Providing and withholding information

Providing and withholding information in a film is a very good way to make the audience anxious about what has happened or what is about to happen. An example of this being used is in the film 'Inception'. Throughout the film you see that the character is always spinning in his dream which becomes reality. In the ending scene the viewer doesn't actually get to see if he spins out in his dream or not, which leaves the audience wanting to know more. 

Cutting to soundtrack

Cutting to soundtrack in a film is when the video is synced well along side a song, it decides how fast a scene pans out and attracts attention because it is very interesting and easy to watch as it flows so nicely.

Editing Rhythm

Editing Rhythm is what makes a story easy to keep track of and be easy to watch and understand. When editing rhythm is used properly, the film should have a steady pace throughout the film. Rhythm in a film is mostly affected be the length of the shots being used, if the shots are just average length shots it will be an average part to the film, if the rhythm speed up causing the clips to be shorter it will represent different emotions or action. Bad rhythm in films could distract a viewer and make them lose track of the film, for example if the pace is fast but the part of the film is not important or of high action, it could confuse a viewer.

Here is an example of editing rhythm being used in a film.

shot-reverse-shot

A shot-reverse-shot are normally used when two characters are in conversation. These type of shots are small shots edited together to switch between characters when they are talking to each other. It also uses close up shots back and forth from opposite angles so that it is easy for the viewer to make out that they are talking to each other without actually showing a clip of them talking.

Here is a good example of this, the two characters are talking to each other but are not in a single shot, the camera switches between clips from different angles, showing the person that is talking.

POV shot

POV shot is short for a point of view shot. It is pretty much as you would expect, it is the view of the character as you would see it through their eyes, it can also be of an object. This can help the viewer share the emotions of the character and see the scenes as they are actually there.

Here is an example of the point of view shot being used in a film. This is the introduction clip from The Naked Gun 2. The point of view is from the roof of the police car showing everything around it. This is the type of shot that is used in a POV.

cutaways

A cutaway is a short break from the main story. It is used to show what is also happening at that time in other places or other parts in the film whilst giving a break from the action packed scenes which is mostly the main plot. Cutaway shots are normally not very long, they show what else is going off in the film quickly. They are also a key part to the film, they are important to watch or listen as it will have some sort of message of specific meaning behind the cutaway. 

Below is an example of a cutaway technique being used. Between seconds 0:51 and 0:58 the scene cuts when one character is stood on the truck in the middle of the action and the scene cuts to another character that is out of the action.

transitions

Transitions in films are used to add clips together and make them flow into one whole film. If a film didn't include transitions the film would go from clip to clip without any flow. The editors will choose transitions to suit the part of film or type of film in general. Certain transitions can represent the passing of time or could drift off to a different part of the story or even a flashback. 

Cut

A cut is just a basic transition that is used a lot in films to join two shots together. There is no special effect of editing that is used in a cut transition it is just one clip playing directly into the next one. This is highly noticeable by the audience as it just changes without any sort of change. 

Dissolve

The dissolve transition is used to make a film dissolve from one clip into the other. This makes the change in scene a lot less visible as it changes slowly which can create a link between the two scenes. 

Wipes

A wipe transition is when the new clip slides into the frame and pushes out the other clip. The second clip will travel in from the opposite side in which it pushes out the first clip.