Insight
Film Editing: Where The Magic Happens
The editing process is one of the core storytelling principles in filmmaking, a technique that has the power to capture, then captivate a viewer’s attention.
Filming raw footage can make up the bones of the skeleton of a cinematic story. However, it is in the edit suite where the emotional flesh is often added and arranged, the visual storytelling brought to life and a narrative created. An interesting story can be brought together by editors in the post-production process where they match cuts, motion and various clips together to build a story’s tension.
Studying SAE’s Film Production course can help aspiring filmmakers gain a deep understanding of good editing and how it has the power to keep a story moving. If you want to work in the world of film, then taking on film editing courses is an invaluable investment in your career. Engaging with a course will help you get to grips with different aspects of the creative process so you know what needs to go into a final product and the best ways to provide emotional depth for an audience to engage with.
Are you looking to join a filmmaking course? Then contact our team to learn more about SAE’s degree.
You can also read our blog for more insights into how editing is often the unsung hero of cinema and the secret behind a story worth telling.
How Studying Can Help you Understand Emotional Impact in Filmmaking
The first step into a career as a filmmaker looking to develop the skills to hold an audience’s attention is often to study a course.
As a film student, you can learn the full filmmaking pipeline from idea to final delivery, work across different types of film while also gaining on-set experience as part of a production. There are certain technical skills that are essential when understanding how audio, video and special effects can be brought together into one whole. Studying will ensure you learn about camera, lighting, sound, editing and producing alongside colour grading and post-production workflows too.
As an SAE student, you’ll get access to green screens, editing studios and lighting rigs to help bring your creative ideas to life. Across the course, you’ll experience the entire production workflow involved in making a film and learn from experienced industry practitioners – all of whom can share the latest insights and knowledge.
Raw footage, sound design and post-production – why film editing matters
The right edit of good footage can make a movie more exciting and some of Hollywood’s biggest films have seen various versions released over the years.
Francis Ford Coppola was behind 1979 war movie Apocalypse Now and released updated versions in 2001, then in 2019 with subtle changes to the tone, pacing and story elements. Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, first released in the early eighties, is one of the most infamously edited films in Hollywood’s history with multiple versions unveiled since it was first made.
Here is why editing can be so crucial to a film.
Storytelling and Narrative Construction: Films are often nothing without an edit. It is the ability to take sound effects and footage, then bring them together that tells a story. The role of a film editor is to go through any thing caught on camera, select what works best and structure a narrative’s flow from these elements. It’s often in the editing suite where the real magic of Hollywood sparks, not on-set.
Energy and Pace: How can editors create suspense or build tension in a film? It is typically the timing and duration of cross cutting that can dictate the energy of a scene. For example, in a horror movie, lingering cuts can create a sense of suspense, particularly when combined with an appropriate soundtrack too.
Manipulating Time and Space: If a film has flashbacks or flits between different times, then it is the role of the editor to manipulate this, to compress or expand time to suit the story.
This can help make events feel immediate or drawn out and provide a piece of film with a suitable start, middle and conclusion.
Emotional Impact: Every story told through a visual medium aims to evoke an emotional reaction in a viewer. It’s through the juxtaposition of shots and visuals where editing can completely change the mood of a film and how viewers perceives a character’s thoughts or feelings. Different elements are at play in establishing a film’s world, from sound design through to the music and visual cuts. The key to success as an editor is how these are mixed together to help audiences experience different emotions.
Tips for Aspiring Editors
If you are an emerging film editor looking to explore the best ways of editing an emotional journey then here are some essentials to keep in mind.
Understand your tools and software: There are myriad different ways of editing films and visual media. Taking a course can help you gain an understanding of many of them, including tools like Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Avid Media Composer, plus various motion graphics and colour grading platforms.
Watch films with a critical eye: Being a good editor of film involves being a fan of film. So when watching new movies or old favourites, pay attention to the cuts, pacing, and transitions. Ask why an editor chose to alter the raw footage, rely on one shot or the message they were trying to convey to an audience in a certain moment.
Collaborate with directors, actors and more: Every project can be different and see editors gaining various types of experience. Treat every film as a collaboration where you establish a dialogue with your peers and team mates. Doing so will ensure you get to grips with new skills and expand your knowledge through each project. Good luck!
STUDY FILM Production at SAE
If you want to work in film production, get to grips with the latest video editing software and hone your skills in a uniquely collaborative environment, then our Film Production degree could be for you.
With high-end digital cinema cameras and production suites, our facilities and expert tutors are well placed to give your career the best possible start in this fast-paced and dynamic industry.
