The standards of cinematic excellence requires that edits go largely unnoticed by viewers. However, there are always exceptions when artistic expression is involved. But understanding the rules first will help you decide when it becomes necessary to break them.
The Basic Rules
Cuts are seamless so that one shot transitions to another smoothly without causing any unnecessary attention or distraction.
Cuts happen at a logical point in the shot, which maintains continuity.
Matching the action from one shot to another also creates the illusion of one continuous motion.
The sense of screen direction must be maintained to avoid confusion in viewers.
The types of shots (wide, medium, close-up, etc.) should be varied to create a more dynamic sequence.
The pacing of shots should also vary to create moods or atmospheres.
The length of the shot is often determined by how much information it conveys. Once the information is obvious it's no longer necessary to linger on the shot.
Motivation behind the cut
Behind every edit there is a decision, which is often made intuitively based on the overall rhythm of the sequence. Sometimes editors use a 'gut feeling' to determine the appropriate time to cut, often referred to as a 'cut from the gut.' Essentially, the editor needs to learn to trust their instincts. For example, if you don't think it's necessary to perform a cut, then leave it alone. Sometimes the master shot plays fine just by itself. But when it comes to knowing when to cut there is a deliberate thought process involved. However, never cut arbitrarily. There should be a good reason for it.
When does it become necessary to cut?
To advance the story
When the shot no longer carries the action
To impart information that is clearer to the audience than in another shot
To see something different and maintain interest
To show how a person thinks or feels
To cut when the shot slows down the story or doesn't add any crucial information
The Rule of SIX
Walter Murch is one of the most respected Hollywood film editors of our time. He has the know-how of film editing in his pocket that he shares in his book “In the blink of an eye: A perspective on film editing”. There he distills the art of cutting in film down to six rules, a set of guidelines on what should motivate a cut and what makes a good one. Next to each rule, he sets a percentage of importance that allows experimentation on how the recipe is followed.
RULE NUMBER ONE: Emotion (51%)
Murch asks: how do you want the audience to feel?
Murch views Emotion as an invaluable resource. Without it, your movie is in trouble. If your work has a through line of emotion that is true to what you intended your audience to feel, then “you have done about as much as you can ever do.” (18) The key point here: the audience should always be first in an editor’s mind.
Murch is after a sort of expressionism when he explains that an emotional cut should take precedence over a cut that’s only meant to preserve the continuity of the narrative. Criterion Collection released a helpful video called “Emotional Editing”, wherein Danish writer-director Lars von Trier discusses his non-classical editing style in Breaking the Waves. Watch it here:
RULE NUMBER TWO: Story (23%)
Murch asks: does the edit move the story forward in a meaningful way?
This is essential. A story must be dynamic. There must be motion behind it; an underlying force hurdling the events forward. If the cut does not advance the narrative or make the audience feel they just put one foot forward, then that’s trouble. Emotion and Story, Murch submits, are the most important. He leaves what tangibly moves a story forward up to the editor. All he asks is the editor’s decision be “interesting” and “unique”.
RULE NUMBER THREE: Rhythm (10%)
Murch asks: is the cut at a point that makes rhythmic sense?
One can assume that the reason why the last four rules are of less priority is not because they aren’t important, but because they are implicitly (but nonetheless vitally) linked to Emotion and Story. Murch likens them to “the bonds between the protons and neutrons in the nucleus of the atom.” He states that an editor should use an emotional cut if it serves the story AND the rhythm. If the rhythm is there, the audience will become unaware (or unconcerned) of lapses in continuity or the 180-degree rule.
For those interested in learning more about Rhythms, watch Dr. Karen Pearlman discuss Rhythms from her book Cutting Rhythms: Shaping the Film Edit.
RULE NUMBER FOUR: Eye Trace (7%)
Murch asks: how does the cut affect the location and movement of the audience's focus in the frame?
A cut must not disorient the viewer, to the extent that their eyes cannot comprehend the action. Action movies tend to be the main offenders of this rule, mainly because they must account for so much hyper-kinetic movement to keep up with the pace of the events. Writers will often resort to a cliché like “MTV Style” editing to describe a movie, TV show, or music video that fails to maintain this fourth rule. If an editor employs Eye Trace, this will likely minimize issues with the last two rules, which are...
RULE NUMBER FIVE: Two Dimensional Plane of Screen (5%)
Murch asks: is the axis followed properly?
If not, don’t fret. Remember: Yasujiro Ozu’s visual style made its name off breaking the axis. That said, a filmmaker/editor should learn the rules first before breaking them, or “crossing the line”. First, one must respect, what Murch calls, “planarity”: the grammar of three dimensions transposed by photography to two. (18) Here is a thoughtful video on The 180 Degree Rule and how it is applied in the films of Ozu.
RULE NUMBER SIX: Three Dimensional Space (4%)
Murch asks: is the cut true to established physical and spacial relationships?
Up until the 1960s, these last two rules would have been sacrosanct in Hollywood. The reason being that classical style, the leading editing style of the golden age, depended on clean continuity and clarity of space. Rule Five and Six are to be followed if the editor intends to craft a movie or TV show that truly falls under invisible art. The editor is to maintain a certain fidelity to the mise-en-scène – where sets, props, actors etc. are located. Once established, the space should not change. But there are many exceptions to this rule, thus is why Murch puts this rule at the bottom of the list.
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