Video editing is like doing a jigsaw puzzle - by Ian Simpson
Visit any Video Club today and listen to the conversations. A very high proportion of
them are related to the editing of videos but few I bet are actually about editing! This
seeming contradiction is explained because most of the talk is about software and
computers used to edit. Often each speaker tries to outdo the previous one with his
tale of woe of failed equipment or software. But let us take a break from all this
techno-computer talk and consider the real activity that all these software are
supposed to make easy!
NOW WHAT REALLY IS EDITING?
The classical definition of editing comes from the renown Russian Filmmaker
Pudovkin, who in 1928 said, “Once more I repeat, that editing is the creative force of
filmic reality.” More simplistic definitions are problem solving or a challenge in new
ways of thinking. The definition, however, that I found the most amusing comes from
Jean-Pierre Oudart in 1969 in his comment on Luc Moullet’s films, “..a bicycle
assembled from mismatched parts, by a savage who was ignorant of its function.”
Many of my films, when viewed again after some years, seem to fit the last definition.
So how can we become less of the ignorant savage and more of the creative artist
described by Pudovkin?? Obviously one very good way is to watch films and TV
shows and then trying to repeat some the observed techniques in one’s own videos.
Here we should make it a rule that each new video we make must contain at least one
newly learned editing piece. Practice is always a good way of learning the technique
of editing. But before we get into this detail let us take another step back and look at
why editing is necessary in the first place.
EDITING FROM THE FILM TRADITION
In the commercial film’s silent era, the story was told solely by the visuals while the
accompanying sound carried the emotion. The filming of any real event was
fragmented into short scenes, often taken from different viewpoints during the event.
These short fragments were then carefully assembled to give the appearance of the
whole event. Also if the assembly of the shots was cleverly done the viewed film
could also stimulate an emotional or intellectual response. As in the silent films there
was no synchronous sound, thus free reign could be given to the originality, artistry
and rhythm of the assembled shots. Such creativity of shot compilation, or editing, is
regarded by many film historians to have reached its peak of originality and
complexity in the Russian cinema, just before the introduction of synchronous sound
blew it all away.
(Did you know the average scene duration in movies is 11 seconds and in TV commercials is
2.3 seconds?)
EDITING FOR THE AMATEUR BEGINS WITH THE CAMCORDER
To many amateurs the most important step in making a video comes not at the
shooting stage but later when you have to make sense of all the various shots.
Creativity in amateur video making often comes from the making sense out of chaos,
or of seeing order in disorder. This is so because of the way we shoot videos and the
subjects we choose for our videos. Our videos are mainly personal records of family
events, milestones and holidays. In the taking of such videos we are not in control,
rather we are continually chasing, anticipating and following the event unfolding
before us. There are no re-takes, no script to follow, no lines to get right with the
correct emphasis; rather we have only to assist us the speed of our learned reflexes of
camcorder manipulation and the knowledge we have gained from past experiences in
the needs of this style of video making. Visual continuity depends on instinctive
selection of viewpoints, zoom settings and composition, while sounds can be collected
as a continuum with a separate portable recorder. This editing in the camera approach
can produce major returns at the computer editing stage in that there are less scenes to
log, less disc space used up in storage and more carefully taken shots are easier to put
together in a logical sequence.
EDITING IS JUST LIKE A JIGSAW PUZZLE
The analogy of putting together a jigsaw puzzle, while not completely valid,
nevertheless helps to explain the principles of editing. In this analogy the poorly captured
shots as well as the good shots which do not fit the theme, are like jigsaw pieces from
another puzzle, which have become mixed with the pieces of the puzzle being
constructed. The puzzle is constructed only of interconnecting pieces just as in editing; the
video should only contain those shots, which fit together to build the theme or story.
But how to tell which shots fit together? It is easy for a jigsaw, or is it? How often with a
puzzle has one piece seemed to fit only to be later replaced because the pieces around
it did not fit? So it is with video editing. A shot should only be included if it complements the
other shots around it and also aids the expansion of the chosen theme or narrative.
Computer editing allows us to try the scene in a particular location and later remove it if,
like the jigsaw piece, it no longer fits.
SHOT SELECTION
How is a shot selected? Well, again referring to our analogy, a jigsaw piece is chosen
by its matching pattern design, colour and size. Then the piece is tried in a selected
position. A video clip is also similarly selected. Firstly the shot must relate to the
sequence being developed, its exposure and colour rendering must not jar with the
6 other shots around it and it must be trimmed to the correct size to fit both the mood
and pace of the sequence.
DEVELOPMENT OF A THEME
A jigsaw puzzle is often constructed by establishing first the borders then moving
inwards to small segments. A personal video likewise is defined within the boundaries
of a certain event or holiday trip. This is the basis on which further anecdotes, minihappenings
and side trips can be built. Also like the jigsaw puzzle where it is often
easier to assemble small sections of the puzzle first and the see how they fit into the
big picture. So it is with video editing, it is often easier to construct the minor
incidents (sequences) first and then work on how these sequences will best fit into the
completed video so as to clearly tell the story.
A REST OF NINE SAVES TIME
With jigsaw puzzles it is often best to find an infrequently used table and to set up and
construct the puzzle there, working in small bursts of concentration. This helps keep
the mind focused and so allows patterns to be more readily recognised. A break from
the puzzle is made as soon as the pieces seem all the same and nothing fits. This
approach should also be used in video editing. Non-linear editing on a computer is
ideally set up to allow this with the efforts of each burst of concentration being saved
on disc till the next period of inspiration. A solution to a problem sequence can often
appear out of the blue after the mind has been given a break from the computer.
INVISIBLE TECHIQUE
When a jigsaw puzzle is finally completed it is only the whole picture which captures
the eye, all the joins become invisible. So it should be with the finished video. Visuals
and sound should harmonise, with no attention calling effects; all should disappear
behind an engrossing story. On viewing, the audience will judge your video, not on
what video card you used, nor on what software package you used, nor on how many
different fancy transitions you could squeeze into the length of the video; rather they
will judge your video on how effectively it moves them, or amuses them or informs
them. Good editing will achieve this.
Ian Simpson can be contacted at meiddt@bigpond.net.au
REFERENCES – Some books I have found useful:
1) The Technique of Film Editing, Karel Reisz and Gavin Millar, Focal Press
2) On Film Editing, Edward Dmytryk, Focal Press
3) Sound Sense for Movie Makers, Ivan Watson, Fountain Press