Good Bad Ugly

Classic editing on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Long takes on the eyes & body parts, rousing music, the whole shebang.

The scene lasts just under 5 minutes from Clint Eastwood's character approaching his mark to him finally firing his gun.  5 minutes of character silence, with only the classic theme for company.

Stay off the set!

We might not often see the editor on set.  Maybe this is because the Director doesn't like them, or because there's very little reason for them to be there.  It may be a mix of things, but now I understand that perhaps the biggest reason is because an editor does not want to see the film being filmed.

An editor's job at it's most basic is to match the shots in an understandable way so that an audience can view them coherently.  An editor does not want to see actors out of costume, things on set that weren't in the frame etc.  This is because this is what an audience sees and an editor wants to deliver the best possible vision to an audience without the distraction of what he has seen on set be play a part.

Famous cuts

Hailed as the greatest cut in movie history, the bone turning to the space satellite/warhead is an example of a match cut.
2001: A Space Odyseey

Equally lauded by filmmakers is this exquisite cut from Lawrence of Arabia.

Apocalypse Now showcasing a huge contrast between war and peace.

A great and perhaps one of the earliest examples of a 'jump cut' in Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless.

A quality example of a process called slow cutting from Clockwork Orange.  Slow cutting is a process which uses shots which last for long durations.

Old V. New

As mentioned earlier, one of the first films featuring a coherent narrative edit was "Life of an American Fireman". I'm going to compare it with some modern(ish) footage of a similar paced scene.  I couldn't think of any movies involving firemen at the time but I think something which goes quite nicely with it is the motorbike chase scene from "The Great Escape".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coWCkAOkQ0U&feature=related

The scene has several key points.
1.McQueen acquiring the bike.
2.McQueen riding upto the checkpoint.
3.McQueen riding away from checkpoint.
4.German reaction to McQueen riding away.
5.McQueen trying to evade capture.
6.Germans crashing/catching up with him.

It's a mix of reaction shots and McQueen inching away and the Germans slowly catching up racing to a climax at the end, much like in the 1903 film.

The purpose of this was to show that narrative/editing techniques may have become more technological but the basic principles are the same.

It might seem a little obscure but I know what I'm talking about :D

Platoon

Platoon just popped into my head as a classic ending scene which features a few key ingredients.

Diagetic sound, Sheen's narration, the musical score and the visuals all combine to create a very powerful ending scene.  These elements are brought together perfectly, all in the right ratio to stimulate the certain amount of relieve and feeling of sadness as the film closes.

I think this should be the ultimate goal for a film editor.

The growth of editing

In the very first days of film there was no real need for editing as a cameraman would simply hold a shot until he got tired.  There were no real narratives in film so there was no need to switch between scenes or show that other things were happening.  Many people predicted the decline of cinema before it had even started.
"Cinema is an invention without a future."  Auguste & Louis Lumière

Yet some saw differently.
This is "Life of an American Fireman", one of the earliest films to employ a narrative style of direction and editing combined.  This film was put together by Edwin S. Porter, one of the pioneers of the editing game.

Porter also did "The Great Train Robbery" which again was one of the earliest films which showcased great 'cross cutting' and would change the way films were made in the future.

Q. What makes a movie a movie?

A. The editing.

Found a movie on YouTube about the importance of good film editing.

Extra parts are in the suggestions box.

Editor & Director, best pals

An editor must work closely with a director and it has been said that they will spend the most time together out of all members of a production.

The editing process of a major production can last for months on end and a director and an editor must work hand in hand creating a vision which compliments both their talents.  Just like a producer works with a director on set, so too must an editor work with him closely in the cutting room.

Old music video

I shot a music video a few years ago and I remember editing it using an older version of Adobe Premier Pro.  I'm going to rummage around for it and see if I can find it.

Adobe Premiere Pro CS5

I have just acquired  Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 so I think I will use that for the time being.  I also have Sony Vegas and Video Studio.  I have used Premiere Pro for editing a music video before though so I will feel most comfortable with that.

Platforms

At the university we have the mac lab and we also have avid suites.

There are also a few other options though.  I have heard good things about Sony Vegas and Adobe Premiere Pro.  There are also a few other lesser known and used programs such as Magix and Video Studio.I could use a couple of different programs to test the capibilty and ease of use etc.

Editing

I have decided to do editing as a final year craft.  I will hope to possibly edit my final film and have an input on somebody else's.

Editing was always something I was interested in and good at doing when I was young and just messed around with home movies and movie maker, so hopefully I have made the right choice.  

Sound

There seems to be a lot of people needing sound for their projects so it seems like a good way to go as you would get a lot of use with it.

However, I have done sound on a number of shoots and although I know you can go a long way with it and the point of this module is to improve a craft, I do get quite bored with doing it.  I think it's more of a craft which you can develop in post better than in real time.

Choosing a craft

Initially unsure as to the exact aims and purposes of this module but I am currently deciding between going for sound or editing.