Purposes of editing

After going through the development of editing, question myself, ‘why don’t we just stick to the good ol’ in-camera editing and save ourselves the hustle? Well, if that were the case then we’d have to say bye to montage filming in action movies and slow-motion of those sweet chick flicks we all secretly indulge in. Therefore, editing is not manipulation of raw footage but rather an advancement to portray it better.

To begin with, editing provides a coherent sequence that shows the necessary shots required from a storyboard. If a director has a detailed storyboard, they would know what shots and angles they want exactly that would be able to fully illustrate the narrative and emotion of their work. Through editing, the director can choose what information they want to show to the viewer. Also with the multiple shots filmed during production, the director has more than one option to choose a variety of shots (p.s. behind the scenes are amazing for seeing acting fails) that will effectively tell the story with the perspective they had in mind. This where shot variations such as different camera angles come into place. For example, zoom in shots are used to portray an intense atmosphere. So, editing defines the information that the audience receives.

Secondly, as a viewer yourself, editing also plays a role in how you interpret the film. Cross-cutting may create confusion and tension as one moment you are seeing one scene then it switches to another. Also multiple points of view may help better understand the storyline as you get different views of what is happening. Furthermore, with the implementation of shots such as shot-reverse-shots, editing sometimes influences how you perceive some characters as it all ultimately depends on how much you see of them and how you see them.

Thirdly, perhaps the most important purpose of editing is to pace the film. The editor decides the length of shots and this guides how much information is released. In some movie reviews you find one of the major cons of movies is that there were either unnecessarily long shots or important bits were too shot for the viewer to enjoy or so editing if done well plays an important role in ensuring this doesn’t happen. Adding on, editing also assists in speed pacing. For dramatic effects slow-motion is usually advised to show the full emotion or energy invested in an action. Furthermore, fast-forwarding adds a thrill to scenes and this has only being made possible by developments in editing. Transitions between shots make the footage much more coherent and smoother.

To conclude, editing leaves all film with that magical feeling. From standing at the top of a building to suddenly running across the street, editing has provided room for creativity as directors are able to experiment with different techniques. Editing has also made it easier to follow a sequence but at the same time not restrict yourself while filming. You can film for months but in the end with the help of an editing software, you can turn into simple 150 or so minutes of film.