Editing Short Film Analysis

Although I am the cinematographer for my short film, it is highly important that the length of shots is taken into consideration whilst I am shooting the shots required. The use of editing is just as important at conveying meaning to the audience as mise-en-scene, cinematography and sound, although it is more closely linked to cinematography. I will ensure that the editor of my group, Hannah, and I work closely together to ensure that the edited version of the shots I shoot conform to my desired vision. Due to the reasons listed above, I have decided to analysing the editing used within the short film 'Thoughts of a Dead Atheist'. This film has darker themes which link to the social realism genre, meaning that it will be beneficial to my own production for me to analyse, as it will outlay some of the social realism conventions which I may be expected to follow.

Above is the short film that I am going to analyse.

The opening shot of a film is arguably the most important of the whole production. This is because it immediately shows the viewer the themes which reside within the film, and introduce the protagonist to the audience. The opening shot of 'Thoughts of a Dead Atheist' lasts for an extremely long amount of time, amounting to a total of around 20 seconds. The character in the centre of the frame walks away from the camera down a narrow pathway in this amount of time. Although this shot looks visually appealing, and that it introduces the audience to the film effectively, I feel that this shot lasts for a too long duration of time. I will ensure that Hannah edits any of the longer shots I shoot to a smaller amount of time. This will keep audiences engaged with the production and will make them want to know what is going to happen next within the narrative. The following shot, where the man in question encounters another character, lasts for around 8 to 9 seconds. This shorter duration is more effective than the previous 20 second shot, as it keeps audiences engaged by showing them numerous different types of dialogue as the two characters exchange dialogue. Throughout the film shots of around 7 -8 seconds are used. I feel that some of the shots could have been reduced further, as some shots have little relevance to the meaning of the plot yet are shown anyway. This may result in audiences becoming bored whilst watching the short film, meaning that the overall effect of the production is ruined. To avoid this from happening, I will ensure that the shots within 'Flight' are only the necessary amount of time, and that the narrative progression does not drag on for too long. Another important aspect of editing is the use of altering the original colour of the shot. This is shown in the short film above by the use of black and white. However, the red scarf worn by one of the characters is still shown. This shows the importance of this character and hints at the connotations that the colour holds. I will ensure that I work closely with the editor of my film in case she decides to change any of the colour of the shots. We will work together to make sure that any colour alterations are effective.