Unit 21

Learning Aim A
Film Editing Timeline
Continuity Editing
Miller and the Sweep
By George Albert Smith

1897
Narrative
The Miller and The Sweep first established
binary opposites in Good vs Bad with the Miller
and Sweep in the black and white outfits fighting
each other. It is all filmed in one single take and
therefore doesn’t have many editing techniques,
but the basic narrative of the miller bumping into
the sweep and fighting with the townspeople
chasing after them at the end. This pioneered
the first uses of storytelling in film and showed
binary opposites within film. The mill is
constantly moving around in the background to
prove to and remind people that they are
actually watching filmed footage and not a static
image. It was the first step for a linear narrative
within film including binary opposites, even
though it is very basic and short (only 50
seconds long) it is an early example of
storytelling within film. There is no camera
movement as the cameras were heavy so the
whole film is a singular static shot and still
shows us lots.
A Trip To The
By Georges Méliès
Moon

1902
A Trip to the Moon
A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage Dans Le Lun) is an example of very
early cinema written, directed and produced by Georges Méliès. It was
released in 1902 and is a French silent film. It is one of the first films to
have a linear narrative and is widely known as one of the first examples
of a science fiction film. Georges Méliès is seen as a pioneer for
filmmaking due to the editing techniques he developed for his films like
In-camera editing, dissolve transitions and using a linear narrative in
film to tell a story. He used his own devices for filmmaking which is all
the more reason to view Georges Méliès as a pioneer for filmmaking. It
is a big step from Miller and the Sweep as it has a more developed
narrative and includes multiple scenes and transitions, the narrative is
more complex and detailed and it uses in-camera editing techniques, it
is important and has its place in the history of filmmaking.
Destructive Editing & Dissolve
As old footage was only recorded on one
physical film reel, multiple sequences on
different film reels had to be cut up and spliced
together. Once the film reel was cut up then it
was probably thrown away, this is called
destructive editing. A Trip to the Moon also
used the first dissolve cut effect in film by
overlaying the film reels onto each other,
creating this dissolve effect during the cut. This
is seen as very innovative of Georges Méliès
as he was the first filmmaker to develop this
dissolve transition between scenes through the
use of destructive editing.
Dolly

The Moon is shown slowly moving towards the

camera in this film, it is clearly shown that it is a
face in white makeup. As the cameras were
extremely heavy when this film was made,
camera movement wasn’t enabled and
therefore didn’t allow for a range of shot types.
This means that this moon head is a man in a
costume (all black body with the moon head).
As the camera was static, the man in the moon
costume would have walked towards the
camera, this an example of a dolly shot.
Arret/In-Camera Editing
All the scenes in this film are static shots
with all the action happening in the
scene with barely any camera cuts. The
only cut shown within scenes is an Arret,
which is when they stop the camera,
make a change and start filming
again,using these effects to make things
appear/disappear. It is a form of
in-camera editing which was the only
way to create these effects when this
film was made. Georges Méliès
developed this as the first form of
special effects in film and it was very
innovative for the time and shocked
audiences, this was one of the first films
to do this and Georges Méliès is seen as
a pioneer for film editing due to this and
his use of destructive editing.
The Great Train Robbery
By Edwin S. Porter

1903
Ellipses Editing
Edwin S. Porter developed ellipsis editing
from Georges Melies. The Great Train
Robbery. It showed multiple changes in
location and changes in time and
experimented with juxtaposition. There are
multiple locations and Porter starts to learn
how to condense time within the film with
the use of editing, this is shown in the
scenes where the train is moving, Porter
cuts to the train moving in multiple locations,
showing the audience that time has passed
whilst the train has been moving just
through the use of editing. This is a big
development from A Trip to the Moon as it
was the first use of ellipses editing and
Porter was very innovative for doing this as
it started to show only the necessary scenes
in film.
Theatrical Viewing/Multiple Narratives
The Great Train Robbery was one of
the first films to involve multiple
narratives, Edwin S. Porter is
considered as very innovative for
being the first to do this for theatrical
viewing. The film features multiple
characters’ narratives, it shows the
audience the Guards narrative, the
Robbers narrative, the Townspeople
narrative and the Sherrifs Posses’
narrative. This is a bigger
development from A Trip to the
Moon as it involves multiple
characters’ perspectives and
therefore a clearer way of telling the
story to the audience.
Birth of a Nation
By D.W. Griffith

