-- Real world actions for
students after completion of the lesson
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 Steps
Introductory Activity:
(One 50-minute class period)
Note to teacher: You may want to use the following Web site, which
contains terms related to editing, as a resource throughout this lesson:
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Tell students that in this lesson they are going to
be focusing on film editing, specifically why it’s done and some
of the techniques film editors use.
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Tell students that an edit is what joins two shots together.
Tell students that you are going to show them a clip from a film that
contains a few edits. Ask students to look for where one shot ends
and the next begins. Play the clip from CITIZEN KANE, starting with
the man reading at the long table (clip starts roughly 18 minutes
into the film). Stop the clip after the woman says she’ll sign
the papers (the clip is roughly one minute in length).
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Ask students if they saw the edits (or changes from
one shot to another). Tell them you are going to play the clip again
and that you want them to say “edit” when they see an edit.
Play the clip. The edits are as follows: Man at table <EDIT>
“Charles Foster Kane” text <EDIT> “First encountered…”
text <EDIT> Boy slides down snow bank, throws snowball <EDIT>
Snowball hits sign <EDIT> Boy throws another snowball, woman
watches from window (stop clip). You may need to rewind the clip a
few times to make sure students are seeing the edits.
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Tell students you will now play the clip again and that
you want them to count the edits as they see them. Play the clip again,
starting with the man at the table. Stop the clip on the shot of the
snow-covered sled (roughly 2.5 minutes). Ask how many edits were made
in the clip? The count should be eight.
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Show the clip again and ask students to write down one
of the edits in the clip, i.e., describe a shot and the shot that
immediately followed. After showing the clip, ask students to share
their edit descriptions. Ask why they think the editor moved from
the first shot to the second. What did the edit communicate to the
audience, e.g., a change of place, passage of time, a different point
of view, etc.? For example, a director might first show a shot of
the outside of a house, then the inside, so viewers will know where
they are when they go inside. A director might film one person’s
face as they talk, then move to another’s face to show their
reaction. List student responses on the board.
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Using the list the students have just created, ask
them to describe what they think the purpose of film editing is and
what the role of a film editor is on a film project.
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Tell students that now they’ve thought about the
purpose of film editing and the role of a film editor, they’re
going to learn about some of the techniques film editors use.
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Learning Activities:
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Activity One:
Part One:
(One 50-minute class period)
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Tell students that there are two basic
styles of film editing. Write the phrases “continuity editing”
and “montage (discontinuity) editing” on the board.
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Tell students that you are going to show
them two clips. One is an example of continuity editing, and one is
an example of montage (discontinuity) editing. As students watch these
clips, ask them to keep the following questions in mind: How is the
passage of time portrayed? How do the edits convey change of place?
Do the edits reveal different views? How different?
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Play the short continuity editing clip
from CITIZEN KANE in which Kane flies into a rage and tears apart
his bedroom. This scene begins roughly one hour and 48 minutes into
the film and lasts roughly three minutes. It begins immediately after
the white bird exits the frame and starts with a woman walking out
on Kane. Kane proceeds to wreck the bedroom. This scene ends when
Kane passes the large mirror in the hallway and exits the frame. Stop
the video at that point. Tell students that this clip is an example
of continuity editing. Ask students what they think “continuity
editing” means. What does the word “continuity” mean?
Write down their responses.
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Play the short montage clip of the opera
singer from CITIZEN KANE. This scene begins roughly one hour and 34
minutes into the film and lasts for roughly one minute. It begins
with a shot of a newspaper headline “Washington” and ends
as a light bulb burns out and a voice fades. Stop the video. Tell
students this is an example of montage (discontinuity) editing. Ask
students what they think montage (discontinuity) editing might mean.
Write down their responses.
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Ask the students how the continuity clip
showed the passage of time. Did it seem to be real time, or was time
condensed or shortened? How about the second clip? How did the first
clip move the audience from place to place? Was it smooth or jarring?
