The technique of film editing (1958)

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operative word " solids " is introduced at the exact moment when shot 3 begins ; similarly, " But liquids are not elastic " coincides exactly with the belly-flop {11-13). Shots 3 and 4 introduce two facets of a new idea : shot 5, that liquids take their shape from solids, and shot 4, that liquids give way to solids. The two ideas follow logically because there is a visual connection between them, namely the basin of water. The camera movement in shot 5 emphasises the point that water changes its shape in accordance with the shape of the container in which it is kept. If the operation had been shown in a static set-up, with both jug and glass in the same shot, the concept of the change of shape would have been conveyed much less forcefully. Similarly in shot 6. The dissolve after shot 13 is used to indicate the change in the approach : from the everyday example of the man's " dive," we are now taken to check the empirically reached conclusion by a laboratory test. The dissolve also allows for the laugh which might follow shot 13. The commentary is needed over shots 14 and 15 because the audience might not otherwise know what conclusion to draw from the visuals. The sequence 16-20 may seem superfluous because the whole experiment could have been shown in one shot. Cutting the passage in the way it is cut, however, adds authenticity and conviction. Shots 17 and 18 show how the pressure is conveyed from the man's hand turning the lever to the bottle ; shot 19 is simply a touch of showmanship — a moment of slight suspense implying that two opposing forces are acting against each other and one of them must give — and makes the explosion, when it comes, more effective. Note the pauses in the commentary (over 8, 10, 13-14) intended to give the commentary time to sink in. These are all small points of editing technique, designed to make the passage as clear as possible. The overall structure of the sequence is designed to the same end. The first idea — " liquids change their shape " — is conveyed by a series of simple everyday examples (1-10) ; shots 8-10 are rather indifferently effective examples of " solids being masters of liquids," but they lead naturally on to the dive which introduces the second idea. The point here is that the fact that water is inelastic may be new to an audience and must be introduced forcefully. Shots 8-11 thus serve as a build-up to the striking illustration of the inelasticity of water 182