1915
Narrative Development - Titles/Graphics
Griffith uses titles describing
what is going to happen in the
next scene. This was a big
development in narrative as it
helped audiences clearly
understand what was occurring
in the scene, which would be
quite hard to understand without
due to the lack of audio and
therefore dialogue. This also
helps establish the narrative and
the general plot of the film early
on, instead of having to watch
more and more to understand
the plot (like in A Trip to the
Moon)
Narrative

Due to the lack of dialogue, it was hard

to establish a clear narrative. D.W.
Griffith used this strong orangey-sepia
colour and a vignette (iris shot) around a
sequence to present the idea that this
scene is a flashback to the audience.
This was a big step for film editing as it
showed filmmakers that through the use
of small changes to a shot sequence it
was possible to convey some parts of
the non-linear narrative timeline (i.e.
flashbacks and flashforwards). Griffith
was one of the first filmmakers to
experiment with this and it paid off,
showing the place of the scene in the
narrative just by the look of the
sequence.
Moviola - 1920
The Moviola was the first machine that allowed film editors to view
the film whilst editing it. It was invented in 1917 and available for
sale around 1920 but it cost $600 (which is the equivalent to
around $20,000 now) and very few of them sold. In 1924 the
device was adapted for proper editing use and the first one was
sold to Douglas Fairbanks Studios. Many other film studios started
to use the Moviola, including Universal Studios and Warner
Brothers. The Moviola was the first device to allow editors to see
the films before they cut it. It was still a machine and it was still
destructive editing, but this allowed editors a more precise way to
edit their films. Around WW2, it was developed to enable
filmmakers to incorporate sound into their films and this was a
huge step for film editing and filmmaking. The Moviola is
sometimes still used in modern film editing, an example of this is
Michael Kahn who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best
Film Editing for his work on the film Munich, he used the Moviola to
edit some of the film. Even though it is not frequently used in
modern filmmaking the Moviola was still one of the most important
machines for the development of film editing in the 1920s.
Citizen Kane
By Orson Welles

