ELS,
seeExtreme
longshot(XLS,
ELS)
Empty
frame,
157
avoidance,
Endframe
complex
shots,
28
d e f i n i t i o1n7,9
p a nt,i l t d
, o l l y1,3 2
E s t a b l r s hsihnogt
definition,
179
long/wide,
20
newbackground,
140-141
Exposure
d e f i n i t i o1n7,9
shotconsiderattons,
38-39
Exteri
or
d e f l n i t i o17n9,
verylongshot,
20
(XCU,
Extreme
close-up
ECUI,
description,
to

Extreme
longshot{XLS,
EtS),
description,
20-21
Eyelight.definition,
1B0
Eye-line
character
145
cutaway,
definition,
179
Eye-line
match
d e f i n i t i o1n7,9
shotconsiderations,
48-49

x
o
t

Eyetrace
deflnition,
180
shotcomposition,
62-63
F
Fade
definition,
180
edittransitions,
6
elements
andusage,
86-87
Fade
inlup
180
definition,
elements
andusage,
86-87
Fade
out/down
definition,
180
elements
andusage,
86-87
program,
Feedback,
onedited
152-153
F i ll i g h td, e f i n i t i o1n8,0
gauge
Film
d ,e f i n i t i o1n8,0
Filmspace
definition,
180
a n df r a m i n1g6,
Fine
cut
'180
definition,
ac pditinn ctanac

Fisheye
lens,
definition,
180
Flashback
definition,
181
d i s s o l v8e1,
pan
Flash
definition,
180
a st r a n s i t ipooni n t1,5 1 - 1 5 2
Flavor,
documentary
character,
147
Focal
length
d e f i n i t i o1n8,1
shotcomplexity
increase,
24
s i n g lceh a r a c ct earm e raan g l el 2, 5
Focus
d e f i n i t i o1n8,1
116
depth,
shotconsiderations,
34-35
Foley,
definition,
lSl
F o l l o w ifnogc u sd.e f i n i t i o8n1, ' 1
Footage
quality,
audio
36-37
basic
shottypes,
14-15
b e sst h ost e l e c t i o3n1,
b i gc l o s e - u1p
7,
c l o s e - u1p| 1, 8
colortemperature,
38-39
complex
shots,
28-29

( t o i l lr t U t l yo l , l r l n r i '

c 0 n t t n uorftr yl r i r l o r l; ,r(r1I1 , 1
deflnrtio
1n
8 ,1
d e v e l o psi nhgo t s , 3 0
exposure,
38-39
extreme
clOse-up,
16
extreme
longshot,20-21
familiarity,52
focus,
34*35
framing
andcomposition,
40-41
longshot,
20
matching
angles,
48
matching
eye-line,
48-49
m e d i ucml o s e - u1p
8,
m e d i ul m
ong
shot,19
m e d i usmh o t1, B - 1 9
n a t u rw
a li p e s1,5 0 - 1 5 1
1 8 0d e g r el e
ine,44-45
over-the-shou
lder,?2-73
overview,
13
pertormance,
52
screen
direction,
42-43
shotcomplexity
increase,
24-25
shotconsiderations,
32
shotdescriptions,
16
s i m p lseh o t s2,6
30degree
rule,46-47
two-shot,21-22
verylongshot,20-21
w h i pp a n s1,5 1 - 15 2
wideshot,20
Foregrou
nd
a c t i oend i t , 8 9
d e f i n i t i o1n8,1
Foreshortening,
deflnition,
1B1
Form
edit,characteristics,
91-93
4.3ratio
d e f i n i t i o1n7,1
shotconsiderations,
40-41
F o u rw
t ha l ld, e f i n i t i o1n8,1 - 1 8 2
Frame
trame,
break
19, 174
character
exats-entrances,
136-137
c o n t i n u omuO
s t i 0anc t i 0end i t1, 5 3 - 1 5 4
'182
definition,
e n df r a m e2,8 , 1 3 ? , 1 7 9
h e a rdo o m1,1 2
p a nt,i l t ,d o l l y1,3 2
partia
f al c ec 0 m p o s i t i 011n 4s -, 1 5
shotconsiderations.
40-41

