In Camera Editing is a technique of video production, in which the camera shots are captured in the order that they will be viewed. In order to edit the video on camera, the camera opperator presses play to capture the scene, and pause to stop the scene, they then need to move to their next location and repeat the process. An example of a famous early film maker is George Melees, who first used 'In-Camera Editing' when he filmed 'The Vanishing Lady' in 1896. It is rumoured that he created In-Camera editing by accident when his camera broke down for a second. In-camera editing was used as a main editing technique before 'slicing' (cutting out the parts that are not needed) became easier.
Pros and Cons of In-Camera Editing PROS:
You put more thought into the footage that you were capturing
Useful skill to learn
Enables those who do not have an editing software to edit
Makes the filmmakers more prepared
Individual shots are more precise
No post-production process
CONS:
You only get one chance to shoot each scene
There are generally going to be more mistakes
Harder to communicate
Timing has to be correct
You have to settle with the original scene
It must be filmed in the correct order
There were some cons that occurred when using In-Camera Editing, that were noticeable in the outcome of the film that we made. The first con that affected our group was that you only get one chance to film each scene which can be difficult, especially if you've made a mistake, or haven't captured the exact clip that you were hoping for. Another con that affected us was timing, as we accidentally shot an extra scene on the stairs as the camera would not stop recording, and we could not edit that out. It was also difficult filming in the correct order as two of our scenes were in the wrong order, and we couldn't do anything about it.
Although there were several cons that occurred when using In-Camers Editing, we also found several pros. First of all, we noticed that our film was more structured than usual, and more planning went into the film, It was also a lot quicker to create the film as you only shot the scene once as opposed to filming a scene over and over until we got it right, Another reason that it was quick is because there was no post-production process as we editing the film while capturing it.
Some of the most basic films have made a huge impact on the development of editing. I will be guiding you through the developments of editing, and how film makers were influenced by everyday life .At first, there was no plot or editing in the films, as each film only ran for the amount of time that there was still film strip in the camera, which often wasn't much longer than a minutes worth of film.
The first large influence in the film industry was Thomas Edison. Thomas ran a film laboratory where the Kinetoscope and the kinetographic camera were invented. He also developed the 35mm film strip, which mean't that films could run on for longer without interruption. The 35 mm film strip soon became the industry standard, and he eventually developed the projector so that he could play back his films. One of his most recognised inventions was the first long-lasting practical light bulb.
Another large influence in the film industry were 'The Lumiere Brothers', who worked along side Edison to produce short films that were a long static, locked-down shot. At this point in history any kind of moving image amused the audience, so films were very basic, but still enjoyable by the public. A well known film by the 'The Lumiere Brothers' is 'Sortie d'usine' which was released in 1895.
Editing was first used by G.A. Smith in 1899, When he created a film called 'The Kiss in the Tunnel' which put two separate pieces of film together to create one small movie. The film was inspired by the genre 'Phantom ride', which gave people a POV shot of what sitting at the front of a train would look like. Smith felt like the 'The Phantom ride" genre needed something extra which inspired G.A.Smith to use cross-cutting in his film. This film was also the beginning of narrative editing, which means creating a story. Another film he made was 'The Miller and the Sweep'.
"The Kiss in the Tunnel" (1899)
"The Miller and the Sweep"
George Meilies was another early film maker, who was inspired by the films of 'The Lumiere Brothers', but saw possibilities of a novelty, more than the motions itself. Meillies was also a magician, which may gave him the idea of manipulating his skills with the power of editing. This was demonstrated in 'The Vanishing Lady' which was a short film that was released 1896, which shows a lady disappearing during a magic trick. Although it is Rumoured that he discovered the art of stop motion by accent when his camera broke down for a brief second. He also never moved the camera for close-ups or long shots, which suggests that he wasn't really that skilled of a film maker. Due to the commercial growth of the industry, George was forced out of the business in 1913, which resulted in him dying in poverty. In the recent film 'Hugo', elements of his life were portrayed.
"The Vanishing Lady" (1896)
Edwin S.Porter became part of the film industry in the late 1890s when he joined Thomas Edison's film laboratory, where they worked together to make longer, and more interesting films. The very famous film, 'Life of an American Fireman' was among the first to have a plot, and include action, there was also a close-up of a hand pulling a fire alarm, which introduced close-ups to the film industry. Another one of his famous films 'The Great Train Robbery' which was released in 1903, resembles the types of films we see today with action, and a plot. It is also a lot longer than what the audience at the time was used to so this made the audience very exited about how much film was developing. Porter also discovered important aspects of motion picture language.
"Life of an American Fireman"
"The Great Train Robbery" (1903)
Charles Pathe was a french pioneer of film and recording industries. One of his most famous pieces called 'The Horse that bottled' was the first example of parallel editing, which is a technique that demonstrates cutting between two story lines. He also operated an equipment and production company called 'Pathe', even after his death the company is still active.
D.W.Griffin was a US film director, and one of the early supporters of editing, and how editing can be manipulated. Griffin used cross-cutting to show parallel action in different locations, and he was one of the first early directors to create what is known as a 'feature' length film, which means a film that is generally over 90 minutes long. One of his most remembered, yet most controversial films was 'The Birth of a Nation' Which was over 3 hours long. This shocked the public as films were barely over 15 minutes long at the time, so 3 hours with no sound made the film seem a lot longer.
