Extracting information from written sources

History of film editing

The history of film editing started with the Lumiere brothers, as they were early pioneers of film making inventing the cinematography, in 1895, which is an early film camera and projector.  Early films were short films that were one long, static shots, and lock-down shots. Originally film editing was done by physically cutting up the film reel and fixing them together using a splicer to create the final film.(1) D.W. Griffith was one of the first people to create a full feature film called The Birth of a Nation in 1915 in America, and Griffith was one of the first to use different camera techniques that are commonly used today, like panoramic long shots, still shots and panning shots to create his film. Griffith was one of the first to understand how certain film techniques could be used to create an expressive language.(2)  In 1908 Emile Cohl created one of the first animated cartoon films, called Fantasmagorie made up of 700 drawings, each one being double-exposed.(3)


Types of Shots and Transitions.

Long shot- Contains landscape but gives the viewer a more specific idea of setting. A long shot may show the viewers the building where the action will take place.

Full shot- Is a complete view of the characters. From this shot, viewers can take in the costumes of characters and may also help to demonstrate the relationships between characters. For more information on costumes and acting refer to Chapter 4.

Mid shot- contains the characters or a character from the waist up. From this shot, viewers can see the characters' faces more clearly as well as their interaction with other characters. This is also known as a social shot

Close-up- contains just one character's face. This enables viewers to understand the actor's emotions and also allows them to feel empathy for the character. This is also known as a personal shot. 

Extreme long shot- Is a large amount of landscape. It is often used at the beginning of a scene or a film to establish general location. This is also known as an establishing shot. (4)

Two Shot- This is a shot of two peoples or other individuals together. 

Cut Away- Cutaways are used in the editing process to fill in footage which is different from the main action.  B-roll is often used for cut-aways.

Over the Shoulder Shots- Are shot from behind the person towards their subject.  Generally the frame is cut off just behind the ear, although there are several variations. 

Point of View- This is an effective shot that gives the audience the feel that you’re seeing it from the eyes of the performer.  It is taken from near the eye-level of the actor and shows what he might see.

Selective Focus- Allows you to be able to create a shallow depth of field.  This effectively leaves one part of the frame in focus while blurring others, such as the foreground or background. (5)
Cuts- A cut happens when one shot instantly replaces the other.
Fade- Fade outs happen when the picture is gradually replaced by black screen or any other solid color.
Dissolve- Dissolves happen when one shot gradually replaces by the next. One disappears as the following appears.
Wipe- That happen when one shot pushes the other off frame.(6)

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Bibliography 

 https://prezi.com/krnqzgoebj8s/video-editing-techniques/ (1)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._W._Griffith  (2) 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89mile_Cohl (3)

Clark, V, 2014. Key concepts &skills for media studies. 7th ed. 338 Euston road, London NW1 3BH: Hodder Education, an Hachette UK company. (PAGE20 and 21, 150-153 (4)

http://www.thewildclassroom.com/wildfilmschool/gettingstarted/camerashots.html (5) 

http://www.elementsofcinema.com/editing/types-of-transitions/ (6)