Image Credit: Ryan BaxterEdward Dmy

Image Credit: Ryan Baxter

Edward Dmytryk, film industry legend in the directorial and editorial fields, enumerates seven rules to follow in his text On Film Editing (Focal Press, 1984).

Rule One: Never make a cut without a positive reason.
“The only reason for using another cut is to improve the scene.”

It is unwise to cut film adhering to arbitrary principles, such as keeping all shots under a certain length. While Dmytryk argues that every cut must be made at a precise and perfect point, he gives no indication that these particular edit points are governed by anything other than the drive to improve what the scene intends to communicate to the audience. Some scenes require no editing at all if the composition and camera movement are strong enough to support the intent of the scene. Other scenarios, particularly action and montage sequences, require constant cuts in order to communicate the scene’s intent. If another take does not make emotional truth clearer or capture the action more appropriately than the current take, then by all means do not make a cut.

Rule Two: When undecided about the exact frame to cut on, cut long rather than short.
“Splicing a few frames back onto a scene which has been lopped short makes ‘jumpy’ viewing, and a cut full of such amendments makes proper visualization difficult and perceptive judgment impossible.”

Just the most basic common sense rule there is. When cutting filmstrip, it is much easier to trim a bit of excess duration than to splice more on to increase duration. Dmytryk adds that the first instinctual decision regarding where to make a cut is usually the right one; however, you still may want to cut a little long in case you’re out of touch with your instincts. Note that this rule doesn’t so much apply to nonlinear video editing, unless for some masochistic reason you’ve disabled your undo function.

Rule Three: Whenever possible, cut in movement.
“Creating a ‘diversion’ of sorts … is also the principle at work in the action cut.”

The concept here is that during movement of any kind, be it a man sitting down on a park bench or a woman darting her eyes to the left, cut in the space between the beginning and end of the action so as to mask the cut. The goal is seamless, invisible, “magical” editing. This is not possible without the greatest command of timing: timing that comes from an understanding of human perception and eye movement. If you choose to cut too early, the following cut will seem nonsensical and inappropriate. If you choose to cut too late, you may deny the audience key information and try their patience by extending the previous shot. There is a precise moment at which to make the cut: near the dead center of the action. For the man sitting down on the bench, you would most likely want to cut at the point of contact between the man and the bench. For the woman darting her eyes to the left, you may want to cut somewhere in the middle of the motion but not before or after. Mastering this fundamental of editorial timing will not only make your cuts seamless but will also strengthen the scene itself in what it intends to communicate. This, after all, is the purpose of editing: communication.

Rule Four: The fresh is preferable to the stale.
“In art, the obvious is a sin.”

In order to maintain the invisibility of technique, a film editor strives to avoid boring, confusing, or disappointing the audience with a poorly managed cut. However, it is possible to jar the viewer from the context of the story with even the most well-intentioned cut. If your shot contains action that exits the frame, do not linger on it even for a couple frames. If you do this and fail to overlap to the next action, the viewer has no new information to feed upon and therefore lapses out of the comfort of the story. Because of only a few frames, your viewer is now examining your set design or lighting. This is exactly what should be avoided. Dmytryk suggests that if frames must be added between shots, do so at the beginning of a fresh, new shot so that the viewer accepts the lingering frames as part of exposition for a new angle or shot.

Rule Five: All scenes should begin and end with continuing action.
“Subconsciously suggest to the viewer that he is seeing a fragment of continuing life, not a staged scene with a visible framework.”

This is the concept of the director shooting scenes with heads and tails and the editor subsequently chopping them off. It is entirely unnatural to begin a scene with an actor doing nothing, preparing to act. Not only does it break the invisibility of the craft, but such an error unravels the pacing of the work causing far greater problems in the long run. A scene should begin as an actor walks into the frame or picks up a telephone or washes dishes or cleans his sword or performs some action. A scene should end with the actor walking out of frame or slamming down the telephone or breaking dishes or plunging his sword into an orc or performing so

Kết quả (Việt) 1:

