Editing: Creating the "OH F**K" Moment
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- Опубликовано: 19 окт 2024
- In this video, Director/Editor Joey Scoma walks us through a few classic scenes in cinema that demonstrate editing as an effective storytelling tool, and focuses in on a specific technique that he likes to call “The “Oh F**K” Moment.”
Editing is about controlling information - it determines how, when and why we see certain pieces of information or story. There are many different styles and techniques within the art of editing to accomplish this, but the main purpose of each of them is to further the story. In other words: “You need a reason to cut.”
Questions for Joey? Want to dissect these scenes a little further? Talk with RJFS directly in our forums: bit.ly/1h46jim
Some other resources to check out:
Hitchcock Interview about Editing bit.ly/1Jir9TT
The Cutting Edge documentary bit.ly/1VmDOdb
Happy cutting! And watch out for the Sundance Kid.
Very special thanks to RØDE Microphones! Check them out here:
www.rode.com
Thanks for watching! More videos at school.rocketju...!
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Spielberg's incorporation of pedestrians passing in front of the frame is such a perfect example of how transitions should be played out. From a wide, to a medium, to a closeup, showing the man's facial expressions more and more clearly after each person passing in front of the camera. Amazing!
+Hermin Hop wipe wipe wipe
+Hermin Hop Any idea how they achieved that?
I mean, I know how to do it with After Effects / masking. How did they do it on physical film? Any insight?
SeanithanEgan They simply cut every time someone walked in front of the camera and moved it closer to the subject over and over again!
+Hermin Hop That's right, that's an excellent editing technique. I also love achieving that with a tracking shot, from wide to closeup, but instead of cuting, moving the camera slowly until the final shot.
+Arnau Orengo Guardiola If you watch the specials on the Aliens DVD you'll see how much Cameron also relied on simple editing techniques to make practical effects work better. No CGI required.
Well I better go rewatch Jaws.
+NightHawkInLight God you're freaking everywhere
+NightHawkInLight For the film that ruined cinema it sure is chock full of great direction and cinematography and editing.
+BollocksUtwat Can you elaborate on how it ruined cinema?!
AFMvideoproductions The idea is that it was the first true blockbuster and as a result lead Hollywood to pursue that kind of film to the detriment of others.
Hi, I know this comment is 3 months old, but the idea of a sort of cut-and-paste blockbuster movie is actually a pretty old concept, going back to even the late 40's. This isn't to say Jaws was a stepping stone in the sort of kitsch summer hollywood formula, but the idea of "formulaic" and "brainless" movies have been around for quite some time. Just thought you may be interested, and if so, check out the writings of the, "Mass Culture Debates".
Really wanted you to breakdown that Whiplash scene, that's probably one of the best scenes I've seen in a film made in the last seven years.
Littlebigtime Agreed!
Holy crap whiplash was made at least 8 years ago?! My goodness
7:04 im pretty sure my family thought I was watching porn there...
Literally an "oh fuck" moment.
Oh F**k.
the showdown in the good the bad and the ugly is absolutely masterfully cut. they create such brilliant atmosphere, it is just incredible.
Just wanted to say this now and in advance for the continuous videos you guys will put out: Thank you. As an indie filmmaker, videographer, and production manager I'm always looking at many new ways to not only enjoy film but to study it in all avenues in terms of sound production, editing, acting, etc. You guys are a constant and invaluable source for insight and inspiration no matter how professional or skilled I get. With great appreciation.
fantastic tips with great examples. thanks guys!
The Coen Brothers are my editing/directing heroes.
Great thumbnail on this episode
I totally agree that the biggest thing you can consider when directing and/or editing is *why* you're cutting. That's why careful consideration, storyboards, and master shots are so important, you need to run through the scene again and again as if it were staged and really pick those moments where you wish you could just get on that stage for a closer look.
That was fun! Do more editing vids!
Interesting to see you here 👀 I'm defo dropping a sub now
An important point about the 'holding on the same shot for a long time' tip, this is usually something that needs to be planned and accomplished beforehand. This is the importance of a shot list and storyboard in pre-production, as well as blocking and choreography in your cinematography. Most of the time a perfect one take wont be recorded unless its planned, scheduled and budgeted for.
