Monday, January 17, 2011
Continuity Editing: Now You Don't See It. Now You Do
Continuity editing, which utilizes a variety of match cuts to create an illusion of reality, is one of the conventions of classic film. Indeed Hollywood movies today, as well as television programs, continue to make use of this convention. Before taking this course, however, such cuts were invisible to most of you. After discussing this technique, have you begun to notice the editing? If so, describe a scene of a recent movie or television show that used a (series of) match cut(s) and explain how the illusion of eavesdropping on someone's life was preserved. Alternatively, did you see a movie that did not use match cuts? Did it create an effect of confusion or disorientation? Explain.
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ReplyDeleteAfter watching and contrasting the films “The Black Swan” and “Vampires Suck” I was able to recognize the very distinctive message each film maker was trying to convey through their continuity editing and also the lack there of. For example one scene in “The Black Swan”, a captivating and mysteriously dark film that entices its viewers with its fluid match cuts, portrays Nina Sears (Natalie Portman), a mentally disturbed ballerina, walking down a shadowy subway corridor towards an equally strange woman. Just as the stranger is about to walk past her, the camera effortlessly cuts to a scene where Sears is looking behind her as the stranger glides into the darkness. The camera leaves out the scene of the stranger actually brushing past her, including only the approach and the departure between the two women but, because of the continuity editing, the entire confrontation appears as smooth as one scene. “Vampires Suck” is a comedy that, unlike “The Black Swan”, does not endeavor to take its viewers on a journey of a psychotic thriller, but rather, intentional hilarity. In the final scene of the movie, Becca, the main character, is on a mission to rescue her lover, a “vampire” named Edward Sullen, from his enemies. The action packed scene uses jump cuts to create an illusion of chaos and confusion as Becca and Edward “tag team” against their enemies. Although prior to taking this class I was too invested in both films (for very different reasons) to take notice of these two very different editing techniques, I am now able to recognize the technicality of both films that served to evoke my two very different emotions.
ReplyDeleteOK LAST ONE I PROMISE!!! I didn't know they had to be 250-300 words mine was only 160!
ReplyDeleteANYWAY.
Although I do not notice editing quite as much as I thought I would, I did notice some the other day. I was watching "The Devil Wears Prada," and there was a scene where Anne Hathaway was shown walking into a building and getting on an elevator. It then cut to her walking off the elevator into her office. I had never really thought about it before, but I realized that it was the usage of match cuts to create continuity. I actually noticed that I was missing a whole part of the action (her in the elevator). This reminded me of when we were watching "Birth of a Nation" and the girl was shown opening the door then walking out of the house, yet not her actually walking through the door. I have not yet seen a movie that used an absence of match cuts to create a sense of confusion or disorientation. In addition, I was watching "The Blind Side" yesterday, and the film ends with a close-up shot on Sandra Bullock's grin after "Big Mike" leaves for college. She is one of the main characters in the story, and has an extremely close relationship with Mike. Because close-ups are often used to show emotion, this shot serves as a perfect ending. I am now more alert and observant when I watch films, and I notice how and why editing is used to provoke certain emotions or reactions. Although we have only been in this course for a couple of weeks, my role as a viewer has definitely changed.
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ReplyDeleteSurprisingly, after learning about continuity editing, I noticed various match cuts in two of the movies I viewed at the Sundance Film Festival. In one of the films, titled “Benevides Born”, I noticed the use of reverse shots. During conversations between two characters, I tried to pay attention to the positioning of the camera angle, and whether or not the angles were positioned properly to emphasize that the two figures were in the same space throughout the entire conversation. During most of the conversations, the cameras were positioned properly, so it effectively showed that the two people remained in the same position. However, there was one part of the movie where I noticed the camera shot over the wrong shoulder of one of the characters. That conversation took place during one of the most intense and heated scenes of the film – the girls high school power lifting state championships. While I may have noticed this small but potentially deliberate glitch in the filming, it did not take away from the overall quality of the film. I highly doubt that any other viewers noticed this small detail, and I’m sure I wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t been paying close attention. The second film we saw, titled “The Future”, also had some obvious match cuts. The majority of this independent film mirrors the lives of a man and woman, Jason and Sophie, who broke up over an affair between Sophie and an older man. The film follows the split couple as they live their lives apart. However, they are unable to forget about the past, and their separate lives continue to mirror one another. This important piece of the film is shown through various match cuts. Throughout the film, various images and elements are preserved to reflect the similarities between Jason and Sophie’s lives. For example, during one of the scenes, Sophie is outside in the middle of the night searching for something with a flashlight. Suddenly, she shines the flashlight in the camera’s lens, blinding the audience. Subsequently, Jason is shown walking across a street in the dark, covering his eyes from the blinding headlights of an approaching car. The light from Sophie’s flashlight was used to transition from her life to Jason’s. The preservation of the light between the two shots represents the deep connection and strong feelings that Jason and Sophie still have for one another.
ReplyDeleteWith technology advancing at a rapid pace in film and editing, cuts have become almost unnoticeable in recent films. Last night, while watching Inception, I noticed no particular scenes that accentuated the use of cuts. By taking up so little time with the cuts, there were able to create the effect that the film was without major cut editing. One significant editing part that was a reoccurring theme, was when Cobb, the main extractor resorted back to the memory of the last scene of his children. There are also cuts during his arrival in Limbo, and show his difficult time, and struggle with reality and dreams.
ReplyDeleteStill new to viewing films as an analyst, I struggle identifying cuts unless I am specifically concentrating and focused on the fact that there are matchcuts happening throughout the movie. Given the fact that editing has become so complex, we see films as continuous and make no immediate stoppage in the film for the viewer. Cuts give the illusion of continuity throughout a film and forces the audience to stay focused and pay attention to everything going on in the film.
While watching the movie The Shining (1980), I began to notice a lot more jump and match cuts. In the movie, a family of three lives in an otherwise abandoned hotel in order to watch over it for the winter. However, a couple years ago, the previous caretaker had gone crazy and killed his family and then committed suicide. While walking around, Danny, a young boy, repeatedly sees flashes of images of the scene. The sudden jump cuts added to the confusion, disorientation, and sense of terror.
ReplyDeleteI also noticed a lot of match cuts during point-of-view shots and scenes where the characters were moving. In point-of-view shots, the camera would first capture the reaction and then show the image. This connects the two shots and helps the viewer associate the two together. In the scenes where the characters were running around the hotel, the camera used different angles for different shots but kept the motion in order to preserve the continuity of the scene.
However, in general, I usually don’t notice the cuts in movies or TV because I’m so accustomed to them.