Basic Editing Vocabulary

• Frame: smallest unit of film - individual images that create illusion of movement when played at speed
  • First discovered by Edward Muybridge (1878) with sequential horse photographs
  • Every position on timeline is parked on a specific frame
  • What’s inside frame vs. outside frame both significant for storytelling
• Shot: camera on to camera off - can contain multiple types of movement:
  • Subject movement - person walking in/out of frame
  • Lens movement - zoom (changing focal length) and rack focus
  • Camera movement - pan (left/right) and tilt (up/down)
  • Mount movement - dolly, crane, handheld, etc.
• Take: multiple versions of same shot
  • Generally one take of one shot = one clip
  • Complex shots may require many takes
  • Simple shots may only need 1-2 takes
  • Circle takes = director’s preferred versions
• Shooting ratio: minutes of footage shot vs. minutes in final film
  • Mad Max: Fury Road = 240:1 ratio (480 hours shot for 120 minute film)
  • Primer = 1.01:1 ratio (very low budget, highly planned)
  • High ratios: action films, multicam, comedies, documentaries
  • Low ratios: art films, low budget, harsh emotional scenes
• Cut (edit point): instantaneous transition from one shot to another
  • Head = beginning of shot, Tail = end of shot
  • Handles = unused frames outside in/out points that enable extending shots
  • Three-point editing: in point, out point, timeline position

Continuity Editing

• Goal: create illusion of continuous action by editing shots together “invisibly”
• History: evolved from single-shot actualities (1895) to edited narratives
  • Life of American Fireman (1903) - first edited film but still shows complete actions
  • Early films felt slow because they showed every action in real time from wide angles
• Key principles:
  • Multiple camera angles create dramatic time vs. real time
  • Start wide, go closer as intensity builds
  • Master shot captures full action, then get coverage
  • Cut on movement to hide edit points
  • Maintain spatial relationships and eyeline matches
• Standard coverage for 2-person dialogue scene:
  • Wide two-shot (master)
  • Over-the-shoulder shots (both directions)
  • Close-ups (both characters)

Action Edit

• Very common type of cut in continuity editing
• Cut on movement of action or objects in frame
• Movement begins in Shot A and continues into Shot B
• Typically uses straight cut
• Distracts viewer from noticing the edit

Cutting for Continuity

• Camera functions like ideal eye - captures most relevant information
• Consistency requirements:
  • Props in same hands on same lines
  • Matching actor positions and movements
  • Same lighting and costume details