Development

DEVELOPMENT

In-camera editing- Instead of editing the footage shot during post production, the director shoots the footage in order of the narrative.

Following the action- When there is movement or an action scene, the camera would follow the event that is taking place, to capture different angles of the scene.

Shot variation- When a single stream of images are uninterrupted by editing where the shot can use a static but it must be a continuous motion.

Manipulation of diegetic time and space- used to portray time unconventionally; this can be shown through flash blacks, flash forwards, and time travel. It can also be used to show a person, the environment or an object changing over a period of time. 

In-Camera Editing

In camera editing, is a technique used by filmmakers when the want all the shots filmed in numerical order. Basically, the shots will be shot in an order that that will appear on screen, or in the cinema.

An example of a film using ‘in camera editing’ is a film by Ron Howard, which was released in 2002. ‘A Beautiful Mind’ is a story that is based on true events, John Nash is a student at Princeton University, who struggles to make it in the world of maths. He finally makes a breakthrough which would earn him a Nobel Prize before his graduation. After graduating, he comes a teacher, soon after, he is asked by the government to help break Soviet codes. This gets John caught up in terrifying situations, which put not only his life on the line but also his girlfriends. As the story moves on, John becomes more and more paranoid, turning his world upside down. With only his girlfriend’s help, it’s up to her to help save John’s mental state and the beautiful mind he has.

Ron Howard made the decision to shoot the whole film in chronological order to makes things easier for the star Russell Crowe to help him develop ‘John Nash’s’ character. However, only 90% of the film was shot chronologically as the filming crew had to make 3 separate trips to Princeton University. The film was also nominated for an Oscar ‘Best Edited Film’, but was beaten.

Following the Action

This is where the camera is following the scene taking place. The camera can be mounted on a car, put onto a dolly or even handheld. Most action and fight scenes use this type of shooting as it gives the audience a full view of the fight, allowing different shots of the action to be taken. The different shots captured, allow the director for more scenes to edit, making sure nothing is lost which would be the case if the camera was static.

An example of where ‘following the action’ is used is in the film ‘Inception’, released in 2010. The film resolves around the idea of planting an idea, within a dream, inside a dream. The film has many different loose ends to it but includes a lot of action scenes. Particularly car and on foot chases.

There is a part towards the end of the film where the dream world is starting to collapse on itself, however, as these events are unfolding, Di Caperio and his men are being chased through the snow. The scene itself involves snowmobiles, snowboards, guns and a lot of action. Through using ‘following the action’ the director is able to get many different shots of the same scene which he is able to cut and put together during post production. Thus allowing an action packed scene which keeps the viewer on the edge of their seats.

Shot Variation

Shot variation is when the director uses different types of shots within the scene without the use of cuts. This allows for the scene to pan out naturally and helps build up suspense from the scene and emotion from the viewer.

Shot Variation is technique used in filming to create a sequence of images using movement; these types of shots include wide shots, long shots, medium shots and close ups. A wide shot is normally used to act as an establishing shot, setting up the scene to draw the viewer’s attention in. Long shots are used to focus of the audience’s attention on a certain object or character. A Medium Shot is mostly used when a scene has dialogue in it or when an action scene is taking place. This tells the audience that this is where the narrative is starting to build and that they should follow the scene. Using a Close Up means that the director is trying to capture the emotions on a characters face or the importance of an object or a place. Close up’s allow for the audiences to get a sense of what the character in the scene is feeling.

There is a very famous movie that uses a lot of shot variation throughout its trilogy. ‘The Matrix’ uses shot variation to bring the audience close to the action as well as creating one of the best fighting scenes in Hollywood history. The scene involves, Leo and Agent Smith having a gun battle while on the roof of a building. As the scene unfolds, you see both men dodging bullets that is not possible for humans to dodge. The director uses a type of shot which has been dubbed ‘bullet time’ this is where the heightened perception of certain character is represented by allowing the action within a shot to progress in slow-motion while the camera's viewpoint appears to move through the scene at normal speed.

A frame by frame sequence of 'Bullet Time' 

 'Bullet Time' Scene from 'The Matrix' (1999)

Manipulation of Diegetic Time and Space

The use of this editing technique is to show time travelling through the use of either flashbacks or flash-forwards. The manipulation of time, gives the audience a view that a person, object or place is changing over time throughout the scene.

There is a scene in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban where Harry and Hermione travel back in time, to help change events and to save lives. During the scene the two are in the hospital wing, when Hermione sets off the time turner. As the time turner is turning, the two main characters don’t move from their positions where as everything around them is. The movement around them shows the two are going back in time, altering time and space to get there.