1941
Opening Sequence This sequence shows the protagonists journey from being poor to rich.
This is shown through the changes of gate style, they become more
ornate showing the change from rags to riches. This filming with a
moving camera was possible due to lighter-weighing cameras, this
allowed Welles to consider post production whilst shooting the
sequences for Citizen Kane. The opening sequence tells the audience
a lot about the characters through the use of continuity editing and a
range of post production editing techniques which were quite new to
cinema when this film was released in 1941. The whole opening
sequence contains dissolve cuts and it show the growth and change of
lifestyle throughout a number of shots. The gothic castle looking
building stays in the top right corner of most of the shots, Welles was
able to due this due to a range of editing techniques and it conveyed
the fact that this building was important to the life story of the
protagonist. The different objects featured in all of the shots and the
length of each shot before the transition shows the audience the slow
rise to riches of Kane. Welles uses editing and positioning of shots
with transitions to give a lot of meaning to this sequence.
Breakfast Montage
The Breakfast Montage in Citizen Kane shows the loss of
love throughout a marriage. It starts out with the husband
telling his (presumably newly-wed) wife how beautiful she
is and how much he loves her. They sit very close to each
other showing their love for eachother. It then cuts to them
in the same room, but they look slightly different and have
a change of clothes and they’re having a different
conversation. Welles uses close up shots and quick swish
pans and cuts to convey to the audience exactly what he
wants them to see and nothing more, the husband and
wife. This editing technique was considered normal at the
time but in Citizen Kane it stands out as Welles rarely
uses these type of cuts. This emphasises that this
sequence is a montage and that it gives the audience.
Welles used the montage in a whole new way and
showed audiences that it could clearly show the loss of
love in a marriage spanned over years in just over two
minutes, this use of ellipses editing clearly showed the
audience the meaning of the scene.
El Rancho
This sequence shows the camera seemingly passing
through the glass roof, this type of camera movement
was new to cinema and it conveyed a lot in this
sequence. The use of the flashing sign showed the
audience that Miss Alexandra works at El Rancho and
the fact that her name and the club name flash on and
off suggests to the audience that she is unhappy
working there, then Welles moves the camera across
the roof and through the glass to show Miss Alexandra
drinking. This use of camera movement through the
roof suggests to the audience that we aren’t meant to
be seeing Miss Alexandra like this. Welles’ use of
editing in this sequence makes the audience feel like
they are where they aren’t meant to be. This is one of
the first uses of getting the audience to feel something
in the scene just by camera movement.
Steenbeck Flatbed Editor
In 1953, the first Steenbeck 16mm flatbed editor was made. The first flatbed editors were sent to German TV broadcasters
and after that they became popular for filmmaking in America. American filmmakers preferred the Steenbeck flatbed to the
‘sewing kit’ editing style of the Moviola. The flatbed was still destructive and it was a machine, which meant that the risk of
destroying the footage by cutting it on the tape was still there. If the footage was cut there would still be no way of getting it
back and it would have to be cut or re-shot. It was also still a linear system meaning editors had to scroll through all the
footage to find the sequence they wanted to edit which took a while.
1970s Video Technology
This was developed in the early days of electronic video production, linear editing was the only way filmmakers could edit
video tapes. It was still a form of destructive editing, but it was more precise in terms of editing tape and sound and it made
filmmaking easier. This technology made filmmaking easier with less risks and filmmakers began to use this instead of
machines like the Moviola and the Flatbed editor.
1990s Video Tech
In the 1990s non-destructive, non-linear editing computers became available and it opened up a whole new range of editing
flexibility and power. Non-linear editing was new and therefore not welcomed by all editors. There were also issues with the
technology to begin with so not many filmmakers opened up to the idea at first. But it was the first non-destructive editing
technology and it allowed filmmakers to shoot sequences in a non-linear order, this made filmmaking and editing much
easier and eventually most filmmakers opened up to the idea.
Breaking The 30° Rule - Trainspotting (1996)
Danny Boyles’ Trainspotting was one of the first films
to intentionally break continuity editing rules on
purpose. In the interview scene, there are constant
jump cuts of the same shot to show the distorted
reality of the character who has just taken MDMA.
This shows a creative and effective use of breaking
the 30° rule as it clearly conveys to the audience how
the high of the drug is affecting the character,
breaking the normal filmmaking rules to show this
emphasises and Boyles meaning of the scene. This
