Film editing has undergone significant changes since the advent of motion pictures. In the early days, editors physically cut and pasted film clips to arrange the shots in the desired sequence for the final product. In contrast, today’s film editing is done digitally using software such as Adobe Premiere Pro, which provides not only the basic editing functions but also a wide range of effects and features. While this significant change developed over the years, the principles of film editing theory and techniques are still widely applied today, particularly the art of avoiding continuity errors in film editing.

Below is an example of a continuous shot, and as it’s all in one take with no cuts, the set has to be moved around, as well as the camera.

A sequence is the fundamental element of editing. It comprises a variety of shots that are pieced together to create a coherent narrative. For sequences to be effective, they must flow naturally and align with the context of the story being told. Typically, a sequence starts with an establishing shot to give the audience an initial understanding of the scene, followed by closer shots that provide additional detail and context.

Below is an establsihing shot of San Francisco, this gives the audience an idea of the city the film is in, the time/age of the film depending on coloring, and more.

A common issue in film editing is the jump cut, which occurs when one shot follows another that looks very similar. This can result in abrupt transitions that are easily noticeable. To address this problem, an editor can replace one of the shots with a closer or wider angle of the same subject, or they can “cover” the edit point between the two clips with a different clip.

These occurrences have been present since the early days of film, and the solutions developed to address them have been utilized throughout history. This illustrates the many similarities that modern filmmakers and editors share with the original creators of film from over a century ago.

Alfred Hitchcock was an amazing and groundbreaking director for Hollywood. His movies became world-renowned as he used film as a way to express himself and to introduce never before seen ideas and genres to the film world. Many of his techniques are seen in today’s movies as his influence has carried on for decades. Many movies also pay tribute to his movies in a way, referencing iconic scenes from his most popular movies. Hitchcock’s use of editing, camera shots, and sound allowed his films to flourish and become iconic staples within film history.

The films that will be discussed in this blog post are…

Rear Window (1954) – For this film I analyzed the editing.

Vertigo (1958) – For this film I analyzed camera shots.

Psycho (1960) – For this film I analyzed the use of, and the lack of sound.

Rear Window (Editing)

The movie “Rear Window” is about a handicapped man, Jeff, also a photographer who is confined to a wheelchair in his city apartment. His windows looks into a shared courtyard with his neighbors, and he resorts to peering into their lives through their windows for entertainment. One day, he notices one of his neighbor’s wives has gone missing and suspects something suspicious was done by her husband. With the help of his girlfriend, his caretaker, his friend that’s a detective, and his camera, Jeff manages to discover the truth of what happened in his neighbor’s apartment in this amazing, thought provoking movie.

Hitchcock makes some clear editing choices within this film. For example, fade-to-black effects are used throughout the film to represent a passing of time. The black intermissions also separate certain scenes and set up the audience for a progression in the story. Additionally, Hitchcock uses both third person and first person point of view to his advantage. The switch between the two shots lets the audience be fully immersed in the universe by experiencing what happens through the characters’ eyes. We often get to see what the characters see through Jeff’s camera but then we also see the characters looking into the camera. (See photo below)

Vertigo – Camera Shots

The movie “Vertigo” is about a retired detective, Scottie Ferguson, who is hired by his old college buddy, Gavin Elster, to watch over his wife, Madeleine, in secret, as he is concerned about a supernatural spirit possessing her, and causing her to harm herself. Scottie follows Madeleine throughout different areas of San Francisco until she throws herself into the San Frnacisco bay in an attempt to kill herself. He rescues her and takes her back to his house until she regains consciousness. Once she wakes up, the two of them interact face-to-face for the first time, and this scene sets the stage for their relationship for the rest of the film. They fall in love, but a major twist occurs when Madeleine commits suicide in front of Scottie, leaving him with lasting emotional PTSD. He goes to court for this case, where it is eventually ruled that he was unable to save Madeleine due to his intense agrophobia- a fear of heights. Two years pass and Scottie encounters a woman named Judy Barton who is the striking image of his love who passed away. They start dating, but Scottie’s obsession with Madeleine overcomes him as he forces Judy to change her clothes and appearance to look exactly like her. It is revealed that Judy was Madeleine all along and was hired by Gavin to pretend to be his “possessed wife” and trick Scottie into following her, when the truth was Gavin was going to kill his wife and disguise it as suicide. This sends Scottie into madness and he takes Judy to the death place of “Madeleine”. The film ends with a shocking twist, Judy then faced the same fate as the role she was playing all along, so her fiction became reality.

