In 1903, the film 'The Life of an American Fireman' had a huge influence on the future of cinema and editing. This was the first film to feature two scenes edited together to show two locations at the same time. It featured a woman in her house while it burned down while the fire-fighters left the fire station. This creation has become a staple in the film industry that is now not only wanted, but expected in every film released.
A Moviola is a large editing machine resembling a green sewing machine on legs.
An average feature film contains 200 hours of footage with 24 frames per second. An editor is required to go through all this footage and cut it down to approximately two hours.
In Russia, as the October Revolution was in full swing and the Bolsheviks were rising up against the government, Vladimir Lenin was using the medium of film to influence his illiterate countrymen to follow him and help him gain control of Russia.
The power of juxtaposition was tested by cutting a bowl of soup, a woman draped over her husbands coffin and a child cradling a soft toy with a man's face. Although the man never changed his facial expression, the audience perceived it as though he looked at each shot differently.
The film 'The Untouchables' features a scene where a pram is rolling down a flight of stairs, this sequence is a nod to the highly influential 'Battleship Potemkin' by Sergei Eisenstein.
The 40's and 50's marked the industrialization of editing. This time was best summarised by the quote "I don't want it good, I want it Tuesday". During this time, films were created more efficiently and as a result more were made and released with the sole intention of making money. Directors were also rarely involved with post-production as it was handled almost exclusively by the studios.
Good Dan, some nice references to soviet cinema. Maybe include some illustrations?
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