The Technique of Film and Video Editing, Fifth Edition: History, Theory, and Practice

486 Pages·2010·6.69 MB·English

by  Ken Dancyger

The Technique of Film
and Video Editing

Fifth Edition

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The Technique of Film
and Video Editing

History, Theory, and Practice

Fifth Edition

Ken Dancyger

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Dancyger, Ken.
The technique of film and video editing : history, theory, and practice / Ken Dancyger � 5th ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-240-81397-4 (alk. paper)
1. Motion pictures�Editing. 2. Video tapes�Editing.
3. Digital video�Editing. I. Title.
TR899.D26 2010
778.5’35�dc22
2010035589

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978-0-240-81397-4

For information on all Focal Press publications
visit our website at www.elsevierdirect.com

Printed in the United States of America

11 12 13 14 15
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For the next generation,
and dedicated to my
contribution to that
generation,
Emily and Erica.

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Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.................................................................................................... xv
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. xvii
ABOUT THE WEBSITE................................................................................................... xxv

Section 1
History of Film Editing

CHAPTER 1
The Silent Period........................................................................................ 3
Edwin S. Porter: Film Continuity Begins ............................................................... 4
D. W. Griffith: Dramatic Construction.................................................................... 5
International Perspectives ............................................................................... 12
Vsevolod I. Pudovkin: Constructive Editing and Heightened Realism ............. 13
Sergei Eisenstein: The Theory of Montage ......................................................... 16
Metric Montage................................................................................................. 17
Rhythmic Montage ........................................................................................... 18
Tonal Montage.................................................................................................. 18
Overtonal Montage........................................................................................... 20
Intellectual Montage......................................................................................... 20
Eisenstein: Theoretician and Aesthete........................................................... 21
Dziga Vertov: The Experiment of Realism........................................................... 23
Alexander Dovzhenko: Editing by Visual Association ....................................... 25
Luis Bun˜ uel: Visual Discontinuity........................................................................ 27
Conclusion.............................................................................................................. 32

CHAPTER 2
The Early Sound Film .............................................................................. 33
Technological Limitations ..................................................................................... 33
Technological Improvements................................................................................ 35
Theoretical Issues Concerning Sound.................................................................. 35
Early Experiment in Sound—Alfred Hitchcock’s Blackmail................................ 36
Sound, Time, and Place: Fritz Lang’s M .............................................................. 38
The Dynamic of Sound: Rouben Mamoulian’s Applause ................................... 42
Conclusion.............................................................................................................. 44
vii

CHAPTER 3
The Influence of the Documentary ......................................................... 45
Ideas About Society............................................................................................... 46
Robert Flaherty and Man of Aran.................................................................... 46
Basil Wright and Night Mail ............................................................................ 49
Pare Lorentz and The Plow That Broke the Plains ........................................ 51
Ideas About Art and Culture ................................................................................ 51
Leni Riefenstahl and Olympia.......................................................................... 53
W. S. Van Dyke and The City........................................................................... 54
Ideas About War and Society ............................................................................... 56
Frank Capra and Why We Fight...................................................................... 56
Humphrey Jennings and Diary for Timothy ................................................... 57
Conclusion.............................................................................................................. 60

CHAPTER 4
The Influence of the Popular Arts .......................................................... 61
Vaudeville............................................................................................................... 61
The Musical............................................................................................................ 64
The Theatre............................................................................................................ 65
Radio....................................................................................................................... 66

CHAPTER 5
Editors Who Became Directors ............................................................... 71
Robert Wise............................................................................................................ 72
The Set-Up......................................................................................................... 74
I Want to Live! .................................................................................................. 75
West Side Story................................................................................................. 77
David Lean ............................................................................................................. 79
Lean’s Technique.............................................................................................. 80
Lean’s Art.......................................................................................................... 83

CHAPTER 6
Experiments in Editing: Alfred Hitchcock ............................................. 87
A Simple Introduction: Parallel Action................................................................. 88
A Dramatic Punctuation: The Sound Cut ............................................................ 88
Dramatic Discovery: Cutting on Motion............................................................... 89
Suspense: The Extreme Long Shot ...................................................................... 89
Levels of Meaning: The Cutaway ........................................................................ 90
Intensity: The Close-up......................................................................................... 90
The Moment as Eternity: The Extreme Close-up................................................ 91
Dramatic Time and Pace .................................................................................. 92
The Unity of Sound ................................................................................................ 92
The Orthodoxy of the Visual: The Chase ............................................................ 94
Dreamstates: Subjectivity and Motion................................................................. 95
Conclusion.............................................................................................................. 97

viii
Contents

CHAPTER 7
New Technologies ................................................................................... 99
The Wide Screen.................................................................................................... 99
Character and Environment........................................................................... 102
Relationships................................................................................................... 104
Relationships and the Environment.............................................................. 105
The Background.............................................................................................. 106
The Wide Screen After 1960 .......................................................................... 107
Cine´ma Ve´rite´ ...................................................................................................... 109

