6 Ways to Edit Any Scene — Essential Film & Video Editing Techniques Explained [Shot List Ep. 10]

[00:00] [Music]

[00:01] films are made up of sequences sequences

[00:04] are made up of scenes

[00:06] and scenes are made up of shots

[00:09] in previous episodes we covered camera

[00:12] lenses frame rates

[00:14] discombobulate

[00:17] and scene transitions

[00:20] [Music]

[00:21] today we're going to look at another

[00:23] angle of editing by examining different

[00:25] ways we can cut within the scene

[00:33] this is episode 10

[00:35] of the shot list

[00:39] editing techniques

[00:44] almost all of an editor's work comes

[00:46] down to three choices what to show

[00:49] when to cut

[00:50] and what to cut to

[00:53] what the

[00:54] the cut itself is the most basic way to

[00:56] move from shot to shot

[00:59] and when an editor cuts away from the

[01:01] main action it's referred to as a

[01:04] cutaway

[01:14] [Music]

[01:24] give

[01:32] famed editor walter merch laid out his

[01:34] rule of six

[01:36] a list to prioritize criteria when

[01:38] deciding on each cut how we pace a scene

[01:41] can affect emotion style and tone

[01:45] is your scene mournful and contemplative

[01:48] hold on shots for longer hello darkness

[01:50] my old friend

[01:53] i've come to talk with you again

[01:59] is your scene filled with frantic action

[02:01] rapid cutting might be an order

[02:13] deciding what to cut to is equally

[02:16] important an editor might use a cutaway

[02:18] to indicate what's on a character's mind

[02:27] [Music]

[02:30] or cut to what a character is looking at

[02:34] no matter the reason every edit should

[02:36] be thoughtful and purposeful

[02:39] for a detailed explanation on the rule

[02:41] of six you'll find a link to our blog in

[02:44] the description

[02:46] this brings us to our first editing

[02:48] fundamental

[02:50] eyeline

[02:52] an eyeline match is when an editor cuts

[02:55] to the object of a character's attention

[03:00] [Music]

[03:01] if a character notices something we cut

[03:04] to what they see the second shot is

[03:06] often a literal pov shot or from that

[03:09] character's general perspective

[03:18] this is such common practice that we can

[03:20] build intrigue by either waiting to

[03:22] reveal what they see

[03:33] fran doyle back to the ranger now

[03:36] or by not showing it at all

[03:39] we happy

[03:41] vincent

[03:44] we happy yeah we happy

[03:50] either way it's the characters eyes that

[03:53] motivate the cut

[03:55] consider this moment from 300. choose

[03:58] your next words carefully leonidas

[04:01] they may be your last as king

[04:04] as king leonidas debates whether to

[04:06] submit to xerxes control watch how his

[04:09] eyes guide the edit

[04:12] with each glance we cut to his land

[04:16] his citizens

[04:22] his wife

[04:24] and in this process we are invited to

[04:26] think like leonidas

[04:28] will he sacrifices people's freedom or

[04:31] not

[04:33] a common form of the isline match is the

[04:35] shot reverse shot when we cut between a

[04:38] shot of subject a and a shot of subject

[04:40] b in a reverse angle that is often a

[04:42] similar angle and composition

[04:45] the most common use of this can be found

[04:48] in conversation scenes to maintain scene

[04:50] geography and clarity

[04:54] inserts are also often prompted by

[04:56] eyeline matches an insert is a shot of a

[04:59] detail within a scene

[05:01] usually in order to emphasize a specific

[05:04] prop or element

[05:07] in tenet the protagonist looks off

[05:09] camera and we cut to this insert an

[05:12] example of simple and direct visual

[05:14] language

[05:17] the eyeline match is a great way to

[05:19] connect the dots between what the

[05:21] character sees

[05:22] thinks or feels

[05:25] impressive

[05:26] very nice

[05:28] it can also create and release tension

[05:31] depending on what we see and when we see

[05:33] it

[05:34] [Music]

[05:40] [Music]

[05:46] george

[05:48] george

[05:51] hi george

[05:54] what's going on

[05:55] instead of cutting between two objects

[05:57] in the same scene our next technique

[05:59] cuts between separate scenes

[06:02] cross cutting

[06:05] cross-cutting is when an editor cuts

[06:07] between two or more scenes happening in

[06:09] different locations usually at the same

[06:11] time

[06:12] the baptism sequence from the godfather

[06:15] alternates between michael renouncing

[06:17] evil

[06:19] michael francis ritzy do you renounce

[06:22] satan

[06:24] and his men following michael's orders

[06:26] to execute his rivals

[06:31] by crosscutting these scenes it creates

[06:33] an ironic juxtaposition that elevates

[06:36] the entire sequence

[06:40] in all his works

[06:44] [Music]

