Editing In Film: Part 1

After filming a movie, the movie still needs changes to make it more aesthetically pleasing, interesting, eye-catching, etc. This is where Editing is introduced. Editing in film is a technical code used by filmmakers to give the film more aesthetically pleasing look to it and to enhance the genre, therefore, attracting more audiences. My teammates and I had been assigned work to do regarding the definition and examples of some editing techniques. So, in this blog, I will be discussing the first portion of my contribution towards this assignment and, since we were all assigned nine techniques in total, this blog will be discussing three of those techniques, and there will be two more blogs in the future, one discussing three techniques each, equating to nine techniques discussed.

J cut 

The audio from the following scene plays over video from the preceding footage. 

A conversation over the phone is ending and the camera slowly dolly's-in towards the character as the audio of a conversation in the following frame. 

An in-person conversation is about to end and music from a party in the following scene starts playing as the character looks to the side and ponders. 

Whilst two characters dance in the center of an empty room, the audio of their conversation starts playing before the camera cuts to a frame with them talking to each other. 

Dissolve 

As opposed to a straight cut from one shot to another, a dissolve involves the gradual transition from the first image to the next. 

One scene ends with someone walking away from a character to create a sad and isolated mood, the screen dissolves into another scene of them deep in thought. 

During a montage, the screen dissolves multiple times to show the actions of the character(s) whilst they work on their idea. 

During a specific scene, the screen zooms onto the face of a clock and dissolves a few times to emphasize the passing of time. 

180-degree rule 

When you have two people or two groups facing each other in the same shot, you have to establish a 180-degree angle, or a straight line, between them. 

A conversation between two people and the camera alternates between them as they begin to speak. 

A stage with a band and the camera cuts to each musician as they play their instrument. 

A field of two battle parties, ready to begin war as they yell across the field to each other before beginning. The camera cuts to each person as they speak. 

Camera Movement: Part 2

Camera movement in film is crucial to show what is happening in the scene and to enhance the tone of the scene in film. In this blog, I will continue discussing the types of movement in film and their definitions.

Starting with Random Movement, it is defined as an uncontrolled movement of the camera. As the name suggests, the camera moves randomly and shakes whilst still looking at the subject. Filmmakers use this technique to sometimes add a feeling of panic and/or chaos to the scene and other times it is used to make the scene look more realistic or let the audience see what the subject does.

Boom is a camera movement that allows to see the subject of the shot from an overhead angle, whilst following the subject. Similar to the tracking shot, the boom movement follows the subject, but it is smoother and does not follow the subject's every move. Filmmakers not only use this technique to give an overhead view of the subject, but for other purposes such as adding a dramatic effect to the shot.

Moving on, camera roll is used by filmmakers for a multitude of reasons: mainly to add a dramatic (faster), dominant (slower), action-filled (faster), or any other mood to the shot. The camera roll is defined as the camera being turned on the z-axis which results in everything, the subject, setting, etc., in an orientation that is not upright.

The "arc" is defined as when the camera moves around the subject in an orbit-like motion, whilst still facing the subject, of course. The arc is used for many reasons from showing things that the audience cannot see from one angle to letting the audience feel what the character feels by increasing the speed to make the scene seem disorientating.

The Dolly-Zoom is a camera movement that utilizes both the Dolly movement and the Zoom movement. Having the camera dolly out whilst zooming in can allow the audience to see the environment of the subject increase in scale, whilst the subject still keeps a somewhat consistent size. However, having the camera dolly in whilst zooming out can cause both a dizzying effect, and gives an opportunity for the audience to connect with the subject in a moment of realization. As explained, the dolly-zoom can be very useful for dramatic and intimate effects when filming.

Next, the Crash Zoom; the crash zoom is a much faster version of the zoom, where the camera quickly zooms in on the subject and keeps it facing the subject until the next shot. Crash zooms are commonly used by filmmakers to give a dramatic or comedic effect.

Lastly, the Whip Pan is similar to Pan, but much faster. Similar to Whip Pan, the faster the 'whip' is, the more dramatic or comedic the scene can turn out. The whip pan is basically the camera quickly turning to the subject of the frame and keeping the camera in the position it is.

Camera Movement: Part 1

Camera movement in film is crucial to show what is happening in the scene and to enhance the tone of the scene in film. In this blog, I will be discussing the types of movement in film and their definitions.

Starting with the Static, static is defined as the camera not moving. It is used by filmmakers for slower genres like horror or drama for conversation. Dolly In is when the camera moves toward the subject and Dolly Out is when the camera moves away from the subject. These techniques are used by filmmakers for a multiple number of reasons. Examples are to make a creepy effect in a horror film. 

Zoom In is a technique used by filmmakers to magnify what is in the frame of the camera. It's purpose varies depending on what type of genre the film supports. If it is horror, the camera zooms at a creepily slow pace to build tension. If the genre is action, the camera would zoom in at a faster pace to reveal something the audience couldn't see before. Zoom out is the exact opposite of zoom in, but can be used for either the same reasons, or different reasons such as isolation and loneliness.

