| The shift from traditional feature film editing tools to nonlinear, electronic editing systems raises a major question: How will changing to these systems affect the final film? Six films were compared, three cut traditionally (on the Moviola or KEM) and three cut electronically (on the Montage or EditDroid), with genre and editor held constant between systems. The three traditionally cut films are Born on the 4th of July, No Way Out, and Star Wars. The electronically cut films are The Doors, Patriot Games, and Return of the Jedi. Along with the calculation of average shot length, a content analysis was performed on the films. Each shot was analyzed for the presence of any of 39 elements identified to be in the editor's control. The films cut electronically were found to have a shorter average shot length and use opticals twice as often. They also present dialog sequences differently by using alternative images and not showing the speaker as frequently. |