' , l , t t ll t , t t t r r 'I l , l
s l ; t l t t l: t i r t i l | . , / 1 1i l I . I l . r I i . l

15r 7
e.
s u b j e oc rto b l e tr:1t t : p a r t u
t r o nlti g h t i ndge, f i n i t i o1n8,2
147-143
fromblack,
I ullpicture,
G
G e a r ehde a dd,e f i n i t i o1n8,2
G e ld, e f i n i t i o1n8,2
practices,
practices,
seeEditing
General
general
182
hour,
definition,
Golden
G r i pd,e f i n i t i o1n8,2
H
Handheld
182
definition,
p a na n dd o l l y13
,1
w h i pp a n s1,5 2
Hard
l i g h td, e f l n i t i o1n8,2
H Ds, e eH i g h
d e f l n i t i(oHnD )
Head
c o n t i n u omuost i oanc t i oend i t ,
153-154
182
definition,
4
112-11
shotcomposition,
Head
room
183
definition,
40-41
shotconsiderations,
w o r k i npgr a c t i c e1 s1,2
H e a sdh o t ,e l e p h ocnoen v e r s a t i o n .
135-137
High
a n g lseh o td, e f i n i t i o1n8,3
High
d e f i n i t i(oHnD )
'183
definition,
40-41
shotconsiderations,
183
lighting,
definition,
High-key
H M ld, e f i n i t i o1n8,3
183
Hood
mount,
definition,
H o r i z ol inn e
d e f i n i t i o1n8,3
40-41
shotconsiderations,
174
definition,
visual
system,
Human
I
l m a g i n al irnye
183
definition,
44-45,48-49
shotconsiderations,
picture
Incoming
composit8
i o4n ,

t i e l nt r o r lrl,J 3
lntormation
action
edit,89
76
58-59,
ascutfactor,
d i s s o l v8e0,
newshots,
99
wipe,84
lnsert
shot
1n
8 ,3
deflnitro
68
movement
continuit}/,
f o rt i m ea n dc o n t i n u i1t 5
y ,5 - 1 5 6
Interior
184
deflnition,
a n ds o u n d , 7 0
20
verylongshot,
Intertitles
d e f i n i t i o18n4,
148-149
durations,
l r i sd, e f l n i t i o18n4,
J
J i ba r m
d e f i n i t i o1n8,4
24
increase,
shotcomplexity
Jump
cut
64-65
angle,
andcamera
composit7
i o7n .
78
cutfactors,
d e f l n i t i ol 8n4,
rule,46-41
30degree
t h el i n ed, e f i n i t i o1n8,1
Jump
K
K e yl i g h t
184
definition,
high-key,
183
186
low-key,
184
light,definition,
Kicker
t
ng
Lappr
'184*'185
definition,
7 ,1
a n ds o u n d
L'cut
184
definition,
a n ds o u n d . 7 1
185
Legs,
definition,
L e nas x r s
185
definition,
s i n g lceh a r a c ct earm e raan g l ei 2, 4

x
o

It

lndex 201

2lt6 Index

Len
ses
fisheye,
180
n 0 r m a1l 8
,7
24
shotcomplexity,
19, 5
taking
v a r i - f o c a l ,12946,
200n,24,128-130,197
185
Lightmeter,
definition,
Lineofaction
185
definitron,
44-45
shotconsiderations,
Locked-off
d e f i n i t i o1n8,5
s i m p lseh o t s2,6
L o gd, e f i n i t i o1B
n5
,
L o n sgh o{tL S )
a c t i o n12, 7
edits,141-147
action
d e f i n i t i o18n5,
description,20
s i n g lceh a r a c ct earm e raan g l e12, 4
room
Look/looking
d e f i n i t i o1n8,5 - 1 B o
40-41
shotconsiderations,
ping
Loo
a u d im
o i x3, 6
d e f i n i t i o1n8,6
nO
,
L o wa n g l seh o td, e f i n i t i o1B
thirds
Lower
1n
8 ,6
definrtio
148-149
durations,
l i yg h t i ndge, f i n i t i o1n8,6
Low-ke
LS,seeLong
shot(LS)
M
Mastering
d e f i n i t i o18n6,
stages,
9-10
asediting
M a t c dh i s s o l v e
d e f i n i t i o8 n0 ,- 8 11, 8 6
formedit,92
'1
M a t c h esdh o t sc ,u t t i n g1, 5 - 11 7
M a t c h i na gn g l e / s h o t s
'186
deflnition,
s h oct o n s i d e { a t i4o8n s ,
M C Us,e eM e d i ucml o sLer {pM C U ) s h o l
M r r r J i u t itnr ,r r r l t l i r trt' ;l r t r t r t t4r : , .
[ , r l l rLi r t t l l L r lirM ( L l ] , l t l l l l r , l l l

