Editing techniques used in Jaws:

Overall the film Jaws was not perfectly directed as Jaws was Steven Spielberg's debut film. Parts of the film such as the shark itself did not look very good in the raw footage and so Verna Fields had to edit the film to make it look better. Fields would also need to use continuity editing to actually make the film effective. Fields started by removing all scenes in which the shark appeared "lifeless" (the mechanical design was faulty) and therefore added in the scenes in which the shark looks like a real living shark. The specific technique used was jump cuts which made it seem like the sequence of shots was a lot quicker than when first filmed. The alternation between the shots of the shark from all around the boat also gives a sense of unease as the audience do not know where the shark will be. 

There are lots of visual motifs in Jaws such as juxtaposition between shots for example in one scene there is a typewriter writing a report about the shark attack at the beginning of the film. This is different to what is actually happening because the mayor is telling people not to worry about sharks and they are not doing anything about it. This is a continued theme throughout the whole film for example Martin, Matt, and Quint are trying to tell the mayor that the shark is dangerous. The opening scene is also important because the juxtaposition is when she is attacked by the shark and he is on the beach.

When the shark appears, the most commonly used technique is cross cutting. This is because it shows the things that are happening at the same time. This is used in Jaws because there are things happening at the same time quite a lot for example the shark and also Brody, Quint, and Hooper. This is an editing technique that is used more in the horror genre specifically. Horror films/TV shows use techniques such as these more often because it adds tension as the audience are not seeing something for a long time. This links back to Fields trying to remove long shots of the shark so it doesn't look bad. In other examples, cross cutting and similar techniques are used in Alien to quickly show what action is going on in the scene while not actually showing the "Alien". This adds suspense because the audience is waiting to see what the shark (in the case of Jaws) looks like. The horror genre is most effective when the audience have to imagine what the "Alien" or "Shark" looks like because it will be based on the worst thing they can think of. As this is different for different people it is better to use this technique than use other villains that may not seem as effective to some people, or in the future.

Editing techniques used in Rocky:

Throughout all the Rocky films there is always a montage at some point. This is an editing technique that is more rarely used, however other films and tv shows have copied/found inspiration from the Rocky films and has influenced montages such as Hot Fuzz, which is not a direct copy however it has adapted from the idea of Rocky to use montage when there is a "training" scene (for the police). Rocky IV is 31.9% montage. This is because Conrad was inspired by "Soviet Montage Theory"- a reliance on montage from famous Soviet filmmakers such as Lev Kuleshov which are a result of issues at the time with beliefs such as "films that focused on individuals rather than masses were deemed counterrevolutionary, but not exclusively so." This challenged traditional beliefs while in the Stalin era (and after) therefore contemporary filmmaking became important to Soviet filmmakers. The reason Conrad took inspiration from Soviet filmmaking was because of political issues at the time. Rocky was produced in the 1960s which is when the Cold War was a major issue for the public (especially in USA) therefore an underlying theme of the Rocky films was American propaganda. This means that Conrad used editing to show an idealistic perspective of the character Rocky, who was portrayed as a "typical American".

Music is another element that is added into film and tv in the post-production process. The song that people remember from Rocky is Eye Of The Tiger, which has also been used in other films or tv shows when using similar editing techniques (montage) in parodies. This has the effect of audience reaction and meaning because the Rocky films are often linked to the music used and the importance of it to tell a story.
 

The genre of the Rocky films are considered "drama/sport". Rocky is not typical of something in the drama genre (such as The Godfather) however there is a specific sub genre of drama/sport (Warrior). A drama film/tv show is usually a narrative fiction which has serious themes. A sport film is usually a focus on a particular sports event, group of people, or individual who is participating. This means that sometimes non-continuity editing is used to add suspense such as in Cool Runnings when they crash the editing disorientates the audience as if they were in the bobsleigh. Narrative is also important to drama/sport films/tv shows. This can be narrated through an actual narrator to an event that is taking place. Another use of narration is the protagonist looking back in the past to them taking place in an event. In Rocky V it is narrated by past events that have already happened, using the editing technique of flashbacks.

Editing techniques used in USS Callister:

Editors for tv shows are not as well known, especially for shows such as Black Mirror where each episode is different. This means that for Black Mirror there is not a specific editor in each post-production process, however one episode that stood out in terms of editing was USS Callister. The editing for this episode was different because it was edited to mimic Star Trek and similar tv shows. This meant that it was important to be directed as such, but also editing it in a similar way. Star Trek was produced originally in the 1960s therefore production would be a different process. MacArthur knew this and therefore used a 4:3 format for the opening scene to introduce the episode. This is similar to how the original series of Star Trek looked. As the lift opens the format changes to 16:9 as it would look now. This is effective because the audience should not notice the change due to the technique called seamless editing. As we see the doors open, the screen widens at the same time making it more subtle. 

MacArthur also explains the focus on change in perspective. At the beginning of the episode the audience understand the plot through the perspective of Daly, who we assume is the protagonist. As the episode progresses there is a shift in perspective towards Nanette. She then becomes the protagonist as it is revealed that Daly is taking their DNA. While the footage is accurate in showing this (as is done in a similar style to Star Trek still), it is also important, as in anything, to use editing to make this even more effective. Nanette is present in more scenes later in the episode and individual shots are from her perspective. The audience also get more insight into what her plan is for example when they are at the lake and she tricks Daly. In the editing, the point after the lake is quicker (added tempo) which is helped by the music that is added. 

While Black Mirror has its own overall genre, USS Callister is based on the science fiction genre. Editing to keep to the generic conventions of science fiction appeared to be the most important part of the editing process (and as a whole for the production of this episode). Typically science fiction is set in the future, and usually in space or with space themes. That is the case for USS Callister (the episode is named after their starship- a link to the USS Enterprise of Star Trek) as the final scenes of the episode are in space with that being the theme. Although the episode isn't actually focused on the simulation and the message is about the issues happening in real life there is a focus on the science fiction genre at the end. This allows MacArthur to use many different editing techniques to add to the effectiveness of the message- mostly a dependence on special effects to keep to the genre of science fiction.