This film is considered to be one of Hitchcock’s most complex and thought-provoking. It involves an intense storyline filled with surprises and turns throughout the duration of the film. Hitchcock used camera shots to add another narrative to the story and add depth to the film’s messaging. One of the most impressive shots used was the dolly zoom angle during the bell tower scene. This specific shot creates a distortion effect and it was used to give the audience a first person view of what Scottie saw as he looked down the staircase with his vertigo. This emphasizes Scottie’s fear of heights, and it makes the audience feel some discomfort- the same discomfort Scottie must’ve felt when going up any heights. This addition was arguably necessary as it ties the title of the movie to a major plot point in the story, especially after Scottie talks about his vertigo and agrophobia- within the first scene of the film. Since the audience sees what he is experiencing, they have a better idea of his actions, emotions, and thoughts throughout the film. Below is a prime example of this dolly zoom shot used in “Vertigo.”

Hitchcock also used blocking as a form of storytelling. In the scene where Scottie meets with Gavin Elster in his office, Hitchcock wrote the movements of both the actors and the camera to be intentional to build the characters’ motives and provide subtle foreshadowing. For example, there are moments in the scene where either character is looming over the other, representing the power one has over the other, and how it continually shifts. This scene may go unnoticed with someone’s first viewing, but the blocking can be analyzed and reveal the story in future viewings of “Vertigo”

Psycho (Sound)

The movie “Psycho” introduces their main protagonist, Marion, and the movie starts quick as she steals $40,000 and leaves her job to go live with her lover who struggles financially. On her voyage to run away, the audience can hear her thoughts, and we can tell that she is thinking of the worst case scenarios. She swaps cars after being followed and watched by a police officer. Due to being stopped for sleeping on the side of the road, she tries to find a place to stay the next night. The Bates Motel becomes her home for a one-night stay. She meets the owner, Norman Bates, and he says she’s the first customer to come in a long time and that him and his disoriented mother live in a house behind the motel. The audience can hear Norman and his mother argue at times when they’re in their house, and this makes the audience feel somewhat bad for Norman, as we believe his mentally ill mother can be harsh on him. Once they say goodnight, they part ways and Marion decides to take a shower in the comfort of her room. A mysterious figure can be seen coming into the bathroom and then killing her. Afterwards, Norman walks into her room to discover her body on the floor, and he immediately begins to clean up the crime scene, almost as if this was normal and has happened before. He gathers all her belongings, including the $40,000 she stole, her body, and puts them in her car, then drives it into a lake and watches it sink to the bottom. Unaware of Marion’s state, her sister and her boyfriend work with a private investigator that the man who lost the $40k hired, they sister and lover ask the private investigator to track where she is. He comes across the Bates Motel and questions Norman. He grows suspicious of him and decides to investigate his house behind the motel where he gets stabbed by a woman and had the same fate as Marion. Marion’s boyfriend and sister’s concern grows and they go to the motel to know what happened. They do their own investigating and after searching, they uncover that Norman’s mother had actually passed away and her son kept her corpse in his basement. His mind has also been corrupted by her, as he has both the personality of himself and his mother. It’s said that he’s suffering from a split personality disorder in a way. When his mother’s personality takes over, her jealousy and overprotectiveness force Norman to commit murders. The film ends with Norman in a high security room, in jail, staring at the camera breaking the “fourth wall.” (See end scene below)

The sound design in “Psycho” is a crucial element in the film. There are rumors that Hitchcock purposely filmed the movie in black and white to have the audience focus more on the sound used. He makes it a point to include both diegetic and non-diegetic sound. An example of the diegetic sound is found earlier in the film, when Marion is fleeing the state with the stolen money. The audience hears her internal monologue as she reflects on her actions and it portrays her anxiety. The non-diegetic sound includes the iconic violin screeches during the stabbing scenes in the film. This sound effect clearly isn’t heard by the characters in the movie, but the audience hears it and it is a major element in the scene to create an unsettling feeling. This sound is also used as a leitmotif, as it reoccurs every time there is a stabbing scene in the film. This repetition allows “Psycho” to have its own recognizable “theme song” where people can easily identify the movie based on the sound. Leif motifs can also be found in more recent films such as Jaws, Indiana Jones, and the Star Wars.