I feel like I have just learnt more in one video than I have in an entire year of film lectures. This is awesome. I am subbed
the cool thing about old movies like Butch Cassidy is that in some scenes they let physical actions play out for dialog with the ability to watch more than one thing happen in a scene , rather than focus specifically on each subject.....the way Butch Cassidy realized what was about to happen and dove away from the table as the gambler questioned the Kid is a perfect example....I can't think of many examples of that in more modern films(80s and up).....helping the viewer be responsible for what they observe , giving you reasons to see a film more than once, and assuming the viewer to be intelligent enough to catch and read those reactions....
Romano Coombs oh I do
one of the best editing lesson I've seen, simple and effective, great job folks !
Once Upon a Time in the West, has the greatest opening scene for me. In fact it's full of spine chilling tense scenes.
"have a reason 2 cut", loved that...
thank you so much for putting this level of information out there for all of us who are looking to up our game. you guys are seriously heroes!
Hello RocketJump!
Big fan of your RUclips videos! I work at one of the academic libraries at the University of Maryland and I wanted to know if you were interested in giving a small talk/lecture about the Creating the "Oh F**K video and about Rocket Jump in general for our Communication courses. We are planning to do this during the Spring 2016 semester with other presenters through Skype. I can go into details if you are available/interested. Thank you for your time!
Great!!! This got me super excited about editing again. I've had so many clients who wanted that "step up" kind of cuts all over the place (which I find rather disgusting and distracting to the whole video) and started to get disheartened. Pause and silence, minimal cuts can really direct the story and tell it with a lot of power.
Dr. Strangelove has some of the best editing I've seen! The punch in on Strangelove's "Slaughter" is EPIC!
Thanks, Joey. This was beautiful. :)
I've been watching loads of video essays on filmmaking and yours are one of the best ! It's really satisfaying to realise how much I've learned and being able to predict the tips in this video. Great work !
Incredible video! Many amateur filmmakers as myself sometimes cut for no reason. This really helped so keep the quality tips!
These videos are so intriguing. I LOVE everything that goes into movie making. And i had no idea this all went into it. I love it so much.
You can see in most school project-type films, people tend to obsess over cuts. Like a lot of cuts.
There's something exciting when I see people use long wide shots especially during conversation scenes because it lets the script and the actors' do their job. You can easily tell that the script or an acting is bad when there are cut like hell.
My favorite video on film.
This channel, Every frame a painting, and redlettermedia are the best movie channels on youtube.
Very handy guide. Keeping it simple and on-point. Thanks!
Much appreciated! Jotted down some of the highlights for future reference.
Love your enthusiasm
all that jazz is another one with superb editing. recommend it. great video btw...best one on youtube on the subject.
My favorite film trick, is when there are characters that the _camera_ cannot see, and the _character_ that's _in_ the camera cannot see them either, at least until the camera pulls back and reveals the other people. Usually those people are in a place that would be in full view of the character the WHOLE TIME. But only after the camera pulls back, and they are revealed to the audience, does the character see them. And the audience usually totally buys it, or at least are not bothered by the logic.
I had a segment about that in an earlier draft of this video, I love when the characters can only see what the camera sees!
+Joey Scoma Oh, cool! It's not exactly editing per se, but I brought it up bc the video talks a lot about the psychology of controlling the audience. It is fascinating how the human mind excepts certain things in films, even when they have weird logic. I bet an editor really gets a kick out of some of their clever and invisible audience-controlling tricks. Great videos btw!!
This channel will be the reason for my success in the future.
Yes I definitely would have liked to have seen some of the editing cuts broken down in Whiplash too. Looking forward to the Rocket Jump Podcast episode where you will go more in depth on this video. (If the podcast has lots of visual examples and doesn't drag on with excessive talking between the guest speakers.) I like the way Joey uses timeless classic older films like West Side Story and then compares to something modern day like Step Up 4. Great job!
It sounds like almost like you finished very nicely after the train derail scene.
Just what I needed, tks for the awesome vid!!
Great job doing some every frame a painting stuff! love it
Caesar shouting No is the biggest oh f*ck moment I've seen.
I am hoping to start making films. I am so glad I found this channel even though I mentally find myself going "okay my brain hurts" but it takes a few times for things to sink in. so I save all of your videos for later.
