Editing has a long history and the pioneers of editing are many. To comprehensively explain the history of editing would take a long time, so much so that there are bookshelves in libraries brimming to full with all the information concerning the progression of editing. This blog will give an idea of where editing comes from and should you feel that you would like to know more there will be links to follow at the end.
The very first films had no editing in them. They would be one continuous shot of whatever the person with the camera felt like shooting. This may sound boring and silly now but back when film was still a new invention these scenes were simply amazing. So much so that two of the most famous film pioneers, the Lumiere brothers, made a film called "Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat". The film is exactly what the title says, with one continuous shot of a train pulling in to a station. This was in 1895 and people had never seen anything like this before so when the short film was seen by members of the public people literally screamed and were terrified by the sight of a train coming towards them. There were many other films like this made and the novelty of being able to see moving images was incredible.However, Edison and the Lumiere brothers were both quite cynical about film because once the everyday activities had been filmed and people got used to the idea of seeing moving images on screen, they wondered why the masses would continue to pay to see such things when they could merely open their curtains and view it in reality. In fact Auguste Lumiere stated that cinema was an invention without a future.(1)
Enter Edwin Porter. He was in the employ of Edison and proved him and the Lumiere brothers very wrong. He discovered that cutting separate shots together could create stories and narratives, as opposed to the very real and rigid films of men working in a shipyard. In 1903 he made a film called "Life of an American Fireman", which inter-cut unrelated shots to create a story. The film comprised of two scenes; one where we see firemen rushing down the fire pole and into their horse drawn carts trying to get to a fire. The second scene is of where the fire is taking place and that there is a woman trapped inside the building which is alight. Now by inter-cutting the two scenes together Porter created a narrative and drama. We as viewers are now rooting for the firemen to save the day and get caught up in the film both emotionally and psychologically. This truly was a step forward in the world of editing and the world of film in general.(1)
Porter wasn't done there though and his next film, "The Great Train Robbery" made in 1903, was when the possibilities really became clear for all the world to see. The film was heavily edited and this gave films a new direction to go in. It is important to understand that the invention of editing is the reason that film works. Up until the films of Edwin Porter film was very linear and factual with no room for creativity, story or anything remotely captivating. He showed the world that film could be so much more and bridge gaps in time and the imagination.(1) The two links below show these two very important films and are worth watching to see how editing was born.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4C0gJ7BnLc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc7wWOmEGGY
Fast forward a few years and we arrive in 1912. This was the year that "The Unseen Enemy" was made by D.W. Griffith. Griffith is widely recognised as the first modern film editor and is revered for his understanding of the psychological impact that editing can provide. He took the techniques and discoveries that Edwin Porter had made almost a decade earlier and advanced them more than any other person. His revolutionary way of editing was seen to be too radical by the producers he worked for because nothing like his work had ever been made. His producers told him that the audience would be baffled by his use of close-ups and the way in which he cut his films, however the audiences completely got caught up in the emotion that he wanted to show because of the way he had edited his work. It is common knowledge amongst film makers of today that close-ups are effective ways to show raw emotion of a character but back in 1912 nobody had ever done it that way. Griffith truly did invent a lot of the basic techniques and grammar that modern editors today use. His film "The Birth of a Nation" that he made in 1915 was the culmination of a decades worth of editing techniques and knowledge. The film contained close-ups, flashbacks, action and it was all to make the audience feel a specific way. He wanted to mediate the emotion and the thrills of the story to his audience and the reason this was possible was down to his brilliant ability to edit films in particular ways.(2) Below is the link to this truly revolutionary film, but be prepared for a long watch because this film is 3 hours long.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRyIndtcYU4
Porter laid the foundations of editing and Griffith built his palace on them. The techniques and grammar that these two men came up with founded classical editing. Classical editing is a term used to describe what else but how films used to be edited. One strong principle that classical editing depended on was the invisible cut. This is simply cutting a shot with another without the audience noticing that it has happened. It is also used to make sure that the film doesn't show the same action twice. This principle is still extremely prevalent today and if the cuts become clear then the film simply won't work.(2)