Image Credit: Ryan BaxterEdward Dmytryk, film industry legend in the directorial and editorial fields, enumerates seven rules to follow in his text On Film Editing (Focal Press, 1984).Rule One: Never make a cut without a positive reason.“The only reason for using another cut is to improve the scene.”It is unwise to cut film adhering to arbitrary principles, such as keeping all shots under a certain length. While Dmytryk argues that every cut must be made at a precise and perfect point, he gives no indication that these particular edit points are governed by anything other than the drive to improve what the scene intends to communicate to the audience. Some scenes require no editing at all if the composition and camera movement are strong enough to support the intent of the scene. Other scenarios, particularly action and montage sequences, require constant cuts in order to communicate the scene’s intent. If another take does not make emotional truth clearer or capture the action more appropriately than the current take, then by all means do not make a cut.Rule Two: When undecided about the exact frame to cut on, cut long rather than short.“Splicing a few frames back onto a scene which has been lopped short makes ‘jumpy’ viewing, and a cut full of such amendments makes proper visualization difficult and perceptive judgment impossible.”Chỉ cần cơ bản nhất thông thường nguyên tắc đó là. Khi cắt cuộn phim, đó là dễ dàng hơn nhiều để cắt một chút dư thừa thời gian hơn để ghép thêm vào tăng thời gian. Dmytryk cho biết thêm rằng quyết định instinctual đầu tiên liên quan đến nơi để làm cho một cắt thường là một trong những quyền; Tuy nhiên, bạn vẫn có thể muốn cắt một chút dài trong trường hợp bạn mất liên lạc với bản năng của bạn. Lưu ý rằng quy tắc này không áp dụng rất nhiều để chỉnh sửa video phi tuyến, trừ khi vì một lý do masochistic, bạn đã vô hiệu hóa chức năng lùi lại của bạn.Quy tắc 3: Bất cứ khi nào có thể, cắt trong phong trào."Tạo ra một chuyển hướng của các loại... cũng theo nguyên tắc làm việc tại các hành động cắt giảm."Khái niệm ở đây là trong chuyển động của bất kỳ loại, có thể là một người đàn ông ngồi trên một băng ghế công viên hoặc một người phụ nữ xuôi đôi mắt của cô ở bên trái, cắt trong không gian giữa bắt đầu và kết thúc của hành động để mặt nạ cắt. Mục tiêu là liền mạch, vô hình, "kỳ diệu" chỉnh sửa. Điều này là không thể mà không có lệnh vĩ đại nhất của thời gian: thời gian mà đến từ sự hiểu biết về phong trào mắt và nhận thức của con người. Nếu bạn chọn để cắt quá sớm, việc cắt giảm sẽ dường như vô nghĩa và không thích hợp. Nếu bạn chọn để cắt quá trễ, bạn có thể từ chối các đối tượng chính thông tin và cố gắng kiên nhẫn của họ bằng cách mở rộng các shot trước đó. Đó là một thời điểm chính xác mà làm cho việc cắt giảm: gần chết tâm của hành động. Những người đàn ông ngồi trên ghế, bạn sẽ có nhiều khả năng muốn cắt tại điểm tiếp xúc giữa người đàn ông và cuốn. Đối với phụ nữ xuôi đôi mắt của cô ở bên trái, bạn có thể muốn cắt một nơi nào đó ở giữa chuyển động, nhưng không phải trước hoặc sau. Nắm vững cơ bản này của biên tập thời gian sẽ không chỉ làm cho vết cắt của bạn liền mạch nhưng sẽ còn tăng cường trong bối cảnh riêng của mình trong những gì nó dự định để giao tiếp. Điều này, sau khi tất cả, là mục đích của các chỉnh sửa: thông tin liên lạc.Nguyên tắc bốn: Tươi là thích hợp hơn cho cu."Trong nghệ thuật, rõ ràng là một tội lỗi."In order to maintain the invisibility of technique, a film editor strives to avoid boring, confusing, or disappointing the audience with a poorly managed cut. However, it is possible to jar the viewer from the context of the story with even the most well-intentioned cut. If your shot contains action that exits the frame, do not linger on it even for a couple frames. If you do this and fail to overlap to the next action, the viewer has no new information to feed upon and therefore lapses out of the comfort of the story. Because of only a few frames, your viewer is now examining your set design or lighting. This is exactly what should be avoided. Dmytryk suggests that if frames must be added between shots, do so at the beginning of a fresh, new shot so that the viewer accepts the lingering frames as part of exposition for a new angle or shot.Rule Five: All scenes should begin and end with continuing action.“Subconsciously suggest to the viewer that he is seeing a fragment of continuing life, not a staged scene with a visible framework.”This is the concept of the director shooting scenes with heads and tails and the editor subsequently chopping them off. It is entirely unnatural to begin a scene with an actor doing nothing, preparing to act. Not only does it break the invisibility of the craft, but such an error unravels the pacing of the work causing far greater problems in the long run. A scene should begin as an actor walks into the frame or picks up a telephone or washes dishes or cleans his sword or performs some action. A scene should end with the actor walking out of frame or slamming down the telephone or breaking dishes or plunging his sword into an orc or performing so