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Edward Dmytryk, film industry legend in the directorial and editorial fields, enumerates seven rules to follow in his text On Film Editing (Focal Press, 1984).

Rule One: Never make a cut without a positive reason.
“The only reason for using another cut is to improve the scene.”

It is unwise to cut film adhering to arbitrary principles, such as keeping all shots under a certain length. While Dmytryk argues that every cut must be made at a precise and perfect point, he gives no indication that these particular edit points are governed by anything other than the drive to improve what the scene intends to communicate to the audience. Some scenes require no editing at all if the composition and camera movement are strong enough to support the intent of the scene. Other scenarios, particularly action and montage sequences, require constant cuts in order to communicate the scene’s intent. If another take does not make emotional truth clearer or capture the action more appropriately than the current take, then by all means do not make a cut.

Rule Two: When undecided about the exact frame to cut on, cut long rather than short.
“Splicing a few frames back onto a scene which has been lopped short makes ‘jumpy’ viewing, and a cut full of such amendments makes proper visualization difficult and perceptive judgment impossible.”

Just the most basic common sense rule there is. When cutting filmstrip, it is much easier to trim a bit of excess duration than to splice more on to increase duration. Dmytryk adds that the first instinctual decision regarding where to make a cut is usually the right one; however, you still may want to cut a little long in case you’re out of touch with your instincts. Note that this rule doesn’t so much apply to nonlinear video editing, unless for some masochistic reason you’ve disabled your undo function.

Rule Three: Whenever possible, cut in movement.
“Creating a ‘diversion’ of sorts … is also the principle at work in the action cut.”

The concept here is that during movement of any kind, be it a man sitting down on a park bench or a woman darting her eyes to the left, cut in the space between the beginning and end of the action so as to mask the cut. The goal is seamless, invisible, “magical” editing. This is not possible without the greatest command of timing: timing that comes from an understanding of human perception and eye movement. If you choose to cut too early, the following cut will seem nonsensical and inappropriate. If you choose to cut too late, you may deny the audience key information and try their patience by extending the previous shot. There is a precise moment at which to make the cut: near the dead center of the action. For the man sitting down on the bench, you would most likely want to cut at the point of contact between the man and the bench. For the woman darting her eyes to the left, you may want to cut somewhere in the middle of the motion but not before or after. Mastering this fundamental of editorial timing will not only make your cuts seamless but will also strengthen the scene itself in what it intends to communicate. This, after all, is the purpose of editing: communication.

Rule Four: The fresh is preferable to the stale.
“In art, the obvious is a sin.”

In order to maintain the invisibility of technique, a film editor strives to avoid boring, confusing, or disappointing the audience with a poorly managed cut. However, it is possible to jar the viewer from the context of the story with even the most well-intentioned cut. If your shot contains action that exits the frame, do not linger on it even for a couple frames. If you do this and fail to overlap to the next action, the viewer has no new information to feed upon and therefore lapses out of the comfort of the story. Because of only a few frames, your viewer is now examining your set design or lighting. This is exactly what should be avoided. Dmytryk suggests that if frames must be added between shots, do so at the beginning of a fresh, new shot so that the viewer accepts the lingering frames as part of exposition for a new angle or shot.

Rule Five: All scenes should begin and end with continuing action.
“Subconsciously suggest to the viewer that he is seeing a fragment of continuing life, not a staged scene with a visible framework.”

This is the concept of the director shooting scenes with heads and tails and the editor subsequently chopping them off. It is entirely unnatural to begin a scene with an actor doing nothing, preparing to act. Not only does it break the invisibility of the craft, but such an error unravels the pacing of the work causing far greater problems in the long run. A scene should begin as an actor walks into the frame or picks up a telephone or washes dishes or cleans his sword or performs some action. A scene should end with the actor walking out of frame or slamming down the telephone or breaking dishes or plunging his sword into an orc or performing some other (but not necessarily opposite) action. This serves to hasten the pace and ensure that the viewer is not bored by getting ahead of the action.

Rule Six: Cut for proper values rather than for proper matches.
“The film’s dramatic requirements should always take precedence over the mere aesthetics of editing.”

Often enough in production, the action between takes and different angles will not match with one another. Some of these culprits are beyond even the tightest control: the length of a lit cigarette, the timing of flashing city lights, the movement of arms and legs during emotionally commanding scenes. While this is no concern at all when you leave a shot alone, this lack of continuity becomes extremely problematic when you must intercut frequently between different shots. Dmytryk advises that continuity be damned. In a crisis such as this, cut to match the emotional truth of the scene so as not to cheat the audience of the experience. Even if the action doesn’t match at all, the viewer will be more inclined to follow the emotional flow of a scene than its technical shortcomings. It is likely that most continuity errors in films are not due to lazy errors on the editor’s part but instead result from decisions to use the strongest emotional performance.

