The element of Storytelling is a fundamental element in film making and editing, it is the overriding part of the whole production which makes it the thing which needs the most attention. Editing is said to be another way of storytelling a film, as you can change the narrative and play with the sequence as you wish however I would deem this element the most important simply because it enables us to be able to fully understand the subject, in terms of the film and production from beginning to end, the audience is able to familiarise themselves for the characters.
The example which can be given in terms of Storytelling can be shown through the children's film 'Horrid Henry the Movie' which was previously a children's television series is based on a young boy called Henry, otherwise known as 'horrid henry' who gets into mischief and ends up having to save his school from being closed down so the film follows this journey. There are many times in the film where there is a use of direct address and Henry is talking to the audience, however I am going to be explaining using one example why it is an effective editing technique and the audience's benefit especially in terms of Storytelling.
It is vital to note that the fact that the movie does not follow the sequence of the usual Horrid Henry whereby different stories and told within each episode, it alternatively takes the journey of Henry to save his school and follows one simple sequence making it much less confusing in terms the audience's understand and much more engaging as the audience is able to fully understand Henry's story rather than thrown off by a mixture of stories therefore aiding its purpose of video.
Firstly, when a character talks directly to the camera, this is rarely seen in films, perhaps more often in documentaries but not as much in films. This is because the whole purpose of a film is that it is not supposed to be interactive in that sense, and the characters are supposed to act in the story, not verbally tell it to us. Therefore, when using it, it has to be done pretty well for it to be effective, this example is good for direct address because of the films target audience and the characters and especially where considering the Target audience which are most Children, the use of direct address and interactivity further benefits the film as a whole as it builds a connection between both the subject and the audience as they are much more prone to feeling included. Aforementioned, This is a perfect example of storytelling because it changes the normal way(conventions) of a film putting across a story to its audience, where in this case we have the normal way with characters acting and not looking into the camera mixed with the direct address which occurs often throughout this way the audience are kept engaged.
Engaging the Viewer:
Engaging the Viewer is a way of making your film stand out and gain viewers, it is important to engage your audience as much as possible to make sure that you don't lose their interest or attention especially where they are in contact with the film. One way you could engage your viewer is by the visuals which are shown within the Film which can be shown through various aspects for example, Montages or the Manipulation of Space and Time. The example given in the Karate kid shows that it takes him to learn how to train to learn Karate however through the use of manipulation of time, it is speed up to basically 15 minutes when in essence we know that it probably took days or weeks, this way more scenes are added to show snippets day by day of the training rather than making the footage drag. This is also 'montage'.
Similarly, In the film The Matrix, The scene shows the Helipad Fight scene is a prime example of the manipulation of diegetic space and time in the scene. The effect of this is once again it enables the audience to understand the depth of the fight. I believe its more effective for a bullet to hit a victim in a slow motion as this shows the impact of the bullet hitting the person and also enables us to understand the extent of the injury where as the physicality of this scene such as the physical fights were more speed up in order to keep up with and creates an adrenaline rush which just keeps us as the audience wanting more and more actions as we are visually connected.
Development Of Drama:
The concept of Development of drama in a film with editing is significant when showing for instance bad and good (conflict). Levi-Strauss, came up with the theory of 'Binary opposites' which means that every film needs a good and bad character in order for the audience to stay engaged. This means that the purpose of editing to develop drama is done to engage an audience through for instance having two opposite characters often showing the battle between Good and Bad/Good and Evil.
faster and faster as the climax is built especially where there is a battle between good and evil is shown through the Light Sabers where the Good Character role fights with a Light Saber and the Evil fights with a Red Light Saber. Many techniques are used in this scene, such as a point of view shot where it is corresponding with what the other character on the way in which the battle between both is shown which helps build up the atmosphere and more importantly, allows the audience to feel as though they're in the room too and experiencing everything as the camera is acting as their eyes.
Relationship to Genre:
A genre is a category which the film is placed in according to the narrative/characters or generally what the film makes us feel/ think etc. For instance a horror genre in a film would make us feel frightened and is made to cause fear. The purpose of relating the genre to the film, can me done easily with editing. By this I mean, for example, if the film was an action film then we would expect the editing to be at pace , because there is a lot happening in an action sequence that holding still on one shot will take that sense of urge, this is why quick editing cuts in action movies get us as an audience excited but this also works in accordance with the way our brain works as these days our brain processes information much faster.
Editing, as it has developed has changed the way in which it tells the story of the film, the clip below shows how a horror film is editing to relate to the genre.
Editing, as it has developed has changed the way in which it tells the story of the film, the clip below shows how a horror film is editing to relate to the genre.
The Film 'Marley and Me' follows quite a slow pace of editing as well as the use of the music which is chosen simply due to its Genre which requires it to be slow due to the fact that it's quite a Heart felt film in a Emotional Category which therefore means that the relationship of the characters, what we are made to feel and what we are made to think all revolves about so.
Creating Motivation:
Creating motivation can be done very effectively and successfully using many editing styles. Not only this but also lighting and sound is a key to create any specific emotion from your audience, this is good when trying to motivate them into doing something.
The best example which best displays this seen in the film 'The Pursuit of Happiness'' where Will Smith is talking to his son (character not real life). The scene convey's the conversation between Will Smith and His Son(Jaden Smith) where he is down to give A motivational Pep talk to his son in the Scene of the movie which is shown here;
There are many ways in which the Creation of Motivation can occur and here it most specifically is shown through the variation of Angles which is shown for instance, whilst he(Jaden Smith) talks with his father and the camera is seen at the same level as the Will Smith. Through these high and low angle shots an eye-line match is created to show two things; the first being authority, this means that the camera is at a high angle to show the vulnerability of the child and how he has many years to come for which he needs the support and motivation from his father.
The low angle makes the father character look superior to the child where it an This editing technique is useful when trying to represent the character, in this instance the father character is represented as an aspiration person for the child because of this we feel motivated as well and we also see through the use of the Angles we are able to see that the character, son often looks up to Will Smith the same way which we are shown to.
Combination of Shots:
This technique is similar to shot variation in the sense that many shots are put into a sequence and together make up the scene. An example which was best given to me is a scene from the film, 'The Good, The Bad & The Ugly' which is infamous for the way it combines shots and angles in which in order to help us understand each character.
Creating Pace:
Creating pace through editing can sometimes be a challenge, but for some of the world's most successful films, this challenge seems to be overcome quite easily. The film 'Fast And Furious' shows this editing purpose being used effectively.
No comments:
Post a Comment