All Shooting Is For Editing - Essay Example

ALL SHOOTING IS FOR EDITING By of the of the of the School 19 February This paper focuses on the process of making a film and the editing which is always imperative in the process. I believe that all shooting that occurs needs editing from the editing department. Filmmaking is the process of making films. It’s a collaborative type of art. According to Ohanian and Phillips, “this art form itself is communication, using pictures, motion, colors, sound, music, and the spoken word to convey a message” (2013, p. 5) .This involves several stages like initial story, idea, casting, shooting, editing and screening. Making a video is huge, complicated and it involves hundreds of people who must be actively involved. All the people involved have their own chain of command. All this together with the fact that there are stages involved and that are all crucial makes the art a collaborative one. Shooting a good video and creating an interesting, exciting and informative video or movie is something that anyone can achieve. Film editing is done by a Film editor, who edits the film that has been shot during the production stage of a movie. This makes him very important to a movie or film production. Adams and Hamm point out that film making involves starting with a rough script and the shooting of a raw video (2006). Film production involves several stages: these are “development, pre-production, production, and post-production” (Cardoso, 2009, p. 112). Editing lies in the post-production stage. Editing a video involves rearranging all the raw footage into a kind of corresponding whole; it’s the coordination of one shot to another. Editing is the key to video formation, construction and effect. It entails deciding on the kind of technique, transitions and effects to have in a film. Editing is important to ensure the footage has been used to the level best, there is proper pictorial continuity and the goal of the film has been met. In regard to editorial judgment, it “is exercised before shooting by means of advance planning” (2006, p. 53). For editing to be done properly and thoroughly, a complete footage is crucial. The main goal of editing is to remove unwanted footages, selecting the best footage, creating a systematic flow, adding effects, graphics and music, and giving the film particular angles. Although the process of filmmaking can be regarded as a traditional one since it began decades ago, editing implements digital technology today. The editing process is classified into three stages, that is, the selection of takes and their lengths, the arrangement and timing of shots, scenes and sequences. Editing begins immediately after the film has been shot. Occasionally, the actors are given a chance to view their early scenes. The directors often prevent showing actors the edited scenes for fear that it will affect their performance. The first editing is called rough cut and can take approximately three months to finish. The sound designers and music composers make the final stage of editing. When the editing is said to be complete, it means that the directors and producers have approved the final version of the video. Editing and editors have been around since the emergence of filmmaking. In the past, editors worked with negatives called work prints. These were plan films, scenes and transitions. Once an editor got satisfied with the final film, he or she would create an edit decision list. It was a list of each shot in the video and its length. The list would then be compared to the corresponding numbers called edge numbers, which would be printed on the edge of the print work. These numbers would help a negative matcher to accurately copy the print work and cut the negatives. Films in the past were edited with splicing techniques. Johnson states that “the celluloid film was cut with a razor blade where a scene was to be changed and the new section of film was added, or spliced, into the original section with tape” (2001, p. 78). This process was long and tiresome process and if a mistake was done, it was difficult to undo it. Before the use of the non-linear editing system, editing of films was done on a positive copy on a film negative called work print. Today, editors use computers and other electronic devices designed for digital editing to compile a film. This makes the work easy and quick, but the process is similar to the one used in the past. Basically, the print work and edge numbers are stored in a computer (Johnson, 2001). The editor then organizes the work print and creates an edit decision list that will be given to the negative matcher. Celluloid films are used in cameras and then transferred to the computer and digitized to make work easier for the editors. The editors are able to view several takes at one time on the computer. Editing involves cutting. This is a visual transition that is created in editing whereby one shot is replaced on the video by another shot. Editing is subdivided into different types. Continuity editing “is a kind of editing that creates action that flows smoothly across shots and scenes without jarring visual inconsistencies” (Grove, 2014, p. 163). This gives the viewer an idea of the story. Cross cutting, involves cutting back and forth between action lines; this shows actions happening at the same time. Dissolve involves overlapping of scenes or gradual transitions of scenes, Here, the end of a film shot overlaps with another and the ending shot disappears slowly with the second replacing it. Fade involves the “visual transition between shots or scenes that appear on the screen as a brief interval with no picture” (Grove, 2014, p. 164). It is basically necessary where the editor wants to show change of place or time. Shooting involves taking as much variety as possible. When filmmakers get into action, they take as much scenes as they can for better quality in the final product. A lot of shooting ensures that there is thoroughness and in case something goes wrong, it can be corrected without having to take other shoots. It is also necessary for all action to be covered and this is only done through shots. Different angles of view while taking shots of actors in action are also a requirement as they break monotony of picture. When shooting is about covering a story, the shots are bound to be many with the coverage having different positions as preferred. While conducting shooting, editing is usually in the minds of producers and for this reason, variety in shots, coverage of appropriate content and consideration of the edit team needs are all vital. Editors are spoiled for choice when it comes to editing different recorded shot types. It is very rare to find a properly covered film where editing has not taken place at all. This does not mean that it is impossible. The problem comes with getting shots right at each go. From this discussion, it can be concluded that all shooting is for editing. This is especially due to the fact that getting things right away and at every instance is next to impossible although not completely impossible. Editing ensures that videos are perfect. References Adams, D. M. and Hamm, M., 2006. Media and Literacy: Learning in the Information Age­­- Issues, Ideas, and Teaching Strategies. Illinois: Charles C Thomas Publisher Ltd. Cardoso, J., 2009. Handbook of Research on Business Process Modeling. Hershey: IGI Global. Grove, E., 2014. Raindance Producers Lab Lo-To-No Budget Filmmaking. Burlington: Focal Press. Johnson, M. H., 2001. Careers in the Movies. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. Ohanian, T. and Phillips, N., 2013. Digital Filmmaking: The Changing Art and Craft of Making Motion Pictures. Oxon: Focal Press.   Read More