also makes us feel empathy towards for the character,
as he tried to take the drugs to help him with the
interview but instead it is making him talk too much
and the breaking of the rule makes it seem
uncontrollable for him, this sequence is an example of
an effective outcome for breaking filmmaking rules.
2000s CGI
CGI opened up doors for filmmakers to create things they would never be able to before. They could create their own
worlds and creatures with this new editing technology. They could save money by using CGI to creates extras instead of
hiring them, an example of this is the beach scene from Saving Private Ryan, the scene only needed 3 actors and CGI to
make it look like thousands of extras were there. This is also present in The Matrix when there are hundreds of Agent
Smiths’ in a scene and the bullet time effect is slowed. CGI is also used to create creatures and places, Like in the Lord Of
The Rings CGI is used to create the creatures like Gollum.
Motion Capture
Motion capture allows filmmakers to animate creatures and animals in their films by recording the movements of people. An
example of this is 2005’s King Kong, which was one of the first blockbuster films to use motion capture with an actor to
make the movements of King Kong more realistic as an ape. Motion capture involves placing dots at specific places on an
actor’s face and/or body and filming their muscle movements, these movements are sampled lots of times per second, then
applied to an animation of whatever they want to use the movements for. Motion capture is usually done in a studio but in
the recent Planet of the Apes films it has been used on set due to the mass use for all the apes in these films.
Montage Editing
Lev Kuleshov
Lev Kuleshov was a Soviet filmmaker who was the first to dissect
the effects of juxtaposition of shots in film. He was one of the
founders of the Moscow Film School, one of the world’s first film
schools. He was greatly influenced by D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance
(1916) and began experimenting with juxtaposing shots and
scenes from the film in different ways to see how if shots and
scenes are placed in a different order then it has a different effect
on the film and the audience. He did an experiment where he
filmed an actor with a plain expression and placed it next to 3
different shots of soup, a girl in a coffin and a girl on a bed. Even
though it was the exact same shot of the man next to these shots,
they all had different effects. The audience thought the and was
hungry for the soup, distraught about the dead girl and lusting for
the girl on the sofa. Kuleshov realised that if you place shots in a
certain order, it changes the entire feel and effect of a character
and the film. He then did a shot with a man laughing, a gun and a
man looking scared. If it was show in the laugh-gun-scare order
then it showed the man to be cowardly but if it was shown in the
scare-gun-laugh order then it showed the man to be brave.
Kuleshov was the first filmmaker to explore this effect of
juxtaposing different shots in detail.
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Eisenstein was a Soviet filmmaker who was a
pioneer in film montage theory. He was also inspired by
D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance (1916). He and Lev Kuleshov
were the first to explore the effects of montage
condensing time in film and pioneered this theory.
Eisenstein developed these 5 montage methods:
1. Metric
2. Rhythmic
3. Tonal
4. Overtonal
5. Intellectual
Eisenstein believed that editing was more than just
splicing scenes together and that it could be used to
manipulate the emotions of the audience and create film
metaphors. He believed that this idea could be developed
from Lev Kuleshov’s theories from the juxtaposition of
shots, bringing elements of “collage” into film. His most
known work for this montage theory is the Odessa
Staircase sequence in his film Battleship Potemkin
(1925).
The Odessa Staircase
The Odessa Staircase sequence in Sergei Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin (1925) shows all 5 montage methods that
Eisenstein created.
Metric: Eisenstein uses linear time and/or mythical time. An example of this is the baby in the pram falling down the stairs.
This would usually happen in a matter of seconds but through metric montage Eisenstein creates a mythical time by which
the baby falls over a longer period than real-time would be.
Rhythmic: Eisenstein uses cuts to transfer from the rhythm of the soldiers feet on the steps to the baby carriage falling
from the steps. As the carriage gets faster, the soldiers feet move faster in a rhythmic tone. This shows the audience the
two opposing forces descending the same steps.
Tonal: The mother whos son is bleeding on the stairs, the close-ups show her emotions and then cut to her bleeding don to
show the audience why.
Over-tonal: Rhythmic, tonal and metric. Eisenstein’s argument is “fragments (cinematic shots) have no meaning of their
own, but it is a unit of discourse and as such participants in creating meaning through its relationship with other fragments.
Intellectual: The idea/concept behind the intellectual montage Eisenstein builds here is the idea that the lion is a visual
metaphor of the bombarded people and the lion represents that they are now ready for revolution.
Vsevolod Pudovkin