[06:53] [Applause]

[06:55] i do announce them

[06:57] but cross-cutting can also be an

[06:59] effective way to combine multi-layered

[07:01] action as well

[07:03] in rogue one the last third of the

[07:05] entire film is a massive sequence

[07:07] comprised of three distinct battlefronts

[07:11] the combat on the beach

[07:15] the dogfight in space

[07:22] and the covert operation to steal the

[07:25] death star plans

[07:27] [Music]

[07:30] in fact each of these fronts split into

[07:33] additional subplots

[07:35] but by alternating between these scenes

[07:38] the crosscutting helps keep the plot and

[07:40] action constantly moving forward

[07:43] and the audience invested in each

[07:45] group's progress

[07:48] crosscutting can create parallels

[07:50] between separate scenes that wouldn't be

[07:52] there otherwise and weave multiple

[07:54] planes of action in one

[07:58] now let's look at a technique which is

[08:00] designed to keep the audience's

[08:01] attention fixed to a specific part of

[08:04] the frame

[08:06] itrace

[08:09] itrace is when an editor cuts between

[08:11] two or more shots that focus on the same

[08:14] area of the frame

[08:21] this allows the viewer's eyes and

[08:23] attention to stay focused without having

[08:25] to scan the frame after each cut

[08:28] welcome school

[08:31] [Music]

[08:35] itrace can also be used through blocking

[08:37] and camera movement

[08:39] guiding a viewer's eye within a shot

[08:43] [Applause]

[08:55] but let's look at how editors can

[08:57] achieve a similar effect

[09:00] itrace is ideal for action scenes which

[09:02] tend to move quickly

[09:07] mad max fury road makes heavy use of

[09:10] this technique here's dp john seal

[09:13] explaining this decision

[09:16] compositionally

[09:17] whatever was the center point of that

[09:20] shot had to be in the center of frame

[09:27] in the faster cutting that he's got your

[09:29] eye won't have to shift on an anamorphic

[09:32] frame to find the next subject when

[09:35] you've only got

[09:36] 1.8 seconds of time to do that

[09:43] all we would hear all the time on the

[09:45] comms was george saying put the

[09:47] crosshairs on her nose put the cross

[09:49] hairs on her nose

[09:51] and that is basically the whole film

[09:55] some shots in the film are less than a

[09:57] second long

[09:59] using eye trace the composition and

[10:01] editing of these scenes helps the viewer

[10:03] process even the most chaotic action

[10:14] our next type of cut also helps smooth

[10:16] over a transition

[10:18] split edits

[10:20] while a hard cut changes both audio and

[10:23] video at the same time

[10:28] [Music]

[10:36] a split edit changes either the sound or

[10:38] image before the other this is either a

[10:41] j cut

[10:42] or an l cut

[10:44] they get their names from what they look

[10:46] like in an editing timeline

[10:48] a j-cut is when audio from a shot begins

[10:51] to play before we see it

[10:54] excuse me

[10:55] is that your car in the lot yeah

[10:58] that's a nice ride thanks man connie's

[11:00] off hey jordan belfort nice to meet you

[11:04] for an l cut the audio from a shot plays

[11:06] after we've already cut away

[11:09] happy birthday

[11:11] hey bonnie we'll get you back to your

[11:13] daddy in a day or two don't be sad oh

[11:16] that's good you're not sad are you happy

[11:21] paw

[11:23] paw

[11:26] no paw that's okay too

[11:31] the technique is often used during

[11:33] dialogue scenes

[11:34] allowing editors to create a more

[11:36] natural conversation control the rhythm

[11:39] of dialogue as well as catching reaction

[11:41] shots of someone listening

[11:43] you know what animal jokes well i only

[11:45] got the chance to say one because we

[11:47] only did one show

[11:49] tell me

[11:50] it's corny

[11:52] don't be that way tell me

[11:54] no you wouldn't like it and i'd be

[11:56] embarrassed

[11:57] you've been you told like 50 million

[11:59] people

[12:00] and you can't tell me

[12:02] i promise i won't laugh

[12:05] but there are more creative ways to use

[12:08] a j or l cut for example when characters

[12:11] outline a plan like in mission

[12:13] impossible rogue nation

[12:15] so why hasn't lane just sent someone to

[12:17] steal it

[12:19] oh he has

[12:21] he sent

[12:22] me and i can tell you

[12:26] it's impossible

[12:29] to reach the terminal you'll need to

[12:30] pass the main gate

[12:32] we use an l cut to show the security

[12:34] measures they mention

[12:37] and open three separate combination

[12:38] locks

[12:45] well that's easy we just impersonate the

[12:47] agent who stole the ledger in the first

[12:48] place i get to wear a mask

[12:50] this makes their plan more clear to the

[12:52] audience

[12:53] especially when it eventually goes wrong

[13:02] okay i don't get to wear a mask seeing

[13:04] the plan in action is more visually

[13:06] interesting than simply hearing it and

[13:08] additional j and l cuts within their

[13:10] dialogue ensures the sequence moves

[13:13] swiftly

[13:15] but what if we want to make a cut more

[13:17] noticeable not less intellectual montage

[13:22] [Music]

