Jump Edit Style

Stylization Comments (1)

So you’ve learned how to edit.  You understand the basic concepts of editing.  You understand the importance of a sequence.  You’ve grasped screen direction.  You understand the importance of tight shot.  You know the rules, which are more guidelines than rules.  So, you want to break some rules?

On our Everyday day show on KWGN we’re doing a series called Ambush Makeover.  Our host just walks up to a random woman and asks her if she would be interested in a makeover.  Video is rolling and the fun begins.

I was given a few of these to edit.  My goal was to tell the story of the makeover while weaving a little story of the woman we ambushed.  I had fun with the story and the edits.  I do have a method to this madness I call editing.  I thought I would share what I’m doing and how I’m choosing my edits.  I’m going intentionally for what I call a ‘Jump Edit’ style.  Simply, there are alot of intentional jump cuts.

I’m going to cut the story as tight as I can.  I’m going to fit as much story and visuals as I can in 1:45.  You’ll see lots of edits, not too many, but enough to make the story’s pacing fast and fun.

Our story for this post is She’s a Lady, which can be found on my Youtube site.

Our story begins with our host walking up to an unsuspecting woman.

The second shot of the story I increase the scale to 130%.   I take the edit mid-motion.  Taking edits on motion helps disguise jump cuts a little, music videos do this all the time.

Why did I increase the scale?  So the next shot isn’t as brutal of a jump cut with this shot.  The change in scale creates two shots a with a little bit of a difference in composition.

Her position in the frame helps as well.  Another idea I didn’t do.  Re-size the image and move it to adjust where the person in the frame is.

The next shot the videographer pans from our makeover candidate to our show host.  The shot ends looking like this.

I break up the host talking about the ambush (she rambles on with information that doesn’t advance the story), when I make the next edit its this.

Again, I use the same trick as before.  I increase the scale of the shot. In this shot I increase the scale to 120%.

Its enough of a compositional change that hides a jump cut. I then make another edit breaking up our host talking.  I change the scale back to 100%.

You’ll see later in the piece jump cuts where our our woman is in different spots in the store.  I’m ok with those kind of jump cuts regardless of editing style.  But when you are going from the interview or the one being interviewed and the composition is the exact same, I think a subtle change in composition really helps these edits not become too jarring.

When our subjects accepts, the shot of her accepting is fast.  Then there are two pans back to back.  Another way I hid the jump cuts, I use the pan and make my cuts on the movement or right before the movement starts.  After the pans we are introduced to an assistant in the makeover.

Then I edit a shot of everyone entering the first store. The camera is still panning when I take the edit and everyone entering the store is moving.  There is a lot of change in the composition as well.  2 things that ease the jump cut.

So, they are in the store and then I go back to the interview in the middle of the mall.  Why?  I always like to show emotion on camera.  Emotion overrides all in editing right?  That’s why I go back outside of the store, because our candidate is excited for her makeover.

A music montage follow.  I’m using Tom Jones’ She a Lady for this story.  I love me some Tom Jones.  The song also fits the story very well. In the montage notice again a lot of movement.

The edit at [:15] I take just when she pulls her head up.

The next shot at [:16] I take the edit right as she turns her head.  The next shot at [:17] there isn’t much movement.  It’s also not a jump cut from the shot at [:16].  Back to a jump cut at [:18] and back to finding movement to edit on.

After the music montage I tell a little bit of her story.  We get to know her a little.  Everybody has a story.  The prime objective is to just show the makeover, however I wanted to tell a more of a story.  I am a storyteller you know.

Several Jump cuts after this using as much movement as I can find in the shots the videographer brought back.

At [:39] the videographer does a swish zoom out.  I only use this once.  It’s too distracting to me to use a lot.  But I liked using it here to break up all the jump cuts.

Transitional shot next at [:42].  Not everything has to be a jump cut.  A chance to bring the music up full as well.

I use the transitional to, transition them into the next store.

Once I get into the store I use a lot more tight shots than I did before.  We are in a jewelry store.  Jewelry is small.  That just lends itself to tight shots.  How else are we going to see the pretty jewelry.

Another music montage at [:56].  Again I’m finding motion in the edits.

We move to another store at [1:03]  This time I simply use a pan down from the outside store sign to them entering for my transitional shot.

The sequence from [1:13] to [1:21] is my favorite part of the story.

Women LOVE to try on shoes.  I say it again.  Women LOVE to try on shoes.  Showing all these shoe shots is good.  Showing her moving her foot, in the mirror, her foot bouncing all shows happiness in her and the viewer feels it.

This is followed by her asking her daughter if she likes mommies shoes, and then she says “so fun!”  I don’t change the composition of the shots.  I don’t cut away. Why? Editing for emotion.

So what to take out of this entry?

• Learn the rules (guidelines) and break them (appropriately).

• Use motion to help with your jump cuts

• Re-size shots to change composition a little to help with jump cuts

• Jump cuts are fun, but don’t go overboard.  Too many become distracting.  Find a balance.

• Still try to tell a story

• Remember emotion first. That overrides all else in editing.

shawnmontano @ March 23, 2010