Kuleshov’s most outstanding student was Vsevolod

Pudovkin, who in the second half of the 1920s when the
Soviets finally got their hands on film equipment,
established 5 montage editing techniques:

1. Contrast - Forcing the viewer to compare two

similar scenes
2. Parallelism - Connecting 2 scenes visually
3. Symbolism - Cutting from one object or action to
something else entirely. Instead of creating a
direct link creating a suggestion.
4. Simultaneity - Cutting between two simultaneous
events.
5. Leitmotif - The visual or audio associated with the
reappearance of a character, object or situation.
Contrast Editing
Contrast Editing forces the viewer to compare two opposing scenes in their mind. An example of this is Francis Ford Coppola’s
adaptation of The Godfather(1972). There is a scene towards the end of the film where Michael Corleone is attending a baptism. The
scene is cross-cut with Corleones men murdering the bosses of the other crime families as Michael renounces the devil. This use of
contrast editing shows the audience how far Michael is willing to go for the mafia and how evil he is becoming, renouncing the devil
while his people are murdering other people in cold blood under his orders. This forces the audience to compare what Michael is
saying in the church with what his men are doing, showing how he is becoming a bad person.
Parallelism
Another montage editing technique developed by Pudovkin is Parallelism. This is showing a visual connection between two
scenes to the audience. A good example of this is in Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade(1989). The
opening sequence shows a young Indiana Jones on an adventure and ends with his iconic hat being placed on his head,
this then cuts to present day older Indy in a different scene. Spielberg connects these two scenes by using parallel editing
to show younger and older Indy to the audience. Another example is the graphic match of the clockwork in Martin
Scorsese’s Hugo(2011) dissolving into 1930’s Paris at nighttime. This shows the audience the connection to how the city
works like clockwork and how the clock is involved/located here.
Symbolism
Symbolism is shown when one scene is cut on an object or an action to something else entirely. Instead of directly linking
the two shots together, it creates a suggestion of a connection between the two. A famous example of this is the scene from
David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia (1962), where Lawrence blows out a match and it cuts to the sun rising over the desert.
This creates a connection between the two shots and suggests that his time in the desert will be a “harsh fire” and that he
has extinguished part of his life by blowing out this match. Many directors refer to this particular cut as being powerful in the
multiple messages given through one single symbolic cut. Another example of this is in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960)
when Marion dies during the famous shower scene. The blood and water flowing down the drain dissolves into a graphic
match close up shot of her eye, which suggests to the audience that she has died and her life was flowing down the drain
without the need to confirm it.
Simultaneity
In Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs, there is a simultaneity montage where the SWAT team break into what
they think is Buffalo Bill’s house but it is actually a dead end. The audience do not realise that it is a dead end until the end
of the montage due to the way the scenes cross cut between each other. When the police officer rings the doorbell at the
wrong house, it cross cuts to the doorbell ringing at the right house. The audience do not know it is actually Clarice that has
gone to the right house until Buffalo Bill opens the door himself and the SWAT team realise they have gone to wrong house.
This misleads the audience and creates a sense of fear for the film as it shows that Clarice is in danger as she is at the
home of a murderer.
Leitmotif
A leitmotif is a audio or visual cue that a certain place, character or situation is reappearing in a film. An example of this is
the signature music from Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975), every time the music plays in the film the audience know the
shark is in the area and an attack may happen because of it. Another example is the imperial march theme from the Star
Wars movies. A visual example is in Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element (1997), the villain Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg is
constantly shot with a circle around his head while Corbin Dallas often framed by a rectangle or doorway behind him. This is
a way to let the audience know that the good is represented by rectangles and bad is represented by circles. These create
a non-visual image of what is bad and good in the minds of the viewers even if they’re not conscious of it.

Jaws Theme - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvCI-gNK_y4

Star Wars Imperial March Theme -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bzWSJG93P8
Hitchcock & Bowling for Columbine Intellectual Montage
An example of an intellectual montage is the shower scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960). The graphic match of
the blood flowing down the drain dissolving into the shot of the lifeless eye of the girl. This is symbolic as it shows the
audience that her life is flowing down the drain and she is dying. This is an intellectual montage because it informs the
audience that the character has died with the use of this graphic match. Another example of an intellectual montage is the
opening sequence of Michael Moore’s Bowling For Columbine (2002) which shows a normal day in America, but contains
references to gun violence and the problems with America like the lady glamorising the gun and the joke with the president
bombing a country, all hidden within the patriotic music and shots of ‘normal’ Americans. This tells the audience that the
theme of this documentary will be problems with violence in America. The order of the shots in the montage shows this.
Using a Montage to Condense Time