And the second? How was the audience’s view of the events changed
in the edits of the continuity clip? Was it a smooth change from shot
to shot? And how did the audience’s views of events change in the
montage (discontinuity) scene? Were the edits seamless or jarring?
Here are a few examples:
- The continuity scene contains smooth edits from shot to shot,
changing only to follow the character’s movement and help point
the audience’s attention to specific props and actions. The actions
are shown in real time, which forces the audience to see the arc
of Kane’s rage and his subsequent change in mood.
- The montage (discontinuity) scene,
on the other hand, condenses weeks and months into a few seconds.
The edits plunge the audience into many different places, with quick
edits. The flashes of newspaper headlines sweep the audience from
coast to coast in a matter of a few shots. Here time is condensed
(or shortened) to show the progress of a long opera tour in a very
short time. Ask the students to imagine if this scene were shown in
real time.
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Ask students to list characteristics of
the two types of editing. Record their responses beneath the phrases
you wrote on the board. Have students list how time, place, angle
of view, and other factors are utilized differently in each type of
editing.
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Break students down into groups of two
to three students. Guide them to the Web site listed below. Instruct
them to start with the definition of “editing” and follow
the links to continuity and montage (discontinuity). Ask students
to follow hyperlinks that interest them and/or relate to editing,
and also to view some of the example video clips.
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After 30 minutes, regroup, and based on
what they learned during their research, ask students to add
to/revise the list of characteristics of the two types of editing.
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Part Two:
(One 50-minute class period)
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Tell students that now that they are familiar with styles of continuity
and montage (discontinuity) editing, they will watch two more clips
from another film and identify the category in which each clip belongs.
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Play the continuity clip from VERTIGO in which Scotty
chases the crook on the roof. This clip begins roughly 2.5 minutes
into the film (which is immediately after the opening credits) and
lasts roughly 1.5 minutes. It begins with a hand on a ladder and ends
with Scotty looking down at the fallen policeman. Stop the video.
Tell students to review the characteristics on the board and think
about which category this clip best fits while you cue up the next clip.
Ask students to hold judgment until they see the next clip.
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Play the short dream-sequence montage clip from VERTIGO.
It begins roughly 1 hour, 23 minutes into the film and lasts about
1.5 minutes. It begins with the main character asleep in bed and ends
when he sits up awakened from fright. Stop video. Ask students to
which category this clip best belongs.
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Ask students to again classify each clip as an example
of either continuity or discontinuity editing. Have students describe
the factors or characteristics that clued them in to their answers.
- Ask how time and place were manipulated by the edits.
- Ask why they think these clips were edited using one technique
instead of the other.
- Ask how the scene might be different if it was edited in the
opposite style.
- Ask how the students would have done the scenes differently
if they were the film editor on these clips.
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Activity Two:
(One 50-minute class period)
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Now that students have a basic understanding of continuity and
montage editing, break students into groups of three to four and
point them to the following sites for short films:
- Young Filmmakers Gallery
http://www.youngfilmmakers.org/gallery.htm
This site contains a gallery of student-made short films.
- Atom Films
http://www.atomfilms.com
This site contains a gallery of independent short films. Note
to teachers: All of the films on this site may not be appropriate
for your students. You may want to preview the site first and
download the films you feel comfortable having your students watch.
- iFilm
http://ifilm.com
This site contains a gallery of independent short films. Note
to teachers: All of the films on this site may not be appropriate
for your students. You may want to preview the site first and
download the films you feel comfortable having your students watch.
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Ask students to review two to three short films as a
group and look for the use of continuity editing or montage (discontinuity)
editing in the films. Tell them to find at least one example of each
of the two editing styles. Tell students not to focus so much on whether
they might like the film as a whole, but to instead remain focused
on the use of editing in the film (even a bad film can have example
of good editing).