c o n t i n u omuost i oanc t i oend i t1,5 3

1I
description,
partia
f al c ec o m p o s i t i o1n' 1s4,
s i n g lceh a r a c ct earm e raan g l e12, 4
7 ,0
a n ds o u n d
M e d i u lm
o n gs h o{tM L S )
60-61
cutmotivation,
19
description,
M e d i u(mM Ss) h o t
'186
defrnition,
18-'1
9
description,
115-116
vs unmatched,
matched
partial
114
facecompositions,
M i d d lger o u n d
action
edit,89
d e f i n i t i ol 8n6,
M i n uos p t i c sa tl r i pieM 0 S )d,e f i n i t i o n ,
197
o n gs h o{tM L S I
M L Ss, e eM e d i u lm
M o n o c uvl ai sr i o n
d ,e f i n i t i o1n8,7
lVlonologues
c u tp o i n t s11, 9
p a u s eesd, i t i n 1
g1, 8
r e a c t i os n
h o t s1,0 01,1 9
Montage
187
definition,
dissolve.
S'l
'1
fast, 13
purpose,
162
(M0S)
stripe
M0S,seeMinusoptical
pictures
lvlotion
e d i t i nbga s i cls ,
history,
2
editing
187
light,definition,
Motivated
Motivation
edit,89
action
ascutfactor,
60-61, 76-77
dissolve,
80
100
editpurpose,
fade,
86
70
sound
track,
andtrackout,130-131
wipe,84
M o u nst ,h oct o m p l e xi int cy r e a s2e4,
Movement
c o n t r n uiiltly i,i t l
ll
l ) , l l , t t l ( j r i r ) lI V
| \ y , 1 , , r , r , M r , ,Ll r r r i , J

Music
v s .d i a l o g u1e4, 7
p r o g r aemn d , 1 4 3 - 1 4 4
N
N a t u r lai g
l h td, e f l n i t i o1n8,7
Natural
sound
T0
continuity,
d e f i n i t i o1n8,7
Natural
wipe
composition,
84
187
deflnition,
point,
150-151
astransition
187
definition,
Negative
space,
filter,
density
187
Neutral
definition,
Noddy
d e f i n i t r o1 n8 ,7
d i a l o g u e clul 9t s ,
N o r m al el n sd,e f i n i t i o1n8,7
r o o md,e f l n i t i o1n8,5 - 1 8 6
Nose
0

(0TS,
Over-the-shoulder
0SS)
d e f i n i t i ol Sn S
,
description,22-23
112
headroomshots,
115-116
matched
vs.unmatched,
vs.off-screen
141-148
dialogue,
188
Overwrite,
definition,
P
Pan
complex
shots,
28
152
cutpointreverse,
188
definition,
s t a t ifcr a m e1,3 2
static
shotcut,133-134
movement,
131
andsubject's
P a nh a n d ldee, f i n i t i o1n8,9
Panandscan
d e l i n i t i oi 8n 8, - 1 8 9
40-41
shotconsiderations,
P a r a l leedl i t i n g
189
definition,
technique,
162
Pedestal
d e f i n i t r o1 n8 ,9
increase,
24
shotcomplexity
Performance,
52
shotconsiderations,
Picture
lock
definition,
189

