The history, principles and development of editing

Although the first movies were made in the 1890’s, the concept of editing had not really come into play until the turn of the century. Since then editing techniques have developed drastically and have enabled the creativity we see in movies of the present day. The principles (or rules) of editing are a guideline for the editor and have changed and developed over time as filmmaking has become more involved. As filming possibilities grew and technology advanced, doors were opened for more imaginative and experimental editing. Since the first films were shot in the 1890’s, techniques of editing have changed a great deal. The first movies which were under a minute long contained no editing but in 1897 the first rotating camera (for panning shots) was used and the first film studios were built which enabled the use of special effects and sequencing.

In the 1890’s cinema was not received well by the public because people said they did not want to watch something they could easily go outside and see for themselves. Thomas Edison believed there was no future in cinema because of this. However, he was proved wrong by a film maker called Edwin Porter, whose films ‘The Great Train Robbery’ and ‘Life of an American Fireman’ (both 1903) showed early examples of now commonly used editing techniques such as parallel editing and cross cut scenes, and the concept of following the action. Also Louis J. Gasnier's 1908 short ‘The Runaway Horse’ showed similar editing techniques. In 1915 David Llewelyn made a film called ‘Birth of a Nation’ in which he continued to use editing techniques from Porters films, but also developed more techniques enabling the audience to see and hear what the characters see and hear. These techniques were ‘close-ups’ and ‘flashbacks’. These techniques made the art of storytelling through film more possible. The audience could now fully engage with the screen and the idea that film could express imagination and show a moving storyboard that would carry an audience through.

In the 1920’s, Russian film makers like Eisenstein, Vertov and Kuleshov started to develop a now widely used technique now known as the montage. This was most apparent in the "Odessa Steps" sequence of his 1925 film ‘Battleship Potemkin.’ This montage allowed Eisenstein to extend the journey taken down the steps from a few minutes to seven minutes. It is said that these three men used their films as propaganda for their political belief in communism.

The principles of editing have become numerous over time, but there are several golden basic rules that should always be followed. There are four major topics: Creating pace, telling a story, developing drama and creating meaning.

The basic rules are: Continuity, Making the edit invisible, A motive for every edit, Deliver a certain message, Consider audio, Editing is creating, Do not overuse techniques or effects.

I have chosen three films to show the difference in styles of editing. The first film I have already mentioned ‘The Life of an American Fireman’ which used very simple and minimal editing, even though it was considered advanced for its time.

The second is Silence of the Lambs, directed by Jonathan Demme and edited by the award nominated Craig McKay. The editing in this film is massively powerful, using slow panning, close ups and seamless slow zooms to create the feeling of menace. In one scene the camera moves slowly towards Lecter’s cage and as it draws closer it is suddenly through the bars and the audience has the terrifying feeling that they are now inside the cage with the monster. Another ground breaking scene was towards the end of the film when the FBI agent is plunged into darkness at the house of the killer. The killer however has night vision goggles and we see the agent through these as if we are the killer. The film uses every editing technique available but never repeats or overdoes an effect, subtle and powerful.

My third film is avatar. This moves into an entirely different area of film making and editing due largely to the possibilities now available thanks to CGI (computer generated imagery). There was a large team of editors used for this film, the three main editors being James Cameron, Stephen Rivkin and John Refoua. They adopted an entirely new process of editing by doing separate shoots and then working them into scenes during the post-edit. They developed many new techniques as their work was often experimental. There are many editing techniques used. Jump cut is used during the home invasion scene to increase suspense and add to the action creating an overall excited effect for the audience. Shot reverse shot is used when two characters are looking deep into each other’s eyes to create a tension before they are about to kiss, this makes the audience feel what the characters are feeling. Close ups are frequently used throughout this film but the close up that adds most suspense is when the doctor is dying and the camera slowly moves towards her body. This makes the watcher feel the emotion of the other characters, we almost feel like we have experienced the loss. An editing technique also used is a cut away, this is used while the humans move into their avatar bodies, and it helps the audience see the reactions of other people in the film. Eye line match is used alongside shot reverse shot to help us realize when two people are having a conversation.

Although gone unnoticed by the public, who only see the actors and the finished product, the change in editing has been dramatic. It has become possibly the most vital tool in contemporary filmmaking. This is a big change from when films were first made where even the concept of editing didn’t exist. As technology has advanced and bought new capabilities to film making, such as CGI, so editing has been able to flourish by using these opportunities. Editing is a very important process in achieving the final stage of film making and creating a piece that will be enjoyed by the public.

Freya-Elizabeth Blackwell-Treasure ©