Essential Film/Video Editing Techniques (Research)

 This research was conducted with the purpose of understanding and learning more about editing techniques. In the previous blog post, we analyzed various cutting methods; however, it's important to emphasize that the fundamental aspect for an editor is knowing what to shoot, when to cut, and what to cut to. This will determine how the scene fragment will look.

During my research, I noticed that there are several ways to show the narrative of the story, not only through actions, as with a cut-on-action shot where the action is break in two so for example: Person A gives a punch to person B, so we see the hand of person A and then the face of Person B, but also how editing can control the perspective from which we see things, for example, using eye traces or eye lines. This can lead us, as the audience, to understand certain characteristics of the character, which also goes hand in hand with using an Intellectual Montage: which is basically putting together fragments of the scene that don't have an obvious relationship and assembling them with editing to help the audience discover and connect the pieces of the puzzle.

This research was also done to learn the correct terminology for certain actions, and I think the most relevant term I found was "Cutaways": This term is used when an editor cuts away from the main action. This information is supported by this video and article:

6 Ways to Edit Any Scene- Essential Film & Video Editing Techniques Explained (Shot List Ep.10)

Now, regarding elements, I actually found this quite specific graphic where we can see everything that needs to be taken into consideration when editing.

Abreu, Rafael. “What Is Film Editing — Editing Principles & Techniques Explained.” StudioBinder, 30 May 2025, www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-film-editing-definition/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=content-marketing-promotion&utm_term=editing-techniques&utm_content=shot-list-editing-techniques.

Furthermore, when we talk about having this precise coherence between the audio and the visuals, editing is the glue that binds them together and makes the story make sense. I've learned that the most common way to do this is with a "Split Edit," which consists of two types: a J-Cut or an L-Cut, which you can see in the illustration below below.

Chillingworth, Alec. “J-cuts Vs. L-cuts: Examples, How-to, and More | Epidemic Sound.” This Is the Epidemic Sound Blog | Epidemic Sound, 10 June 2025, www.epidemicsound.com/blog/j-cuts-and-l-cuts/#:~:text=J-cuts%20and%20L-cuts%20are%20a%EE%80%80%20core%20part%20of%20the?msockid=3b69401cb02e60302dd85607b13261b4.

Basically, I learned that in an L-Cut, the visuals change from shot 1 to shot 2, but the audio in shot 2 is from shot 1. A J-Cut occurs when the audio from shot 2 plays before shot 2 begins. At first it sounds confusing, however I learned that this gives it more realism and makes the scene smoother.