Unfortunately for editors the better they do their job the more invisible they become in true life as well. The first editors were considered hands for hire and the directors took all the credit for the film, including the presentation which is heavily influenced by the editor because after all the editor decides on which shots go where along side the director. Because film was used back then the editor would hold the reel of film up against the light to see the images on it. They would then run the film through a projector to check they were satisfied with their work. Of course in modern day editing checking your work and making alterations is as easy as clicking a mouse which is far easier and extremely less time consuming. The editing process used to be such a long task that D.W. Griffith's main editor Jimmy Edward Smith practically lived together and worked long in to the night on their films. Smith's wife Rose joined the editing team and were only given the weekend off for their honey moon because at the time they were cutting together "Intolerance". This kind of unrelenting work ethic was expected for editors. Having said that editors today don't have it much easier. Editing a whole film takes a very long time and takes its toll on all involved.(2) Editing then is not for the feint hearted and is a pain staking process that only rewards those who get real satisfaction out of taking the time to create something they are really proud of and enthusiastic about.
Films were edited by hand and checked through a projector as we know until the invention of the Moviola. It was invented in 1924 by Iwan Serrurier and it was the first machine made for motion picture editing. It allows an editor to continue viewing film while editing it and it is still used to this very day, albeit in declining numbers due to the more and more prevalent use of digital equipment. Steven Spielbergs "Munich" was nominated for an Academy Award for "Best Editing" in 2005 having been edited on a Moviola by editor Michael Kahn. (3)
Directors and editors often work together when cutting a film. The directors already have an image of how they want the film to look and try to get the editors to see things there way. Editors however don't, or at least shouldn't, have any kind of attachment to the shots that they are working with. A director may really want to include a certain shot because getting it to work or getting the lighting right may have been a huge task and therefore has to be put in the film to justify the angst that capturing it created. An editor should simply look at what works and where without having to justify his choices. Alexander Payne, director of "Election", commented that editors are like sly politicians. (4)
Editing used to be done by hand in its earliest days. Film cameras used to use reels of film, something you may be familiar with if you ever handled cameras that contained the old film reels. These film would have to be cut manually with a blade and put in the order that the director wanted. This is why editing is often referred to as 'cutting'. Woman were used to cut the film reels as it was seen as a delicate process that wasn't unlike sewing and knitting. This was in the days of the silent film when any kind of sound was usually provided by a piano player who would play along to the images that were displayed on the screen. When sound was successfully integrated with pictures the editing process was seen as too technical for woman, so men took over. This was before woman were seen as equals. Thankfully today that is no longer the case.
While editing has been changed and tampered with since it was discovered as a valuable tool, modern day editing is much the same as its been for years now. The biggest difference is in the technology used as more and more editors are using computers and specifically designed editing software. There are still people who chose to use old methods as mentioned before but the programs available now are so easy to use and well put together. A lot of footage is filmed digitally now too and transferring footage to a hard drive is extremely easy and quick. Certain programmes allow you to edit the images and the sound at the same time to achieve distinct sounds to go with distinct images. It is also very easy to pin point exact frames and cuts so if an editor has an exact idea of what he wants it can be done in mere seconds. It is important to remember though that the principles of editing, such as montage, key frames, invisible cuts and continuity are the same and just because an editor has a whole plethora of tools and buttons at their disposal while editing footage on a computer, real skill always shows through and unless they can adhere to the unwritten rules that Edwin Porter and D.W. Griffith pioneered, their work fall short and lack quality.
There is an extremely interesting and helpful documentary about film editing called "The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing" and it is well worth a watch for anybody evenly remotely interesting in editing. Below is the link for the first part and you can follow the links on the page to the other parts. Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=508MHvMGWEg
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