Time and Manipulation

Screen Time

This is different from any different use of time in film because your able to jump from one time to another. Its represented by different events during a film and can use Montage to show the passage of time.

Compressed Time

This is also known as montage and is most commonly used in Hollywood montage, stop-frame and time-lapse photography. Time-lapse photography is when a frame or shot is taken every minute and is then edited together to get a smooth and high quality piece of film showing a passage of time. Time-lapse photography is also a form of editing. Compressed time could take 24 hours to film however the whole thing is shown over just a few minutes during the film.

Long Take

This is using real time. A long take has no edits in, its a incredibly rehearsed scene and uses very fine camera movements to track something over a long period of time. An example of this is used in Children of Men where their running through Bexhill to try and save the baby.

Simultaneous Time and Slow Motion

Simultaneous Time is when something is happening at the same time.

Slow Motion is slowing down time. This can add dramatic effect and pace. Slow motion is used in the Matrix films when Neo dodges the agents bullets. This is done to add dramatic effect to the scene.

Reply

This is when an action sequence is repeated. It's often used in sport and often played back in slow motion.

Flashback

This breaks up the order of the narrative as events from the past are disclosed and shown.

Transition Types

Edits have been a way for film makers to tell the audience a story at a much quicker pace than in real life. Transitions have been a way for editors to cut together different parts of scenes to make a story. Some of these cuts are:

Cuts:

These allow the audience to get different angles on the scene, which engages the audience by making the scene more exciting. They pace and speed to the scene and allow the story to be told much quicker than in real life. The cut is the most simplest transition and allows the end of one scene to lead straight to another.

Wipes:

These transitions move from one frame to another very mechanically. They can be used to end a scene and start another. Wipes tend to be only used when there are motions in the scene. An example of this is when a truck drives across the screen ending that scene and starting another. Other ways of using wipes are by using doors, people, grass and pavements. Wipes can also be used to show a passage of time, for example wiping from one scene ending in sunrise, to the next scene starting at a sunset. Wipes are more common in TV than film.

Dissolves:

These transitions are when one frame is place on top of another and they blend into each other. They are both used in TV and film. There is also a transition called a cross-dissolve. These again blend into another frame, however they are very slow paced and often used in montage to demonstrate passages of time. They can also be used to make the audience feel calmer, however the longer the dissolve the slower paced the scene becomes which could be a risk because the audience could lose focus on the film.

Fades:

This transition allows one scene to join to another. They also represent the ending of something. They are usually used at the end of films to tell the audience its finished however they can also be used to represent death and unconsciousness but fading into white. Fading to black can also represent a passage of time.

Jump Cuts:

These transitions represent a change in location or scenery. They can be very disorientating to the audience because there can be a jump in time, scenery or to different characters. However the jumps have to match up together otherwise the editor risks confusing and loosing the focus of the audience.

Editing Styles

Linear editing - An older style of editing where a line process was used to edit together films

Non-linear editing - The newer style of editing. Computers are used for this style of editing.

The term "Montage" is translated by the french as "to put together"

There are two main types of montage soviet and Hollywood.

Soviet montage allowed images with no relation to each other to be used in a sequence to create a third meaning. A clear example of this is used in Sergei Eisenstein's Oktober (1927). In this film Eisenstein used an image of machines to portray how the people working in the factories were like machines. He also used very jerky edits during the film to set a pace. Which also helps to reinforce the meaning of machines working non-stop.

Hollywood montage means the passage of time being shown through different shots. A prime example is in the Disney film Up. Here we see and old man and go through the different stages of his life. This helps the audience identify with the character and also gives them some background information

Another editing style is continuity editing. This type of editing is meant to be invisible to the audience and shows them the progress of events. For example if in one shot someone was going to reach for the handle of a door, the next shot would be of the door opening. It allows the scene to flow smoothly without the audience noticing physically.

The 180 degree rule is one of the most important rules of film making for the director as it allows the audience to know where they are and its

tops them from becoming confused. The easiest way to follow the 180 degree rule is to have an invisible line and choose which side you want to

film from. Once filming starts you cant pass this line otherwise the audience will become confused.

The History and Developments of Post-production

There have been many developments in post-production over the years. As technology has advanced so to has the ability to make films that capture the audiences imaginations. Auguste Lumiere once said that "cinema was an invention without a future" but it is now clear that cinema's future is endless as long as the audience are still able to believe that what they're seeing on the screen is actually real.

The Life of an American Fireman (1903) by Edwin S. Porter was the first film ever to use post-production. It told the story of how a fire brigade rescued a women and baby from a burning building. Rather than having one long shot held until either the director got bored or the film ran out they decided to use cuts to bring two different shots together to tell a story. Although this was a very basic technique this was one of the most important break throughs in cinematography shaping the way we see cinema today.


Still from The Life of an American Fireman by Edwin S. Porter

Another break-through in the film industry was in 1924. Iwan Serrurier invented the moviola machine. It allowed the film editor to view the film at the same time as editing it so they were able to get more precise cuts. The moviola used to be described as an upright sewing machine and edited 35mm film stock. This was also one of the reasons why in the 1940's and 50's editing was seen as a womens job. The moviola was used up until the 1970's when a more advanced machine called a flatbed editor was invented.


A moviola machine

The flatbed editor was introduced in the 1970's . This machine allowed the editor to edit footage a lot quicker than when they used the moviola by using a cutting and splicing technique. This was called linear editing. However during the 1990's the use of the flatbed editor was replaced with computer editing software using non-linear programmes such as Avid and Final Cut Pro.


A Flatbed Editor

Another huge development in the cinema world was when D.W Griffith released his film Birth of a Nation in 1915. Griffith had used a huge amount of different film techniques such as close-ups and long-shots from different angles and then used different fades and cutting techniques during the post-production stages. This film inspired many other directors to follow in his footsteps.

Film was used in a big way during the Russian revolution. Lenin wanted to get more people on his side so he used film to persuade the poor and illiterate to join him. Film was a way for people to understand what Lenin wanted to do, rather than having someone read about his campaign he was able to show them.

Nowadays we can edit films on computers using programmes such as AVID and Final Cut Pro. An editor would have to cut down over 200 hours of footage to make a 2 hour film. The film tape would be so long it would reach from LA to Las Vegas. Also making films costs a huge amount of money. Film stock is £400 for just 10 minutes of tape and the camera lenses would cost up to £500,000 to buy. Editing a film can take years as an editor has to check every frame is perfect and there are 24 frames per second on a film.