Grace Crowley

Unit 16 Script THAUMATROPE During our exploration of the history and principles of film editing so far we have discovered the evolution of film and video. First of all we looked at the Thaumatrope. The Thaumatrope is a toy that was popular around the time of the Victorians 1825, it is essentially a disk made of card with an image printed on both sides of the disk, and most commonly a bird one side and a cage on the other then two pieces of string are attached at either end of the disk. When the string is twirled quickly between the fingers the two pictures appear to combine into one single image. A video clip of a Thaumatrope shown PRAXINOSCOPE/ZOESCOPE We then moved on to look at other inventions that were invented in order to show moving images, the Praxinoscope and the zoetrope. It was invented in 1877 by a French man; Charles-mile Reynaud to show animations. This was similar to the earlier zoetrope which was created in China at the earlier time of 1867; a strip of pictures are placed around the inner surface of a spinning cylinder. The praxinoscope was a newer and improved version however because the narrow viewing strips were replaced with an inner circle of mirrors allowing the image to appear fixed in one position as the wheel was turned. The images were either drawn or painted onto the piece of card. A video shown of Praxinoscope FIRST IMAGE After looking at these we moved on to look at the first image ever taken which was taken by Joseph Nicphore Nipce in either 1826 or 1827. Image shown The image shows the view from an upstairs window in the Nipces estate, Le Gras in the Burgundy region of France.

Grace Crowley

This image is significant because it represents that origin of todays photography, film and other media arts. EADWARD MURBRIDGE Now onto Eadweard Muybridge, an English photographer. In 1872, Muybridge settled Stanford's question. Leland Stanford was an American tycoon, industrialist, politician and founder of Stanford University. He was very interested in Ranches and horse racing, in 1872 Stanford asked the question: whether all four feet of a horse were off the ground at the same time while trotting, with a single photographic negative showing his Standard bred trotting horse Occident airborne at the trot. This negative was lost, but the image survives through woodcuts made at the time. He placed numerous large glass-plate cameras in a line along the edge of the track; the shutter of each was triggered by a thread as the horse passed. The path was lined with cloth sheets to reflect as much light as possible. Once we had looked at this we made our own versions of Muybridges creation, we did this by taking pictures of something or someone moving in 12 frames. LUMINERE BROTHERS The next thing to come in terms of early moving images was the Luminere brothers; two French brothers who are the earliest filmmakers in history. Muybridges discovery lead to the Luminere brothers invention which was bigger and better that Eadweards. In 1892 the brothers began to create moving pictures, they patented a number of significant processes leading up to their film camera. The cinmatographe itself was patented on 13 February 1934 and the first footage ever to be recorded using it was recorded on March 19, 1895. This first film shows workers leaving the Lumire factory.

Grace Crowley

Cinmatographe is a motion picture film camera which also acts as a film projector and developer that was invented in the 1890s which was invented and originally patented by Leon Bouly but due to money problems and not being able to pay the rent on his patent, the Luminere brothers brought the licence off of him. The Lumires held their first private screening of projected motion pictures in 1895.Their first public screening of films at which admission was charged was held on December 28, 1895, at Salon Indien du Grand Caf in Paris. This was important because it was the start of screenings which lead to screenings that the public could go and watch the latest motion pictures and then to cinemas where you can pay to watch the latest releases. This history-making presentation featured ten short films, including their first film, Sortie des Usines Lumire Lyon (Workers Leaving the Lumire Factory). Each film is 17 meters long, which, when hand cranked through a projector, runs approximately 50 seconds. A clip of the Luminere brothers first film created shown. PURPSOSE OF FILM We were then asked the question; what was the purpose of film as this point? The first films were made in the late 1800s when many people from Great Britain, France and America were trying to invent new ways of showing motion pictures. The main purpose was to tell a story to an audience; when the Lumineres made their motion picture the main purpose was to document and then as film evolved so did the purpose and it became entertaining. After looking at the Luminere brothers; as homework we were asked to research the differences between film and video, analogue and digital. From my research I found that film is a series of still images that are put together to create the illusion of moving images. A film is created by photographing actual scenes with a motion picture camera; by photographing drawings or miniature models using traditional animation techniques; by means of CGI and computer animation; or by a combination of some or all of these techniques and other visual effects.