This video is awesome! I always had an interest in film-making and this inspired me to try and create. Appreciate you work!
At 4:50 I heard: "Spielber is very fishy..." And was thinking: "Aaah good pun; oh wait it's efficient. Doh."
that last sequence from the sundance kid really had me saying OH FUCK! incredibly shot and edited!
See how that works? - bang bang bang BANG!
this is huge, I really need to rethink edits
I want more of these videos. Great work
Fantastic video with a amazing film examples! Loved it! Thank you very much for this!
I have a little-seen example; it's from Michael Tolkin's 1991 film "The Rapture," with Mimi Rogers and David Duchovny. I'm trying very hard to avoid spoilers, but midway in the film there is a tense standoff involving two characters, one of whom has a shotgun. The shotgun does go off. But it's WHEN it goes off, through the editing, that makes this so powerful. It's not THIS frame, on THIS shot, or THIS frame on the reverse shot, but it's the choice of the absolute pinpoint instant when it happens that makes this a devastating example of "OH F**K" editing. A decent movie, but an unforgettable moment.
what really does it for the psycho shot is the music. even with the closeup shots, without the music it would be boring. Those minor second intervals are really unsettling.
I wanna hurry and ask your guys's opinion on a particular scene in the 1982 movie "The Thing". At one point, we see a character walk into a room and he sees one of his friends being attacked by the shapeshifter. When it cuts back to him, we can hear him drop a pair of keys and see him run out. The scene ends there; No close up on the keys or emphasis on the dropping motion, just the sound. Here is the clip for reference:
ruclips.net/video/w0Z44BIDPPc/видео.html
Later, we learn that the shapeshifter has sabotaged a test that was made to divulge who the shapeshifter was. We can hear the characters argue over how the thing might have destroyed the evidence, as it was locked with the keys, the very same keys we heard the character drop.
Would you guys consider this scene to be a good piece of editing? Does it serve to offer explanation to the perceptive viewer or just confuse?
+Kniroid Great movie, great question. I think the specific moment with the keys is a a good piece of editing especially because that's a great example of how sound design plays such an important role in storytelling. A large part of what makes The Thing so compelling is they mystery of who's who. And this moment (hearing the keys drop) will register to the perceptive viewer while simultaneously adding to the confusion of the characters as well as the audience.
If Bennings took the keys (He probably did) ... you have to ask yourself, did he have enough time to sabotage the blood? (because moments later we see him running outside the compound) So theoretically, anybody still could've picked up those keys... It's possible. The fact that we are even having this discussion just goes to show how important every piece of information is. Yea, that's a great movie and gets better upon multiple viewings for the subtle details like that.
Brilliant examples, super helpful narration: an amazing video. Thanks for making this!
Sensational video. Thanks for this.
This is amazing. The narration of The Fugitive was good fun. lol
If only the kinds of shows I work on would listen to me when I tell them stuff like this. "We've gotta keep it moving" is the constant refrain.
I've been a film student, yet never learned this. Thanks RJFS!
Yes yes more advice on editing ..keep it coming thank u habibi
love the channel, you guys really know your shit and i'm learning so much from you. keep up the great work
How does anyone give this a thumbs down? It is fantastic!
Hmmn, Great watching. And, with one or two exceptions, almost the exact list of my favourite films of all-time. And in your brief example of the contrast between the way the two dance sequences are edited, that almost says it all about much of modern movie making. Edit like crazy. don't leave it in the hands of the audience to pay attention.
It also goes to show that there are no hard and fast rules to editing, either. I personally love directors who understand the static shot. Frame something interesting, and let your actors do the work. And then, as you suggest, do the cut to something else at exactly he right moment. Determining that moment, is something that i guess is what separates the greats from the also rans.
Dpn't get me wrong, i also admire, (although it has quickly become a cliché) the fast editing, say in the fight sequences in the Bourne movies. Those "shaky cam" shots with the fast paced edits work, because it actually tells us something about what it would be LIKE to actually be in a fight. The confusion, the blur of events, the "Oh F*** moment where (in the first of the movies, for instance) where the attacker suddenly turns and leaps out of the window.
