Editing Techniques

The art of editing all stems from the basic function of 'cutting' one clip of footage and placing it next to another part, making it into a sequence. When the very first films came out there was no need for editing or even story, as audiences would be amazed by just a simple continuous shot of everyday life. Editing then became a new technique in film making when Robert W. Paul became the first ever person to put two bits of film together for continuity purposes. Since then, Editing has become one of the most important parts of the film making process. Without editing, there would be NO FILM, basic or not. A system has evolved, called the continuity system. It is a system that helps the audience understand the relationship that one shot has to the next. It also helps to create a unnoticeable flow of shots. I have chosen to analyse the shootout scene from Taxi Driver (1976) which stars Robert De Niro, was directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader whilst the supervising editor was Marcia Lucas.



Continuity

Establishing shots
The first shot establishes that Travis driving, the second establishes that he is in New York and that he is driving a taxi. Also the man waving his arm, trying to hail the taxi, is shunned by Travis and his said taxi, which establishes Travis' mood in that he is very focused. When he gets to the brothel, it is a re-establishing shot because previously in the film the setting has been shown and had scenes at it, also Harvey Keitel's character is there, and he is a 'staple' of the brothel as he plays a pimp. At the end of the scene there is another re-establishing shot of the outside of the brothel which shows a crowd that have gathered.

180 degree rule
Whilst driving the taxi on the way to the brothel he is always on the left going towards the right. This stays the same during the confrontation with Sport (pimp). After he has shot him it switches, so now Travis is on the right of the screen, and changes back to left on the way up the stares when he is being followed by the screaming man he just shot in the hand. None of the changes in the section of the shot he is in disorientate as the journey from the front doors to up the stairs and into the bedroom is a linear one. Also we have recognition of the room as we have already seen it in a previous seen.

Shot-reverse-shot
There are a couple of shot-reverse-shots in this scene. The first being when Travis shoots the hand of a man who is at the brothel and his hand disengages itself from the wrist of said brothelee. (2:01) The second is where Travis shoots Sport for a second time - Shot - Travis gets shot in the neck, Reverse Shot - Sport shoots again, Shot - Travis shoots Sport, Reverse Shot - Sport falls back, dead (2:07). Another involving the handless brothelee is where he is crawling up the stairs after Travis shouting "I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" (2:37). The last one in this clip is where the shootout has finished, and Travis sits down onto the sofa, the police storm into the room and then it goes back to Travis who is sitting vacantly, who raises his bloodied hand and shapes it into a gun which he slowly pulls the trigger of against his now also bloodied temple whilst making explosion noises (4:35).

Match cuts on Action 
One match on action cut is where the handless man is grappling Travis on the ground, and Travis reaches down for the knife he keeps by his boot and pulls it out then stabs the handless man's remaining hand with it. The cut happens when Travis has got the knife and then goes for the stab. (3:28)


Motivated editing
A motivated edit occurs when Travis shoots the man's hand off then after he has it zooms into his now stump. (1:59)


Identification with main protagonist

Screen Time
Travis, by far, has the most screen time in this clip, this makes us follow his path rather than following (for example) Sport's. If the camera was mostly on Sport during shootout, then it would be him that we the audience would identify with the most. Also, even though through-out the film we are following Travis Bickle's story, that doesn't necessarily mean we fully relate or agree or even like the character. Though I think the film works massively even though this is true because the audience feels a degree of sympathy for him. Travis is not the only person who gets screen time though, Iris gets some in this scene and it is mainly reaction shots we get from her, looking scared and distressed and at one point gagging at Travis' choice to shoot and finish  off the handless grappler. The rest of the screen time goes to the victims of the shootout. The nameless victim with the most screen time would be the man who gets his hand blown up because of his sheer perseverance. Also, Sport, who at the beginning gets actual conversation with Travis.

Point of View shot
There is one, seen through the eyes of Travis where he is driving his taxi on the way to the brothel. (0:17)

Close-ups
The best (and most iconic) close-up of this scene is the one of Travis after the shootout where is has ran out of bullets so he cannot kill himself so he just sits down on a sofa to be stormed by police to which he replies with a signal of blowing his brains out. Then he lays his head back with a slight smile on his face, appearing to have died (4:50 - 5:22). Other close-ups are of Travis whilst he shoots the guy's hand off (2:03).

Reaction shot
There are a few reaction shots within the scene. Some are of the 'villians' being shot by Travis, for example you get a reation from Sport after he gets shot as he steps back a few paces then falls into the door. Or when the man's hand gets blown off. But the best reaction shots are of Iris, for example, when she reacts to the sound of the first gunshot in the brothel. Her inclusion in the sequence makes us remember why Travis is there, he is trying to save her, but her reaction show more fear than anything else (2:02). Some more good ones of Iris are when Travis stabs the man in the hand with  his hidden knife (3:31) and when Travis shoots the handless man he has been brawling with in the neck, making his blood spurt up the wall and leaving her terrified and sickened (3:39).


Techniques

Shot Variation
In this clip there are many variations of the different types of shots that one can use. Lots of close-ups (extreme or not), mid-shots, high-angle shots, bird's eye shot (5:23 - 6:06), it even goes into a long shot when the camera is moving away from the building and you get to see the crowd that has gathered outside.

Montage
There technically is a montage right after the police have stormed the room. It starts with the bird's eye shot and dissolves into different shots, showing the chaos that has just ensued. (6:06 - 6:53)

Providing and Withholding Information
As this is the climatic scene of the scene it is near enough providing all information of what Travis is (graphically) doing exactly. All the confusion over Travis' character is shown within this scene. Though, right at the end, whilst the montage begins and you see all the people outside, we are not fully sure of what has actually happened to Travis. Has he died? Has he been arrested? As after this scene Travis does appear in the film again it is our guess that: of course he is still alive, and, has gotten away with his vigilantism while simultaneously becoming a media-made hero. But, saying this, a lot of people read the film's ending differently, seeing it as a fantasy of Travis' rather than the actual truth. This is could be true as now he has a full head of hair whereas in the previous scene he had a fully-shaven Mohawk. But we never really now whether either is the absolute truth.

Editing Rhythm
There is some slow-motion used during the scene. (3:06 - 3:15) It makes us think about what is actually going on and think about how Travis could be so arrogant to actually choose this as an option of battling 'scum'. Also I think the raising of the gun-shaped-hand to his temple is slowed down, but I'm not sure whether it is slowed down through editing or whether it is actually Robert De Niro just moving slowly for emphasis. The outside shots of the crowd is also slowed down.

Construction of Time and Space 
The scene is quite straight forward time-wise, until the very end where we realise that a crowd has gathered outside of the brothel. This slowness of the camera movement and the dissolve edits just before, make us feel like time has passed.

Cutting to Soundtrack
Through-out the actual shoot-out there is no music, but when it has finished familiar sounding music that has been used in the rest of the film comes on. (4:36 - )

Multiple Points of View
At the very beginning of the scene where Travis is travelling in his taxi on the way to the brothel, we get several different points of view of the taxi, including his own, and one from the pavement that follows his taxi driving past.

Jump Cut
There is one slight jump cut where Travis has just shot Sport and he goes over to some steps and sits down, when he gets up and goes into the brothel is when the jump cut occurs. (1:47 - 1:51)