Media techniques - editing

Editing

Continuity editing 

Continuity editing is often known as the dominant editing technique which is found in a narrative feature like films , television shows  and web content . 

It is normally used to put together a series of shots into a scene that plays in a logical fashion . This editing is usually smooth and  continous  but it appears to be invisible  during the film . 

This is the part that makes films different as the editing allows the audience to see a wide cut to a close up which is something our eyes don't see in real life . 

However this could make a story hard to follow but with the help of continuity editing combined with  contructive planning it allows the audience to gain an interest for the film .

Types of continuity editing 

Spatial editing shots 

Establishing shots 

Long take 

Non- Continuity / Discontinuity Editing 

 Non Continuity editing is the effect that any choices made are supposed to be invisible to the audience watching . Discontinuity editing tends to be invisible  , these effects create attention and change the audiences expectations of continuity . 

Eye Line Match 

Eye line match is where the audience will want to see what the character on the screen is looking at , the eye line match then begins with the character looking at something off screen , followed by a cut to the object or person at which the character is looking at .

For example a man is looking off screen to his left and then the film gets cut to a the television that he is watching .

The 180 Degrees Rule 

The 180 degree rule is where you create an imaginary line across your set but you do not cross this with the camera .  The  actor on the left side of the frame and the actress is on the right side of the camera they will stay in those established positions throughout the entire scene . If the camera crossed the line and the actress was moved to the left of the frame and the actor moved to the right of the frame then this would cause the audience to become more confused as the spatial continuity has been changed .

But once the spatial distance and positions have been established you should not mess with it if you want to still maintain that continuity .

Match on action 
 Match on action is a editing technique for continuity editing this is where one shot cuts to another short showing the action of the subject in the first shot.