All part of SHOWING not TELLING. And my favourite example of that is in Ratatouille. The snobby critic who damns a restaurant with his reviews, that all concerned are desperately afraid of...is served with the ratatouille... and in a few seconds of magic, we are shown all we need to know about him, and his history, and how his heart is melted at the first taste of the dish. That is one of my favourite moments in cinema, maybe not quite categorisable as an "Oh F***" moment, in the way that most of your examples are, but just as telling.
Excellent video! Exactly the kind I'm looking for for tips in filmmaking.
yes! I love editing!
This is an amazing video! This video actually changed my life as a student filmmaker!
How are there no comments yet? Man, THANK YOU! And I love your narration!
Have a reason to cut. I couldn't possibly agree with you more. For that matter have a reason to move the damn camera. And stop that annoying shaky-cam bullsh8t, it's long past its due date.
+Patrick Freeman THANK YOU! I've hated that shit for years.
+Patrick Freeman
*Have a reason to **_[insert anything done in any form of art]_*
Even Bunuel and Dali had a reason for cutting with absolutely no coherent methodology in _Chien Andalou_.
Cinema is chock full of rote performance of a style without any reason other than appearance.
Shakey cams work well with warm movies. Black Hawk Down and Saving Private Ryan for example
If you're going for a documentary feel, such as the combat scene in Private Ryan, then yeah, it works. But every fucking movie is not a war movie nor does it benefit from a documentary feel. I stand by my original point.
Well said and very well researched. I agree with Hitchcock's view which was that every shot should serve a purpose-a wide or a close-up tell a different story, so there should be intent as to why it's being used. All to often today I feel that filmmakers get overly abundant scene coverage (and having worked on set, I see shot lists that lack any sort of storytelling intention; they just get wide/establishing shots, shot-reverse-shot CUs, medium 2-shots, etc.) and then the editor ends up cutting them all together in rapid succession and it feels gratuitous and meaningless. Especially if you're dealing with truly good actors, to hold on a shot and let their performance play out can be very powerful.
This video is an amazing buffet of interesting and fun. Fantastic!
Sublime, poetic.
That great moment when say Oh F**k at the same time as Joey does, felt oddly satisfying for some reason.
This is Fxxxxng amazing. Your monologue during the runaway train was epic! Learning so much from your films. Do you have film samples? Would love to check it out.
I love you narration and love your intelligent style.
but as a film editor I have to say that this video do not reveal even 10% of what editing is all about.
this video is not even close to the amazing work you've done in Why CG Sucks.
+RocketJump Film School would love to, send me your email
I'll send you some topics and examples.
Also, as I said I love your narration!
would love to work with you on some projects if you wish.
arthur.mor@gmail.com
10% is a pretty big number though, especially considering how short this video is. This video just focuses on one small asset of film making.
+Arthur Mor : The purpose of the Rocket Jump Film School is to give big advice in a few minutes. It's a community service so I tend to not complain when something if free. If you want the other 90% then you will get that in a university film school. Joey did a great job with the footage examples in Why CGI Sucks but this is a different topic.
Cuts and Transitions 101 Notes
Watching the video and taking notes on the different types of shots.
The most basic edit you can do is the cut which is simply going from one shot to another, changing perspective, advancing the story. You can do whatever you want. You can do cuts better and make them less jarring by doing tried and true techniques.
Cutting on action- Cutting from one shot to another while the subject is still in motion. This makes the scene fluid.
The cutaway- Cutting to an insert shot of something and back. The cutaway can exist outside of the character, or you can use the cutaway to get inside the head of the character.
Cross Cut- this is when the editor cuts back and forth between locations. For example most phone conversations are cross cut, and when used effectively crosscutting can amp up the tension and suspense in the scene sequence. This technique is also used to show what is going on in the character’s head.
Jump cut- Jump cuts are when the editor jumps between the same shot. They are often used to deliberately show the passing of time. You can naturally find these in montages. Jump cuts are often used to add a level of urgency to the scene. *And there is a lot of jump cuts in baseball.
Match cut- A match cut cuts from one shot to a similar shot by either matching the action or the composition. Match cuts are often seen as scene transitions because you are often jumping from one place to another. Do not confuse with jump shot terminology. Match cuts don't always have to be visual either, there is also verbal match cuts.