CHAPTER 8
International Advances ......................................................................... 115
The Dynamics of Relativity ................................................................................. 116
The Jump Cut and Discontinuity........................................................................ 118
Objective Anarchy: Jean-Luc Godard................................................................ 121
Melding Past and Present: Alain Resnais ......................................................... 123
Interior Life as External Landscape ................................................................... 125

CHAPTER 9
The Influence of Television and Theatre ............................................. 133
Television ............................................................................................................. 133
Theatre ................................................................................................................. 137

CHAPTER 10 New Challenges to Filmic Narrative Conventions .............................. 143

Peckinpah: Alienation and Anarchy .................................................................. 143
Altman: The Freedom of Chaos.......................................................................... 146
Kubrick: New Worlds and Old............................................................................ 148
Herzog: Other Worlds ......................................................................................... 150
Scorsese: The Dramatic Document..................................................................... 150
Wenders: Mixing Popular and Fine Art............................................................. 152
Lee: Pace and Social Action................................................................................ 153
Von Trotta: Feminism and Politics..................................................................... 158
Feminism and Antinarrative Editing.................................................................. 160
Mixing Genres...................................................................................................... 162

CHAPTER 11 The MTV Influence on Editing I ........................................................... 165

Origins .................................................................................................................. 166
The Short Film................................................................................................. 167
Where We Are Now—The State of the MTV Style............................................ 167
The Importance of Feeling States.................................................................. 168
The Downgrading of the Plot......................................................................... 168
Disjunctive Editing—The Obliteration of Time and Space.......................... 169
The Self-Reflexive Dream State...................................................................... 170
The Media Looks at Itself............................................................................... 171
Oliver Stone’s Career........................................................................................... 171
Natural Born Killers ........................................................................................ 172

Contents
ix

CHAPTER 12 The MTV Influence on Editing II .......................................................... 177

The Case of Saving Private Ryan........................................................................ 178
The Case of Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ................................ 182
The Set-Pieces................................................................................................. 183
The Case of In the Mood for Love ...................................................................... 186
The MTV Style of In the Mood for Love........................................................ 187
The Case of Life Is Beautiful............................................................................... 188
The Set-Pieces in Life Is Beautiful................................................................. 189
The Case of Tampopo.......................................................................................... 190
The Set-Pieces in Tampopo............................................................................ 191
Conclusion............................................................................................................ 192

CHAPTER 13 Changes in Pace..................................................................................... 193

Evolution of Pace in Filmmaking ........................................................................ 193
Pace in the Docudrama................................................................................... 194
Pace in the Thriller ......................................................................................... 195
Pace in the Action-Adventure........................................................................ 198
Pace in the Musical......................................................................................... 199
Anti-Pace in Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds.................................................. 200
Conclusion............................................................................................................ 202

CHAPTER 14 The Appropriation of Style I: Imitation and Innovation...................... 203

Narrative and Style .............................................................................................. 203
Style for Its Own Sake ......................................................................................... 205
Breaking Expectations......................................................................................... 206
Imitation versus Innovation ................................................................................ 207
Imitation and Innovation..................................................................................... 208

CHAPTER 15 The Appropriation of Style II: Limitation and Innovation................... 213

The Elevation of Cine´ma Ve´rite´ .......................................................................... 213
The Return of Mise-en-Sce`ne.............................................................................. 217
The Close-Up and the Long Shot........................................................................ 222
Camera Placement and Pace: The Intervention of Subjective States.............. 227

CHAPTER 16 The Appropriation of Style III: Digital Reality ..................................... 233

Artificial Reality ................................................................................................... 233
Video Over Film .............................................................................................. 234
Constructed Artifice ....................................................................................... 235
The Imagined as the Observational .............................................................. 235
Use of Spectacle.............................................................................................. 236
Use of Special Effects ..................................................................................... 237
Realism ................................................................................................................. 237

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Contents

Section 2
Goals of Editing

CHAPTER 17 Editing for Narrative Clarity.................................................................. 243

The Plot-Driven Film............................................................................................ 244
Five Fingers..................................................................................................... 244
Mountains of the Moon .................................................................................. 245
Invictus ............................................................................................................ 246
The Character-Driven Film.................................................................................. 248
Hannah and Her Sisters ................................................................................. 248
Valmont ........................................................................................................... 249
Hero ................................................................................................................. 249
The Case of The Hours................................................................................... 250
The Case of Atonement.................................................................................. 252

CHAPTER 18 Editing for Dramatic Emphasis............................................................. 255

United 93 .............................................................................................................. 255
The Docudrama Effect.................................................................................... 258
The Close-up ................................................................................................... 258
Dynamic Montage........................................................................................... 259
Juxtaposition................................................................................................... 260
Pace.................................................................................................................. 260
Frost/Nixon........................................................................................................... 261
Different Goals, Different Strategies .................................................................. 264
The Close-up ........................................................................................................ 264
Dynamic Montage................................................................................................ 265
Juxtaposition................................................................................................... 265
Pace.................................................................................................................. 266

CHAPTER 19 Editing for Subtext................................................................................. 267

