'Skins' - Editing Example: How is Age Represented?

Parallel editing is used to show that the boy and girl are related and have a strong relationship. We can see through the parallel editing that they lead very different teenage lives, showing binary opposite characters. She is coming home; rebelling against house rules and he has been in his own bed. This conforms to Levi Strauss' idea that all narratives have opposites. The two narrative threads come together as she reaches the window and the cutaways show that she relies on him to cover up for her. The parallel editing here then turns into continuity editing in real-time of when the girl is trying to get her brother's attention when she reaches the house, which suggests that this is a 'normal', everyday tendency in the teenagers' lives and that the sequence follows a linear narrative structure.

At the start of the sequence Todorov's theory is conformed as there is a disequilibrium, which is shown through how the protagonist is positioned between the male and female bodies on the quilt and is awake before the alarm actually rings. This suggests that he is unsettled, thus conforming teenage stereotypes of them having their own problematic issues to deal with. The target audience also can relate themselves to this.

Action editing is used to create a montage of the protagonist's work-out through the use of short takes and compressed time. The part where he is using the weights conforms stereotypes of teenagers as it suggests that the routine helps him to keep fit and he is conscious of his physical appearance in order to be able to attract the opposite sex. Also, the montage shows how his life is hectic and quick-paced which contributes to the idea that teenagers' lives are quite busy.  

An eye-line match is used when the protagonist is looking out the window at the woman in the opposite house who is undressed. This indicates that he is sexually charged and conforms teenage stereotypes as the eye-line match portrays how intensely he's watching the naked woman. 

Shot-reverse-shots are used in the conversation between the protagonist and his father with cuts of the protagonist's sister coming in the house, suggesting that there is a neccessity to get her inside without her father noticing. This conforms to teenage stereotypes as the shot-reverse-shots and cuts at this point highlight the characters' rebellious and mischievous side. After these shots, short action shots of the girl getting dressed into her school uniform are used to portray that she is rushing and that there is no time as she's only just got back to the house. The fact that she's getting changed into her school uniform suggests that she is still a young girl who isn't expected to go out all night, so teenage stereotypes are conformed as she is breaking the house rules and is meant to be innocent.

TV Drama Revision Booklet

Tv Drama Revision Booklet

Editing Terminology

Action Match - A piece of movement/action is continued between shots through cuts, portraying smooth action even though there are cuts in the shot.

Continuity Editing - Real-time movement in a narative is highlighted and a sense of realism is formed when a narrative is presented in chronological order with a linear structure.

Cross-cutting (parallel editing) - Where cuts are made between two different scenes taking place simultaneously in two different settings to depict a difference or similarity between them.

Cut - Moving from one shot to the next.

Cutaway - This type of shot isn't really required as it's a brief shot which cuts into a scene. An associated individual, action, or object is shown before cutting back to the initial shot. This isn't necessarily part of the main scene. 

Dissolve - The next shot begins to appear on top of the initial shot more and more once you can fully see the next shot. This is used mostly to connect two individuals or two scenes together, or to portray the continuity of time.

Ellipsis - Where narrative elements are either condensed or taken away to make the action faster.

Eyeline Match - While cutting from a person to what they see, their eyeline is maintained so that the audience empathise with the characters as they are put into the characters' position.

Fade - A white/black screen is left when an image slowly fades and disappears. If an image is faded to a black screen, it's suggested that an event has ended or time has moved on. A dream sequence is usually portrayed when an image is faded to a white screen. 

Graphic Match - Cuts are used from one shot to the next that visually look similar (perhaps related by similar colours, shapes, etc) to portray a strong relationship between two scenes.

Jump Cuts - A piece of action is left out when a cut transfers to an extremely similar section of the same scene. The audience become confused or a character is shown to be confused through the use of jump cuts.

Linear Narrative - A narrative which has a particular order, including a beginning, middle, and end. A direct, chronological depiction of events is provided which lead to a single resolution, making it straightforward for the audience to follow.

Long Take - A shot which is able to stay on the screen for a long period of time before it's cut to slow a scene's pace, so that it's more calmer.  

Montage - A sequence of shots which are edited at the same time to portray that time is moving on and an event is taking place during that time.

Short Take - An image stays on screen for a short period before cutting to something else so that the action is faster, creating an exciting and dramatic effect.

Shot Reverse Shot - A cut is made between two individuals who are talking (instead of including the two of them in one still mid shot). This helps to create a distinction between them and show how they are different, and how they react to certain situations.

Slow Motion - Action is slowed down for a comical or emotive outcome.
 

Split Screen - The screen is divided into two or more sections to portray events which are happening all together.

Superimpose - Writing/symbols or pictures appear above an image so that they are both noticeable during the same moment which increases the total information the audience have in a single shot. 

Visual Effects - These are usually influenced by what a character's responses are to the special effects.  

Wipe - An image wipes the next image off the screen. This proposes that a particular scene or character which pushes the other one off the screen is more significant and dominant. Wipes can go in different directions and be different shapes.

Editing

Editing

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