Part of the session was to recreate one of the most famous sequences in film history - Alfred Hitchcock's 'shower scene' from his 1960 horror film, Psycho. The results of this exercise in creating a digital storyboard was designed to help you understand the principles of editing, how meaning can be made through the choice of shots, and how a skilled editor is priceless when it comes to assembling a film.
In this blog you can refresh your knowledge of the principle editing terms, with visual examples taken from the session and additional sequences.
The editor works closely with the director in post-production
Affects how finished film looks
Add or change ‘meaning’ to scenes and sequences
Editing Terms
Cut
A visual transition - one shot is instantly replaced on screen by another
Cross cutting
Cutting between two or more scenes of action, indicating they are happening at same time
Examples below of cross cutting in Nicholas Roeg's Don't Look Now:
Here we see the character of the mother, Laura, reacting with her hands playing across her mouth in the house, while the next cut takes the action outside, where the daughter does a similar action when her ball goes into the water.
As the brother of the little girl drives his bike over some broken glass, the next shot is a cross cut to the father, John accidentally knocking over a glass, spilling liquid over his slides.
Three shots which are happening simultaneously, and related to each other. John sub-consciously reacts to something happening outside the house, which happens to be his daughter drowning, as his son races towards the house to alert him of the tragedy.
Dissolve
Gradual scene transition - overlaps end of one shot with the beginning of the next one
Gradual scene transition - overlaps end of one shot with the beginning of the next one
Represents passing of space and time
Eye line match
Establishes space and continuity
Platoon - directed by Oliver Stone (1986)
In the following sequence, taken from Oliver Stone's film, Platoon, we see the young
new recruit, played here by a young Charlie Sheen, arriving for his first tour of duty in
the Vietnam war. After witnessing lines of dead Marines zipped up in body bags, and
being loaded onto aircraft, heading back home, he catches the eye of an older,
more experienced soldier who passes him. The is no need for dialogue here, as Stone
uses an eyeline match as the two soldiers pass each other; the older marine perhaps
looking into Sheen's eyes as if to tell him that he has no idea what he is letting himself
in for.
Later in the film, Sheen's character has a similar experience with a new, young recruit,
having seen many terrible things during his time in the war. The truly frightening thing
is that it is merely weeks after this initial encounter takes place, not months or years.
The eye line match Also matches character reaction to what a character is seeing, as in jungle gym
sequence in The Birds.
The Birds - directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1963)
Up to this point in the film, a young woman visits her boyfriend on the island
where he lives. She has come from the city so might be viewed as an 'outsider'. Her
style of dress and the car she drives marks her out as being different. However,
what she brings with her from the city, sparks of a host of violent acts - not from
people, but from the local bird population. The present she brings her boyfriend is
that of two lovebirds, again 'outsiders', not welcome on the island by the local
birds. The birds begin to attack the inhabitants of the island with frightening
regularity and increased violence. Being attacked by one bird might not seem
overly worrying; however when hundreds of birds all attack at the same time, then
Hitchcock racks up the terror and suspense. When will they strike next?
In this sequence, the young woman drives out to the local school to assist the
schoolteacher escort the young children to safety once school finishes for the day.
As she waits for the school day to finish, she decides to smoke a cigarette on a
bench outside. The children are singing a repetitive song, which Hitchcock uses to
increase the tension. The woman turns round anxiously each time she thinks the
song is about to end, not realising what is happening on the climbing frame behind
her.
The eye line match occurs when the young woman's attention is taken by
something in the sky - Hitchcock cuts to what she sees - a solitary bird....
Fade
End of shot fades to black, followed by fading in of next shot
Often used to indicate a change in time and place
Match cut
A cut joining two shots whose elements match, helping to establish strong
continuity of action
Example: The Ring – Katie turns door handle, cuts to interior of bedroom
with Katie looking in
Used for dialogue scenes with over-the-shoulder shots, showing each character speaking
Shot/reverse shot example from The Ring
Montage
The editing together of many brief shots – often fast cuts
Examples: the shower scene from Psycho and the petrol station gun
fight in Romeo and Juliet
Psycho - directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1960)
One of the most notorious and influential sequences in film history - and one assembled by
the effects of montage editing.
Marion Crane is on the run after stealing $40,000 from her employer. She pulls into
roadside motel for the night, which displays the welcoming sign that it has vacancies. In
fact, it is nothing but vacancies. The owner of the motel is a young man, called Norman
Bates, who makes Marion a light supper. After some conversation, Norman leaves.
Marion decides that she must return the money and take the consequences, hoping that
her employer will understand that she did it out of desperation.
She decides to take a shower, as a way, perhaps of ‘washing away’ her sins.
Hitchcock’s use of montage editing, combined with a variety of different camera angles,
effective use of mise en scene (the location of the shower was the first time it had been
used in such a way), and the iconic music, all add up to present to the audience something
they had never seen before. Horror films, editing techniques and narrative construction
would never be the same again
.
Here is the sequence again, with and without the music.
What differences are there to the 'meaning' of the action without the music?
Does it draw more attention to the editing techniques?
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