An example of the use of a montage to condense time is John G. Avildsen’s Rocky (1977). The training montage shows
how Rocky is training more and more and becoming fitter for his upcoming match. This is also an example of ellipses
editing as time is condensed so the training and the progress that would have occurred over days and weeks is shown to
the audience in 3 minutes. This type of montage is frequently used in sports and martial arts films to show the progression
of a character and their efforts in a long training for a match in a short amount of screen time, for example Creed (2015) and
The Karate Kid (1984).
Parody Montage
An example of parodying a montage is Trey Parker’s Team America (2004). The whole scene is a parody of a stereotypical
training montage and even features a training montage style song mocking the montage effect of condensing time. The
shots and transitions used clearly show them parodying a normal training montage. This fits the comedy genre and
parodies normal montages for comedic effect and is a good example of how some comedy movies parody other films for
comedic effect, exemplifying the comedy genre and parodying theme of the film. Parker may have done this to show the
audience that this film is a comedy that parodies the generic features of multiple film genres, including the training
montages in sport/action films. For example the left image is a parody of GI Joe and the middle image is a parody of the
training sequence in The Karate Kid, showing how this whole sequence parodies famous training montages in films, but
even though this is a parody it does show the purpose of most training montages, which is the change of character over
time.
Hip Hop Montage 1980s
Derived from Eisenstein’s Rhythmic Montage techniques, the Hip Hop Montage is Hollywood’s contemporary use of
montage and is used to manipulate time. In Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream (2000), a Hip Hop montage is used to
show different character’s descent into drug addiction and drug dealing. This is shown within a minute to condense time and
possibly show the audience how quickly someone can descend into this addiction, a development from the use of a training
montage to condense time in Rocky (1977). The montage is accompanied by a non-diegetic soundtrack which creates a
rhythmic feel to the whole sequence. The fast cuts and faced paced music show the effects of the drugs and gives the
sequence a routine but frantic feel, Aronofsky would have done this to condense the time in which the characters become
addicted to the drugs but also to make the audience connect more and have a better understanding of what the characters
are going through. A Hip Hop montage is used in a different way in Edgar Wright’s Shaun Of The Dead (2004) to convey
the plan that is the main plot of the film to the audience, the whip pans used in this montage makes the sequence fast
paced and covers the plot multiple times.
Genre Editing
Captain Video Captain Video (1949) is an early example of a
science fiction television programme. It explores the
early editing techniques that later become the usual
editing techniques for the sci fi genre. It follows 3
narratives in 3 different locations, all filmed live.
They used a Vision Mixer to record and broadcast
the show live and to cross cut between
narratives/locations with quick dissolves, changing
the use of dissolves as in this context it is not a form
of ellipses editing. This introduced cross cutting into
the sci fi genre, which is frequently used in most sci
fi films/television programmes. It also has early
examples of a recap with narration in the beginning,
telling audiences the general plot of the show
through narration. It also uses an iris shot/effect to
verify who Captain Video is and his importance, a
different use of an iris shot and a development from
the iris shots used in Birth of a Nation (1915). Also
its mise en scene is one of the first to specify that a
show is of the sci fi genre due to the costumes and
props used, showing they are in the future and
therefore the sci fi genre.
1970s Dr Who The editing techniques and mise en scene show the sci fi genre in this
show. The shows opening credits establish the genre because of the
colours and dissolves used and the soundtrack is not like generic 70s
music, it has a futuristic tone suggesting this show is of the science
fiction genre. The show then opens with a Shot-Reverse-Shot/Cross Cut
sequence between a man in (what is presumably) a spaceship and a
commander back on the planet (presumably Earth). These shots already
tell the audience the genre of the show as the technology shown is a
form of iconography for sci fi, it is ahead of its time. Also, the blue filter
on the man in the spaceship tells us this. This type of
Shot-Reverse-Shot/Cross Cut sequence is quite common in the science
fiction genre as it cuts between people talking to people in space, this
also establishes the genre. There is a green screen used where the
people on Earth are looking at the video of the man in space which
signifies an advancement in technology from Captain Video (1949).
Then, while the news reporter is explaining the plot, it cuts to the
reporter on a TV screen, changing the narrative from the reporter/space
station to The Doctor who is watching the TV, which are both
developments from narration and cross cutting in Captain Video (1949).
An action match is used when the man on the ship opens the hatch and
then montage editing is also used when the odd sound starts to show its
effects on all the characters that are hearing it. This shows montage
editing techniques being developed from Soviet filmmakers like
Eisenstein and Pudovkin. The techniques used in 1970s Doctor Who
show developments and starting points for modern sci fi editing.
 Farscape (1999) uses a range of editing techniques to establish