Rule Seven: Substance first — then form.
“Technical skill counts for nothing if it is used only to manufacture films which have little to do with humanity.”

More of a summary rule than anything else. At all times, Dmytryk argues, an editor must strive to improve the emotional power of a film. He felt at the time of the text’s publication that both students and teachers miss this point. Technically proficient editors created by educational institutions that fail to address the necessity of substance and value in the art of filmmaking are scarcely film editors at all.

Finally, in the spirit of Dmytryk’s rules, here are a few quotes to inspire and guide editors.
Don’t accept that there are rules. In editing the whole point is to challenge every convention. – Martin Walsh

Make the hard sacrifices to keep it short. Just because a scene is pretty doesn’t mean you should spend five minutes on a scene that could achieve the same impact in two minutes. If something isn’t working, try doing the exact opposite. Filmmaking is not a science, and there’s no formula to follow to get you through the thousands of little decision involved in editing a scene. Trust your instincts. – Tim Squyres

Resist the urge to chop up someone’s good work – whether it be an actor or the DP. – Stephen Mack

The best film actors act from there eyes. Use the eyes to guide your cuts. Cutting dialogue sequences is much more difficult because it’s not just cutting words: You’re cutting the emotion. You are cutting lives connecting. Attitudes, moments, emotions. And the actors have to look good; they have to be cherished and they have to be honored. – Carol Littleton

If an actor gives you a moment that’s really striking or wonderful, you have to try to use it. It doesn’t matter if the resulting cut will be terrible; people go to the movies for those great moments, and nobody will care if the head turn doesn’t match. -Tim Squyres

Pay attention to their eyes. In a well-written scene, with a good director, you’ll be able to get a great sense of where the script beats are (which is where characters are changing) by looking at what the actors do, especially with their eyes. That’s where they express their thoughts. If you can find these beats, then the editing gets easier-you change something around those moments: pacing, size of shots, presence of music, sound, etc. – Norman Hollyn

I’m not really sure you can learn editing from someone, but you can certainly see someone who does it in a very interesting way. – Steven Rosenblum

Find the drama in the action and the action in the drama. – Saar Klein

You have to be willing to try things a whole list of ways until you find the answer. -Barbara Tulliver

I seem to get the rhythm from the performances I like to feel I’m very much an actor’s editor. I look very much to the performances and cut very much for performances rather than the action. I think that’s important, what’s in the eyes of the actor. – Anne Coates

Simplicity is the essence of the great, the true, and the beautiful in art. – George Sand

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Cinematography is the art of filming. It includes a lot of things like picking the shot, camera movement, using the right lens, and much more.  At this point, we’re going to cover three aspects of cinematography: shot types, camera angles, and camera movement.

Shot Types

Establishing Shot – extreme wide angle, so you can see everything. It’s used to show the audience where the movie or scene is taking place, and it’s almost always used at the very beginning of the movie or scene.

Wide Shot – similar to the establishing shot, only a little closer. If your movie is taking place in New York City, your wide shot would be of a single building.

Full/Long Shot – this shot is wide enough to fit the character’s whole body. We can see what the character is doing quite well, but not so much their emotions.

Medium Shot – this shot is from the waist up.

Close-up – this shot only contains the character’s head and shoulders. It’s used to really show a character’s emotion.

Extreme Close-up – this shot is so close you can’t see the whole face, just a part of it, like the eyes or mouth or something.

Insert – this is a shot of an object or something that isn’t a character, but usually what the character sees or is looking at.

Camera Angles

Eye Level – standard angle, camera is at the same level as the character’s eyes.

High Angle – camera is above the character, looking down. It makes the character look smaller, more insignificant, less powerful.

Low Angle – camera is below the character, looking up. It makes the character look bigger, more powerful.

Overhead – camera is directly above the character, looking straight down.

Undershot – camera is directly below the character, looking straight up.

Canted/Dutch Tilt – camera is tilted one way or the other, so the horizon is at a diagonal, suggesting imbalance, transition, or instability, making the audience feel uneasy.

Camera Movements

Fixed – camera doesn’t move at all.

Pan – camera rotates side to side.

Tilt – camera rotates up and down.

Zoom In – self-explanatory.

Zoom Out – self-explanatory.

Truck – whole camera moves side to side on a track or cart.

Dolly – whole camera moves forward or backward on a track or cart.

Handheld – camera is held rather than placed on a tripod. Used often as a POV (point-of-view) shot to put audience in character’s shoes

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September 2004
by David H. Lyman

I teach young people to be professional, to be proactive and not reactive, to get off their behinds and go out and embrace the world. I'm not always successful with some of today's crop of high school students, but I try. Problem-solving is one lesson I lead off with. Here's a handout I provide, that goes along with a lecture and assignments. A lot of photography and filmmaking is nothing more than an opportunity to solve problems. Most of our creative and professional lives are spent solving problems. That's what you are hired to do - to solve problems. Learning how to handle, face and overcome problems is one of our most important lessons in life.

