The article detailed on this page can be located at the link below for students of the University of Illinois.
Abstract[]
LoBrutto uses examples from the films “All That Jazz” and “Spartacus” to explain the difference between “Invisible” and “Visible” editing. He discusses the difference between these two styles of editing, as well as how these styles can be achieved through different kinds of cuts.
Key Concepts[]
The main focus of this article is analyzing how two distinct styles of film can be created through editing. In one style, the editor’s work is apparent, “visible” editing, whereas in the other style the editor meshes the cuts so seamlessly that their work becomes “invisible.”
Invisible Editing:[]
“Invisible editing can be accomplished in numerous ways utilizing match-cut principles, variations of which have been used in countless films.” The article uses example from “The Jazz Singer” to highlight how by seamlessly meshing the cuts, using the technique of match-cuts, creates a sense of continuity for the audience. The action flows together so that audiences aren’t aware of the editing occurring. This is accomplished through match-cut editing, which occurs when actions flow together. By blending some element of the previous shot with the next, either through sound or visuals, the sense of continuity is carried over, despite the action now taking place in a new scene. When conducted visually usually an action, motion, or scene is carried over to the next. As an example, a scene of a pipe dripping water might cut to a scene of coffee dripping into a cup. The action of liquid dripping is carried over, even if the liquid and location of that liquid is not.
Visible Editing:[]
“Visible editing is simply a cut of which the audience is aware. It makes itself known. It is like being woken up from a deep sleep by a crash or a loud yell.” As LoBrutto describes it through his analysis of Stanley Kubrick’s “Spartacus,” visible editing is achieved most often when jump cuts are used. A jump cut is the kind of cut that occurs in the middle of an action. Generally in film, actions are carried through until they are completed and then the editor switches to the next shot. However, when jump cuts are used, the usual flow of action and continuity is disrupted, creating a sense of unease and panic in the viewer. As an example, a jump cut might occur when someone goes to take a bite into a doughnut, and the action abruptly cuts to a beach. The actions don’t follow and don’t make sense in that order.
Examples[]
Royal Tenenbaums - Example of Jump Cut-0
An example of jump cuts, found in the more modern Wes Anderson's "The Royal Tenenbaums." WARNING: There are displays of blood and depictions of self harm in this clip, viewer discretion is advised.
Breathless - Jump Cuts
Another example of jump cuts, this clip far more tame the previous. This clip originates from Jean-Luc Godard's "Breathless," the original creator of jump cuts.
Breaking Bad - Match Cuts-1431487078
Some examples of match cuts found in the popular television series, "Breaking Bad."
Further Readings[]
“The new jump cut.”[]
Authors: David Ansen and Ray Sawhill.
Abstract: Looks at the advent of digital film editing on computers. How it has been waging a quiet revolution in the world of Hollywood filmmaking since 1992; How it has transformed the way movies are assembled, and broadened the definition of film editing; The two digital systems, Avid and Lightworks; The blurring of editing, cinematography, and production design; Prediction that digital images will begin to match the subtlety and richness of film by the year 2006.
“Perceiving Movement Across Film Edits: A Psychocinematic Analysis.”[]
Authors: Arthur P Shimamura, Brendan Cohn-Sheehy, and Thomas Shimamura,
Abstract: Film editors have developed techniques that create seamless, virtually invisible, shot transitions. One technique is the match-action edit in which a cut occurs in the middle of an action. We assessed the way smooth movement is perceived across such edits. Participants viewed an action (e.g., woman drinking a mug) that included an edit that either ran in real time (straight cut), jumped ahead in time, or overlapped the action. When asked to select the clip with the smoothest movement, participants chose clips that contained a brief overlap in action (~125 ms). When a pattern mask was inserted between shots, the overlap bias persisted and even occurred when the same camera angle was used across the edit. These findings suggest that film edits disrupt cognitive processing such that viewers act as if they are momentarily "blind" and must be shown a repetition of the action to perceive smooth movements.
The Potency of Film Editing: Rose Hobart Stop Return.[]
Author: Janet Harbord
Abstract: The article focuses on the use of editing as a stage in film production. Topics discussed include the editing process used Esfir Shub, director of film company Goskino, in the 1925 film "Strike!" in collaboration with firm editor Sergei Eisenstein, the editing of the film "Rose Hobart" by artist Joseph Cornell which has been exhibited at an art gallery in New York in 1936, and the role of editing in people's engagement with audio-visual culture.
Jason Wishnow and Kari Mulholland: How we shoot and edit TEDTalks[]
Summary: This TEDTalks discusses how TEDTalks are filmed and edited to create cohesion for the audience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf_Lm5IEmb4
TEDxParkerSchool- Casey Neistat - Embracing Your Limitations and Making Movies[]
Summary: This TEDTalks discusses how filmmakers can create their films on a low budget, and find an audience for those films.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs2JAyEdmXA
Relevant Key Words[]
Citations[]
Ansen, David, and Ray Sawhill. "The New Jump Cut." Newsweek 128.10 (1996): 64. Academic
Search Complete.
Harbord, Janet. "The Potency Of Film Editing: Rose Hobart Stop Return." Contemporary
Theatre Review 25.1 (2015): 68-72. Academic Search Complete. Web.
"Jason Wishnow and Kari Mulholland: How We Shoot and Edit TEDTalksâ¬." YouTube.
YouTube, 13 Oct. 2011. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf_Lm5IEmb4>.
LoBrutto, Vincent. "Invisible" or "Visible" Editing: The Development of Editorial Styles and
Strategies Cinéaste, Vol. 34, No. 2 (SPRING 2009), pp. 43-47 Cineaste Publishers, Inc. Web.
Shimamura, Arthur P., Brendan I. Cohn-Sheehy, and Thomas A. Shimamura. "Perceiving
Movement Across Film Edits: A Psychocinematic Analysis." Psychology Of Aesthetics, Creativity & The Arts 8.1 (2014): 77-80. Academic Search Complete. Web.
"TEDxParkerSchool - Casey Neistat - Embracing Your Limitations and Making Movies."
YouTube. YouTube, 21 June 2012. Web. 12 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs2JAyEdmXA>.
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