Dear Friends

This note is part of my own learning about video editing, as I'm relatively new to it. Since GanJing World is a platform that I really want to support with good content, I feel compelled to learn how to edit video better. I truly believe that the GanJing World platform is worthy of my best efforts in every way. For the sake of the viewers of the channels I am involved with, I want to do my best.

Half of a film is created in the editing room – video editing is very powerful and with great power comes great responsibility.

Hollywood filmmakers have done a lot of research how the audience can experience and be immersed in a story without being interrupted by the means of making the film.

After studying how we experience our dreams, Hollywood invented the invisible cut (also called continuity editing). (Yes, the label Dream Factory takes on a new meaning…) 

That's why we can immerse ourselves in the films and usually don't notice an invisible cut, because we experience this kind of change of scenery in our dreams. 

According to film theory, there are two types of editing: visible and invisible

The visible cut (often used in music videos) is very noticeable, while the invisible cut, or continuity editing, is about moving smoothly from one scene to the next so as not to distract from the story, which is why invisible cuts are often used in feature film editing to create consistency and believability, the building blocks of creating an emotional connection with the audience. 

We need to know some filmmaking terms to explain how this works:

Shot Size

How much of a subject is displayed within a given frame of a video is known as the scope or size of the shot. Most filmmakers use standard names for shot sizes:

Image copyright: Mediazone, University of Nicosia https://mz.unic.ac.cy/

Different types of camera shots in film or video communicate different narrative value, and are combined during post-production to tell a story.

Shot sizes and what they are used for:

To change the shot size while the camera is rolling, either the camera moves, or the person in the shot moves. If your subject stays where he is and you use a prime lens, the camera will have to move to change the size of the shot; if you use a zoom lens, changing the zoom will also change the size of the shot:

  • A wide or full shot is like an orientation for the audience, where we are, what time period we are in, it can help set the mood.
  • The American or cowboy shot, was invented to show the pistols used in cowboy films. In cowboy films, your audience will want to see how the hand of the protagonist and the antagonist moves during a showdown. ....
  • A medium shot is often used by reporters when they are outside. It is fairly neutral for the viewer. It is used for talking head videos a lot.
  • Because a medium shot is not too close and intimate to the audience, but close enough for the audience to be interested in what the protagonist has to say, it is perfect for educational videos. The protagonist appears unbiased.
  • A close-up shot is when the person's head fills the whole screen. It is used to express affection or conflict, like when someone is about to kiss or be kissed, or to show that someone is about to be hit in a fist fight = both are highly emotional.
  • Extreme close up. I remember one extreme close-up frame really well: the icy blue eyes of Terrence Hill. I don't remember the film or the story, but I do remember the way his eyes were framed in a extreme close-up. It is rarely used.
  • Detail shot, can be anything, filmed very close, basically filling the frame.

Focal length of the lens and shot sizes

  • Note that the size of the shot size does not determine everything; the lens you use is just as important. So do not only plan the shot size, but what lens you want to use as well.
  • Before changing the lens or focal length of your zoom lens, try using it from different positions.
  • Use one lens for many different shots to get to know its strengths and weaknesses. It will be much easier to plan which lens you want or need to use. (I learned much more about our Fujinon 30mm lens, when I simply did not bring any other lens with me. The same goes for our Fujinon 16mm lens as well. I still need to test our other lenses much longer to know them well).
  • You can move the camera and zoom at the same time. If the camera is moving forward, you can enhance the movement by zooming in slightly. Use it carefully, you don't want your audience to feel nauseous.
  • To avoid unintentionally funny or uncomfortable shots, avoid zooming in and moving the camera backwards or vice versa, as the background may appear distorted. This move is used sparingly in thrillers or horror films for a reason. It is used, when the person is in shock or petrified. So be careful with the zoom when you move the camera in the opposite direction. Try what looks best and what works to tell the story.
  • According to Fujifilm, images taken with the Fujinon 30mm (equivalent to 46mm full-frame format) resemble the normal visual impression of the human eye, making this lens the first choice for natural-looking portraits and snapshots.
  • Study your equipment, what works best for what. Which lens will give you a more realistic or dreamy look.
  • In post-production, you can always digitally zoom in a bit.

Remember, the story is king! Your choice of shot size, lens, focal length and camera movement must all serve the story. Do not use a camera movement just because you like it. 