0bjective
shooting
d e f i n i t i o1n8,7 - , ] 8 8
40-41
shotconsiderations,
0bjects
a c t i olni n e1.3 3 - 13 5
145-146
character
cutaway,
157
empty
frame
avoidance,
ec oditinn ctenp< R-Q
16
shotdescriptions,
'133-134
Point
189
of-view.
definition,
staticshotcut,
Point
1
source,
definition.
89
vs
dialogue,
over-the-shoulder,
Otf-screen
Position,
continuity,
68-69
147-148
Post-prod
uction
1 8 0d e g r el ien e
189
definition,
camera
angle
cuttactor,
64
process
7-10
editing
stages,
d e f i n i t i o1n7,1
1B9
Practical,
definition,
102*103
editpractices,
Pre-prod
uction
movement
continuity,
67-68
edit,94
combined
o b j e catc t i olni n e1,3 4
189-190
definition,
s h oct o n s i d e r a t i4o4n-s4,5
f o r me d i t9, 1
0rganization,
asediting
stage,
7-B
Prod
uction
UIS/0SS
s e. eO v e r - t h e - s h o( 0
uT
l dSe0,rS S )
d e f i n i t i o1n9,0
picture
0utgoinct
a n dp o spt r o d u c t iTo n ,
r ; o m p o s i tli o4n .
( i { r f i l i r l r o i lI l l l l
Program
lrrr
144
r:ndmusic.
14',1
i v l t t ' x l t r r ' Ir l i r ' '
l v rt l l r 1
\r.l tiI

1 ''

' . 1i r l : i { ) r r L , , rvr 't,i rl r , tll4 . l

l ' t , r| r l

x
o

P r o s c e n sr ut yml ed.e f i n i t r o1gni,)

P u l l i nf og c u sd,e f i n i t r o1 n9 ,0
Punching-in,
seea/soAxialedit;Cut-in
cutfactors,
77
'l
definition,
90
single
character
camera
angle,
125
single
character
shots,
122
Pushin
f ogc u sd,e f l n i t i o1gn0,
R
Rack
focus,
definition,
i 90
B a i ld, e f i n i t i o1n9,5
Reaction
shot
deflnition,
190
insert
shots,
156
purpose,
100
tracking
shotys.zoom,
130
'135
two-shot
cut,
practices,
working
I 18-1l g
Feformat
d e f i n i t i o1n9,0
shotconsiderations,
40-4,]
Reveal
,145
character
cutaway,
cutmotrvation,
6'l
d e f l n i t i o19n0,
Beview
g
andselection,
asediting
stages,
R i ml i g h td,e f i n i t i o1n9.1
Room
tone
'191
definition,
documentary
editing,
I 47
sound
continuity,
70
B o u gchu t
definition,
lgl
a se d i t i nsgt a g eB
s,
finetuning
issues,
154-155
R u lo
e ft h i r d sd,e f i n i t i oI gnl,
Runnin
t ig
me
definition,
191
rough
cut,154

s
Sate
a c t i olni n ed, e f i n i t i o1gn1,
Sce
ne
action
edit,90
a x i so fa c t i o 4
n4
,
c a m e raan g l e6,4 , 7 1 , 8 i
character
close-ups,
145
content
continuity,
66
continuity
ofaction,
50