In my last blog post, I discussed similarities between The Smashing Pumpkins’ Tonight, Tonight and the 1903 film, a Trip to the Moon. Films are constantly being remade, and are inspiring other forms of media. Cinema is something that is in a continuous change, new movies are produced, and new techniques are made. A few examples of old cinema that has been remade, or modernized are…

The Little Mermaid

The first film produced inspired by the stories of a mermaid falling in love with a human prince, was The Little Mermaid, a japanese animated film directed by Tomoharu Katsumata. This film was produced in 1975, and ti was heavily inspired by the mystical tale that we all know. This film ended up inspiring many others, and there are certain factors that can be seen in the new adaption, The Little Mermaid (2023) On the left, is a poster from the original animated film, while on the right, there is the 2023 musical adaption.

Above is a screenshot from the original, animated “The Little Mermaid” and below is a screenshot from the 2023 musical adaption. Both movies involve a main character (a mermaid) and follow a similar storyline. Both movies include the main protagonist with her animal friends, and both include an antagonist. In the original animated movie, the antagonist represents an octopus/snake like creature, while in the modern one, the antagonist still has the same octopus like features, but represents a human as well.

Le Voyage dans la Lune, or also known as A Trip to The Moon was an incredible film for its time. It was directed by Georges Méliès in 1902, it was a short film that utilized groundbreaking camera and editing effects that made the film look like pure magic for audiences. The techniques that were used sparked many new and ceative films and influenced a plethora of projects in the film world. Below is the film refrenced above.

A great example of a project inspired by Le Voyage dans la Lune is The Smashing Pumpkin’s music video for the song, Tonight, Tonight. The music video was released in 1995, about 90 years after the short film was released. The music video has similar key scenes to Le Voyage dans la Lune, and also has a similar science-fiction theme to it. Below is the msuic video referenced above.

 In the shot film, A Trip to the Moon, there’s a certain shot that the film is known for. This shot is the moon, with a human-like face showing a sour-like expression. This imagery was the most iconic part of the original film, so it’s a given that The Smashing Pumpkins would use this in their music video. Not only is the moon itself shown in the msuic video, but the camera shots leading up to it are similar as well. There are some differences, however, as the moon in A Trip to the Moon is more realistic with a man’s actual face, as this was most likely the method of performing it during the time it was created. While in Tonight, Tonight, it’s almost as if The Smashing Pumpkins used claymation to recreate the moon. Also, in the original film, the iconic scene of a rocket ship flying straight into the moon man’s eye is not included in the music video.

Above is an image of the moon in the music video Tonight, Tonight, by The Smashing Pumpkins. Below, is the originial shot of the moon in the short film, A Trip to the Moon.

Another piece of imagery shoing that Tonight, Tonight’s music video was inspired by A Trip to the Moon is the faces in the stars. This represents a dreamful feeling, as in the shot film, the faces in the stars represent the explorer’s loved ones back home on Earth. In the music video, the faces within these stars sing.

Above is a screenshot from the music video Tonight, Tonight. In this clip, you can see the staring couple on a rocketship flying back home. The faces in these stars are singing, but also may represent the couple’s loved ones back on Earth.

Below is a screenshot directly from the original short film. The explorers are seen on the ground staring up at the stars, the audience can imagine that they’re reminiscing on their family back at home.

In conclusion, the short film A Trip to the Moon inspired many artists when it came to filmmaking. It’s an iconic piece of film for its time, and it was groundbreaking for the media/film industry.

In order to get a better understanding of camera shots and angles, I filmed 7 different shots, the 3 required ones were Dolly Zoom in, Dolly Zoom out, and Rack Focus. Then, I got to do another 4 of my choice.

The second shot I did was a dolly zoom-out. This shot is when you’re pushing the camera with the dolly towards your subject, but simultaneously zooming out. This causes the background to morph and change while keeping the main subject in focus.

My third shot was a dolly zoom-in. This is similar to the dolly zoom-out, except it is reversed, instead of pushing the dolly toward your subject, you’re pulling it away while zooming in. This creates a similar effect that the dolly zoom-out also created.

The fourth shot I took was a dolly perpendicular pass, which is when the cameraman moves the dolly one way, and the subject passes by going the opposite direction. This also gives the audience a sense of the setting.

The fifth shot I did was a rising 360. I call it this because I did a 360-degree wrap around the subject, but I also raised the camera while doing so. In order to complete this, I had to use a gimbal, I’ve never used one before, so this was a fun learning experience for me. If I were to do this again, I would try to hold the gimbal more steady, then fix it with a warp stabilizer in Adobe Premiere Pro.

