Bordwell & Thompsons - Theories of Editing

The 4 main areas that are involved in the editing theories of Bordwell & Thompson...

• Graphic
• Rhythmic
• Temporal
• Spatial

Graphic:
The graphic editing that comes under Bordwell and Thompson theories is all based around the style used which connects shots to one another. A very famous example of this form of editing (a Graphic Match)comes from the 1960's film, 'Psycho...

Graphic matches are most commonly used within films as these tend to need more creative ways of changing from scene to scene. This Graphic editing can be used, also, for music video's however they are much more subtle and so this can come in the form of changing location but keeping costumes the same, or having the same actions and locations in different transitions, an example from 'Whistle', Flo Rida.

The Graphic theory can be used within music videos by making it much more unique and interesting for the viewers of a specific genre to enjoy. For a more effective and easy way to have the audience 'loving' the music video I would most probably use costuming to use as a graphic match.

Rhythmic:
The second editing technique formed by Bordwell and Thompson is the Rhythmic editing and is all about Rhythm of shots. This form of editing is again more commonly used for films, as the duration of shots (how long they appear on screen)can create a different meaning and therefore effect the audience. For Instance, a more even out-steady Rhythm, can be seen as reassuring to the audience as if they are watching a horror genre, the same pace of shots can then tell that audience that nothing is building to something and they are most probably just learning about certain characters.

A build from steady shots to quick paced editing can increase the tempo, making everything more exciting and leaves less time for the audience to guess or work our what might happen next, which is conventional of a Horror genre.

However This technique is used more most music videos that you will see as the steady pace of shots are used frequently within music videos in order for the audience to keep up with the timing of a song. An example of this comes from the music video, 'What you know' by Two Door Cinema club and 'All the small things' by Blink 182, as within in these small clips you are able to notice a definite change in shots that go along with the up-beat tempo of the songs which was, in my opinion, theorised by Bordwell and Thompson in order to keep the audience alert at all times. 



I feel this Rhythmic theory would work well with mainly a pop genre music video as it would then fit in well with any dance/performing shots, however for both the Graphic and Rhythmic theory they are best suited for music videos rather than film.

Temporal:
This is also another theory designed by Bordwell and Thompson and the use of the Temporal theory means that shots are distributed by the order, duration and frequency. This then meaning the shots are set out in more of a chronological order, therefore making it seem more realistic and naturalistic which for some slower songs, (generally within the Pop genre) can successfully 'pull-it-off'. For example the song, 'If I were a Boy' by Beyonce uses this form of editing to create a more emotional effect on her target audience as the song lyrics have much more of a deeper meaning and can present issues that many women feel whenever in a committed relationship. (insert video)and another example of making the audience feel much more emotion through Temporal editing, like they would watching a film, is the song 'Small Bump' by Ed sheeran 




Spatial:
The last standing theory of editing created by Bordwell and Thompson is Spatial editing. With this it concerns mostly the filming space (i.e. setting and location) as the relation between different points are manipulated through the similarities, differences and developments of the shots. This meaning that the footage created has been made with well editing Continuity it flows naturally and more realistic, allowing music videos to be as outrageous as they wanted and still look as though real.




Bordwell and Thompson seemed to follow the Kuleshov effect when creating the Spatial theory as that then means shots are placed together to make the audience feel some form of emotion. This is much more typical of films rather than of music videos and the same rule applies for Temporal too.