Editing: a worksheet

1- What does editing do?: Allows the audience to see the continuation between each scene, it can also establish relationships between the characters, or the other stimulants. They can easily show sudden changes in story, create suspense, mystery or continue showing a sense of place or relationship

2- How does it work?: The editor can cut the film at any point after it has been recorded (most likely more than once), this allows them to put in the cuts, features etc. that are needed to set the scene.

3- Describe each of the following editing terms:

· Cut - a quick cut between the relationship of a character and another character or a character and a stimulus, barely ever noticeable.

· Dissolve - a scene looks as if it is dissolving into a background or another scene, it can go pixelated and grainy into the background.

· Fade - where a scene hazes into a background or another scene, or to black.

· Jump cut - when a cut goes from a character or stimulus and then goes to something really important or further in the future, e.g. a man jumping off a building - jump cut - him on the floor, dead.

4- How does the shot reverse shot help the narrative or generate meaning? It can see facial features and reactions e.g. whilst in conversation with one character to the next character or stimulus, to help see that character's emotional responses and opinions. 

5- Why is the 180 degree rule important? It enables the audience to see both the characters interacting with each other, without having to keep jumping from one person to another constantly and it shows a lot of the relationships within a shot.

6- How and why is the point of view shot used? It is used to show the characters views, or even an objects views e.g. a painting watching the event happening. It can make the film much more realistic for the audience as they can feel a lot more involved in the plot within the film.

7- How else can the pov be generated? They can be generated by using something like a mobile phone or a handheld camera, which can create senses of running and it mimics the movement of the character.

8- What is parallel or cross cut editing? It is where the scene flicks from one scene to another scene that are happening simultaneously, for example, something happening inside a house and then at the same time something happening outside the house like a man about to ring the doorbell or a police raid. 

9- What editing techniques are used to generate suspense? A parallel or cross cut can create suspense as the audience is sometimes able to see what is about to happen, but you know that the character doesn't know and that become a 'shout at the screen' kind of moment e.g. when you see a killer go into a house but the character doesn't know he's there but you do and you wait in suspense as something bad is about to happen. POV shots also crate suspense as they allow you to see a limited view of what is happening so you know as little as the character does, this can leave you in wonder about the next few events. 

10- Explain in your own words how the mouse sequence creates tension. It only allows you to hear and kind of get the jist of what is going on, not everything that is about to happen, which can create mystery. You can see the mouse is scared of what is happening which only makes you wonder how the rest of the characters may react. 

11- Why is timing important in editing? If parts of the plot are revealed way too quickly it can ruin the tension and suspense, whereas if left too late, it can begin to bore the audience and they just want to know what's happening. 

12- Explain in your own words what the continuity system is? It's where the editing and directing have to continuously work in a various amount of shots e.g. if someone falls on their left side, in the next shot they shouldn't be falling only their right. 

13- Why does editing strive to be invisible? The more editing is visible, the less realistic the film would be, and the less realistic it is, the less the audience will want to watch it.