Editing Task

Written Introduction:
Before the age of digital. There was only Film. Film is still around today, and is very much still in use. Some director/cinematographers swear by film and believe that digital is the end to cinema completely. However, this is not an opinion that everyone shares, as a lot of people believe that digital is actually the future of film. So opinions are widely spread apart. With digital, all footage is captured on camera that put the footage onto SD cards. These are then put into computers, which then allow you to put the clips onto an editing software, which can then be edited there. With film, editing i completely different. You have the footage put onto bits of film which then are taken and are literally cut up with scissors and stuck back together with sticky tape. Once all editing is done. They then get the film sent off and then watch the film the next day. This is called a "daily". With editing on film, you can't see what you've done until the next day when you watch it for the very first time. The jump cut was very apparent in film when it was first found, as this allowed you to go from scene to scene, All the scenes would overlap, till ultimately coming together at the end. The cut was one of the first things in editing, because you simply took some scissors and cut the film, and then stuck it back together with sticky tape. The dissolve allowed people to show a change in time, e.g. in James Bond dissolves are quite apparent as when James Bond gets a call saying he is needed somewhere, there is a dissolve to show that time has passed, instead of showing everything that has happened in between him getting the call, and him going to the new place. The fade allowed you to smoothly end a scene or smoothly transition into a scene. This would usually occur when the scene is quite quiet and not much is happening. The wipe is used to replace one scene with another, to show the end of one scene quite abruptly, and the start of a new scene, putting you within the action with only a small build up. The wipe is very coming in the Star Wars films.



Visual Analysis:
Continuity:
At 0:21 there is an establishing shot. This allows the viewer to see what the surroundings are like and sets the scene. In this clip, it helps us understand where exactly they are, but also where the "Kaijus" are coming from, therefore showing us everything in the scene. As the Kaiju is rising out of the breach at 0:24, the camera is on the left hand side of it, the camera then shows another angle, following the 180 degree rule as the camera only stays on one side. By doing this, it means that the viewer doesn't become confused and isn't thrown out of the film. This therefore keeps the viewer in the film and interested. At 0:37-0:42 the two characters are looking at each other, firstly the Kaiju looking at the "Jaeger", and then the Jaeger looking back at the Kaiju, following the 180 degree rule. By using a shot reverse shot, it allows for the viewer to get a clear picture of what both the characters look like, but also gives you the view from both characters. At 0:40 there is a match on action where the people inside the Jaeger do an action, the camera then shows a shot outside of the Jaeger, where it does the exact same thing. The importance of a match on action is so that the transition is smooth, but also helps move onto the next scene. At 4:10 there is some sort of an eye-line match, however it is very short. The importance of an eye-line match allows you to see what the character will do next and puts you in the characters shoes. 

Identification:

The main character in the film is "Raleigh Becket". However the scene I picked doesn't have much of him in, he only has a short amount of screen time because the main focus is on the fight between "Striker Eureka" and "Slattern" and Striker sacrificing themselves to "clear a path" for the protagonist, which is "Raleigh". At 2:53 there is a close up of the general's face. The close up is to show emotion and to show the facial expressions clearly so you are put in the position of the character, as you are able to feel what they are feeling, just through the close up. At 2:37 there is a reaction shot of the people in the Jaeger Gypsy. This is because of what the general is saying to them from the other Jaeger. The importance of a reaction shot is to firstly show the emotions of the character, but also to get you to feel how the character is feeling, at that moment in time. Throughout the clip there isn't any POVs, however, there is some OTSS and also some Shot Reverse Shot.

Conclusion:

Shot variation is where shots are put together to create a moving image. These typically consist of: a wide shot. This is usually used at the start of a sequence to set the tone of the scene. Long shots, which are used enable the audience to know who the main character is, and are also used to introduce a new character. A medium shot which is primarily used in an action scene, so the audience can follow the narrative. Using a close up can mean that the audience can see expressions on the characters face. In film-making, a montage is an editing technique in which shots are juxtaposed in an often fast-paced fashion that compresses time and conveys a lot of information in a relatively short period. Providing information and withholding is when you try to make the narrative more dramatic by giving the audience more information or taking it away. Parallel and cross cut editing involves cutting between two scenes.The reason this is done is to imply that the scenes are taking place at the same time, and will ultimately meet in one point filled with action. A movie(s) that uses this technique would be the Star Wars sequence, flipping backwards and between scenes. The rhythm of editing all depends on the scene and the amount of action that takes place, e.g. in a fight scene, the rhythm of editing will be quite quick, but in a romantic scene it would be quite slow with a lot of close ups and shot reverse shots. During a fight scene, or an emotional scene where a character is dying, the film usually cuts to a soundtrack, e.g. this usually happens in war films where a lot of people are being killed, to get you to focus on the action. By cutting to the sound track, it sometimes allows you to have a guideline to follow when adding in the footage. Throughout the clip, the camera switches between multiple points of view. This is usually between the Jaegers, and the fights that are taking place. You aren't shown the point of view from the Kaiju's.This maybe because of them not being human. Altough the Jaeger's aren't technically human, they are controlled by humans, and are the hero's in the story. In Film and video, a cutaway shot is the interruption of a continuously filmed action by inserting a view of something else. At the start of the clip, there is a cutaway shot where the people that are communicating with the people in the Jaeger, and the goes back to the people in the room. A jump cut is where there is an abrupt transition between two scenes, usually used in action films. There is a jump cut at 0:24 where the camera switches position. The jump cut allows this to happen smoothly, but doesn't completely throw you off, so you are still in the film, and still know whats happening.