Legal and ethical considerations within the creative media sector

Legal and ethical considerations within the creative media sector

Producers within the creative media sector need to fully understand all of the laws that protect, affect and govern their work. All forms of media are created to be consumed by people, whether this be for educational or entertainment purposes. People are very easily influenced by what they see, hear and read, so it is important that producers follow laws to protect themselves from being sued, ridiculed, their reputation being damaged or in extreme cases, worse; a recent terrorist attack on the Paris offices of the controversial magazine Charlie Hebdo left 12 dead.  These laws are also in effect to protect anyone working within these media corporations, and even the public consuming them.

Several laws affect producers working within the creative media sectors. These include:

• Libel law

To put it basically, Libel is when a defamation of someone is written down such as in a magazine, an email or a website. Similar to slander, however slander is when the defamation is spoken. The Libel Law in effect in the UK allows anyone who feels they have been defamed in a published statement in a manner that has caused people to think less of them or substantially disrupted their trade or profession may take the allegation to high court. Of course, whoever is making the allegations will need substantial proof.
It is important for producers, and indeed all working within the creative media sector to have full understanding of this law to ensure anything they write or produce as factual is truthful as if you are taken to court for something you have written you could end up losing a lot of money, publicity, respect and custom. There is. however, a few grey areas within this law. If you were to unknowingly accuse a mass murderer of doing something such as never paying their television license, this wouldn't necessarily be considered defamatory as it is not really causing any damage to his reputation, however if you were to make the same allegations against the head of the BBC this would have a detrimental effect on his life and career and he could most definitely sue you. Anyone found to also repeat these allegations, despite believing they are true, could also be sued.
The defense of 'fair comment' also exists in order to make sure nobody is sued for saying that they don't like something such as KFC or Kylie Minogue. Even if you are incredibly famous and what you say could publicly damage the company you are stating your distaste for, you are still allowed to say this. Libel Law also doesn't cover the dead, or if you are to make comments in an abusive way this is not considered libelous either. For example, you could say 'Kylie Minogue is a naff singer and she is ugly!' and not be sued at all.

• Privacy law

These are the laws which allows each individual their right to their own privacy and ensures this is never compromised. This covers things such as phone numbers and addresses and any other personal information can be broadcast on the radio or the television or anything like that. Anything like this played live on air can then be played over again so this information can be collected by anyone, including the government, private organisations and even the public. This information can then be sold on, given to anyone or can be used against them and could potentially put them in danger.
A well known breach of Privacy Law was the phone hacking scandal, as it was a complete breach of privacy which nobody had the right to do.

• Obscene publications act 1959 (including later amendments)

This law governs and restricts what is allowed to be released and published within England and Wales. The official definition of criminal obscenity is if the offending item 'tends to deprave of
corrupt'. For example, in radio, this law would apply to what radio content is allowed to be broadcast to listeners. This could apply to a feature such as the radio, where the Obscene Publications Act may not allow for a certain news story to be broadcast be it particularly gruesome or disturbing, or it may only be allowed to be broadcast after 9 pm. This law is particularly reverent in the television broadcasting industry where certain adverts are not allowed to be shown after 9 pm, nor is swearing on TV shows permitted. This law is in place to not encourage children and innocents towards certain behavior, and also ensures no disturbing or damaging images are shown to the public.
An example of this act being breached was with the release of the film 'The Human Centipede 2' where it was considered too horrific and disturbing for viewing, and was ordered for the most gruesome scenes to be edited out, allowing its minimal release with the age rating of 18.

