[0:00] (upbeat music)
[0:03] - This quick edit tip will
help you paste your edits.
[0:06] (upbeat music)
[0:07] "All movies are or should
be a series of arcs.
[0:11] You start it at one
level, build to a climax,
[0:13] and then you have to come
down and start it over again.
[0:17] If you stay at one
level, it won't sustain."
[0:21] (upbeat music)
[0:23] The best way to create these
arcs is by giving the audience
[0:26] time to laugh, think and
feel after impactful moments.
[0:31] Essentially you're
manufacturing pauses to amplify
[0:34] the proceeding action or
dialogue, thus organically,
[0:38] giving it more dramatic power.
[0:40] Let's dive deeper into some situations
[0:42] where you'd wanna give
the audience that time.
[0:44] First, after a dramatic moment.
[0:47] It gives the audience a chance
to gauge the character's
[0:49] reaction and possibly empathize
[0:51] with that character's feelings,
[0:53] further investing your
viewers in the story.
[0:56] In this scene from Jack Reacher,
[0:58] Jack and Helen are going
to discuss their plan
[1:01] for gathering evidence for the case
[1:02] that they're investigating.
[1:04] After Jack gets tired,
he'll send Helen on her way,
[1:07] but not before an ambiguous moment
[1:09] where there may or may
not be romantic intent.
[1:12] Here's how that could play.
[1:15] - You have his credit card statement.
[1:17] - I can get it.
[1:18] - Why?
[1:19] - I need the list of all
the places he hung out,
[1:21] bars, bowling alleys,
strip clubs, gun ranges,
[1:25] anywhere someone would remember him.
[1:27] - What do we hope to find?
[1:29] - I need some sleep.
[1:32] You too.
[1:34] - You don't really think I'm gonna-
[1:35] (keys jingle)
[1:40] (footsteps recede)
[1:42] - You're back to pick me up at seven?
[1:44] (door opens)
[1:48] - Yeah, absolutely.
[1:52] (intense music)
[1:59] - It's not bad.
[2:00] Helen's reactions as she
seemingly misinterprets
[2:03] Jack standing over her,
convey her confusion.
[2:06] Then she exits the room and we switch
[2:09] to the wide shot of the car
as we go to the next scene.
[2:12] But there's an even better option.
[2:14] In the theatrical version of the film.
[2:16] The editor added an extra
shot outside the hotel room,
[2:20] to give us more time to mull over
[2:21] exactly what that somewhat
flirtatious gesture
[2:24] might mean to Helen.
[2:27] - You have his credit card statement?
[2:28] - I can get it.
[2:30] Why?
[2:31] - I need the list of all
the places he hung out,
[2:33] bars, bowling alleys,
strip clubs, gun ranges,
[2:38] anywhere someone would remember him.
[2:39] - What do we hope to find?
[2:40] - I need some sleep.
[2:44] You too.
[2:46] - You don't really think I'm gonna-
[2:48] (keys jingle)
[2:51] (footsteps recede)
[2:54] - You're back to pick me up at seven?
[2:56] (door opens)
[3:00] - Yeah, absolutely.
[3:11] (intense music)
[3:19] - The range of emotions Helen is feeling,
[3:21] the amusement, embarrassment, attraction,
[3:23] is much more robust with that added shot.
[3:26] This solitary moment with
her strengthens the bond
[3:29] that the audience has with the character.
[3:32] Next you'll wanna give your audience time
[3:34] after a comedic moment.
[3:36] In this scene from Van Wilder,
Dan's antagonist Richard
[3:41] will experience some pretty
severe gastrointestinal
[3:43] distress in a rather public setting.
[3:46] In the next scene, Van is
gonna be sitting in a class,
[3:49] listening to his professor.
[3:50] Let's see how this broad
comedic moment could play out.
[3:54] - You look like you wanna
get something out son.
[3:56] (stomach rumbles)
- Ah.
[3:58] (son farts)
[3:58] (intense music)
[4:01] (violent fart)
[4:02] - Oh my God.
[4:03] (violent farts)
[4:04] - Ah.
[4:07] (violent fart)
[4:11] - Vile.
- Oh, it burns.
[4:13] - Ah.
(muffled scream)
[4:16] (loud fart)
[4:16] - I'm bleeding.
[4:18] - Dear God, that's wretched.
[4:20] (farts)
(upbeat music)
[4:21] - Oh, I kept the first for another day.
[4:25] Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
[4:27] I doubted if I should ever come back?
[4:30] - It's an outrageous gag.
[4:32] That's sure to cause
laughter and a big reaction
[4:35] in a theatrical setting.