Grace Crowley

Films were originally recorded onto plastic film which was shown through a movie projector onto a large screen; more modern techniques may use wholly digital filming and storage, such as the Red One camera which records onto hard-disk or flash cards. Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying and broadcasting of moving visual images. Moving onto analogue and digital An analogue recording is one where a property or characteristic of a physical recording medium is made to vary in a manner analogous to the variations in air pressure of the original sound. A digital recording is produced by converting the physical properties of the original sound into a sequence of numbers, which can then be stored and read back for reproduction. LEV KULESHOV Lev Vladimirovich Kuleshov was a Soviet filmmaker and film theorist who taught at The Moscow Film School and also helped with the establishment of the school which was the first film school to open. Kuleshov was very interested in the editing side of cinema. He created the theory which is best known today as the Kuleshov effect, he edited a short film which consisted of a shot of Tsarist matinee idol Ivan Mosjoukine making an expressionless facial expression after this shot had been shown he placed various other shots (a plate of soup, a girl in a coffin, a woman on a divan). When this clip was shown to an audience they were convinced that his facial expression changed each time a different image would appear, much to their surprise the shot of Ivan did not change. Lev Kuleshov used his experiment to show how useful and effective editing can be. The experiment showed that the audience brought their own emotional reactions into the sequence of images which forced them to decide that the facial expression had changed. SOVIET MONTAGE THEORY The soviet montage movement began in 1924/25 and ended in 1930 during the time of the movement approximately 30 films were

Grace Crowley

made following the soviet montage style. Montage meaning assembly or editing meant that the soviet montage movement was essentially the understanding that cinema relies very heavily on editing; the way the film is put together. Sergei Eisenstien was a pioneering soviet Russian film director and film theorist who is often referred to as the father of montage noted that montage is the nerve of cinema. Montage editing shows the dynamic and sporadic between two different shots. The editing style was developed by a collection of soviet filmmakers in the 1920s such as Pudovkin, Vertov and Eisenstein. Juxtaposition is applied to film making in this theory as it refers to different shots that have been put together to create a contrast. ALFRED HITCHCOCK MONTAGE Alfred Hitchcock was a British film director and producer. Towards the end of Hitchcocks career he made a number of comments on how powerful montage is after creating two films with virtually no editing at all he came to the belief that films must be cut in order for them to be effective. Hitchcock referred to montage as pure cinematics, the assembly of film and how it can be changed to create a different a different idea he uses the example of a close up of himself pulling a expressionless facial expression then we cut to what he is looking at; a mother and a baby, the film then cuts back to his reaction where he is smiling and to the audience he looks like a kind man who is sympathetic. He then takes away the middle bit with the mother and the child leaving behind his before and after expressions and replacing the piece of film with one of a woman in a bikini to the audience now he could be referred to as a dirty old man and no longer a gentleman. MONTAGE I think that montage is the way in which pieces of film are put together; I believe that it is an important part of editing and the way the audience perceive what they are viewing. What the audience perceive can be determined by the way in which the film clips are edited together which will result in various different emotions attached to the way they see the subjects being represented throughout the film.

Grace Crowley

SHOT TYPES Mid shot - The mid-shot allows room for the audience to see the subjects hand gestures, facial expressions and general body language. This shot provides the audience with more information allowing them to understand the emotion that is being portrayed. Extreme close up - An extreme close up shows extreme detail and emphasises the emotion further and the importance of it. This shot however can be very intense and dramatic and is not very commonly used compared to other shots because it is too close to show general reactions or emotions. P.O.V - This shot shows the audience the subjects perspective. It puts the audience in the actors shoes ultimately allowing them to relate easier and feel more involved in the action and the storyline. Over the shoulder shot - This shot shows one subject from the shoulder of the second subject, it is most commonly used when there a conversation between two people is being shown. It is often shot as either a mid-shot or close up. Birds eye view the subject, the all of the area gives a - The birds eye view is shot directly above shot is unnatural and strange. The shot shows at height. It can have a dramatic effect and different perspective on the space.

Close up - The close up shot displays the most detail. A close up of a person will show and emphasize the emotion that they are portraying. The audience are able to share the feelings because of the intensity. Worms eye view - The worms eye view shows the view of the subject from below. This shot is the opposite of a worms eye to the birds eye view. A worm's eye view is used commonly for third perspective when you put one vanishing point on top, one on the left, and one on the right.

Jump cuts: A jump cut is a cut in film editing in which two shots of the same subject are taken from different camera positions that are slightly different this cut gives the impression to audience that time has passed.

