Pudovkin’s 5 Basic Edits include –
- Contrast: Contrast forces the viewer to compare two opposing scenes in their mind.
- Parallelism: Parallelism is often used to jump from one time period or a location to another.
- Symbolism: Visual or auditory representation of another object. The use of one object or action (a symbol) to represent or suggest something else.
- Simultaneity: Action occurring at the same time in two different locations, the camera will cut away from one action to another action, which can suggest the simultaneity of these two actions but this is not always the case.
- Leitmotif: Repetition. Visual Leitmotif’s (leading motifs or guiding motifs) is a theme, or other coherent idea, repeated to associate with a particular idea, person or situation. It is a technique that accompanies the reappearance of a person, object or situation. Clearly defined so as to retain its identity if modified on subsequent appearances, and whose purpose is to represent or symbolize a person, object, place, idea, and state of mind, supernatural force or any other ingredient in a dramatic work.
I used these editing techniques much more in my short video. I wasn’t really sure how to incorporate them into my final video.
In the beginning, I was wary of the project because I haven’t ever really worked with film before. However, I was really excited to explore the idea of movement because it’s something I think about a lot in my spare time. I’m always recording tiny clips that I think are really beautiful. I think the part I enjoyed the most was editing my clips. I really liked playing with the colors, because I think it really set the tone for my video. I think the movie Momento encouraged me to make something about nothing. I didn’t really go into it thinking my piece had to be a narrative for something bigger, so I stuck with that.
