Editing
In this page I will be critically assessing the use of editing within my three research films. I will define the term editing and explain the types of editing and what they consist of. I will then discuss the conventions of editing within the style of poetic realism and whether or not my three research films 'Ivan's Childhood' follows them or diverges from them.
Editing is a way to form a narrative temporally. It speeds up the shooting process by increasing the viewing process by creating a rhythm of forward action.
There are three types of editing; The long take, montage and continuity. The long take involves no change the the shot taken, montage is a technique of combining, in a single comparison, pictorial elements from various shots that relate to the same idea. In films, they are often used to represent a period of time passing. Continuity editing gives the audience an idea of the complete action, very much like the long take, however it incorporates more then one shot. In the style poetic realism, editing is commonly made up of long takes to assist in the reinforcement to the audience that it is a reflection of realism. Montage can also be quite frequent in order to decorate what is seen as reality and aid the atmosphere that is intended on being emitted to the audience. |
'Ivan's Childhood'
October 2012
The editing utilised in 'Ivan's Childhood' by Andrei Tarkovsky is dynamic. There was mainly montage editing to maintain the genre of poetic realism. There were some long takes, although according to Tarkovsky, a long take should be classed as a montage as it presents a constant change of time. Therefore it is arguable that the only montage editing it used. According to the conventions of poetic realism, Tarkovsky does not completely follow the typical editing types. It is usual for the long take to be promenant, when in this case it is not. However, the preponderant use of montage editing is a convention of poetic realism.
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From 57:40 to 58:13 would be considered an example of montage editing by Tarkovsky as although it consists of a long shot, the characters move an there is a change of time.
From the start of the film there is use of continuity and montage editing as the audience are introduced to the protagonist Ivan and his surroundings. |
'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'
November 2012
In the film, 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' by Michel Gondry, the editing has a large impact on how the audience receive the information that is being presented to them. The editing neatly unravels the story even though the selecting editing and arrangement of the events does not occur in chronological order. Sequential montage, metric and rhythmic, editing are utilised to match up the events and what the audience perceive, to the process the brain is undergoing. Allows the audience to switch between Joel's mind and the real world, producing dramatic irony. Some shots are reused to emphasis the importance of them and to bind the narrative line to the cinematography. In the editing stages of the film, it was decided that the ending would actually occur, or be portrayed to the audience at the beginning. The purpose of this was to ensure that the audience would form a positive judgement on the female protagonist, Clementine.
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This particular clip from 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' mainly displays continuity editing However, this is an example of how the editing displays how the film switches from a moment that happened to Joel and a memory. The extract beigns with a shot reverse shot between Joel and Clementine. There is narration over some shots to see the reactions from Joel as Clementine is talking. The film then cuts to images of Clementine's memory, it is unclear is Joel has seen them and shares the same memory or if this is his imagination. Although, the shots and the temporal and spacial aspects are tied together using Clementine's voice over. There is then an overlay of two shots as there is a slow dissolve from one to the other, this is when it switches from Joel's memory to the present. |
'Memory'
January 2013
The short film, 'Memory' mainly consists of montage editing. In doing this, it displays many aspects of the same location towards the audience. It can be seen as a journey that the audience partake in. The editing keeps a steady rhythm and drives the narrative. The combination of tracking or moving shots with static shots keeps revealing knew aspects of the location with allowing the audience to see a clear establishing shot to get a sense of how large the area is. The editing also alludes to an essence of uncovering something and assists in the formation of an enigma.
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In the short film 'Memory' by Andrei Tarkovsky is made up simply of montage editing. There are few uses of fading into the next shot, this provides the audience with a sense of the sequence continuing and following the narrative.
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My Film, 'Minnie'
Within my own five-minute film I intend on using montage editing in the style of Tarkovsky so that they are made up of long takes. I feel this allows the audience to absorb everything that is occurring without the shot being broken. I will also like to use some other montage to create a series of memories from the protagonist's point of view. I hope to also use some continuity editing as a way of portraying how each character reacts and is feeling at given points in my film.