• Copyright and intellectual property law

The official name of the current act/law that protects peoples intellectual property rights in the UK is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Copyright is a legal right that provides the creator of original work exclusive rights as to the use and distribution of said work. This rights are only for a limited time, and the main idea of copyright is to ensure the creator is receiving full appreciation and compensation for their creative and intellectual effort. The types of work that are protected by copyright are: literary (song lyrics, manuals, manuscripts, leaflets, computer programs etc.), dramatic (plays, dances etc.),  musical (recordings and score), artistic (photography, sculptures, painting, logos etc.), typographical arrangement of published editions (magazines, periodicals etc.), sound recording (this may just be a recording of other copyright work e.g. musical or literary) and film (video footage, films, broadcasts, and television programmes).
An example of an intellectual property dispute was when Victor Whitmill, Mike Tyson's personal tattoo artist, claimed the use of his design in The Hangover Part II was copyright infringement, and subsequently filed a lawsuit.
Below is the symbol used for copyright.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright

Creative commons provide copyright licences that are free and easy to use. They offer a simple way to provide permission to the public to allow them use and also allows them to share your work. Conditions apply to these permissions, all of which are your choice. You can easily change the terms of these licences from the usual "all rights reserved" to "some rights reserved". However, it is important to remember that these Creative Commons licenses are not an alternative option to copyright, they exist alongside copyright and allow you to modify the copyright terms to best suit you.
A further way to source materials for use in the creative media industry is through the Public Domain. Works found in the Public Domain are there for a variety of reasons, these can include the expiration or forfeit of their intellectual property rights or they may have became inapplicable. Examples found in the Public Domain can include the works of Beethoven and Shakespeare and many of the early silent films. Everything found in the Public Domain is freely available for use by anyone.

www.prattlibrary.com

• Official secrets act 1989

This law covers speaking out about state secrets, official information and secrets of the government. An example of where this law is relevant would be on a news show, whether it be broadcast on the television or radio, if the presenter were to talk about matters of national security they must ensure that no vital information is given as this could in serious cases put the country in danger. News presenters will stick to a strict script and schedule which will have already been wrote and vetted to make sure everything included in it is safe, accurate and relevant.
An example of this breach was in 2011 when Guardian revealed the hacking of Milly Dowler's phone. Scotland yard claimed the Official Secrets Act was broken in order for this to be reported.

• Health and Safety Act

The Health and Safety Act is relevant in all places of work, and ensures the safety of all. This enforces all the expected things, such as for fire procedures to be in place, and for anything potentially dangerous such as an exposed/frayed wire in a computer to be dealt with swiftly and safely to ensure no risk or harm. This also expands within industries such as film and TV, where extra procedures such as risk assessments will need to be completed to ensure safety on set.
Anthea Turner was set on fire in 1989 during the filming of a program called UP2U where they were having a pyrotechnic display. This goes to show just how important the Health and Safety Act is as it is in place to protect all.

As well as conforming to legal procedures, it is also important for producers to understand ethical considerations when working within the creative sector. Ethical issues can be a lot harder to adhere to and judge as opposed to legal constraints as there are no real specific guidelines/laws to be followed. Ethical and moral issues are based a lot more on individual opinions and people beliefs than the enforcement of law.

Ethical considerations they will have to adhere to are:

• social issues and sensitivities 

'Social issues and sensitivities' is a very broad term to use, within this is many issues. One of these being the representation of gender within the media industry, particularly within video games. The large majority of character representations featured in video games are very much geared towards males. Many female characters are over sexualised when compared with opposing male characters.

Below is an example of female characters and male characters from the popular game 'Skyrim'. As you can see, the female character is scantily clad yet the male is made to look like a fearsome warrior                                                       

                                                  

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAYQjB0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwtf-pictures.picphotos.net%2Fskyrim-character-creation-starting-dark-elf-race-overview%2F&ei=sMe3VPjRIdjjaoTRgNAJ&psig=AFQjCNEpLJQtM_q7m1FjQloJ-PB6-yxs1Q&ust=1421416738708099

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAYQjB0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fvideogamegeek.com%2Fthread%2F724263%2Fskyrim-character-screenshot-thread&ei=j8i3VKDMKIXcaJjigbgM&psig=AFQjCNEpLJQtM_q7m1FjQloJ-PB6-yxs1Q&ust=1421416738708099

