Movie Clip Analysis

Editing, a brief history and development. 

Editing is when pieces of footage are manipulated(or edited) and added together to make a full length film that the audience is likely to see in the cinema.  Now-a-days editing is done digitally, using various different pieces of software for computers.

Editing is not only used to make sure that the film looks good for release but it's also used to combine all the different audio and visual aspects that come together to form the final film. Before computer editing everything was done by hand on film reals. This technique was called Splicing. As editing would require someone specifically trained to editing films as they would actually have to cut(splice) different pieces of film together. It was a very difficult and delicate job, as one wrong move could spell disaster for the entire sequence. However, they'd make a several copies of the original negatives, in case they screw up the editing. It's a lot like being able to save and reload a file on a computer.

Some cameras allow the film maker to do in-camera editing, to make small tweaks and changes to their shots right then and there. This also makes less work for the editor, as they then just have to combine the shots together, add a soundtrack and make it ready for cinema release. A second form of in-camera editing is shooting things in chronological order, so that when it comes to editing, it's very minimal and can just be tweaked and tidied up before the final cinema release.

Digital editing allows for a variety of different transitions between shots, such as, dissolve/cross-fade; wipe; cut; fade and many more. The two most commonly used transitions are cut & dissolve. Cuts are used to quickly change(cut) between different scenes. For example when Batman and Bane are talking at 0:25 the camera cuts between the faces of each character as they talk.



Above is the Sewer fight between Batman & Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, please watch this before continuing on with this scene this post.

Continuity 

Establishing shot. 
An establishing shot is often one of the first and it establishes a location or person. At 0:15 Bane begins to speak, the camera then pulls focus as Batman slowly turns to face Bane. Then at  0:21 the camera zooms in to a medium shot to fully establish Banes character.





180 Degree Rule

The 180 Degree is used to keep continuity, a good example of this is at 0:21-0:57(the fight on the walkway) The 180 degree rule isn't broken, until the cutaway to Bane's henchman at 0:58. When the film cuts back to the fight we see Bane & Batman have switched sides, as Catwomen(who was originally standing behind Batman) is now stand behind Bane(1:01).


Shot-reverse-shot

A shot reverse shot is a shot that's used to show two people talking without breaking the 180 degree rule. During the clip there is a shot-reverse-shot right at the very beginning, when Batman is talking to Catwomen.














Match on action. 

A match on action is when we see someone about to do something, such as put keys in a door, then we actually see the keys go into the lock. At 0:43 There's a match on action when Batman throws a punch in one scene and Bane catches it in the next. A match on action is when we start too see something happening in one scene and in the next scene we see that action completed. It's used often to carry the action(and the audience) between the two scenes.




Eyeline match

An eyeline match is when we see a character looking at something then we see what they are looking at. At 0:26(when Bane & Batman are first talking) there is an eyeline match. An eyeline match is when we see a character looking at something then we see what they are looking at. For example when we see Batman looking off-screen the next shot is then an eyeline match to bane which shows us that's Bane is what Batman was looking at.



Screen time

For the audience to identify with the protagonist or other main characters, it means that people will need to see said character(s) a lot throughout the film. In my sequence both the protagonist and antagonist are given plenty of screen time, often sharing the screen. Prior to my sequence the  
characters will have already been established and will have been given plenty of screen, however this is the first of several times they share screen time throughout the film. This also helps with the suspension of disbelief. Going into this film very few people knew that Bane would beat Batman, so giving the characters equal screen time makes it much harder to figure out who will win the fight.

Close ups 

A close up is used to draw attention to an object or show emotion on a persons face. At 0:16 & 0:35 there are close ups of both characters, however they are done from different angles, 0:16 is a close up of Batman, which is done from a high-angle where as 0:35 is a close up of Bane from a low angle, which makes him look bigger and as such connotes strength.










Point of view shots

A point of view shot is when we see what the character is seeing through their eye. A good example of this is in Zero Dark Thirty(2012) During the raid of the house, as Justin clears the stairs the camera is placed above the barrel of his rifle. Unfortunately there aren't any point of view shots in the sequence I have chosen. A point of view shot is when the camera has an angle that makes the viewer feel like they are watching things from the perspective of the character.

Reaction shots 

A reaction shot is when one character does something and the camera shows another characters reaction to it. At 0:44 when Bane catches Batmans punch, it shows Batman's face as he's shocked that Bane has caught his punch & is stronger than he first thought.


Shot variation 

The clip I have chosen uses a wide variety of different shots to give different perspectives of the fight. Examples are: 0:27, 0:46, 0:52, 1:47, 1:54. These include a range of different shots, such as; tracking, close up, shot-reverse-shot, over the shoulder, low angle, high angle, reaction

Montage

A montage is when several shots are filmed and rapidly edited together, montages are often used to indicate the passing of time or to quickly demonstrate how many things that character has done. One of the most famous examples of a montage is the training montage from Rocky 2(or any of the other Rocky films)

Providing or withholding information 

Providing or withholding information is when a film or certain sequence can give of withhold certain pieces of information to make the audience think certain things. In the sequence I have chosen not much information is given or withheld, the most note-worthy is the fact that towards the end of the fight(3:41) it is revealed that Bane has broken into Batman's armory. The fact that Bane is a member of the league of shadows/protege of Ra's Al Ghul is also revealed during this fight.

Parallel editing 

Parallel editing is when two things are happening at the same time but are edited together sot the audience knows they are happening at the same time, a good example of this is the bus scene from speed, Keanu Reeve's character is on the bus and Dennis Hopper's villain is in the car talking him about the bomb explaining what will happen if the bus goes less than 50mph. This is present in my sequence, at 1:23.









Editing Rhythm

Editing Rhythm is the speed that the sequence is edited at. The edits are fairly similar throughout the whole fight. At the beginning the edits are fairly slow and atmospheric, when the fight properly starts going the editing speeds up a small bit but by the end of it the editing slows back down to the slow pace that it was at before it started the fight.

Construction of time & space 

This is when time is constructed using various techniques such as time-lapses. Diagetic & implied types of different ways to show the passing of time. Diagetic is when we literally see time passing(timelapses). Implied is if we see a character get onto a train in the day and get's off when it's dark we would assume that time has passed due to the fact that it's gotten darker in the scene.  However, no such techniques are used in my sequence as everything is happening as we see it. A good example of a time lapse is from Breaking Bad.

Cutting to soundtrack

Cutting to soundtrack is exactly what is says on the tin. It's when the footage cuts in time with the music. This isn't present in my sequence due to the fact there is actually next to no score or soundtrack during the actual fight. The only evidence of this I can find in my sequence is at the very beginning, when the gate is shut on Batman, that is when the soundtrack abruptly ends just as the gate slams shut.

Multiple Points of view 

This is when several camera angles are used in quick succession to give us various points of view for the entire sequence. These technique isn't used to a massive extent during my clip, as it's mainly over-the shoulder, close up, & medium shots. However it is used in Saving Private Ryan during the Omaha beach scene.

Cutaways

A cutaway is when the film cuts to something that's happened in the past, for example, in Family Guy they're used quite a few times when Peter is remembering or explaining something he did previously in an earlier episode or in life. Cutaways are used in a quite a few things but   they must be to explain something that happened in the past otherwise it would be parallel editing.


Jump-cut 

Jump-cuts show an area in the film where there may have been a mistake and a few frames have been cut from the film to cover up said mistake. However Jump-cuts can be deliberately used to create distortion or throw the audience of what is happening. Some directors use jump cuts to dispose of unnecessary action or frames. An example of this is during the robbery scene in Snatch(2000).