The Technique of Film Editing Second Edition
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The Technique of Film Editing Second Edition
Written and compiled by
Karel Reisz and Gavin Millar with the guidance of the following Committee appointed by
The British Film Academy Thorold Dickinson (Chairman), Reginald Beck, Roy Boulting, Sidney Cole, Robert Hamer, Jack Harris, David Lean, Ernest Lindgren, Harry Miller, Basil Wright
Introduced by
THOROLD DICKINSON
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Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier 30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK Copyright © 2010 British Academy of Film and Television Arts. All rights reserved. This book was originally published in The Technique of Film Editing by Karel Reisz and Gavin Millar. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Rights Department in Oxford, UK: phone (⫹44) 1865 843830; fax: (⫹44) 1865 853333, E-mail:
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Printed in the United States of America
Contents Publisher’s Note Introduction Acknowledgements Foreword
ix xi xv xix
PART I SECTION 1 THE HISTORY OF EDITING Chapter 1
Editing and the Silent Film
1 3
The Beginnings of Film Continuity Griffith: Dramatic Emphasis Pudovkin: Constructive Editing Eisenstein: Intellectual Montage
4 7 12 17
Chapter 2 Editing and the Sound Film General Who Edits a Film? The Order of Shots Selection of Camera Set-ups: Emphasis Timing Presentation: Smoothness The Contribution of Editing Special Styles of Editing
25 25 28 28 29 29 30 38 41
SECTION 2 THE PRACTISE OF E