Editing theory

In class we did group work to help us understand the theory of editing. We had screen shots from the movie Mad Max 2 and had to place in order. We figured this out by looking at the continuity of the frames and judging by match on action, this helped us figure out where each frame should be.
After this, we were put into two groups, one group had to shrink time and the other and to expand time.

Shrinking Time
Through a series of fast paced cuts we can see things that would take a long time in just a few minutes or seconds. Insted of watching a character get in a car and drive for 20 minutes w see tem get in an then get out, lettin us assume that the journey has taken place.

Expanding Time
The editor can expand time by adding additional details. For example, someone is sitting in a chair waiting for the phone to ring. In real time this might only last half a minute. But the editor can build up tension by including shots of the person's eyes, tapping fingers (to show impatience) etc, drawing the scene out to a minute or more. We are looking at 'film' time, not real time.

Finding Rhythm
Editing sets the rhythm or pace of a scene. This could be dictated by either the music used behind a scene or the mood that the editor trying to create and pace that you edit. To build up tension in a scene you might cut from one shot to another, very quickly. However, in a relaxed scene the editing will progress at a much slower pace, dwelling longer on each shot.

I found this useful as I can apply some of this theory to my music video for example shrinking time. I think that I will be shrinking time in my music video as my song is a bright, happy song and I have shots from day-time and then some from night time.