The Departed ....................................................................................................... 271
Lust, Caution........................................................................................................ 272
There Will Be Blood ............................................................................................. 273

CHAPTER 20 Editing for Aesthetics............................................................................ 277

Brighton Rock....................................................................................................... 278
The Third Man ..................................................................................................... 279
The Passion.......................................................................................................... 282

Section 3
Editing for the Genre

CHAPTER 21 Action...................................................................................................... 287

The Contemporary Context................................................................................. 289
The General: An Early Action Sequence ...................................................... 292
Raiders of the Lost Ark: A Contemporary Action Sequence....................... 294

Contents
xi

The Bourne Ultimatum: The Ultimate Use of Pace in an
Action Sequence ............................................................................................. 296
Case Study: A History of Violence: An Alternative Action Sequence............. 298

CHAPTER 22 Dialog...................................................................................................... 301

Dialog and Plot..................................................................................................... 302
Dialog and Character........................................................................................... 303
Multipurpose Dialog ............................................................................................ 304
Trouble in Paradise: An Early Dialog Sequence................................................ 306
Chinatown: A Contemporary Dialog Sequence................................................. 309
Michael Clayton: Dialog as Transformative Device .......................................... 312

CHAPTER 23 Comedy................................................................................................... 315

Character Comedy ............................................................................................... 315
Situation Comedy................................................................................................. 316
Satire..................................................................................................................... 316
Farce ..................................................................................................................... 316
Editing Concerns ................................................................................................. 316
The Comedy Director........................................................................................... 318
The Past: The Lady Eve—The Early Comedy of Role Reversal ....................... 320
The Present: Victor Victoria—A Contemporary Comedy of
Role Reversal........................................................................................................ 321
Forgetting Sarah Marshall: Emotional Role Reversal ....................................... 324
Conclusion............................................................................................................ 325

CHAPTER 24 Documentary .......................................................................................... 327

Questions of Ethics, Politics, and Aesthetics .................................................... 328
Analysis of Documentary Sequences—Memorandum ...................................... 329
Simple Continuity and the Influence of the Narrator................................... 329
The Transitional Sequence ............................................................................ 330
The Archival Sequence................................................................................... 332
A Sequence with Little Narration....................................................................... 334
The Reportage Sequence ............................................................................... 336

CHAPTER 25 Imaginative Documentary ..................................................................... 341

Altering Meaning Away from the Literal........................................................... 341
The Wartime Documentary: Imagination and Propaganda.............................. 343
The Case of Listen to Britain .............................................................................. 344
Conclusion............................................................................................................ 347

CHAPTER 26 Innovations in Documentary I............................................................... 349

The Personal Documentary................................................................................. 349
Changes in the Use of Narration ........................................................................ 355
The Narrator as Observer............................................................................... 355
The Narrator as Investigator.......................................................................... 356

xii
Contents

The Narrator as Guide.................................................................................... 357
The Narrator as Provocateur.......................................................................... 359
Conclusion............................................................................................................ 361

CHAPTER 27 Innovations in Documentary II.............................................................. 363

Section 4
Principles of Editing

CHAPTER 28 The Picture Edit and Continuity........................................................... 371

Constructing a Lucid Continuity ........................................................................ 372
Providing Adequate Coverage............................................................................ 372
Matching Action .................................................................................................. 373
Preserving Screen Direction................................................................................ 375
Setting the Scene ................................................................................................. 378
Matching Tone..................................................................................................... 378
Matching Flow Over a Cut.................................................................................. 378
Change in Location.............................................................................................. 379
Change in Scene .................................................................................................. 380

CHAPTER 29 The Picture Edit and Pace..................................................................... 381

Timing................................................................................................................... 382
Rhythm ................................................................................................................. 383
Time and Place..................................................................................................... 387
The Possibilities of Randomness Upon Pace ..................................................... 388

CHAPTER 30 Nonlinear Editing and Digital Technology I ........................................ 391

The Technological Revolution............................................................................. 391
The Limits of Technology............................................................................... 392
The Aesthetic Opportunities ......................................................................... 392
The Nonlinear Narrative...................................................................................... 393
Past Reliance on Linearity.............................................................................. 393
A Philosophy of Nonlinearity ......................................................................... 394
The Artists of Nonlinear Narrative................................................................ 395

CHAPTER 31 Nonlinear Editing and Digital Technology II ....................................... 399

The Framework.................................................................................................... 399
The Case of The Ice Storm.................................................................................. 400
The Case of Happiness........................................................................................ 403
The Case of The Thin Red Line.......................................................................... 405
The Case of Magnolia.......................................................................................... 409

CHAPTER 32 Conclusion .............................................................................................. 413

Contents
xiii

APPENDIX: FILMOGRAPHY.......................................................................................... 415
GLOSSARY ...................................................................................................................... 435
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................... 443
INDEX .............................................................................................................................. 445

ONLINE

CHAPTER 1
Ideas and Sound

CHAPTER 2
The Sound Edit and Clarity

CHAPTER 3
The Sound Edit and Creative Sound

CHAPTER 4
Innovations of Sound

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Contents