Due to gender representation only being an ethical issue and not a law, this is allowed to happen time and time again. Also, this is not being forced into anybody- it is completely up to the individual if they buy the game or not.
Another issue is the representation of religion. This can cause a lot of problems, as religion, in any form, is something many people hold incredibly close and are very sensitive about. To many, it is a way of life. When the 2014 film 'Noah' was released, is was banned in many countries due to depicting the religious figure Noah, and in the countries where it made it to the cinema quite a few religious groups were outraged at the film. All of this controversy and anger came about due to the film only roughly basing itself on the biblical tale, and existing as a fantasy adventure almost bordering on a psychological horror. In other countries, as seen from them banning the release of the film, depicting a religious story in such a way would be illegal, however in many, including the UK this is only an ethical issue. To try and avoid the controversy, the film only refers to God as the Creator. Quite often in film and TV things like this will be done to try and ensure nobody is offended.
Another ethical social issue is accessibility, producers need to endeavor ensure that anything they produce is accessible by all. This means television shows to be aired with the sign language interpreted in the corner for deaf viewers, magazines to be produced in braille, offices with wheelchair access and so on and so forth. Once again, due to this being an ethical issue and not a legal issue this is not always possible. However, the law does state that 5% of a TV channels time must have sign language, with changes looking to be made.

• not causing harm or offence

Producers have a responsibility to ensure children and young people are protected against unsuitable content whilst still upholding their rights of freedom to receive information and freedom of expression.This goes hand in hand with watershed, where anything considering upsetting to children is shown after 9 when they are unlikely to be watching the TV. It is important that anything broadcast or published is in the taste of the company, for example the types of programs found on channels such as 'Babestation' would be considered very harming and offensive were it shown on the BBC or ITV. An example of this was the 'Sachsgate' scandal where Russell Brand, on his own pre recorded radio show aired on BBC Radio 2, alongside Jonathan Ross, left messages on actor Andrew Sachs' answer phone which were considered by the public to be offensive. There was a massive outrage that this was allowed to be shown, despite being pre recorded so it could of been changed as opposed to if it were a live broadcast. Jonathan Ross was suspended without pay for 12 weeks, Brand and Lesley Douglas (the controller of Radio 2) both resigned. The BBC issued an apology, and described the calls as "a serious breach of editorial standards" and "grossly offensive".

• adhering to the professional body codes of practice 

The BBC follows a strict charter, which outlines the public purposes of the BBC guaranteeing its independence, and also states the duties of the BBC executive board and the BBC trust. The BBC also has Editorial Guidelines.
The broadcasting code, set by Ofcom, is the official rule book for TV and radio stations. Broadcasters need to follow these standards in all of their programmes. The codes aim is to ensure all listeners and viewers are protected from content considered harmful and offensive as long as the audience receives information letting them know this and also as long as the content is editorially justified.  Impartiality and accuracy, sponsorship and product placement, fairness and privacy as well as harm and offence are all covered in the code. When a complaint is made, it is assessed against the code and if the program is found to of broken any rules specified in the code a recording of the breach will be made and Ofcom may be required to make a further decision such as a revoking of a license or a fine, for example in the previously mentioned Sachsgate debacle, the BBC was fined £120,000. 

Understanding music videos

Understanding Music Videos

Purposes of music videos

Music videos have many different purposes. These include:

• To sell the song and to invoke a reaction from the viewer to ensure they remember the song and listen to it again

Nicki Minaj's 'Anaconda', as shown above, certainly invoked a reaction. The video, which is 4 minutes 50 seconds of not much else other than Nicki and her backup dances bums wiggling about, currently standing at almost 360 million views on YouTube. Leading up to the video release, Minaj excited many of her fans by uploading many racy teaser clips and promo pics to social media, in particular photo sharing app instagram. These teasers undoubtedly enticed people to watch the video, whether this was out of admiration for her risqué performance, or pure curiosity as to just how explicit she could make the video and have it still allowed to be shown on YouTube. All of this, alongside undeniably catchy lyrics, ensured this music video was watched over and over again by many and certainly made it memorable.