Develop an ability to confront problems  early, while they are still young and can be solved easily. Embrace problems as opportunities. Working through problems is what life is all about. Do not ignore problems; do not run away or hide from them, hoping they will go away. Face them, no matter how difficult they appear. Problems only get worse with time. Here are a few tips for dealing with problems:

- Develop a positive attitude toward problems - problems are just opportunities to learn something new.
- Seek out problems. Do not wait for problems to find you. A problem sought out is more easily solved. Problems which find you are already on their way to being difficult to handle.
- Isolate each problem. Take one problem at a time. Take apart each problem and look at it as a bunch of smaller problems. Small problems are more easily solved.- Define each problem. Once defined, the solution is generally right around the corner.
- Sleep on your problem. Define it, then let it go. Sleep on it and the solution is often waiting for you in the morning.
- Take a walk. Put each problem in perspective. Is this problem really as consequential as you make it out to be?
- Meditate. Relax, let go, give your creative brain time to ponder the problem. What's the rush?- Seek out help. Look for, ask and accept advise. Do research. Read. Ask others for help. This is the one thing I find the most difficult to do. I have to keep telling myself, "You cannot solve all the problems yourself; ask for help."
- Explore your personal blocks, those attitudes which stand in the way of achieving success. Are you a pessimist? Do you suffer from low self-esteem? Are you afraid of making a mistake? Of being wrong? Of embarrassment? Of standing out in a crowd? These are all character traits which stand in the way of successful problem
-solving.- Use a "what if?" approach. Play with the problem. Come up with a number of possible solutions. There are many ways to skin a cat; some ways are more effective than others. Find the best method for you.- Develop tools, skills and attitudes for problem
-solving.Once you have begun to solve small problems, you will develop a more positive attitude about solving all problems. You may find yourself actually going out in search of problems, just so you can use your newly developed tools.
© David H. Lyman

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By Lyman, David H.
Article excerpt

Being Creative The director of a series of photography workshops shares insights distilled from years of working with people who must be creative for a living. Having hired, trained, and inspired thousands of creative people, and being creative himself, he warns that creativity is not easy and neither is the creative person.

Every summer Monday, a group of photographers and filmmakers gathers in an old barrel factory on the coast of Maine. They've come for a week of workshops on such wide-ranging topics as learning to see and getting work from ad agencies. Most are from big cities and make their living being creative. From the first day, they begin a process of shedding layers of habit and years of accumulated rules to get back to the creative source that first inspired their work.

I see it happen every summer at the Maine Photographic Workshops where 200 photographers, film directors, cinematographers, actors, and writers gather in each session to work and study with masters of their craft. Some are amateurs afraid of their own shadows; others are stodgy professionals who have lost the ability to see. But all come to feel the magic of being creative.

Can we teach them creativity? No, but we can help them rediscover what it is to be creative.

There is nothing new we can teach such people, except perhaps the amateurs who need to acquire more craft. Our task is to help them unlearn the things that keep them from being creative. Our job is to tell them it's all right to let go, to be disorganized, spontaneous, and even spiritual. They rarely hear such advice from their employers.

We don't have to teach people anything new in order to help them become more creative so that they can bring more imagination to their work and more fulfillment to their lives. But we do need to help them resurrect their childlike minds, that spirit of wonder and curiosity that most of us have shut away since we were 10 years old.

On the first day of each new session, I gather all the students together and tell them it will be OK to make mistakes this week. I give them permission to fail in the hope that it will help them begin the process of shedding conformity. I share my explorations and discoveries about what it is to be creative, why the juices often dry up, and how to get them flowing again.

Who is creative? My life and work involve training artistic people, but creativity is not restricted to the arts. Creative people come from every walk of life. A creative politician is a statesman, a creative engineer is an inventor, a creative businessman is an entrepreneur, and a creative theatrical producer is an impresario. A creative accountant can be an embezzler.

Though information galore and even some wisdom about creativity are available to the diligent researcher, it is from creative people themselves--painters, musicians, photographers, writers, and actors--that I have learned the most about creativity. I've also learned about creativity from my own struggles to be a photographer, a writer, and an entrepreneur.

Lyman's list of creative traits

One thing I've learned is that creative people exhibit some distinctive traits. ] Creative people are different, and they do not mind being different. My mother would tell me as a child: "Yes, you are different, but in being different, you are special." She gave me permission to accept my "differentness"; that is the permission creative people need to give themselves. ] Creative people are playful. They do not take anything too seriously--not even serious things. ] Creative people do not play by the rules. They enjoy being outlaws, breaking rules, and thumbing their noses at conformity. They find new ways to do old things. ] Creative people are adventurous. They love to travel, to see new things, and to explore the world around them and the inner world of their minds and hearts. ] Creative people have trouble being accurate, punctual, and proper. …

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The Artist's Path - Creativity and Storytelling . .  by David H. Lyman