When watching a performance, the average viewer has a degree of accessibility to cinematography and Mise-en scene. That is to say the viewer can see and take in the visual components of Mise-en scene and comprehend various tricks of cinematography like tracking, changes in focus, and sources of lighting. Once films start using editing, the human mind no longer fully comprehends what it is experiencing and is left to fill in gaps. This work of filling in gaps is the very purpose of editing and provides a plethora of creative options for the filmmaker. To make associations easy and purposeful for the viewer, editing generally falls into four categories relating shots A and B. These editing dimensions are categorized as graphic relations, rhythmic relations, spatial relations, and temporal relations.

While editing has historically followed sequences and conventions since its inception around 1900, such as staying on one side of subjects or editing chronologically, such strict bounds have been tested and even abandoned.  Graphic relations relate two scenes based on the visual components of what those two scenes contain. As the viewer, we are left to fill in the meaning between the two scenes and how they relate with one another. This type of editing can emphasize a trend or idea in a movie without explicitly stating it.  Rhythmic relations usually are achieved with several scenes and use the timing of each scene to emphasize some point. In the film Jaws before various shark attacks shots are edited below and above water showing the shark approaching its victims. These shots speed up with the music before a quick shot of the actual attack giving the feeling of suddenness and impact like a shark attack.

Spatial relations are yet another type of editing which allow two scenes to interact with one another across space. Rather than focusing on one subject in one location, editing can be used to provide multiple perspectives on one event across space. Spatial relations are particularly common in action movies to achieve a holistic understanding of a conflict and how various characters are faring. For example, throughout the Pirates of the Caribbean movies captains can be seen yelling “FIRE” followed by a chorus of firing cannons on their ships. These actions are almost always followed by scenes of chaos on the receivers of the incoming fire giving light to the state of the battle across space.

Temporal relations are achieved by editing two scenes across time and are another common feature of films today. While editing was historically chronological for the sake of clarity, temporal relations allow for a more complex and layered narrative in a way few films do. From Portrait of a Lady on Fire to The Grand Budapest Hotel, temporal relations allow viewers to watch memories as film and ground themselves in the narrative structure of the plot.

Editing is a purposeful time intensive task that is part of virtually every film made today.  Not only can editing direct a viewer’s attention and provide emphasis to a particular subject, it can be the very basis of narrative itself especially in a temporal sense. Editing is a relatively new art with plenty of room for exploration as filmmakers move away from conventions of the past.