[13:23] intellectual montage puts seemingly

[13:26] unrelated images together in order to

[13:28] create a certain feeling or idea

[13:37] this type of montage makes use of the

[13:39] kuleshov effect which refers to creating

[13:41] meaning out of a cinematic juxtaposition

[13:45] we take this man's expression to mean

[13:47] different things based on the image

[13:49] intercut with him

[13:56] in this scene from lucy as her boyfriend

[13:59] tries to convince her to deliver a

[14:00] briefcase i can't deliver the case

[14:02] myself i had a little falling out with

[14:04] the guy it's nothing major but if it's

[14:06] you problem solve

[14:08] we get this shot

[14:10] look you can even see the reception from

[14:11] here

[14:13] two separate scenes combine to create a

[14:16] single idea she is walking into a trap

[14:19] i'm here for uh

[14:22] mr jane as the scene plays out we get

[14:25] another series of juxtaposing imagery

[14:30] is being stalked

[14:32] unaware of just how much danger she is

[14:35] in

[14:36] in don't look up intellectual montage is

[14:39] used to emphasize the global scale of an

[14:42] impending disaster a comet is going to

[14:45] wipe out life on earth

[14:49] [Music]

[14:50] we're all 100 for sure gonna die

[14:55] but randall and kate's warning is

[14:56] falling on deaf ears then we get this

[14:59] series of shots

[15:01] [Music]

[15:05] [Applause]

[15:07] you're gonna die you're gonna die

[15:13] isolated these shots would have a

[15:15] neutral connotation

[15:17] but placed in this context we are asked

[15:19] to make the connections ourselves

[15:22] from massive cityscapes to microscopic

[15:24] organisms

[15:25] everything will be affected by the

[15:26] impending disaster

[15:29] by using intellectual montage director

[15:31] adam mckay is able to visually reiterate

[15:34] larger themes in the film

[15:40] this experimental technique is a great

[15:43] way to evoke emotion and meaning out of

[15:46] shots that individually wouldn't have

[15:48] them

[15:49] moving on to our final technique

[15:51] cut on action

[15:54] [Music]

[15:58] cutting on action refers to cutting

[16:01] during a character or object's movement

[16:08] when the out point of shot a corresponds

[16:10] directly to the in point of shot b

[16:13] it creates a more seamless transition

[16:15] [Music]

[16:21] this technique can be used for simple

[16:22] actions like taking a drink

[16:26] or shaking hands

[16:29] most editors working in any genre will

[16:32] use cutting on action to create smoother

[16:34] cuts that feel more natural to the

[16:36] audience

[16:38] and it is often found in fight scenes

[16:40] because it lends itself to fast-paced

[16:42] rhythm and quick movement

[16:48] like the fight between neo and morpheus

[16:50] in the matrix resurrections

[17:04] a very common cut on action in fight

[17:06] sequences is to cut on impact this gives

[17:08] each punch and kick extra force

[17:11] notice how the cuts in this fight are

[17:14] placed in the middle of one character's

[17:16] move

[17:31] punching in from a wide to a dramatic

[17:34] close-up

[17:37] by cutting on action throughout this

[17:39] scene director lana wachowski is able to

[17:42] keep up the pace

[17:45] strengthen the stunts and create a more

[17:47] epic feeling to the fight

[17:53] [Music]

[17:56] so

[17:57] these are the six essential ways editors

[17:59] use the cut

[18:01] but we haven't covered everything

[18:03] there are also freeze frames

[18:07] invisible cuts

[18:13] subliminal frames

[18:16] [Music]

[18:17] double cuts

[18:18] [Music]

[18:20] and check the description for our video

[18:22] dedicated to jump cuts

[18:24] be sure to tell us any techniques we

[18:26] haven't mentioned in the comments

[18:29] hit subscribe and click the bell to stay

[18:31] up to date on all our filmmaking videos

[18:35] until next time get chopping

[18:38] [Applause]

[18:42] [Music]

[18:43] [Applause]

[18:45] [Music]

[18:47] you