Style & Editing Chapter 9 TV Editing • Control/Manipulate TV program’s sense of time and space. • “Rules” or standard practices have evolved from continuity editing traditions. • Editing must be explained and examined in terms of single- and multi-camera production modes, respectively. Single-Camera Mode • Editing largely determined in the pre-production phases with storyboards and shot lists.

• Editing Systems: • Film: nonlinear editing system in which shots can be separated, inserted, and re-attached to craft a sequence.

• Video: linear editing system which did not allow shots to be separated or inserted once attached.

• Digital Nonlinear Editing (NLE): nonlinear editing system which can arrange scenes quickly, making video editing more like film editing. NLE systems are part of the overall transition from analog to digital technologies, which are more flexible and easy to manipulate. The Continuity Editing System

• This style of editing aims to be “invisible,” in that it arranges shots to support the narrative’s progression. Successful continuity editing allows viewers to concentrate on the story, not the techniques used to tell it. • Hollywood Classicism evolved in cinema by the 1930s, to create coherent relationships between scenes and senses of space and time within those scenes. Spatial Continuity

• Axis of Action & 180 Degree Rule: maintains consistent screen direction and spatial relationships between objects and people onscreen from shot to shot.

• Continuity Editing Pattern:

• Establishing Shot

• Shot-Counter Shot Sequence

• Re-Establishing Shot

• Other Continuity Editing Techniques:

• Match Cut (Match-on-Action & Eye-line Match)

• point of view shot & subjective shot

• prohibition against the jump cut • Establishing Shot: a long shot introducing the space and the narrative components of the scene.

• Shot-Counter Shot (Shot Reverse Shot): a continuity editing pattern common in conversations which alternates between 3/4 view medium close-ups and close-ups.

• Re-Establishing Shot: a longer shot following a series of closer shots, that re-confirms a scene’s setting and often indicates a transition to a new scene.

• Match Cut: the space and time of one shot fit that of the preceding shot to make the editing less noticeable.

• Match-on-Action: editor matches the action from one shot to the next, placing the cut in the middle of the action to conceal the editing techniques.

• Eyeline Match: the first shot shows the character looking off screen in a particular direction, and the following shot shows the referenced area from the eyeline’s general direction (not the character’s pov).

• Point of View Shot: a type of framing in which the camera is positioned physically close to a character’s point of view.

• Subjective Shot: a type of framing in which the camera is positioned as though it were inside a character’s head, looking out of his/her eyes.

• Jump Cut: the opposite of a match cut, which results in a disruptive gap in space and time (within the same scene and usually with similar framing), so that something seems to be missing. Jump Cut

→ Sample Decoupage • How is the scene’s space introduced to the viewer? Does the scene begin with an establishing shot?

• What is the narrative function of each shot? What does each shot communicate about the story?

• Why was each shot taken from the camera position that it was? Do all shots follow the 180 degree rule?

• How does the editing create transitions when the characters move?

• Is an alternating editing pattern used?

• How does the camera relate to the characters’ perspectives? How are any subjective shots cued?

• Is a match-on-action used, or jump cuts?

• How does the last shot bring the scene to a conclusion?

• How does the editing’s organization of space support the story? Temporal Continuity • Story Time: the amount of time represented in the story.

• Screen Time: the amount of time it takes to watch a program/scene.

• Both the duration and order of time can be manipulated through editing.

• Transitions: • Fade In/Out: a fade-out gradually darkens the image until the screen turns black, while a fade- in starts black and gradually illuminates the image. These techniques often mark substantial changes in time.

• Dissolve: when one shot fades out at the same time another shot fades in, overlapping the two images briefly. Non-Narrative Editing & News Editing • Packages: segmented, discrete presentations of different news stories.

• The conventional news story contains:

• Lead: the reporter’s opening explanation of a story.

• Sound Bite 1: a short piece of audio recorded on the scene, usually part of an interview

• Transition/Bridge (between stories)

• Sound Bite 2: another short piece of audio recorded that perhaps contrasts with the first sound bite to balance the story.

• Stand Up: a reporters’ concluding statements, often recorded standing in front of a significant site. Multiple Camera Mode & Continuity

• Daily v. Weekly Production: editing always follows dialogue, but the line cut is often the final version for daily productions, while weekly productions can refine editing.

• Discontinuities: continuity errors are hidden from viewers using continuity & 180 degree principles.

• Dialogue-Focused Editing Structure: editing and visuals use continuity structure, but facilitate dialogue rather than strict image control.

• Representation of Action: multi-camera arranges space similarly to single-camera production, but the physical movement of actors is often compromised.

• Multiple Takes & “Visual Looseness”: multi-camera production characterized by visual gaps and discontinuities because of time constraints. Continuity Editing & Hybrid Modes of Production

• 2-Camera Production to Cover Conversation Scenes for Single-Camera Productions • Hybrid Programs: Mad Men/How I Met Your Mother/Soap Operas • “Pure” forms of single- or multi-camera production rarely exist in TV today. Editors generally adhere to continuity rules, but have more freedom (than earlier productions) to experiment with hybrid modes.