A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound and in particular, no audible dialogue. Silent film gave cutters a fair amount of flexibility in selecting and juxtaposing footage. Ct m3 apply editing techniques to a good technical standard showing some imagination and with only occasional assistance. Early sound films, starting with the jazz singer in 1927, were variously referred to as the talkies, sound films, or talking pictures. The great train robbery 1903 was the first silent film. Explore with a variety of film making and editing techniques in order to create a film that demonstrates basic storytelling concepts such as plot, conflict, and resolution analyze the subject matter and messages from silent films and the work of other students and discuss how technology helped to add value to that work of art. Experiment with reversal, slow or fast motion, cuts, collage and layering. An abrupt cut that creates a lack of continuity between shots by leaving out parts of the action.
And why does silent film matter as an expression of culture. As with most other film techniques, editing has evolved over time as the. Battleship potemkin, soviet silent film, released in 1925, that was director sergey m. Silent technique in film form online journal of isi.
The basic temporal unit of film photography and editing. Griffith made the birth of a nation which used a greater variety of camera angles and editing techniques. Silent movies and their techniques antiquity and revenge on. One of the most successful films to be created in the early age of the film industry, when including more than one scene in a film became recognised was the great train robbery 1903. It discusses the practice of editing for action, dialogue, comedy, and montage sequences, as well as in documentaries, newsreels, and educational films. Here are some great examples from silent films where the. Silent films were responsible for the birth of continuity editing which is essential to storytelling and narrative economy. With respect to filming techniques, most of them which we know and are familiar with now originate from silent movies. Battleship potemkin film by eisenstein 1925 britannica. If one is thinking selection from technique of film editing, reissue of 2nd edition, 2nd edition book. After this film he struggled to get the same success but is well known as an important figure in the film industry due to the invention of the editing techniques.
As the first clip is fading out, getting lighter and lighter, the second clip starts fading. Kuleshovs most outstanding student was vsevolod pudovkin, who went on to promote the workshops techniques in influential writings. Kuleshov is considered one of the first film theorists. It discusses the practice of editing for action, dialogue, comedy, and montage sequences, as well as in documentaries.
The 7 techniques ive listed above represent just a handful of the tools we all have access to as filmmakers. In production this included closeups, handheld camera, point of view shots,location shooting and multicamera setups. These had very little to work with in terms of editing and camera techniques, but more than made up for this with a skilled usage of the camera. Filmmakers and editors may work with various goals in mind. As is typical of american silent film comedy, the editing is structured so that it develops the physical gags, building up to the punchline for the audience. This too emerged in the 1910s and became a mainstay of classic editing technique, to this day. One of the most notable of the soviet directors of this era was sergei eisenstein, who transformed the principles of classical editing into something more consciously. The moscow film school of the 1920s, for example, played his intolerance 1916 over and over again in order to use griffiths techniques for the films of its students. We choose what a character says or doesnt say simply by including or excluding certain pieces of media from our timelines. On its most fundamental level, film editing is the art, technique and practice of assembling shots into a coherent sequence. Film and video editing techniques essay linkedin slideshare. The silent sequences have musicand occasional sound effects. An instructional video on the very basics of filmvideo editing, this video, and a whole series of video like this are now a part of cinestudy. Here are some great examples from silent films where the techniques used behind the scenes are.
An editing technique that allows the audience to first hear audio from a shot. A famous example of this, which uses dance extensively to communicate meaning and emotion, is the film, west side story. For example, rather than staying on one set, porter took his crew to ten different locations, including edisons new york studio, essex county park in new jersey, and along the lackawanna railroad. In response, he made the 1916 silent epic intolerance. Eisensteins tribute to the early russian revolutionaries and is widely regarded as a masterpiece of international cinema.
Movement can be used extensively by film makers to make meaning. The foundation of film art is editing, pudovkin wrote. Porter, an early film pioneer, experimented heavily on the two main principles of editing. Film editing is discussed from the point of view, not only of the person in the cutting room, but also of the person who has responsibility for the final film. Griffiths intolerance reached russia in 1919 and it was a massive hit all over the country. The technique of film editing is the seminal work on the subject of editing cinematography. Both techniques contributed for his achievements with the movies life of an american fireman 1903, the great train robbery 1903 and dream of the rarebit fiend 1906. P3 apply editing techniques working within appropriate conventions and with some assistance. Learning objective the lumierre brothers georges melies edwin porter the kuleshov effect eisenstein and montage d. The great train robbery not only was the first narrative film, it also introduced several new editing techniques. Film editing silent early years 2 linkedin slideshare.
