Questions on Editing
1. What is editing? Explain using examples
Editing is the process of selecting from the range of different shots available and joining them together to tell a story or narrative. Examples of editing are substitution splice effects, transitional dissolve and more.
2. Why is editing known as the invisible art?
Editing is also known as invisible art because we cannot see anything other than the choices that have been made by the editor working with the director.
3. Explain how editing techniques developed using specific examples.
When film was initially developed at the turn of the 20th Century, audiences watched single reels of a few minutes in length. These were generally in Long Shot as the film medium was developed by people from the theatre who used film to record performances. In 1902, in George Melies' 'La Voyage Dans La Lune' used more editing techniques such as substitution splice effect, transitional dissolves, pseudo-tracking shot, multiple exposures and hand tinted colour print which took about 3 months to complete. The following year in 1903, Edwin Stanton Porter's 'The Great train Robbery' used editing techniques such as the use of close up shots, cross cutting, reels joined together to make a longer film and develop the narrative and on location shooting.
4. Explain the impact of the first films on an audience.
It was reported in Der Spiegel (a German magazine) that audiences were so overwhelmed by a life-sized image of a train coming straight at them that many of them screamed and ran to the back of the hall. It was reported in the magazine that the film had a particularly lasting impact causing fear, terror and even panic. Also, the film 'La Voyage Dans La Lune' (George Melies, 1902) was to evoke the perspective of an audience member in a theatre.
