To us humans, we see one shot that is followed by another; it is within our nature to relate the shots and the events happening within in either time, space, or both. This is where Editing Theory happens. But in order to understand its theory, you need to be known of the major hallmarks of editing's history. The first years of film, editing wasn’t used as it is today. When film first came about, people mostly used films to make short films. For example, ‘a ship is pulling into the harbour or a train passing by’. These films didn’t have much of a story. However, it wasn’t long before films made by the Lumiere Brothers, and the Edison Company, contained a plot. These filmmakers would set up a camera, and plainly have a short story take place in front of the lens. They didn’t move the camera at all, or take shots from different angles. The idea of editing was out the picture as well.
THE PURPOSE OF EDITING
At the most major level, editing form determines meaning in a film in the same way that the rhyme form helps determine meaning in a poem. In most Hollywood films, editing helps determine at least four dimensions of film narrative: in what order you receive information about the plot, how much information you are supposed to receive about the story, how you are supposed to feel about events and characters at any given time, and how you are supposed to experience the pace of the story. In total, as the idea of montage suggests, editing can serve a brain function, often making visual, political, or idea assertions about the activities you are seeing, as well as emotional appeals. This latter activity tends to belong more to the world of advanced and experimental films.
An example of clips ,showing the purpose of combining these clips together
HOW EDITING HAS CHANGED OVER TIME
Before the widespread use of non-linear editing systems, editing of all films was done with a positive copy of the film, it’s called a film work print. Were it was developed in the 1890s by France Britain and USA.
They did this by physically cutting and pasting together pieces of film, they did this on a machine with a viewer called a Moviola or Steenbeck rollers. Today most films are edited digitally and avoid the film positive work print altogether. In the past, the use of a film positive film allowed the editor to do as much experimenting as the filmer wished, without the risk of damaging the original. And this was the process they went through at that period.
example of film done in work print.
