When one thinks of editing, they may initially think of simply putting shots together on iMovie. But in reality, editing gives filmmakers a lot of power. With editing, filmmakers can shape the viewers’ experience by playing with time, space and other elements. One the most prominent features in editing is a “join”: the term used to combine two different video clips. There are many different joins used in film, some of the most common being cuts, fade-outs, fade-in, dissolve and wipes. When examining all these different editing elements viewers must consider: How does editing contribute to the narrative of the film/what are they accomplishing by editing it this way?

Above is one of my personal favorite graphic matches from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. A graphic match is when the cut matches the two separate shots based on the similarity of their composition. Not only is this interesting because it attempts to seamlessly transition viewers from the sky to space, but it also has a time jump embedded in it. The bone is from the beginning of time, while the space ship shown is set thousands of years later, taking us to where the movie is set.

Film editing has several different dimensions: Graphic, rhythmic, spatial and temporal relations. One of the main ideas regarding spatial relations in this weeks chapter is the 180° rule. This rule is followed to maintain the consistency of the characters position, as well as making it easy for the viewer to follow. If the rule was to break, it could potentially cause the viewer to be disoriented and confused. One of the most classic uses of the 180° rule is shot reverse shot. Shot reverse shot is done when each shot is taken on either end of the 180° axis and is an example of continuity editing. Cinematography also has a hand to play in this as they are deciding on the framing of the subjects within this 180° axis. Directors Joel & Ethan Cohen use a lot of shot/reverse shot in their films and one should consider how, in scenes of dialogue, this creates a different impression then that of a long take.

Example of shot/reverse shot shown above from Fargo

An example of a dialogue scenes not using shot/reverse shot are the long takes in Portrait of a Lady on Fire. The dialogue scenes I felt, via the use of long take, helped to better immerse viewers in the dialogue and relationship of the characters. However this is not speak negatively on cuts. With cuts one can control the pace of editing keeping the audience engaged, as well as controlling how long the audience sees each shot. The use of quicker cuts can lead to tension building or keeping the pace of the film. Each of these different elements help to work together in order to build the viewers experience.

Not all movies are told in chronological order, with examples of this shown in both the Grand Budapest Hotel and Portrait of a lady on Fire. By using editing to create these non-linear stories, we as viewers are able to feel more emotional impact and have a new perspective on the story. Continuity editing would not typically have this. Films with continuity editing would keep graphic qualities continuous over the shots, heavily utilize the 180° rule and be told linearly. Overall, editing has more power than what I had previously considered. The creative control is so impactful that when watching any film, the editing—and the choices behind each edit—must be considered to see how it works in conjunction with the narrative or scene.