Few tips from my sessions @SAE - www.sae.edu

1. THE ART OF VIDEO EDITING
THEORY & PRACTICE

2. STORIES HAVE BEEN SHARED THROUGHOUT
CENTURIES:
ORAL (TALKED, SOUND EFFECTS)
VISUAL (DRAWING AND SYMBOL REPRESENTATIONS)
WRITTEN (BOOKS AND TEXTS)
PERFORMED (THEATER PLAY)
and FILM (MODERN WITH ALL OF THE ABOVE)

3. A GOOD EDITOR SHOULD KNOW HOW TO TELL A
STORY WITH A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF:
THE EDITING TOOLS
FILM GRAMMAR
TIMING AND PACING OF THE ELEMENTS
THE RULES OF THE EDITING

4. A FILM'S VISION IS A CONTRIBUTION OF:
WRITER
PRODUCER
DIRECTOR
CINEMATOGRAPHER
EDITOR

5. CAMERA MOVEMENTS
PAN SHOT…………………….SIDE TO SIDE FROM A FIXED CAMERA POINT
TILT SHOT…………………….UP AND DOWN FROM A FIXED CAMERA POINT
DOLLY OR TRACKING SHOT…………….CAMERA FOLLOWING THE SUBJECT
TRUCK SHOT……….…SIDE TO SIDE WITH A PARALLEL CAMERA MOVEMENT
PEDESTAL SHOT…….UP AND DOWN WITH A PARALLEL CAMERA MOVEMENT
CRANE SHOT….FROM LOW TO HIGH POSITIONS REVEALING MORE DETAILS

6. CAMERA SHOTS
LONG SHOT (LS)
MEDIUM SHOT (MS)
MEDIUM CLOSE UP SHOT (MCU)
CLOSE UP SHOT (CU)
EXTREME CLOSE UP SHOT (ECU)
OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT (OTS)
TWO SHOT

7. LENS MOVEMENTS
ZOOM IN AND OUT
RACK FOCUS (OR FOCUS SHIFT) FROM ONE SUBJECT TO ANOTHER IN
THE SAME SHOT

8. CONTINUITY EDITING RULES
IN CONTINUITY EDITING (RECONSTRUCTING REALITY FROM DIFFERENT SHOTS
KEEPING THE EDITING INVISIBLE), THERE ARE SOME RULES TO FOLLOW:
⦁ THE MISE-EN-SCENE: (PUT-ON-STAGE) [STAGE=FRAME]: THE CONTENT
OF ONE SHOT SHOULD MATCH THE OTHER EVEN IF BOTH WERE SHOT ON
DIFFERENT DAYS. (RESPECTING SAME CLOTHES, POSITION OF SUBJECT, SAME
LIGHTING, SAME BACKGROUND, SAME PROPS, SAME PERFORMANCE, SAME
VOICE RANGE...etc.)
⦁ THE 180 DEGREE RULE: RESPECTING THE AXIS OF ACTION - BE AWARE
OF HOW OBJECTS ARE ORIENTED IN THE FRAME FROM SHOT TO SHOT (ALL
CAMERAS MUST STAY ON ONE SIDE OF THE AXIS OF ACTION WHEN SHOOTING A
SUBJECT)

9. CONTINUITY EDITING RULES
⦁ THE 20 mm/30 degree RULE: TO CUT FROM ONE SHOT TO ANOTHER, THE
FOCAL LENGTH SHOULD BE AT LEAST 20 mm OR THE ANGLE SHOULD SHIFT BY AT
LEAST 30 DEGREES (FROM ONE SHOT TO ANOTHER; OBJECTS SHOULD BE
DIFFERENT ENOUGH IN SIZE OR IN ANGLE WHEN MAKING A CUT) [IF YOU HAVE 2
NEARLY-SIMILAR SHOTS, JUST INSERT A DIFFERENT SHOT BETWEEN THEM]
⦁ CUTTING-ON-ACTION: IT IS RESPECTING THE FLOW AND THE TIMING OF
THE ACTION FROM ONE SHOT TO ANOTHER (A SUBJECT WHO BEGINS AN ACTION
ON ONE SHOT, CONTINUES OR FINISHES DOING THE ACTION IN THE NEXT SHOT).

10. COMPLEXITY EDITING METHODS
⦁ MONTAGE: DIFFERENT SHOTS; ONE AFTER THE OTHER,
CREATING ALL TOGETHER A NEW MEANING.
⦁ JUMP-CUTS: THE CUTS THAT DELIBERATELY DEFY THE 20MM OR
THE 30 DEGREE RULE AND THE CUTTING-ON-ACTION CONTINUITY FOR
CREATIVITY PURPOSES (E.G. JUMP-CUTS GIVE US A SENSE OF TIME
PASSING BY QUICKLY - EG. REPETITIONS OF ONE ACTION TO MASTER A
SKILL, OR SOMEONE WAITING A LONG TIME WHILE CHANGING
POSTURES)

11. SERGEI EISENSTEIN AND HIS MONTAGE
METHODS
METRIC: EACH SHOT HAS THE SAME LENGTH NO MATTER WHAT THE SUBJECT IS
RHYTHMIC: THE ENERGY OF THE SHOT DETERMINES WHEN TO CUT
TONAL: A FOCUS ON THE EMOTIONAL MEANING OF EACH SHOT
OVERTONAL: COMBINATION OF METRIC, RHYTHMIC, AND TONAL MONTAGE
INTELLECTUAL MONTAGE: SHOT COLLISION - WHERE YOU UNDERSTAND A
DIFFERENT MEANING WHEN THE SHOTS ARE JUXTAPOSED (SORT OF
SYMBOLISM - THE OBJECTS SYMBOLIZE DIFFERENT THINGS)

12. STRUCTURES
STANDARD STORYLINE IN SERIES:
BEGINNING - EXPOSITION - CLIMAX - ENDING
● AVANTGARDE LINE IN SERIES:
CODA (END) - BEGINNING - EXPOSITION - CLIMAX - END
OR
END CLUE 1 - BEGINNING - END CLUE 2 - EXPOSITION - CLIMAX - END
...MANY POSSIBILITIES!
PARALLEL EDITING:
SCENE1 - SCENE2 - SCENE1 - SCENE2 - SCENE2 - END1 - END2

13. TRANSITIONS (SHOTS AND SCENES)
LEITMOTIF
PARALLELISM
SYMBOLISM
SWISH PAN
SIMULTANEITY
MATCH
TIME PACE MONTAGE
CONTRAST