[4:36] As a matter of fact,
[4:37] the laughter and
commotion might be so loud
[4:40] that any lines occurring
directly after the joke
[4:43] in this case, the professor's
lines will go unheard.
[4:46] So let's do what the editor
did for the theatrical version
[4:50] of the film and add several shots
[4:52] between the end of the scene with Richard
[4:54] and the start of the professor's dialogue.
[4:57] - You look like you wanna
get something out, son.
[4:59] (stomach rumbles)
- Ah.
[5:00] (son farts)
[5:01] (intense music)
[5:03] (violent fart)
[5:05] - Oh my God.
[5:06] - Ah.
[5:10] (violent farts)
[5:12] - Vile.
[5:13] - Oh, it burns.
[5:16] - Ah.
(muffled scream)
[5:18] (loud fart)
[5:19] - I'm bleeding.
[5:21] - Dear God, that's wretched.
[5:22] (farts)
(upbeat music)
[5:30] (upbeat music)
[5:46] - Oh, I kept the first of another day.
[5:49] Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
[5:51] I doubted if I should ever come back.
[5:55] - Now we've got an
extended series of shots,
[5:58] including an entirely new short scene
[6:00] with Gwen writing Van's father.
[6:03] And we've added some
shots in the classroom
[6:05] before the professor starts talking.
[6:07] Since these shots are visual only,
[6:10] in that they include no dialogue,
[6:11] we have time to get
acclimated to what's happening
[6:14] before we're bombarded
with new sonic information
[6:17] that we might miss.
[6:18] As an editor, most of the time,
[6:20] you're sitting alone in an empty room.
[6:22] So don't lose sight of the fact
[6:24] that there's gonna be many occasions
[6:26] where you'll wanna take
your audience's reaction
[6:28] into account when you cut a scene.
[6:31] Finally, you'll wanna
give your audience time
[6:33] after a frenetic action sequence,
[6:35] where high stakes or high
conflict encounters are resolved.
[6:40] In this scene from Once
Upon a Time in the West,
[6:43] we're gonna see a very
high action shootout
[6:45] between Harmonica and three bandits.
[6:47] It's gonna release the
tension that's been building
[6:50] over the first 13 minutes of the film.
[6:53] Let's see how that could play out.
[6:55] (dramatic music)
[7:05] (gunshots)
[7:09] (horse neighs)
[7:12] (thudding)
[7:15] (windmill squeaks)
[7:26] (birds chirping)
[7:31] Now there's nothing wrong
with this version of the scene
[7:33] in a narrative sense.
[7:35] The last band at collapses,
[7:36] and we cut to a closeup of a
possibly wounded Harmonica.
[7:40] But in the theatrical version,
[7:42] the editor cut in a shot of a windmill
[7:45] slowly turning before we see
Harmonica's eyes opening.
[7:50] (dramatic music)
[8:00] (gunshots)
[8:04] (horse neighs)
[8:06] (thudding)
[8:08] (windmill squeaks)
[8:16] (air swooshing)
[8:45] (birds chirping)
[8:49] The tranquil windmill shot
here gives the audience time
[8:52] to catch its breath and
absorb what's happened.
[8:55] It's very common to see shots of nature
[8:58] or similar still life shots
used for this purpose.
[9:01] The windmill shot has the bonus
of prolonging the suspense
[9:05] as to whether Harmonica has
survived the gun battle at all.
[9:09] Don't feel bound to whether or not a shot
[9:11] provides new story information.
[9:13] Sometimes a shot can just
serve the vital purpose
[9:16] of letting the audience
digest what has happened.
[9:19] When you're editing,
there can be a temptation
[9:22] to deliver information
as quickly as possible
[9:24] so that your audience won't get bored.
[9:27] (tranquil music)
[9:28] But remember there are
moments that might require
[9:30] the audience to think about something,
[9:32] laugh out loud or otherwise
process what's going on.
[9:35] Be sure to allow ample
time for the audience
[9:38] to regain composure after these moments,
[9:40] before presenting any
additional important information
[9:43] or dialogue.
[9:44] (tranquil music)
[9:48] Hey there, for tons more
free editing training,
[9:50] head over to our website at
filmeditingpro.com/freetraining.
[9:56] Here, you can download free editing guides
[9:58] along with high quality
video training courses
[10:01] created by our team of
professional Hollywood editors.
[10:04] Our tutorials cover a wide
range of editing topics
[10:07] like cutting awesome movie
trailers, editing action scenes,
[10:11] how to work with music and
sound design and a lot more.
[10:14] All of these free guides and videos
[10:16] are available at
filmeditingpro.com/freetraining.
[10:21] I'll see you next time.