- Ask students to note the title of the film, the URL of the film,
a short description of the scene they chose (one for each style),
and why they chose this scene as a good example of the particular
editing style. Students should also explain how they feel the
editing helps communicate the story.
- Go around the class and ask each group to describe, or, if possible,
show the scene they chose and explain why they chose it. If students
are going to show the film, they might download it to the hard
drive in advance or at least have it opened, loaded and ready
to play (some sites allow downloads, some do not). Ask them also
to explain how they feel the editing furthered the story. Ask
the other students whether they agree with the presenters’
choices and opinions and why.
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Culminating Activity/Assessment:
(Two to three 50-minute class periods)
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Break the class into groups of five or six. Give each
group the IN-CAMERA EDIT ORGANIZER.
Tell each group that they are to prepare a simple story (under ten
shots), which would best be communicated using continuity editing.
Ask them to keep it simple, avoid dialogue and to think of a scenario
that is possible in the classroom environment with existing props
and lighting. Students should be given about 30 minutes to come up
with a scenario. An example scenario would be:
- Bill is writing with a blue pencil. He stops writing and rubs his
eyes. When he goes back to write again, he cannot find his pencil.
He searches his desk, but cannot find the pencil. As he searches,
he notices the student next to him has a blue pencil. Bill glares
at his neighbor. Bill gets up his nerve and snatches the pencil back.
Bill holds the pencil triumphantly. Just then, a student passes by,
and bends to pick something up. It is Bill’s blue pencil, which
had fallen on the floor. She hands it to Bill, who now holds two blue
pencils.
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Pick one of the scenarios and shoot it. Start with continuity
editing. In these exercises, the edits are made by simply starting
and stopping the camera on different shots. It takes a little practice,
but it is possible to make fairly complex scenes with this method.
It might sometimes be necessary to review and re-cue shots as you
go to make smooth edits. Have students think about what they have
learned about continuity editing, and have them try out some techniques.
Edits should be smooth and easy on the eye; time and place should
not change drastically from shot to shot. Remember, you don’t
want the audience to be distracted by the editing!
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Repeat the above process, but this time using montage
(discontinuity) editing. Students should fill out the IN-CAMERA
EDIT ORGANIZER for this shoot as well. Have students think about
what they learned about montage (discontinuity) editing, and try out
some techniques. Edits can be jarring, time and place can change abruptly,
etc. Remember, you want to give the audience a lot of information
in a short period of time – it should still make sense, but you
want the audience to do some work.
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Review the finished scenes you have shot. Refer to these
scenes as the “rough cut.” Explain that the first step in
any editing project is to create a rough cut, which is just what it
sounds like, a rough assemblage of the shots which must be reworked
and refined. Ask students as they watch the rough cut to think about
where further edits might be made to help with continuity, or to add
rhythm, etc. As students view their scenes, ask them to explain why
they chose the editing techniques they did, and encourage other students
to give them feedback regarding their choices. What shots might be
added to enhance the scene and strengthen the story and what shots
could be cut? Students should take notes of what they might change,
and what works. Explain that editors must review the same shots and
scenes many times over before they finish the film. The finished film
is called the final cut.
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If time allows and equipment is available, student groups
might use their notes to make a fine cut of one of their stories.
Fine cutting is when editors revise the rough cut, and refine each
edit. When finished, students might also add music, sound effects
and voice-over to enhance their scenes.
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Extensions
Cross-Curricular Extension:
- Ask students to research other roles in film production. If
they are interested in studying film, encourage them to look at
the Web sites of colleges or universities that have film studies
programs.
- Digitize the scenes the students shot and create a Web site
showcasing student work. (If you do this, be sure to get parental
permission if you’re showing images of students on the Web.)
Community Connections:
- Invite a film editor to speak to the class about his/her job
and experiences. Show the film editor the scenes the students
shot and ask him/her to comment on them.
- Invite a film student to speak to the class about their goals
and student projects.
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