The audience will sense when a clip or shot has been made not for the story, but for your own satisfaction. It will look like you are bragging about your equipment: Look how I was able to rent a crane! Look how beautiful my drone footage is. Look how I can use tricky camera moves! Look at all the special effects! If it doesn't help tell the story, don't use it! If it helps and serves the story, use it, whatever it is.

Be humble, and take yourself back. The story is your protagonist, not the person who tells it.

The filmmaker, the editor, is always the story's servant!

How to film your footage in a way that allows for continuity editing or invisible cuts:

  • 30-degree rule: If you move the camera towards the subject: Don't jump straight onto the axis of what you are filming. Move the camera's point of view by at least 30 degrees.
  • 180-degree rule: The 180 rule stipulates that in any scene comprising two or more actors, an invisible line is to be drawn. The camera is permitted to move at will within the scene, provided that it remains on one side of this line. As the characters in a scene maintain the same left/right relationship, the viewer is able to comprehend the spatial dynamics of the scene, i.e. the relative positions of the characters in relation to each other and their surroundings.
  • You can break the 180-degree rule when you're adding a reaction shot, but you've got to get the basics right of when to break or not break the 180-degree rule.
  • A nice exception is the mirror shot: You see that the protagonists have suddenly changed places, the one on the right is now on the left. Then the camera pulls back to show the audience looking into a mirror. The moment the audience realises that everything is still where it should be, the tension is gone and the audience can relax again.
  • The human eye follows motion. If there's no movement to follow, viewers can become momentarily disengaged and more likely to be distracted by a transition to a new scene.
  • Plan your scenes so that they end and/or begin with movement.
  • Use the movement to advance the story and to lead the audience well to the next frame!
  • Use a similar speed for scenes shot with a moving camera. Try to match the similarity of the camera movements speed in the edit.
  • Aligning the direction of the action (which way the characters are running/walking/moving) supports the cohesion of the storytelling. Plan to film the action following this rule. Match the direction of action. (Pinocchio (Disney 1940) walks from left to right away from home. When he returns, he walks from right to left. This ensures that the audience subconsciously knows that he is on his way home. They used the 180-degree rule, only on a broader scale, it is valid from the beginning to the end.)
  • Do not confuse the audience in changing the walking direction of the protagonist, unless it is motivated by the story. (Unless you have a very confused protagonist who doesn't know where he's going... Then you can change the direction as much as you want).
  • If it helps the story, use a whip pan. A whip pan is when the camera pans fast enough to create blurred images. One shot ends with a whip pan and the corresponding shot begins with a whip pan in the same direction at about the same speed. Combine this with a cross dissolve in the edit and the cut should be invisible.
  • Guide the eyes in the shot to where you want them to be in the next shot. Use lines, use protagonists' gestures, use movement, use colour, use anything to direct the audience's eyes to where you want them to be in the next clip. Do it deliberately, don't leave it to chance, when ever you can.
  • Another invisible editing technique is occlusion. This method uses the physical elements of a scene to occlude the camera for a moment and then reveal the next frame. (A persons back, a car, a tree – whatever you can use to fill the frame and then reveal something new in the next clip.)
  • If you want to cut between shots filmed on different camera supports (trypod, handheld, dolly etc.), you need to change the shot size, plan accordingly.

What you should do for a invisible cut in video editing:

  • As a general rule, skip one shot size. For example: Medium Shot → Close up. (The exception is the detail shot size)
  • You can always cut into a detail without interrupting the narrative flow. Wide, or full shot → detail.
  • You can cut from a detail close up to an other detail close up, without interrupting the narrative flow.
  • You can cut between different camera supports (trypod, handheld, dolly, etc.) if you also change the shot size. Choose your clips well.
  • If you are cutting while the protagonist is moving, always cut to an other scene in which the movements are at the same speed.
  • Cut during movement: A person goes to a door. Film him outside, as he approaches the house and opens the door. The cameraman moves inside the house and films the man opening the door. Cut when the door is moving the fastest. Do not cut to the clip when the door is still closed.
  • Cut into motion, when someone is walking, or driving.
  • Cut to the listening party during a conversation to let the audience see, what the listener is feeling. (reaction shot)
  • Place the protagonists of adjacent scenes in the same part of the frame. This way the audience is already looking at what is in the next frame when the cut is made. It does not have to be a person, it can be a detail...
  • Every frame of film has a centre of gravity. This can be in the rule of thirds or anywhere else. If the centre of gravity of two consecutive clips is not in the same place, the edit will look jerky and the viewer will be confused.
  • To avoid a jerky cut, ask yourself, where do my eyes naturally land in this frame? What part of the picture are my eyes focused on? And then try to match that to the next frame. It's like a service to the audience, they don't have to look around. The important information is being served to them by the video editing.
  • Use movement of the protagonist or the light or something else to guide the eyes. Movement is a eye magnet.