In chronological order, here are 20 revolutionary works in film editing. Compared to modern cinema, the editing in buster keatons short films is relatively straightforward and simplistic, generally following the patterns of continuity editing. This survey of the best examples of film editing stretches back to the earliest silent films. History of film editing timeline timetoast timelines. Porter, 1903 the great train robbery features many of the early silent cinema codes.
The relationship between shots may be graphic, rhythmic, spatial andor temporal. Although eisensteins sound films, aleksandr nevskiy alexander nevsky, 1938 and ivan groznyy i and ii ivan the terrible part one 1944 and two 1958, do not exhibit the radical editing of his silent films, eisensteins approach to montagethe extreme way he would fracture the action into tiny, brief shotsproved to be tremendously. Part i outlines the history of editing from the silent film to 1953. Provided in this alphabetised list of film techniques used in motion picture. Silent movies and their techniques antiquity and revenge. Learn more about how it set the standard for the future of movie production.
Dec 15, 2016 the first editing pass done for a film. This article contains a list of cinematic techniques that are divided into categories and briefly described. A shot consists of the celluloid used from the moment a camera begins rolling on a scene to the moment it stops. The term silent film is a retronym a term created to retroactively distinguish something. The development of editing editing actor, film, voice, cinema. Benhur, american silent film, released in 1925, about ancient rome and jerusalem at the time of jesus that set new standards for action scenes. While it is extremely doubtful that kuleshovs experiment worked exactly as he claimed for one thing, it is likely that the actors face actually contained an ambiguous expression since kuleshov had taken the footage from an existing film, the soviet filmmakers of the 1920s followed kuleshovs lead in. In silent films for entertainment, the plot may be conveyed by the use of title cards, written indications of the plot and key dialogue lines. Match on action is an editing technique used in continuity editing that cuts two alternate views of the same action together at the same moment in the move in order to make it seem uninterrupted. A jump cut is a cut in film editing in which two sequential shots of the same subjects. This allows the same action to be seen from multiple angles without breaking its continuous nature. When you got the sound track, you had to be careful that it was always in sync atkins 52.
Jan 26, 2016 from mastering old techniques to bringing mistakes purposely to a scene, editing has developed and enlarged its codes through time. The history and techniques of editing explained in. Editing describes the relationship between shots and the process by which they are combined. A rough cut receives further polishing and editing before making its.
This video from cinefix takes us on a tour of all that is editing, from its birth during the silent era to the development of the montage theory by a. Dec 08, 2016 7 reasons why watching silent films is essential to any film student posted on december 8, 2016 december 8, 2016 by truman hopper before going to film school a lot of people think that whatever there is to be learned about filmmaking can be taught through books and classes types of shots. An editing changeover between one shot and another in film, where the visual and audio shift at different times. The film school led an intense study to examine the impact of the films editing. An editing technique that allows the audience to first hear audio from a shot, and then see it. Provided in this alphabetised list of film techniques used in motion picture filmmaking.
During this time cinematic, narrative and genre conventions, editing techniques. Fastslow pace shots house at the end of the street the conjuring transitions sinister 2 this is not the same as splicing as this is the actual pace of the shot itself when on its own, not grouped with others. Editing styles of horror films by alfie chandler on prezi. Nevertheless, most of these movies are lost films, with some that have survived providing an insight to filming techniques camera angles, visual cues, the stage on which the movies are set. Film editing could be called film construction and has been regarded by many as the invisible art behind some of the greatest motion picture sequences of all time. Through grit, determination, and religious fate, he overcomes seemingly insurmountable obstacles to save his family. It evolves a set of principles such as the use of ellipsis, the use of diegetic or extradiegetic sound, flashback, match on action, 30degree rule, 180degree rule and so forth. This is commonly shown in horror trailers to trigger fear. It not only had a strong immediate impact, but has remained the standard introduction to its subject ever since and wherever young. Within a decade, the widespread production of silent films for popular entertainment had ceased, and the.
