Retchless’ article revolves around the ideology that “the ultimate goal of the editor is to make the editing invisible” , and as such, it details the technical skills required to edit in such a way. The article analyses 5 key areas or rules that need to be followed in order to achieve continuity editing. His explanation of how editing works is simple; “editing is built around the same concept as our vision, that an experience should be broken down into multiple sections in order for us to better understand it.”
The article provides an in-depth analysis into the rules of continuity editing, and as such, is extremely informative. Whilst the majority of the rules focus on the actual cutting of footage, there is mention of the importance of the shot, and the way it is constructed so to provide a flowing, clear image for the audience to view. Retchless himself notes that the 5 ‘rules’ are more so guidelines than anything else, and pays homage to Walter Murch and his list of priorities to which “an ideal cut should conform”.
This article is extremely helpful in that it details the required technical skills one must have to achieve a free flowing sequence. What’s more, it details how to create a sequence that not only has smooth cuts, but allows the contents of the shot to remain constant so that the audience focuses on the action, rather than the change of angle.
This source revolves around the concept of invisible editing and explains how it all works.
I looked at this source because it had a lot of emphasis on the cut. I want to evaluate the long take and its virtues from a cutter’s perspective, and this source focuses on editing, which the long take is largely devoid of. Its perspective on the cut and shot relationship can also be applied to montage, as the source has emphasis on continuity, something that I believe to be still necessary in a montage.