What disrupts continuity editing or what makes the audience uncomfortable:

Yes, there are stories that call for breaking continuity and breaking the 180-degree rule to create a sense of unease in the audience: It is used in detective, crime, thriller and horror films. Because it makes the audience feel that something is wrong. 

How do I make the audience feel uncomfortable? (Sorry dear friends, I never thought the day would come when I would be writing about how to make people feel uncomfortable!)

  • Jump the line from the 180-degree rule several time in row. The people will end looking in the same direction, it gives the impression, that something is quite wrong.
  • If in a shot the protagonist is in the left third of the frame, cut to a scene where the left third of the frame is empty, so the audience has to look around to find what is important in that clip.
  • If you have 2 or more clips with very similar focal lengths, more or less the same distance, same angle (or less than 30 degrees) and frame sizes in a row, it will confuse your audience. It will make the video editing visible to them and take them out of the story.
  • The screen will look strange if the direction the light is coming from is unmotivated. (Motivated light: You see the window and the key light is coming from that direction. Unmotivated light: The audience cannot see why the light should come from that direction.
  • Cut when there is no movement.
  • Tilt the camera so that the horizon is no longer horizontal. The picture will no longer be level. This can be used to show that someone's feelings are out of balance, or it can show that something is very wrong with the entire situation.
  • Don't use a trypod and use a handheld camera to simulate inner shakiness or anxiety. The shakier the camera, the more uncomfortable the audience will feel. Do not overdo it.
  • In film, a tense discussion is often filmed with a handheld camera instead of a trypod, to convey the tense feeling to the audience. The cameramen try to keep the camera as calm as possible. This inner striving for composure on the part of the cameramen will be reflected in the film, so that the audience will think that there is a need for composure, as the situation may explode at any moment. When the tense situation is over, the camera is back on the trypod. The situation is stable again.

An invisible cut is not always the best solution. Decide during post-production whether an invisible cut, a normal cut, or a hard cut best supports the story.

Edits that are never noticed by the audience are some of the most powerful. 

These techniques are some of the magic of creative post-production. As with so many of the tasks involved in video production, invisible editing is an essential tool. Understand and use it. It can be a powerful tool for storytellers.

Paradoxically, recognisable cuts that combine very different visual content in a montage are far less disruptive to the viewer's perception than cuts that connect two almost identical shots. If there is only a slight difference in the content of the two successive images, the viewer perceives this as an error and is irritated.

A film is produced several times:

First by the scriptwriter, then by the storyboard artist, then during shooting there may be more changes, and finally in post-production the editor makes the final decisions.

So there may be minor or major changes at each stage.

More advanced videographers will write their scripts in a way that makes each step easier after that, and in the end when they edit the video they will have multiple choices if they have planned it that way. They will plan where a shot starts and where and on whom it ends. Will it end in the right third of the frame? Is it necessary to start the nest shot in the same place to ensure an invisible cut? Or does the story need a detail next? Where is the gravity in this picture (where your eyes are drawn to), so where do I need the gravity to be in the next clip?
How detailed you plan your clips will depend on your experience and what you want to achieve with your video.

Remember that your video is just a mini-production of a film. How detailed you prepare your shots is entirely up to you.

After writing all the notes I have collected so far in this and the other articles, I ask myself: How can I make sure that in the future I film to tell the story? That I will plan my shots so that it will be easier in the post-production steps like editing and colour grading.

So far, I haven't thought too much about post-production steps like video editing or colour grading while I'm shooting. ....Yes, I need to improve a lot.

After reading my notes, please leave a comment if you have any tips, have seen any mistakes, or know of a better way to tell a story well. Please also leave a comment if you would like to read more articles like this. It would be greatly appreciated. 

Wish you all the best

Simone

Image: Taken from Aeschiried overlooking Interlaken, Switzerland. The photo was taken with my old Fujifilm X-T1 camera and a Fujinon zoom lens 18-55mm no color correction was done. I really like the the image, as it could easily be inspired by a romantic landscape painting. 

#Continuityediting#invisiblecut#videoediting