Trucking in film is when the camera follows the subject in a straight line in a certain scene, mostly for when the subject is walking. It is used to reveal some of the set design of the location and where the character is going. Tracking is like trucking, but it is not only used for walking. Also, tracking does not follow the subject in a straight line, they follow the subject's every move.

Moving on to pan and tilt, Pan is when the camera rotates on the y-axis to reveal certain things relating to the set design and props. Filmmakers can use this techniques at different speeds to give different tones. Slowly would be used more often with horror and drama films, and quickly with action films. Tilt is when the camera rotates on the x-axis. It is used in the same way as pan but for different shots such as establishing shots.

Lighting in Film: Color

Lighting is a crucial element when creating a film and this is because it obviously helps audiences to see what is happening and with the right lighting techniques, it helps to enhance the mood of certain scenes, giving the right tone to the film in general. In this blog, the techniques of lighting will be discussed in one of four different key factors, direction, quality, source, and color as well as the name of the person in charge of lighting and the responsibilities the title has.

In charge of the lighting in film is the cinematographer. With the first job of a cinematographer already mentioned, the two other things that the cinematographer is in charge of are the looks and color of the shots and for framing every single shot of the film.

Color in lighting is self-explanatory, being that color in lighting is defined as what color the lights on-set are. Like all other categories and elements of film, lighting enhances the genre of the film and gives audiences the correct mood. There are different types of lighting colors including warm and cold lighting colors. Warm lighting includes colors like orange, yellow, and red. Cold colors include Blue, Purple, etc. Media producers use warm colors for happy scenes and cold colors for more negative emotionally-connected scenes, like sadness, loneliness, etc.

Lighting in Film: Source

Lighting is a crucial element when creating a film and this is because it obviously helps audiences to see what is happening and with the right lighting techniques, it helps to enhance the mood of certain scenes, giving the right tone to the film in general. In this blog, the techniques of lighting will be discussed in one of four different key factors, direction, quality, source, and color as well as the name of the person in charge of lighting and the responsibilities the title has.

In charge of the lighting in film is the cinematographer. With the first job of a cinematographer already mentioned, the two other things that the cinematographer is in charge of are the looks and color of the shots and for framing every single shot of the film.

Sources in lighting revolve around where the light comes from or what produces the light on-set. Like all other categories and elements of film, lighting enhances the genre of the film and gives audiences the correct mood. There are different types of lighting sources including practical and natural lighting. The next paragraph will discuss what those types of lighting sources are and how media producers use them.

Practical lighting, also known as artificial lighting, and natural lighting are also qualities of lighting in film. Practical lighting is defined as light coming from a man-made source, which is the reason for the name "artificial lighting". Natural lighting is self-explanatory, meaning that the light in a scene is coming from a source like the sun, a fire, etc. Filmmaker use practical lighting sometimes because the natural lighting is not bright enough or other times because they need to direct the lighting to a certain position. Natural lighting is used to give the audience a feeling that the movie is realistic and sometimes they need to improvise and use natural lighting instead of practical lighting.

Lighting in Film: Quality

Lighting is a crucial element when creating a film and this is because it obviously helps audiences to see what is happening and with the right lighting techniques, it helps to enhance the mood of certain scenes, giving the right tone to the film in general. In this blog, the techniques of lighting will be discussed in one of four different key factors, direction, quality, source, and color as well as the name of the person in charge of lighting and the responsibilities the title has.

In charge of the lighting in film is the cinematographer. With the first job of a cinematographer already mentioned, the two other things that the cinematographer is in charge of are the looks and color of the shots and for framing every single shot of the film.

Quality in lighting revolves around the brightness and darkness of the lights on set. Like all other categories and elements of film, lighting enhances the genre of the film and gives audiences the correct mood. There are different types of lighting qualities including hard and soft lighting. The next paragraph will discuss what those types of lighting qualities are and how media producers use them.

As mentioned earlier, one of the types of lighting qualities include hard lighting and soft lighting. Soft lighting is defined as when there is not dark areas in the frame and hard lighting forces the audience to look at a certain place in the frame and everything else being dark. Filmmakers use these types of qualities to give mood to certain scenes. Hard lighting can be used for horror, drama, etc. genres and soft lighting can be used for fantasy, action, etc.

Composition: Depth of Field

 In filmmaking, composition is another important factor of camerawork used by many filmmakers to direct the eyes of the audience to the right places of the frame, centering the focus of the audience to one area in the scene. In this blog, the techniques of composition will be discussed with one of the four categories: Rule of Thirds, Balance, Blocking and Depth of Field. The next blogs will continue discussing composition.

Depth of Field:

Similar to Balance and Blocking, Depth of Field also has multiple sections, but what differs is that there are more sections in this category than any other. The sections include Deep Focus, where nothing is in the frame is out of focus, and shallow focus, where there is even more specific sections, being, where only the foreground is in focus, and where only the background is in focus.

To summarize the blog, filmmakers use composition in when creating a film using four categories, Rule of Thirds, Balance, Blocking, and Depth of Field, to create a more aesthetically pleasing film and to draw attention to certain areas of specific scenes.