r : Ltrol l t l a r :lk4.i
d e f r n r t rIo n
1,
d e v e l o psi nhgo t s . 3 0
d r a l o g use ,e0 i a l o g u e
e d i t i nbga s i c1s ,
e d rpt u r p O s10e1,
establishing
shot,140-t41
fade,86-87
information.
58-59
Insert
shots,
155-i56
'139
location,
matched
shotcuts,115-116
andmusic,
147
natural
wipes,
150
ordering
andrestructuring,
52
p a nas n dt i l t s1,5 2
performance,
52
p i c t u raen ds o u n d , 9 8
positton
continuity,
68
rough
cuts,154
s c r e edni r e c t i,o6n7, 1 0 2
a n ds e q u e nS
ce,
s h oct o m p o s i t 6
i o2n ,
s h ost e l e c t i o n , 3 ' l
s i m i lseh o t s1,5 5
single
character,
121
, 124
sound
continuity.
69-70
sounds,
150
tracking
shotys.zoom,
l2B
trackout,130
w h r p a n1, 5 1
X L S2,1
Screen
direction
action
edits,137
continuity,6T-68
d e f i n i t i o1n9,1
1 8 0d e g r el ien e , 4 4 - 4 5
shotconsiderati
ons,42-43
placement,
Screen
object
of interest,
138
S c r e epno s i t i oend i lc, h a r a c t e n s t i c s ,
90-91
SD,seeStandard
definition
{SD}
Selection,
asediting
stages,
B
Seq
uence
character
close-ups,
145
character
cut-away.
146
cut,78-79
cutt0 black,
143
d e f l n i t i o1n9,1

r l t ; t l , tul r rr t 1 , , ^ .
{ l r : t s o l v lrJ. l 1 1 , '
e d i t i n gs t a q e sl,. l

e d rpt u r p o s1e0, 0 - 1 0 1
e d iq
t u a l i t1y0, 6
tade,86-87
m u s i c1,4 4
p a nt,i l t ,d o l l y13, 2
p a r a l le dl i t i n 1
g6
.2
rough
cuts,154
sound
continuity,
69
t i m e c o d16
e4
,
128
tracking
shotvszoom,
trackout,130
w i d es h oat f t ecr l o s e ' u1p3, 9
w i d es h oot p e n1,4 1
XLS,21
S h o o t i rnagt i od,e f l n i t i o19n1, - 19 2
Shot
14-15
types,
basic
.^lnr

tomnoratrrrp

lR-?Q

c o m p l e xi int cy r e a s2e4,- 2 5
c o m p o s i t i6o2n-,6 3
considerations,32
c o n t i n uoi tfya c t i o n
5 ,0
c o n t i n uoi tfyd i a l o g u5e0,- 5 1
cutfactors,
58-59
definition,192
versatility,
13
editor
exposure,
38-39
focus.34-35
traming
40-41
andcomposition,
l e n g t h10, 1
m a t c h ia
nn
g g l e4s8,
48-49
matching
eye-line,
n e wi n f o r m a t i9o9n ,
1B0degree
rule,44-45
performance,
52
42.-43
screen
direction,
<eroon nnciti^n odit

QO-Q1

selection,31
rule,46-47
30degree
S h olti s td, e f i n i t i o19n2,
192
Shot-reverse-shot,
definition,
S i d el i g h t i ndge, f i n i t i o19n2,
S i g hl ti n e
a n da c t i olni n e1, 0 2
d e f i n i t i o1n9,2
44-45.48-49
shotconsiderations,
192
Silhouette,
definition,

S r r r r :r;l ltr: r r il r, s s o l v15e5,

S r r n psl e
not
d e f i n i t i o1n9,2
descrrption,26
p a nt,i l t ,d o l l y1,3 2
s c r e edni r e c t i o n , 4 2
24
andshotcomplexity,
Single
characters
124-1?5
camera
angle,
close
shots,121-124
16 : 9r a t i o
d e f i n i t i o17n1,
40-41
shotconsideratrons,
Slate
192
definrtion,
163
syncsound,
t a i ls l a t e1, 9 5
196-197
voiceslate,
S l o pe d i t
cutfactors,
7B
d e f i n i t i ol 9n2.
S l o wm o t i o n
d e f i n i t i o19n2,
d i s s o l v3e2,
S m a schu t
cutfactors,
77
d e f i n i t i o19n3,
193
Softlight.definition,
Software
mix,36-37
audio
166167
workflow,
digital
t o o l s/ s .s k r l l s , ' 1 6 6
S0T,seeSound
ontape(S0T)
Sound
a c t i oend i t , 9 0
conrinuity,69-70
10-12,71
ascutfactor,
B'l
dissolve,
fade,86-87
loud,
cutat.150
163*164
sync,
a n dv i s i o n , 9 8
w i p e8, 5
S o u nbdr i d g e
61
cutmotivation,
definition,
193
S o u ndde s i g n
193
definition,
70
sound
continulty,
r93
Sound
ontape(S0T),
definition,

