What is Rhythm Editing in Film?
Visual rhythm is an important aspect of establishing the flow and appropriate pacing of a film. In fact, establishing visual rhythm and pace in your film is the difference. Between whether your audience spends the entire viewing experience on the end of their seat. Ready and waiting for whatever could possibly occur next. Or they’re yawning in pure boredom and checking their watch to determine if the film will be over soon. But, what is rhythm editing in film? And how is rhythm and pace achieved through the post-production editing process?
WHAT IS RHYTHM EDITING IN FILM?
Rhythm editing, also more commonly referred to as rhythmic editing, represents a comparative relationship between shots which function to control the pace of a film.
Establishing a visual rhythm that pushes the pace of your film from one shot to the next is all about understanding how a shot’s physical length corresponds to a measurable duration and functions to form a pattern that is discernible among the audience.
Characteristically, a film that has equal length shots will ultimately have a steady beat about it. Post-production editors can lengthen shots to slow the tempo of a film. Or, alternatively, they can shorten shots to accelerate the tempo.
Think of rhythm as the speed, or beat, at which a film progresses that is determined by the number, and duration, of shots that are included.
HOW RHYTHMIC EDITING IN FILM WORKS
As an example, rhythmic editing can be controlled in a variety of ways in order to create films that are upbeat or slow, depending largely on how the shots are pieced together to achieve the desired rhythm or beat.
THINK OF A FIGHT SCENE IN ANY FILM, MOST FIGHT SCENES ARE:
- Made up of shots that are short in length.
- As the fight progresses, and the violence erupts, the shots get shorter.
- Once the violence is over, the length of the shots may begin to have a rhythm that is a bit longer in duration.
THE FEEL OF THE FILM
Rhythm editing, or the pacing of shots, is essential to the overall stylistic feel of the film. It acts similarly to musical composition such that the tempo or rhythm of the film is defined by the speed at which scenes are delivered. Just as the rhythm in music is the result of the beats per minute which build the tempo.
The film editor determines the most appropriate pace and rhythm of a film and knows just when to cut out of a shot and into another shot, as well as how to create an engaging dynamic in which the audience has just enough time to absorb the moment before moving onto the next major moment of the story.
IN ESSENCE
So, what is rhythm editing in film? It’s the use of scenes, and shots, in a film such that each shot or scene has a duration, and is delivered for just the right amount of time such that the audience remains engaged and interested in the film.
Rhythm editing ensures a pace and flow of the film that keeps the audience interested and excited, offering a discernable pattern that generates a measurable pacing from moment to moment throughout the story.