Transitions
Fade in / Fade out- Dissolving either to or from black. Pretty self explanatory
Dissolve- a dissolve is when you blend one shot into another. These are commonly used in montages as well and also can represent a passing of time. You can easily dissolve between the same shot.
Smash cut- Smash cuts are abrupt transitions. The obvious example is someone waking up from an intense dream or a nightmare. Or going from something intense to quiet or going from quiet to intense.
Iris- Another transition is the iris. Now the iris used to be an in camera effect back in the day when you can manually open and close your iris to transition from black. Nowadays it is used as a stylistic choice.
And a lot of these transitions you might find within a scene.
Other Transitions
Wipe- A wipe is a wipe. There is many types of wipes.
Invisible cut- An invisible cut is used to show the impression of a single take, however cuts are hidden in blackness. Cuts are also hidden in whip pans where you can hide the cut on the motion of the camera movement. An editor might also hide a cut with an object crossing the frame. Or you may hide the cut when the subject leaves the frame. It is pretty seamless unless you know what you are looking for, just like any good magic trick.
Audio Based Transitions
L-Cut- The L-Cut is an audio based transition. This is when the audio from the current shot carries over to the next shot. Now keep in mind that this doesn’t just have to be for scene transitions, this is used all the time even when characters are just talking to each other.
J-Cut- The J-Cut is when the audio from the next scene starts before you get to it, so you hear what is going on before you see what is going on. These are very subtle editing techniques that people might not even notice, and that is the point.
The J-Cut and the L-Cut specifically create as seamless flow, a seamless transition from one scene to another, with audio guiding the way. The J-Cut is great for revealing a new element within a scene.
Creative Combinations
Once you know all the types of cuts available to you then you can start mixing and matching them.
This was really good! Important information delivered in a great way and easy to understand...i love this show and this channel! :)
Lots of people preach this idea of long takes and saving your cuts. While I don't disagree, I feel there should be more talk relating to holding your audiences attention and knowing how to avoid things dragging on. Today's standard audience doesn't have the patience to sit through Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and even Jaws pushes a lot of people to lose interest nowadays. Cutting isn't the only way to speed things up or increases viewer interest but it isn't one that should be ignored either.
+Brandon Letkeman There's something to be said for training your audience to be impatient which is what a lot of modern film is doing. As a result imagery is becoming increasingly incoherent in the hands of many lesser directors who copy a style with no idea of how to make it legible.
Sure it'll keep people engaged because there's a form of sensory stimulation but how much actual information gets passed by intense cutting? To me that's a modern filmmaking case of style over substance where there's almost no deliberate art to it but instead a kind of rote performance of a style that conforms to expectations.
This is kind of like the CGI vs. practical effect argument. Its all about balance. Too much cutting, too little, and its exhausting either way. I still think however that modern audiences are basically trained to not look for the details that make long cut techniques interesting.
The other thing is that modern directors like the Coens definitely use lots of longer shots and their films are among the most lauded so its not as if this classic style is somehow not relevant. Then also consider Tarantino, a hugely popular director these days and he endlessly references classic film both in content and in form so that just goes to show that long cuts are acceptable when you prime people with the right expectation.
+BollocksUtwat Well put. Although I believe there is something deeper at the root of why the directors you reference who use longer takes are successful versus their more aged counterparts.
Regardless of whether or not you like it film is an art form for audiences and audiences develop preferences. As film becomes more and more elaborate and audiences are exposed to more and more interesting techniques and spectacle they begin to give less and less forgiveness for their attention being strained.
What it really comes down to is pacing regardless of cutting, but seeing as videos such as these are not designed to help the Tarantinos or the Coens of the world but to help the up and comers get a grasp on how to use their tools and where they should be placing their focus. I do not see it as a very helpful technique to be discouraging a style that can have merit and encouraging one that can lose people's attention when the driving force behind either's failure or success lies in the overall pacing of the events being depicted. Not the cutting itself
Brandon Letkeman Well to me pacing is irrelevant if the visual art isn't communicating anything with its pace.
What value does pace have when its without meaning? Just try and watch a film like Domino (late era Tony Scott is pretty illegible in my opinion) and if you mute the film its pretty much impossible to grasp the nuances of whats going on beyond the dynamics of a gun fight. Its just so excessive that there's no actual art to the visuals in terms of its primary purpose as a method for telling a story.