x
o
c

Sound
recordist
d e f i n i t i o19n3,
off-screen
rzs.
0TSdialogue
.147^148
Sound
track
process,
editing
7
filmmessage,
T0-71
linedelivery.
148
motivation.
60
atprogram
start,143
'154
rough
cuts,
syncsound,
163
asvisual
trackiead.143
Splice,
definition,
193
Splicer
definition,
193
Splitedit
definition,
193
andsound,
7l
Spot
definition,
193
formedit,92
Spreader,
definition,
193
Staging,
delinirion,
194
(SD)
Standard
definition
definition,
194
shotconsiderations,
40-41
Startframe
complex
shots,
2B
definition,
I 94
d o l l sy h o t1,3 2
Static
frame
complex
shots,
28
d e v e l o psi nhgo t s , 3 0
pan,dolly,
truck,
I 33
pan,tilr,dolly,
I 32
Static
shot,moving
andstationary
curs,
133-134
Sticks
deflnition,
194
syncsound,
163
Storyboards
deflnition,
194
position
screen
edit,90
Straight
cut
cutfactors.
78
definition,
I 94
a n ds o u n d
T .l
Subject
action
closq,-up,
127
empty
frame
avoidance,
157
headshots,
112-114

l ) a f i i l r ( l( l r ) ly . I I l

s h oct o m p l e xri tr yr r , i , , {, /r 4
s t a t isch oct u t j. 3 3 - 1 : 1 4
Subjective
shooting
defni1ion,194
shotconslderations,
40-41
Suite
'l68
assistant
editor.
detinition,
194
Superimposition
definition,
194
dissolve,
81
Support,
shotcomplexity
increase,
24
Sync
quality,
audio
36
definition,194
sound
1 ,6 3 - 1 6 4
T
Tail
d e f i n i t i o1n9,5
w h i pp a n s1,5 i -j 5 2
'lg5
Tailslate,
definition,
Take
a c t r ocnl o s e - u12
p7
,
a c t i ocno n t i n u i t y , 5 0
content
continuity,
66
cut.78
definition,
195
d i a l o g cu oe n r i n u 5
i t 0y ,
andfocus,
34
f r a m i nagn dc o m p o s i t 4
i o0n ,
h e a rdo o m1,, ] 2
l o o k i nsgh o t1, 4 6
multi-camera
editing,
I 63
p a na n dd o l l sy h o t s13, 1
performance,
52
r e c o r ddeida l o g u e . 1 4 8
s i n g lceh a r a c ct el or s e - u1p2, 1
tracking
shotvs.zoom,1Z9
Taking
lens,
definitjon,
195
Talking
head
close-ups,
145
cutpoints,
119
deflnition,
195
focus,
34
insert
shots,
156
Telephone
conversation,
headshots,
135-137
30degree
rule
camera
angle
cutfactor,
64

tillttlllrrr

Ir"

: , l l l ) lt l ) r t t r i r I l ! | ) r r

1l

i,

I h r e el t e r s orrlrr , r l r r r ;lrwr ir:r: , l l r ) 1li.,/.1 1

I h r e ep o i r tlti q h l r r rdqe, l r r r r t r o
1n
9 ,5

Iitr
complex
shots,
28
cutpointreverse,
152
d e f i n i t i o1n9,5
staticframe,
132
Time
condense/expand,
155-156
163-164
counting,
d i s s o l vSel ,
fade,87
wipe,85
Timecode
definition,
195
'164
example,
m u l t i - c a meedr rat i n1g6, 3
Trace,
48
shotconsiderations,
Track
in/out
d e f l n i t i o1n9,5
130-13l
andmotivation,
v s .z o o m
s h o t1, 2 8 - 1 3 0
Iracks
d e f i n i t i o19n5,
andshotcomplexity,
24
Tran
sitions
104
appropriate
edits,
methods,
basic
6
combined
edit,94-95
continuity
across,
66
cut.76-78
'1
therise,26
cutting
dissolve.
80-82
e d i t i ncgh o i c e s , 4 - 5
factors,
57
fade,86-87
tormedit,9'l-93
frame
exils,137
ideal,
75
loudsounds,
150
matching
49
eye,lines,
motivation,
60-61
naturw
a li p e s1,5 0 - 1 5 1
s c r e edni r e c t i o n , 6 T
second
shothead,
154
shotcomposition,
62
sound,70-71
sound
continuity,
69-70