Grace Crowley

The film breathless was directed by Jean Luc Godard who is a French-Swiss film director and film critic. He used jump cuts in his film breathless in order to cut his film down to 90 minutes making it appear as if the characters had jumped through time. In order to hide a jump cut to allow the film to flow more freely you should cut to a different angle or a shot that is a different distance from the camera in between your two shots or by using a b-roll which is additional footage that is inserted with the main shot in an interview or documentary. MATCH CUT A match cut is a cut used in film editing; the cut in the second shot matches the object shown in the first shot. The objects are to be of a similar size and position within the shot they can be used to add harmony and continuity to a sudden shift in time or place. Out of the three examples of match cuts we looked at, the best one in my opinion would be 99 Francs by Jan Kounen I believe this because the shots flow very well from the snow avalanche to the womens blonde afro. The audience arent expecting this to happen but because of how well the two shots flow. TRANSITIONS A transition is the way in which two shot are joined together, they are very important. The most common transition is the cut which is where one shot changes instantly to the next. Transitions are used in film when the film clips are being edited together they are used to convey a tone or mood and to suggest that time has passed. EXAMPLES OF TRANSITIONS Crossfade- can be described as a gradual fade from one shot to the next; they are a slightly more relaxed transition to others and are most often used in film clips of scenery and landscapes. They show a passing of time or changing of location. Fade- A fade is usually used from one film clip to another the fade is a single shot colour most often black or white. The "fade to black" and "fade from black" are ubiquitous in film and television. They usually signal the beginning and end of scenes.

Grace Crowley

Fades can be used between shots to create a sort of crossfade which, for example, fades briefly to white before fading to the next shot. TIMING AND PACE In the James Bond: Quantum of solace the pace starts of slow and the camera pans across the lake which looks peaceful against the mountains, the musics pace however is slowly building. The camera then cuts to various shots of a car: the wheels, bumper and exhaust. Then back to the lake and then another car is introduced and we get a cut of bullets. The camera then again cuts to the lake and as the camera pans closer to the mountain the musics pace quickens and then quickly cuts to the sound of a car engine. We can see that there is a car chase happening because we get very short clips of alternate cars, the short quick clips make the opening exciting to the audience and keep us involved. The background music stops and we can hear the sound of cars and gun shots. Lost in translation: The pace of this clip starts very slow and the background sound is quiet, the pace doesnt really pick up but we can see something is about to happen as he opens the car door and we are introduced to a new character. The shots cut back and forth between the two characters as they exchange a kiss and say goodbye. The two clips are different genres, the first being action and second romance. The pace and timings match their genres. CUTTING ON THE BEAT Cutting on the beat is when the when editing you clips you cut the music on the beat for each clips to show continuity and so that the videos flow. CONTINUITY EDITING Shot reverse shot- A shot reverse show is a filming technique used most commonly when two characters are having a conversation. One character is shown looking at another character and then the camera shows the other character looking back at the first character. Because of the way that the camera is angled so that it looks as if the two characters are facing in opposite directions and the audience assumes

Grace Crowley

that they are looking at each other when in reality the shot have probably been filmed separately. 180 degree rule The 180 degree rule is used in editing as a basic guideline. The rule states that the camera or cameras should remain on the same side of the 180 degree line; the line is placed perpendicular to the cameras viewpoint in the establishing shot of the scene. By using this rule it shows continuity. The line may often be broken in order to show effect but ultimately breaking the rule will confuse the audience. The 180 degree line is used in The Social Network break up scene to show that the two people are having a conversation. At first we are shown an establishing shot where the two characters are in the shot allowing us to see that they are having a conversation, then when the pair begin to speak the camera stays behind the 180 degree line alternating from left to right of the two characters shoulders. Seamless editing In order to achieve seamless editing your editing must be invisible meaning that time and space must match, this allows the audience to not even notice that editing has taken place. If there was to be a continuity error such as in one shot the actor is wearing a red top then when it cuts to the next shot they are wearing a blue top this would cause a disruption and would mean that seamless editing is not achieved. Parallel editing - Parallel editing is a technique that is used between two or more related clips when related actions are occurring at the same time in two separate locations or different points in time. In the baptism scene from the godfather there are two different stories being shown at the same time, the first story being the baptism at the church we see various shots of the church and the baby being baptised. The camera then cuts to a man with a gun whilst the dialogue from the baptism is still running. The parallel editing shows the secret life that Al Pacino lives. In the church, Michael accepts God and renounces Satan. But parallel editing shows hit men recruited by Michael murdering his enemies. The paradox is evident. Whereas in one scene Michael fulfils his religious obligations, in the other he carries on with his mafia duties.

Grace Crowley

The director will have used these two very different stories as effect and to show the audience the two sides of Al Pacino in an effective way. MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES Multiple perspectives is used in 500 days of summer as a split screen which shows expectation and reality; they way that Tom would have wanted things to turn out and the way that they did. This is effective because it shows the audience that he has feelings for her and things arent working out for him because Summer isnt interested. It is used differently in the Thomas crown affair, we see a shot and then the screen splits up into numerous little screens showing the same thing but at different points are perspectives. By doing this it makes it exciting for the audience but also confusing and meaning it doesnt flow very well. I think that the 500 days of summer multiple perspectives is better because it flows well and the audience can understand why it is happening however the Thomas Crown Affair doesnt seem to have much point to it.