153 Part Two: Creative Editing Basics

• Shots five and six also maintain consistent screen direction; that is, the goalie jumps screen left and the ball enters the goal screen left.

• Shots five and six also use diagonal lines to reinforce action.

• All the shots flow smoothly from one to the next, maintaining continuity with no jump cuts. In most cases, the cuts reveal new subjects. In one case—the goal—two shots illustrate (five and six). Here, the match-action cut (defined in the next section) would occur on the motion of the goalie jumping toward the ball and the ball hitting the net.

Think about these shots, cut on the words as illus- trated in the photoboard, and see how they fit with the script. We have interpreted the script visually. We have captured the feel of the story. We have also added to the words by showing more than the words alone can reveal, such as the excitement of the goal and the con- trasting images between winners and losers.

This combination of sequence and pacing is just one possible way to cover this script. As you work with the shots in the edit room, you might find that some will look better when allowed to run longer and others when used very briefly. No two editors will cut the story the same way. In effect, there is no single right way to do it. The only common denominator is that it should tell a compelling story that flows smoothly and can be understood by the viewers.

Match-Action Cutting

Within sequences of this type, there is a method called

match-action cutting that can really make a sequence come alive. If the video was shot with this in mind, or if you as the editor are clever enough to see it in the raw material given you, match-action editing can help give dynamics to a story. The idea is to make it appear as though more than one camera is recording a scene and it is being edited live, as if you are switching be- tween two cameras the way a director does in a studio.

To perform match-action editing in ENG or EFP, the photographer must separate the action into the different parts and then shoot each part separately. One example is the goal in our sample sequence above. (See Figure 7-11.) The cut between shots five and six is a match-action cut. In shot five, the goalie leaps to block the ball. On the motion of him in the air, a cut occurs to show a close-up of the ball hitting the net. Assuming the videographer covered the game with just one camera, the goalie’s leap and the ball go- ing into the net are actually two different shots at two different times, but by editing them together with a cut “on the action” the editor creates the illusion that this is one goal.

Another good example is a factory assembly line. A sheet of metal is taken from a stack, put into a drill press, drilled, removed, and put on a new stack. Each part of the process is broken down into different shots, each from a different angle and with at least some vari- ation in focal length.

The shots are edited together so that the viewer fol- lows the sheet of metal through the drilling process but from many vantage points instead of just one. The worker removes a sheet from the pile in a wide shot; on his action of swinging it into place on the press, you cut to a medium shot taken from the side of the press to see the sheet slide into position (it wouldn’t be the same sheet, but they all look alike), and so on. As in the soccer goal example, the actual cut should be made on motion or movement, just after the movement be- gins. The human eye is programmed to track motion, so when a cut is made just after some motion begins, and that same motion continues in the next shot, our eyes follow the motion and we don’t even see the edit.

For smoothly matched action, the edits must be precise. Each edit must be very accurate with respect to the action so all the movement appears continuous. The position of the subject in the last frame of the first shot must be the same (or appear to be the same) as the position in the first frame of the second shot. If an edit is not “spot on,” it will look like a jump cut. The as- sembly line example is an easy one because the same thing takes place over and over; there is repeated ac- tion. It is harder to get the shots necessary for match- action editing when you have no control over the situ- ation and things are not following a set pattern. For the soccer example, matching action is harder than for

154 Chapter 7: Part Two: Creative Editing Basics

the assembly line; still, sports have regular patterns of play, making it possible for a thoughtful and quick sports shooter to shoot for match-action cuts.

Matching or repeated action exists in most things you shoot—look for it. If you are shooting in an office and one of the subjects answers the phone, talks, and then hangs up, perhaps another call will need to be an- swered. For the second call, choose a different angle and/or focal length. You could, say, match-cut a tight shot of the phone ringing to a wider shot just as the person picks up the receiver. A good editor sees the se- quence and cuts it together to put life and interest in an otherwise dull office sequence. This can be done without staging the events; simply look for repeated action on the part of the subjects and anticipate where best to place the camera. Even in standard interviews, the establishing two-shot can have the interviewee in the exact same position saying something similar to the beginning of the soundbite. The edit from the two- shot to the talking head shot can be made into a match-action edit. It looks sharp, but it has to be done correctly. Watch movies to see how they use matched action and then look for examples of it in TV news.

Maintaining Continuity

Even in news shooting, like movie making, the visual story is often done in bits and pieces to be assembled later. The continuity of the finished product deter- mines how well the viewer is able to follow the story. There are several aspects to maintaining good continu- ity when it comes to choosing camera angles and shot choices in the editing process.

The 180º Rule

The main element of continuity is the 180º rule. A simple example of this is an interview for TV news or any two-person conversation in production or theatri- cal settings. In the theater, the audience stays on one side of the subjects. When you are shooting, the cam- era replaces the audience and therefore should always stay on one side of the action. Draw a line between the two people involved in the interview or conversation. All camera angles should be taken from one side of

that line or the other. You choose which side of the line to shoot from, but you must stay on only one side.

This line is sometimes called the line of interest or theaction axis. The direction in which a person is look- ing determines a line of interest or axis of action, such as two people in an interview: they look at each other cre- ating one line. All of your camera angles should be look- ing either up or down one side of that line.

For ENG and EFP videography, a line should be established in most shooting situations: meetings, speeches, concerts, protests, marches, sports, or simply any place where there is movement. If the subject does not determine the line, draw one where you will have the best background or lighting conditions and stick with it. Your wide shot not only establishes what you are looking at but also the relationships among the ob- jects in the picture. These relationships must be main- tained. People walking left should continue walking left in any shots that show them. The line rule keeps the relationships constant throughout your sequence of shots, no matter how many shots you use. (See Fig- ure 7-12.)

For example, a speaker delivering a speech shot from the left side of the room (as you face the speaker) will be facing screen-right. Through the rest of the piece the speaker will always face right. A line of inter- est is drawn between the speaker and audience. The audience will always be facing screen-left. If you shoot all your shots with this in mind, any combination of shots can be edited together, and the audience will al- ways appear to be facing the speaker and vice versa. The viewer is never at a loss to identify the relation- ships among the subjects.

Crossing-the-Line Editing

These points work well when the shots are done cor- rectly and in a controlled situation. What if the shots were not done correctly, or the situation was uncon- trolled and no line was ever established? The editor still must maintain continuity for a good, understandable flow of shots. By letting the line float but always keep- ing it in mind, the editor can move the camera angles anywhere if she does it carefully step by step.

The key to continuity is movement or direction, both actual and implied: the actual movement of a basketball team on the court or the implied direction

155