Editing+Types+Review+1

=__ Continuity Editing __=

Predominant style of editing used to create a logical coherence in a sequence of events. A.k.a 'seamless editing'. A seamless, or smooth cut is traditionally an editor’s first goal. A seamless cut doesn’t draw attention to itself, and comes at a logical point within the shot to keep the action flowing. Temporal continuity is maintained: events usually happen in the same location, following the 180° rule.

A sequence from //'V for Vendetta'// (2005)which shows continuity editing.
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INTERCUTTING: (sometimes referred to as CROSS-CUT or PARALLEL EDITING) a device of narrative construction in which the development of two pieces of action are represented by alternatively showing a fragment of one and then a fragment of another. Spatial continuity is less restricted, allowing us to view the unfolding action in 2 or more different places at the same time.

The 'Birth of Two-Face' scene in //'The Dark Knight.'// (2008) uses intercutting. Spatial continuity and the rule of 180° is not as rigidly enforced, but we still see 2 different events unfolding at the same continuous time frame, although in a different place.
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= __Montage Editing__ =

Montage is a more complex editing style. The conventional use of montage is effective to condense large amounts of information, space and time in which events take place. This allows for events which would normally take long periods of real time to happen in only a few moments of cinematic time. Music is used as a non diegetic element which threads the sequences together. Fades, dissolves, split-screens, double and triple expositions are often used in montage sequences. These elements are used to convey the passage of time and alter the viewer's sense of space.

media type="youtube" key="hs1_XH1p-C4" height="315" width="420"

Montage sequence from //'Maytime'.// (1937).

**The soviet theory of montage**, exposed mainly by Eisenstein, relies on the symbolic interpretation between two shots to create additional meaning than what is already on-screen. Eisenstein describes his own technique as 'ideas which rise out of the collision of independent thoughts.'

Lev Kuleshov's experiment proved that the combination of 2 types of shots from completely different scenarios can create additional meaning to what is already shown in each shot independently. Eisenstein, as well as Vsevolod Pudovkin and Dziga Vertov all explored the possibilites of the montage effect. Here is an example of a rhythmical montage

media type="youtube" key="Ps-v-kZzfec" height="315" width="420" The Odessa Steps sequence from Battleship Potempkin. By S. Eisenstein (1925)

The law of 180 ° is disregarded, the flow of actions is discontinous and/or fragmented. There is little concern to portray spatial continuity; temporal ellipses are present in the narrative. Changes between shots are not obvious, but there is a rhythmical quality to the editing, which is evident by the changes in the music. The edits are also shorter, much more numerous--at times frantic. This is all done in an attempt to reflect the characters' psychological state during these disturbing riot scenes.

Eisenstein tried to demonstrate that the conflict which emerges out of the juxtaposition of images in a montage is more similar to the thought process of the human mind. The montage technique was developed to evoke a stronger emotional reaction in the viewer, from the heavy editing and manipulation of the shots. It was widely used in all war propaganda for eastern and western nations. The german filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl demonstrates continuous use of montage techniques, alongside more traditional continuity in her Nazi propaganda film 'Triumph des Willens' (1935) for the Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg.

media type="youtube" key="GHs2coAzLJ8" height="315" width="420"i Many of the sequences and long shots of natural landscapes are used to establish the nationalistic mood for this propaganda film are shot in a montage style. Music is once more, connecting the thread between sometimes unrelated scenes and locations.

The overuse of montage eventually led the style to become a storytelling convention, and eventually even a parody unto itself.

Example: Rocky Training Scene Team America: Montage