' , v1
l r1
r r , n. :l ' , I I l r r
wrpe
, fl4 lll;
krpod
175
camera
support,
definition,196
increase,
shotcomplexity
24
193
spreader
Tripod
head
196
definition,
increase,
shotcomplexity
Z4-25
Truck
inlout
196
definition,
andmotivation,
130-131
increase,
shotcomplexity
24
'133staticshotcut,
134
Tungsten
balanced,
definition,
196
Two-person
dialogue
1 8 0d e g r ereu l e4, 4
s c r e epno s i t i oend r t9, 1
s h oct o m p o s r t6i o2n ,
Twoshot{2Si
a c t i oend i t1,3 5 - 13 6
d e f i n i t i o1n9,6
description,2l-22
102
editpractices,
ys unmatched,
matched
115-116
placement
screen
issues,
138
three-person
120-1?1
dialogue,
U
" U m s d, "o c u m e n teadriyt i n 1g 4, 6 - 1 4 7
Underexpose,
definition,
196
Unmatched
115-117
shots,
cutting,

v
pornt,
Vanishing
definition,
196
Vari-focal
lens
d e f i n i t i o1n9,6
increase,
shotcomplexity
24
Verbal
ticks.
documentary
147
editing,
Verylongshot{VLS),
description,
20-21
Video
format,
definition,
196
Visible
spectrum,
196
definition,
Vision,
andsound,
98
Visual
track,
at program
start,143
VLS,
seeVerylongshot{VLS)
Voice-over
narration
197
definition,
asinformation,
58
V o i csel a t ed.e f i n r t i o1 n9 .61- 9 7

x
o
c

212 lndex

w
Whippan
197
definition,
a st r a n s i t ipooni n t1,5 1 - 1 5 2
Wideshot{WS}
p9
,
a f t ecr l o s e - u13
d e s c r i p t i2o0n ,
115
matched
vs.unmatched,
n e ws c e nsee q u e n c14e1,
a n ds o u n d , 7 0
Wipe
197
definition,
e d i t r a n s i t i o6n s ,
andusage,
84-85
elements
Workflow
d e f i n i t i o19n7,
digital,166-167

practices,
practices,
Working
seeFditing
w0rkIng
WS,seeWideshot{WS)

x
closeup(XCU,
ECU)
XCU,
seeExtreme
longshot(XLS,
ELS)
XLS,
seeExtreme

z
lens
Zoom
d e f i n i t i o19n7.
increase,
24
shotcomplexity
v s t. r a c k i ns g
h o t1. 2 8 - 1 3 0

*-ffiffi
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Learnthebasic
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:i;

Abouttheauthors
years
Bowenis a freelance
filmandvideoprofessionalwho
ChristopherJ.
hasspentten
teachingcinematography,
filmproduction,
andvideoeditingbothat BostonUniversity
andfor corporate
clients.Heholdscertification
as anAvidCertified
Instructor
andas an
AvidCertified
User.Bowen's
latestroleasCreative
hisown
Director
of Fellsway
Creatives,
production
istakinghimbeyond
company,
shooting
andeditingandintotheworldof motion
graphics
andvideofor theweb.Bowenis authorof Granmarof theShot,alsopublished
by FocalPress.
RoyThompson
wasa freelance
directorandfrequently
workedas a trainer
{deceased)
for theTelevision
Training
Centreof Deutsche
Welle,Berlin.Heworkedextensively
in
Europe,
Africa,andMiddleandFarEastern
countries.
Hewasauthor
of Grammar
of the Shot,
byFocalPress.
alsopublished
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