The sixth shot I did was a rack-focus one. This is when you have multiple subjects in the frame, and the camera’s focus shifts from one to the other. In my opinion, this was one of the hardest shots for me to film. I was not used to the camera we used to achieve this shot, and I only managed to get two subjects instead of the recommended three. Overall, I think I did a good job of demonstrating what rack focus is. If I were to do this again, I would try to have more subjects and space them out better.

Lastly, I did an arc 180. Rather than doing another 360, I did a 180 shot. I recorded it in an arc using a gimbal, starting from point one and going to point two. This shot also gives the audience a sense of the setting, but it doesn’t wrap around the subject as a whole. This shot also required a gimbal, I believe this is better than my 360 shot because it is much more steady and smooth.

Overall, this project was exciting and challenging. I felt as though I learned a lot about camera shots, but I also learned better ways to use camera equipment. I’m always looking for ways to better my videos, and these camera shots help me achieve that by creating intriguing angles that keep audiences invested. This also was a great learning experience overall.

Equipment

Below is what a dolly looks like. It’s a triangular-shaped piece of equipment that allows you to attach a tripod. This helps record shots where you need to move the camera at a steady speed and pace.

Above is a gimbal. This device helped record subjects when turning or doing 360/180 shots. This keeps the camera steady and focused. Recording a 360 shot without a gimbal would result in a shakier video, the gimbal helps make the shot flow smoother.

In my AICE Media Studies class, we watched a Crash Course on the history of filmmaking, and what discoveries and advancements were made during the process to put us where we are now in film.

One of the key topics discussed in the video is how films were sort of an “optical illusion”. This is essentially how the brain and eyes work together to create the illusion of movement when viewing a film. In the 19th century, Peter Mark Roget was one of the first to discuss this phenomenon, he called it “persistence of vision”. This basically means that the mind will cross over it between each clip, even if there are black bars or frame spaces if the pictures move fast enough. If a frame is projected every fifth of a second, the brain won’t process the black spaces and only registers the frames, which is why most films are 24 frames per second. To simplify, the persistence of vision allows the eyes to see a constant picture in motion, making a film.

Also, Max Wertheimer defined the “Phi Phenomenon” during this time in 1912. This is an optical illusion that allows people to see a series of images in continuous motion when quickly shown. It reiterates the ideas introduced by the persistence of vision. The video uses a flipbook as an example of this to show how a motion picture is created using this phenomenon. When a figure in closely related images is shown in a fast/smooth sequence, the brain tricks the eyes into believing the subject is truly moving. Another prime example of this is Muybridge’s multiple photos of a horse galloping.

These phenomena are crucial to the development of filmmaking because they help explain why our brains perceive motion pictures in the way that they do. Persistence of vision and the Phi Phenomenon are still used today to explain the illusion in our brains when watching old films.

The phenakistiscope was the first widespread animation device that created a fluid illusion of motion. It is regarded as one of the first forms of moving media entertainment and paved the way for the film industry. When images flow simultaneously, the brain is able to connect them together, as if it were a movie. The illusion of continuity is formed as the brain is able to animate the images together. This is called Persistence of Vision, which started live-action filmmaking and allowed for projectors to work.

Edweard Muybridge was hired to help settle a bet that at some point in a horse’s gallop, all four hooves are off the ground. In 1872, Muybridge began using a complex photographic method to capture horses in motion. In 1879, he proved that indeed all four hooves of a galloping horse are off the ground during the stride! Muybridge was a key factor in the development of the process for making quick sequences of photos in motion.

To better understand how Muybridge was able to create a rapid sequence of photographs and use persistence of vision, I created my own phenakistoscope with my own drawings and edited it in Adobe Premiere Pro. To do this, I first drew a series of events in each different frame, then I photographed each individual frame. I then uploaded the photos onto Premiere Pro, adjusted the size and rotation, and I also centered the images. I connected the images in sequential order, and then nested the clips together. Once I did this, I realized my clips were moving a bit too fast, so I slowed it down just a bit. To really finalize the project, I added music to the background to add some more cohesion. Below is a screenshot of my completed project in Adobe Premiere.

By completing this project, I was able to learn more about the persistence of vision, and it gave me a better understanding of how you can make a film just by using still images. I also learned about Muybridge, and how he played an important role in the development of using still photos to make motion. Below is my final project.