Edwin S Porter,
Who used stocked documentary footage and created the basic principles of the language of film,
In A life of an American Fireman 1903
The use of Crosscutting and Creative Geography taught viewers to make mental associations between events without the benefit of a rigid chronology he continues this in his future projects.
Edwin S Porter believed that film narrative was not in the scene but in the shot. The use of crosscutting for rhythm and pace
Overlapping shots
Diagonal movement
In-camera matting
Depth of framing
Pans & Tilts / wide/Close up shots
Good / Bad Characterization
The Great Train Robbery 1903
Marked the arrival of modern filmmaking with its location shooting, camera movement and parallel editing, forcing a style that later on be perfected by Charlie Chaplin.
The close up on the lead bandit shooting straight into the camera shown the greatest example of cinema’s ability to thrill its viewers.
This scene had influenced modern filmmakers, Martian Scorsese Good Fella’s and the James Bond intro.
(Hudson, 2016) (Parkison, 2016) (Parkinson, 2016) (Giannetti, 2016) (Cousins, 2016)
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W.D Griffith
Birth of a Nation
Early directors who helped pave the way to forge the basic principles of the film language, it was Griffith, who transformed it into grammar drawing all these techniques.
A technically and narratively the film marvels of early film. Griffith varied camera lengths to achieve rhythm and mood and included optical transitions such as
Fades
Dissolves
Iris
Griffith believed that these optical transitions were central to silent cinema as the movement and positioning of the camera. Griffith would cut on movement to disguise re-framing with meticulous matching.
The Birth of the Nation included Extras/Battle Scenes / deep focus /Eyeline matches/flashbacks/ multiple camera angles.
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Intolerance
The most expensive films of its time, Griffiths risked $2 million to create Intolerance, as the film did succeed as Birth if Nation did, Griffith would be in debt to his grave.
A multiple narrative that aimed to tell how the truth has always been threatened by hypocrisy and injustice Griffith illustrated how to use a cut as a thematic tool in Intolerance.
Intolerance inspired the creation of Japanese’s Cinema, Minom Murata was intrigued with how Griffith was able to cut between time periods with so much complexity, it had a huge impact on the Soviet movement Sergei Einstein studied and wrote about Intolerance they looked at Griffith as a Cinema God.
(Hudson, 2016) (Parkison, 2016) (Parkinson, 2016) Giannetti, 2016 (Cousins, 2016)
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Sergei Einstein
The most influential soviet silent film multiple narrative which shows the power of the people over the divine authority of a Morach.
Disregarding conventions of time and space breaking rules of geography and the axis of action. To create a metric, rhythmic tonal montage sequence to arouse emotions and provoke ideas.
Spent 10 weeks on location, and took over 2 weeks to edit. Originally meant to be a 42-shot sequence, but ended up being a 1346 shot sequence.
Eyeline
Graphic, Miss-Matches
Ellipses
Temporal Expansion
Use of dissolves
Extreme close up
Use of timing and music to add narrative
Use of opacity / Transparency effects
Jumping Cutting
180 degrees
Filmmakers that were influenced by Eisenstein’s master work like Hitchcock’s Foreign Correspondent, 1941. Woody Allen’s Bananas 1971.Francis Coppolas Godfather. Untouchables 1987 and Peter Seagulls Naked Gun 1994.
(Parkison, 2016) (Parkinson, 2016) Giannetti, 2016 (Cousins, 2016)
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Metric Montage
Sets the tempo of the edit, focusing on the speed rather than the content.
Rhythmic Montage
Focused on the shot giving it an emphatic or contrapuntal.
Tonal Montage
The emotional and textual feel of a shot.
Over Tonal Montage
Is a mixture of Metric, Rhythmic and Tonal
Intellectual Montage
The connection of consisting shots to create an ideological statement or express abstract ideas. Melies, Porter, Griffith and Einstein had developed the motion picture from a novelty entertainment into a subtle complex and highly expressive art form
They all pioneered in creating cinema magic through accident and imagination
Dziga Vertov
Dziga Vertov, believed that the movie camera could plunge into chaos of modern life and discover meanings hidden from the naked eye,
Vertov’s film the ‘Man with a Movie Camera’ tries to promote film as an art form, Vertov employed many techniques into his masterpiece such as
Split Screen
Slow Motion
Reserve Action
Jump Cuts
Montage Editing
Animation
Fast paced editing
Extreme close up
(Hudson, 2016)
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E.W Murano, Nosferatu In 1922, this film remains the most disturbingly unearthly at its time, E.W Murnau employed editing techniques such as,
Using timing and music to add narrative
Jerky speeded up action
Off centre framing
Distorted camera angles
Shadows
Distorted expressions
Use of dissolves
Extreme wide shots
(Hudson, 2016)
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Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton one of the three greatest silent actors in cinema history, Buster directed, written and done all of his stunts that are still being used in cinema.
Buster was a visual comedian who believed that films didn’t need story notes, the audience should understand actors through gesture and pantomime.
The use of Opacity and transparency effect Keaton employed in Sherlock Holmes JR, another editing techniques Keaton employed in his films
Jump cutting
Running away and towards the camera
Stunt sequences
Mechanical Gags/Impossible/cartoon and organic gags
Keaton would influence people such as Jackie Chan, Bill Muarry and Anderson Wes. (Hudson, 2016) (Parkison, 2016)
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Abel Gance
Napoleon was written and directed by Abel Gance, Napoleon was revolutionary in the film world, this film included lightening, special effects and masterful edits and unique camera techniques such as,
Handheld camera
Split screen
Widescreen
Triptychs
Hand Tinting
Jump Cuts
Dolly shots
Close ups
Superimposed Montage
(Hudson, 2016)
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Walter Murch
Six Rules for the Perfect Cut!
Emotion 51% Is it true to the emotion of the movement
Story 23% Does the cut advance the story
Rhythm 10% Is your cut rhythmically interesting and right
Eye Trace 7% The concern with the location and movement of the audience’s focus of interest within the frame.
2D Space 5% It respects Planarity the grammar of three dimensions transposed by photography
3D Space 4% Respects the three-dimensional continuity of actual space
In Walters Murch’s book In a Blink of An Eye he has stated to never give up emotion, because it is what the audience finally remembers after watching a film is not the editing, camera work, acting or story is how they felt.
If the cut involves emotion, story and rhythm the audience won’t notice the other three, as they are deeply connected like protons and neutrons Walter states that you should have all these rules employed into your edit and to accept nothing but all elements.
(Murch, 2016)
Ray Lovejoy
Who is credited for the best cut in Cinema history, Ray used the editing technique “Match Cut” in Space Odyssey rhythmical synced to show the audience the human revolution condensed in seconds, by a flung bone.
(Hudson, 2016)
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Sam Osteen
The Graduate, 1967 with a style from European Art Cinema, the Graduate that brought the young generation back into the cinemas. Sam Osteen the editor who modified the stylistic basics of time,
(Hudson, 2016)
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Bibliography
Cousins, M. (2016). The Story of Film .
Giannetti, L. (2016). Understanding Movies .
Hudson, T. &. (2016). Cinema the whole story . Tristan de Lancey .
Murch, W. (2016). In a blink of an eye . Silman james press.
Parkinson, D. (2016). History of Film . Thomas & Hudson .
Parkison, D. (2016). 100 ideas that changed film . Laurence King Publishing .
Stam, R. (2016). Film Theory . Blackwell Publishers LTD.