Editing is sometimes called the invisible art. When it works, viewers do not notice the cuts; they simply feel the story move. Yet the editor decides what the audience sees, in what order and for how long, which can completely change a scene. Continuity editing Most mainstream films use continuity editing, a set of conventions … Read more
Audiences rarely notice good sound, but they immediately notice bad sound. Sound design covers everything you hear in a film apart from music: dialogue, effects, footsteps, wind, the hum of a room. It makes images feel real and directs attention. The layers of film sound Famous examples Ben Burtt created many of the sounds of … Read more
Watch a tense scene with the sound off and it often loses much of its power. Music tells the audience how to feel, links scenes together and gives characters an emotional identity. It is one of the most powerful tools a filmmaker has. Score and source music Some of the most memorable moments blur the … Read more
A film is made by hundreds of people, yet critics and audiences often talk about it as “a Hitchcock film” or “a Spielberg film”. That is because the director is the person who turns a script into a unified vision and makes the creative decisions that hold it together. Before shooting The director’s work starts … Read more
