Editing concepts
- 2. Shot reverse shot A shot of one subject, then another, then back to the first. It is often used for conversation or reaction shots.
- 3. Eye line matching Eye line matching is the idea of showing the audience what the character sees, in one edit. Starting from shot one of character, then to what they are looking at, and often cut back to the characters expressions.
- 4. Matching on action A cut which splices two different views of the same action together at the same moment in the movement, making it seem to continue uninterrupted. Quite logically, these characteristics make it one of the most common transitions in the continuity style.
- 5. Montage An approach to editing developed by the Soviet filmmakers of the 1920s such as Pudovkin, Vertov and Eisenstein; it emphasizes dynamic, often discontinuous, relationships between shots and the juxtaposition of images to create ideas not present in either shot by itself. Sergei Eisenstein, in particular, developed a complex theory of montage that included montage within the shot, between sound and image, multiple levels of overtones, as well as in the conflict between two shots. Soviet Montage proved to be influential around the world for commercial as well as avant-garde filmmakers.
- 6. Cross-cutting/Parallel Editing This is editing that alternates shots of two or more lines of action occurring in different places, usually simultaneously. The two actions are therefore linked, associating the characters from both lines of action. In this extended clip from Edward Yang's Yi Yi (Taiwan, 2000), father and daughter go out on dates at presumably the same time, and go through the same motions. He uses parallel editing across space and time to suggest that history repeats itself, generation after generation.
- 7. 180 Degree Rule, 30 Degree Rule & POV (Continuity Editing) A system of cutting to maintain continuous and clear narrative action. Continuity editing relies upon matching screen direction, position, and temporal relations from shot to shot. The film supports the viewer's assumption that space and time are contiguous between successive shots. Also, the diegesis is more readily understood when directions on the screen match directions in the world of the film. The "180° rule," shown in the diagram below, dictates that the camera should stay in one of the areas on either side of the axis of action.
- 8. Cut In/Cut Away An instantaneous shift from a distant framing to a closer view of some portion of the same space, and vice versa. Or a shot of one thing, then to something else then back to the first shot.
- 9. Establishing Shot A shot, usually involving a distant framing, that shows the spatial relations among the important figures, objects, and setting in a scene. Usually, the first few shots in a scene are establishing shots, as they introduces us to a location and the space relationships inside it.
- 10. Graphic Matching Two successive shots joined so as to create a strong similarity of compositional elements (e.g., color, shape). Used in transparent continuity styles to smooth the transition between two shots.