Editing and Representation

Shot Reverse Shot

Shot reverse shot is a continuity editing technique which is often used to show conversations. A shot showing what the character is looking at followed by another, reversed shot from the character's or object's POV. This simulates characters looking at each other.

Example:

In Sam Raimi's 2002 blockbuster, Spider Man, the Shot Reverse Shot editing technique is used to show Dafoe's character searching for the "intruder" in his home. It's cleverly used as it keeps the audience in suspense.

Eyeline Match

The eyeline match relies on the audience's assumptions. This series of shots usually shows someone looking at something and then what exactly they are looking at and the angle they are looking at it from. In this way the auience can see exactly what the character is seeing and what the director wants them to see.

Example:

In Hitchcock's 1954 Rear Window starring Jimmy Stewart, the director makes use of eyeline matches throughout the film to show what Jeffries is seeing from his window. The shots are voyeuristic in nature and the repeated use of eyeline match puts the audience in Jeffries' shoes (or rather, cast).

Graphic Match (Match Cut)

The Match Cut is an editing technique in which a close up on one object is used, which then quickly becomes another object with similar compositional elements. It is used to establish a relationship between two shots.

Example:

Perhaps one of the most famous match cuts occurs in another Hitchcock film - Psycho, takes place just after Marion Crane is brutally stabbed to death while in the shower. As her blood washes away down the drain with the water, the camera slowly zooms in on just the drain itself. A graphic match cut is then used, as the center of the drain becomes the iris of the victim’s lifeless left eye.

Match On Action

The Match on Action cut is when two shot are connected together in which a character finishes off an action in the second shot that was started in the first one,

Example:

In the opening of Hot Fuzz, a series of Match on Action cuts are used to create a quickened, comedic pace.

Jump Cut

Jump cuts are used very often in film for a number of reasons, primarily for visual comedy or to convey the passage of  time.

Example:

In my favourite Wes Anderson film, The Royal Tenenbaums, the jump cut is employed in a very well edited, if disturbing scene where Richie attempts to commit suicide. Here it is used to convey the passage of a few minutes as Richie cuts his hair and shaves his beard. It is accelerating the time until Richie performs that inevitable act upon himself - suicide.

Crosscutting

Crosscutting is when two or more scenes are shot, then edited into each other so that the camera is constantly cutting between the scenes. This creates tension and is often used in dramas or thrillers for this exact reason.

Example:

In the original Jurassic Park, crosscutting is used to establish tension as Timmy climbs the fence. The camera cuts between him climbing the dormant electric fence and the control room, as the audience is wondering whether or not the fence will be turned on.

Cutaway

The Cutaway technique, not unlike Crosscutting, is used to show two events occurring side by side, with the camera often cutting between two scenes.

Example:

In Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon, cutaways are used in the various phone call scenes throughout the film. These are used to establish various relationships between Sonny and the other characters as well as to move the events of the film and to develop characters and create drama.

Insert

The Insert shot is one that occurs in the middle of a larger scene or shot, usually a close-up of some detail or object, that draws audience attention, provides specific information, or simply breaks up the film sequence.

Example:

In this shot, an insert shot is used to provide context and inform the audience what the character is reading in the book.

Dissolve

The dissolve is a transition from one shot to another where one shot is gradually revealed, and the shot previous gradually disappearing.

Example:

Prior to the New Age of American cinema, dissolves were used much more often than cuts to transition from shot to shot. These were particularly used in silent films as well as film noirs. Citizen Kane employs multiple dissolves throughout, helping to establish an almost dreamlike quality within it.

Cut

Perhaps the most basic of editing techniques is the cut. A Cut in film is the name for the sudden transition between two shots.

Example:

This was literally pulled from the top of my head. Trailers always cut together various scenes from the film they are previewing to showcase to the audience and so usually use these cuts to change the atmosphere, setting or characters of a shot/scene.

Wipe

The wipe is when one shot replaces another onscreen by travelling from one side of the screen to the other and hence "wiping" the shot it replaces offscreen.

Example:

Akira Kurosawa is well known for his use of the wipe transition in his films. He is cited as influencing George Lucas in the editing process of Star Wars, which is evident in the editing of the series. Below I have included two videos: one for a wipe used in Seven Samurai (Kurosawa) and one, a compilation of wipes from Star Wars  (Lucas)

Superimposition

Superimposition is when two images are shown, with one placed on top of the other.

Example:

In Hitchcock's 1960 masterpiece, Psycho, an image of Norma's skull is superimposed over Norman's face in a grimace. This is used to convey the idea that Norma and Norman are, in the end, essentially one and the same. This is also used to convey a sense of absolute finality to the film.

Long Take

A Long Take is a take which lasts considerably longer than the other takes in the film, or in film in general. Long takes can be used to achieve a number of effects: from dreamy to action packed.

Example:

One of the most famous long takes in modern cinema has to be the hallway fight scene in Oldboy. Here, the long take is used to create tension and to keep the action flowing as smoothly as possible, which it undoubtedly achieves as the audience is absorbed into the narrow hallway where the action is unfolding.

Short Take:

The short take is one which only lasts a few seconds. Usually filmmakers use this to establish a location from various points or, in slasher films, show the killer stalking his victim to build up tension.

Slow Motion

Slow motion is when whatever action is happening on camera is slowed down to achieve a certain look or effect on the audience. 

Example:

How can one mention Slow-mo in film without talking about the Wachowski's The Matrix? Their 1999 sci-fi action film arguably brought the slow-mo technique into filmmakers' inventories with Bullet Time. 

Ellipses

An ellipsis in film is when the film omits a section of the story that is either obvious enough for the public to fill in or concealed for a narrative purpose, such as suspense or mystery.

Post Production

Post production is a term that applies to every part of the filmmaking process after shooting and recording is complete.