In many ways I think this is a rule that shouldn't change. You should be able to mute the sound get at least a good chunk of whats going on. Ironically I think its TV that is now taking up the mantle of robust high quality visual art as storytelling in place of mainstream films.
Take a show like The Americans. Its one of the most cinematic shows in recent memory and every shot nearly contains a characteristic of classic film making in how it uses the blocking of actors, the framing of the shot, and the pacing to create tension, tell us things about the characters and the situations and all that other stuff.
Really at this point in time mainstream film is so focused on high speed cutting and shaky cam its gotten to the point that apparently nobody in hollywood can shoot a dialogue scene to save their lives, you know at a point when there's not much purpose in fast cuts. Do it in action sequences, sure. There's plenty of reason to up the speed then, but when its just two people talking the art to cutting is significant in making dialogue interesting, yet modern film can't keep up with shows like The Americans or Better Call Saul or Mad Men when it comes to shooting dialogue which to me says its not really audiences attention spans that's the problem.
BollocksUtwat Not every movie intends to be considered on an artistic level the same as others and not everyone who makes a movie agrees with your rules about being able to mute it. I will be honest and say that I very much enjoy a dumb action movie and I also love watching beautiful films by Alenjandro Inarritu, Tarantino, Wes Anderson etc.
One of my favourite movies is still Guy Ritchie's Snatch though and it manages to keep up a very consist and entertaining pace well messing with speed of cutting often and deliberately.
Shit movies will be made and have always been made, they just get forgotten. If you don't like em don't watch em but they shouldn't be taken seriously enough to skew the way we teach film students moving forward. We should teach the merits and detractions of certain styles rather then trying to preach a gospel truth one way or the other. All that can ever achieve is the stifling of creativity.
Great video to showcase the power of good editing.
7:04 thats when he came
thank you I felt I lernt something. But I watched it a couple times to absorb it all
Great video, very helpful. RJFS helps me greatly when making my filmmaking series! Keep working hard :)
Incredibly educational video. I love RocketJump. These types of videos are my favourite.
Amazing!!! Only video about this on youtube that I can find!
What is the best method to derail a train?
+Ernst Stavro Blofeld micheal bay style
Turn it Bop it?
I always use iron pipes when I derail. Any other ideas?
Still experimenting on this question, but Union Pacific won't let me near the mainline anymore. Artless bastards!
Simply place a penny on the track. I know this because I was warned as a child never to place a coin on a train track because it would cause a major catastrophe.
I´m so mad that I don´t understand this as much as I want to. I think it´s really hard to keep all this in mind when directing and also being creative with it.
LMAOPictures
Don't think of these lessons as something to remember. Just try to understand it and acknowledge it with heart. While directing, just put it all out. Don't try and force yourself to remember the stuff you watched. It will come out naturally if you have confidence in directing and again, heart, and passion.
Nikko M Wow, thank you. Made my day!
This is just so amazing to learn!
What I love is the "Endgame" moment where everything just gets fucked
Oh fuck that was good...every frame a painting has a contender!
Fuck Netflix tonight. I'm binge watching this channel.
This video is so so helpful, thank you so much for creating it.. you have saved my uni marks
These are great! Thank you so much
"WOW" ... Excellent!!!
This channel is very helpful and informative, thank you!
This is really cool. You don't find a lot of these videos on youtube
thank you very nice words on cinema impires to do more
Awsome video! This and "Frame by Frame" on the Film Theorist channel have made me want to go into film-making as an career!
@1:27 "Holding on wides and now the audience becomes editor". Well said ! And it is true.
@6:05 Editing of psycho doesn't seem good. He reacts late and like he is thinking, after being stabbed. We can see the moment just after saying action and he starts to act.
The Fugitive has long list of Editors. 6 editors !
This is fantastic.
priority list:
1. rewatch Jaws
7:10 did you just came?
I'm a simple man. You mention Psycho. I give a thumbs up.
I wish you could add the title for each film clip presented. or at least a list in the show comments of those films shown. I really enjoy your channel. thank you
This was so hilarious and informative! Thank you!!
I loved this video so much! I feel like I learned so much in the first 3 minutes.