Brief Descriptions of Editing Techniques
Continuity Editing: The type of film editing exemplified by classical Hollywood in which every effort is made to make the film flow seamlessly, so that the audience does not notice the shot changes.
Parallel Editing: Similar to cross cutting but parallel editing is also used when the screen is split into a number of parts.
Cross Cutting: Jumping between two or more different scenes in order to create a link between them. It suggests to the audience that events are happening simultaneously.
Matched Cuts: Where objects with common characteristics such as shape or colour are used in successive shots to link the scenes together.
Shot Reverse Shot: A way of showing a conversation or both sides of a character. Cut between the two speakers, showing each person’s point of view,
Eyeline Match: To show what a character is looking at. We see a shot of a character looking at something and then see a Point of View shot of what they are looking at or we see a shot of another person looking back to character one.
Fade: A shot gradually appears of disappeared from the screen, usually a fade to or from black or fade into another scene which could denote a time difference.
Slow Motion: Action on screen is reduced in speed, achieved by slowing down the frame rate.
Visual Effects/ CGI (computer generated images): Makes a scene that is not usually possible or easy to create in real life through a computer.
Sound Bridge: Visual cuts are not matched to audio cuts, may cut to audio from a new scene but still have visuals from the old scene.
Cutaways: A shot that cuts to something outside the frame but in the vicinity of the previous shot. Momentarily interrupts the continuous action by briefly inserting a related action.
Montage Editing: Moving image editing in which images are not designed to flow seamlessly together but simply to follow one another.
Jump Cuts: a transition from one shot to another, shots appear to jump when they are too similar to each other.
Long Takes: A shot of comparatively long duration compared to the other surrounding shots.
Passage of Time: When a time period is shown through way of editing.
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