1990s Farscape the sci-fi genre of the programme. The show opens with a extreme
long shot of Dominars eye which then pulls back out to a close up
of his face, it then cuts to an eyeline match of an extreme long shot
of the ship floating in space. This type of extreme long shot Shot
Reverse Shot is used to show the drama and tension between
Aeryn and Crichton over the girl. The opening credit sequence
gives the audience a brief recap of the protagonists journey and
the shows general plotline narrated by the protagonist. This is a big
development from Captain Video (1949) as the recap in Farscape
is a montage featuring different clips from the show instead of just
a single static shot. The dissolving cuts used in the opening credits
also shows a development in editing from Captain Video (1949) as
they are used to show a passing of time instead of a change of
scene/location. The action match used when the characters open
the door and enter the deserted ship creates suspense and
enigma, similar to 1970s Doctor Who where the astronaut opens
the hatch and is attacked. Farscape also breaks the 180° Rule
when the girl is running from the characters in the abandoned ship,
this shows that directors do not always conform to these rules in
television due to production deadlines and to create a certain
effect. Farscape (1999) shows the development of editing for the
sci fi genre from older sci fi shows like 1970s Doctor Who and
Captain Video (1949). It also shows how developments in
technology have affected the genre, for example the use of CGI in
this sequence.
Battlestar Galactica 2004
Battlestar Galactica (2004) shows more developments in the sci fi genre from Farscape (1999). This sequence shows that
the uses of editing techniques have developed in editing for the sci fi genre. For example the action match used when the
Admiral passes through the hatch to the no-oxygen zone, it is similar to the action match in 1970s Doctor Who where the
man goes through the hatch in the spaceship. It also uses a Shot-Reverse-Shot sequence like in Farscape (1999) to show
the tension between the Major and the Admiral and it cross cuts from the oxygen room with the Admiral, to the Major and
then the Starbuck Pilots, developing the parallel editing techniques from following 3 narratives from Captain Video (1949).
The sequence creates a narrative with the development of drama between characters and providing and withholding
information
Star Trek Enterprise 2001
The montage used for the opening credits for Star Trek: Enterprise (2001) shows the development of human technology
and transportation alongside a non-diegetic soundtrack. The purpose of this sequence is to convey how far humans have
come over centuries and eventually travelled with spaceships into space, which conveys the shows sci-fi genre. The
dissolve transitions represent the passing of time and therefore condense time within the sequence. This is a development
from Georges Méliès’ use of dissolve transitions in Trip to the Moon (1902) almost 100 years later. The use of a graphic
match also shows how editing techniques and technologies have developed from early filmmaking.
Battlestar Galactica Opening
The opening for Battlestar Galactica actually contains two montages.The first montage is holistic montage for the opening of
the show that is repeated every episode to signify the start of the show. Like the Star Trek: Enterprise (2001) opening
sequence, this tells the story of how the world was attacked and now humans are fighting in outer space, conforming to the
sci-fi genre. Again, the use of dissolve transitions signify the passing of time through the montage, so this montage is used
to manipulate time and tell a story. The cross-dissolves change time in the same time frame and the dips to black signify
skipping time. The second montage starts when the soundtrack changes and it follows 3 different narratives of characters
from the show, placing different clips from different timelines of the 3 characters to juxtapose them, presumably showing
clips from previous episodes to get the audience up to date and recapping on what happened to these characters in the
previous episodes.