With silent films you have more room to play because there is no dialogue to worry about. Film editing is, by its very nature, a study in manipulation. Both techniques contributed for his achievements with the movies life of an american fireman 1903, the great train. For example, rather than staying on one set, porter took his crew to ten different locations, including edisons new york studio, essex county park in. Not every film needs to use all of these techniques or any of them for that matter, but its important to understand the meaning of them, and what they convey to the audience, in order to know when to use them. The former sentence is not entirely accurate as an assembly cut is the first editing pass done for a film, but it depends on how one defines editing, so i think this is o. D3 apply editing techniques to a technical quality that reflects nearprofessional standards, showing creativity and flair. Nevertheless, his analysis of montage, or silentfilm editing techniques, describes practices which, i argue, closely approximate those which have been shown to characterize the behaviour of adults interacting with infants developing language. Chapter 1 editing and the silent film 25 technique of. Mar 04, 2012 silent movies and their techniques in the passion of joan of arc the use of a silent film was very effective for showing emotion to the audience.
It was originally published in 1953 and revised and expanded as a second edition in 1968. This emotion is shown through the musical soundtrack, the close up frames, and through other techniques that the director uses. Apr 14, 2018 some notes about defining the silent film era. Title cards can be a big assistance with silent movies. It is essential to the creation of narrative space and to the establishment of narrative time. Film and video editing techniques introduction in my assignmenti will critically assess the developmentand principlesof editing, includingthe understandingof purposesand conventionsand techniques. It is how a scene is put together to produce an image. The 2010 printing is essentially a reprint of the 1968 second edition with an updated forward. It was shot in part as a silent film and in partas a sound film. Griffith and the feature length film nosferatu harold lloyd and special effects 3. Silent film comedy was a very popular genre in the silent era 18951928 in the usa and uk it still exists as an art form in the modern era and has influenced much modern physical and visual comedy. With innovative, illusionary cinematic editing techniques trick photography with.
Jan 01, 2001 napoleonthe silent film about napoleon bonaparte directed by abel gance used a lot of new and captivating filmmaking techniques. On a surface level, we manipulate the order of events unfolding on screen. Camera angles, editing techniques, the scriptdialogue in the films and the equipment that was used in the 1900s were much different than how things are now. Film editing is a skilled art the selection and integration of a sequence of shots taken from thousands of feet of film to establish a structure, tempo, mood, or style. The original english version of the book has been reprinted thirteen times without a word being changed. Silent movies and their techniques in the passion of joan of arc the use of a silent film was very effective for showing emotion to the audience. Dec 26, 2006 an instructional video on the very basics of film video editing, this video, and a whole series of video like this are now a part of cinestudy. Viewing 8 reply threads author posts july 17, 2008 at 5. Unlike his predecessors who edited films out of natural habit, kuleshov began to dissect film editing to study its impact on audiences. The development of editing editing actor, film, voice. A rough cut receives further polishing and editing before making its way out to audiences. The film is based on the mutiny of russian sailors against their tyrannical superiors. Jul 11, 2018 compared to modern cinema, the editing in buster keatons short films is relatively straightforward and simplistic, generally following the patterns of continuity editing. Judah benhur played by ramon navarro is a young jewish man from a family of privilege who is betrayed by his roman boyhood friend messala francis x.
The dissolve the dissolve is an editing technique where one clip seems to fadeor dissolveinto the next. This simple editing technique will make your scenes more. Griffith explored the capabilities of editing in the films he made at biograph. Silent comedy is predominantly based on physical and visual gags and jokes with occasional written puns and jokes in the title cards. As booth explains the difference, with silent film you could throw the film around in any way. Jan, 2017 visual and special effects have a long history. From mastering old techniques to bringing mistakes purposely to a scene, editing has developed and enlarged its codes through time. With the addition of a soundtrack, they lost that flexibility. A number of shots edited together and unified, either through the plot, the characters, the time andor space, or the theme. Griffiths expensive, most ambitious silent film masterpiece was one of the. Rarely used today but very common during the silent era. In the silent era, some american comics such as buster keaton and charlie chaplin.