• To provide the listener with a better understanding of the song and any meanings behind the song. (This only really applies if the video is narrative)

Ed Sheeran's debut single 'The A Team' was a massive hit, coming in at number three in the UK Singles Chart. The indie folk ballad's heavy meaning isn't obvious to the average listener, unless someone is really listening and understanding the lyrics; they tell of a young homeless lady who is addicted to crack cocaine and turns to prostitution. The video, whilst reflecting the lyrics, portrays the story of this quite simply and beautifully by following the girl as she spends a night sleeping rough on a bench in the cold (follows lyrics 'white lips, pale face, breathing in snow flakes'), tries to sell Big Issue magazines (follows lyrics 'struggling to pay rent'), eventually resorts to picking up a man (follows lyrics 'long nights, strange men'), sleeping with him in his hotel room (follows lyrics 'sell love to another man'), using the money to buy crack (follows lyrics 'go mad for a couple grams'), smoking it (follows lyrics 'in a pipe she flies to the motherland') and eventually succumbing to the drug abuse and dying (follows lyrics 'it's too cold outside, for angels to fly, an angel will die). Sheeran wrote this song after visiting a homeless shelter and hearing one of the residents stories, the emotional impact this had on him is shown through the video and lyrics. 

• To entertain the viewer and show off any other talents the musician may have, such as dancing and acting.

Taylor Swift's 'Shake It Off'' was her first release from her most recent album '1989'. This song acted also as a kind of reinvention of Swift's musical style, from country pop to all out uptempo pop. To go along with this new pop sound, she needed a stereotypically pop music video. It's certainly entertaining, showing Taylor fully immersing herself in a variety of dancing styles including ballet, hip hop, ribbon twirling and cheerleading, none of which are her usual music video style. It's silly and funny, she wears lots of outfits you would never expect to see Taylor wearing fitting with each dancing styles stereotype and doesn't take herself seriously at all, trying her hardest to twerk alongside the other hip hop dancers and plies as well as the professional ballerinas. This side of her is not usually seen, as her videos will often go with a heart wrenching ballad about some guy who treat her badly, or be her stood singing and playing her guitar/ukelele/banjo. Bar a few ('You Belong With Me' and 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together' stick out in my memory), none of her past music videos are particularly entertaining, nor do they show her clear dance and comedy talents as this one shows. With over 454 million views on YouTube, the video must of entertained many.

• To show the reinvention of an artist/ change their image

Miley Cyrus' transformation is probably one of the most famous of the modern music industry. From Disney teen pop star to scantily clad controversial pop sensation, Miley clearly felt just leaving Hannah Montana behind her wasn't enough and that she needed to do something big to show the world that she's all grown up now. The video begins with someone, probably Miley, cutting a tag off of their leg with a big pair of shears; if anyone needed any conformation that the sweet, America's sweetheart country inspired pop icon that was Miley Cyrus is gone, here it is plain and simple. The most amount of clothing she wears throughout the video is a cropped white vest top paired with skin tight white leggings, from there it gets less and less to the point where she is wearing not much more than underwear whilst spanking one of her female dancers. The song itself, despite being about partying, dancing, drinking and containing lyrics such as 'shaking it like we at a strip club', is not too dissimilar from a lot of Miley's previous songs she has released under her own name (such as 'Kicking and Screaming' and 'Can't Be Tamed'), so it really is the music video that does all the work with this reinvention. Prior to the video release, the internet had already been filled with images of her shocking new hair cut, leaving many intrigued to see what the new Miley was all about. All of her many tattoos are on show throughout the video which is something she hasn't really done before this, she dances provocatively with giant teddy bears, wears bright red lipstick and even grills at some point. The entire video shows her reinvention as a fun, sexy adult who does what she wants. 

Styles of music videos

• Performance Videos

Performance music videos are mostly made up of shots of the band/artist performing or lip syncing. There is no narrative, nor much meaning to the videos however they do add a further experience to the music in the form of visuals. These videos can be shot in a studio, using things such as props, green screens, costumes and artificial lighting and will often have shots of the band/artist dancing about provocatively, dorkily or looking like they're just genuinely having fun, all of this depends on the style and or genre of the music and music video. An example of a studio performance video is:

Another style of performance music videos is one that consists mainly of shots of the band/artist simply performing. This could be on their own, in a studio or in front of a crowd such as at one of their concerts. These style of videos often use a wide variety of camera angles, often switching between band members, focusing on their instruments, hands playing the instruments etc. These videos could also be intercut with shots of found footage or random things, possibly relevant to the music but sometimes completely for aesthetic purposes. This style is favoured among rock artists. An example of this style of performance video is:

• Narrative Videos

Narrative music videos tell a story through the video and act as a kind of short film, showing and describing a sequence of events, Often, these short stories will correspond with the song itself and the lyrics. Narrative video's are popular, as they are interesting and engaging to watch and can provide a whole new meaning to the music. An example of a narrative music video is this:

Though not relevant to the song itself, the video tells a story about an overly obsessed fan who tries to duplicate Ed Sheeran's life as his own. The story and character progress throughout the video, allowing the viewer to enjoy it as if they were watching a short film. This video is different and interesting as instead of featuring Sheeran himself, he opts to choose a kind of lookalike in the form of Rupert Grint, a fellow well loved ginger, which was also reel in the views for the video promoting Ed and his music. 

• Interpretative/impressionist videos

This style of video will often be very abstract, and whether the video has any relation to the music will mostly be completely based on the decision of each individual viewer. The main focus of these videos is to add depth to the music, in the form of creating a visual experience to be interpreted however each viewer wants. An example of this style of video is:

A risk that an artist can face when creating an interpretative video is that it can be taken completely out of context. The above video, which I personally enjoy and find interesting, has been slated in the media stating it is a show of paedophilia. The video is nothing more than interpretative dance, and the official deeper meaning and whether it correlates with the song itself is a mystery .

• Surreal music videos

A surreal music video style can be seen as very similar to that of an interpretative/impressionist music video. The main difference, however, is that the theme/ story of a surreal music video is quite obvious, it is just quite strange. These videos will often comprise of animation alongside live footage to create a surreal and distorted feel. They will often show a likeness to a vision or a dream and are quite artistic and creative. An example of a surreal music video is:

• Animated music videos

Animated videos are either entirely or partially animated. They can be quite low cost to make as the video is completely digital; there is no need for props, venues, cameras and other filming equipment. Though you may think animation is aimed mainly at children, this style of music video is used across a wide range of genres, such as the example below:

Despite being animated, Kanye West's heartless still contains many of the conventions typical of the r'n'b genre his music falls into, such as images of people smoking, fast cars and night clubs with half naked girls dancing.

• Pastiche

This is when an imitation is created or implied of a specific artist or period in time. This is achieved through reinforcing the styles of that artist or period within the music video. An example of this:

Christina Aguilera's 'Candy Man' is set in the era of the 1940's. This is achieved through the hair styles, costumes and backgrounds all incorporated in the music video that reflect this time era. 

Conventions

• Rock music

Each individual genre conforms to it's own conventions. An example of a rock video is:

Rock music videos will often follow the style of being narrative or performance based, or in the case of this video, both. A lot of black is used in the clothing, and textiles such as leather are often used. Rock is heavy on image, many rock bands have their own individual styles which they are instantly recognizable by.

• Pop

Pop is a very popular genre within the music industry, so the conventions within a pop music video are very wide and adaptable depending on which sub genre or age range it fits in. Generally, pop music videos are very bright and colourful and fun. The main locations used for a pop music video are parks, schools, beaches and other locations that allow the viewer to relate to the video/artists. The lighting is often bright and the videos will often include dance routines, performed by the artists themselves or other dancers featuring in the video. Due to the teenage demographic most pop is aimed at, a lot of these videos revolve around love stories, parties and having fun with friends. The clothes worn by all in the video will be modern and stylish. An example of a pop music video is:

• RnB

RnB music videos typically portray the artists/characters featured in the song as living a successful and wealthy lifestyle, and male music artists will often have videos consisting of scantily clad girls dancing around, fast cars, helicopters or any other overt signs of wealth. The body language of these artists often shows confidence and power. Outfits worn in these videos are usually high end designer clothing, hoodies and heavy jewellery, often gold and diamonds. An example of an RnB video is:

• Country

Country music is a lot more popular in America than it is in the UK, however it still has a faithful following. Music videos following the country convention will often include the artists playing acoustic instruments such as guitars, with the singers singing along with the lyrics as though they are performing it in front of you. As well as this, country music videos will often follow a narrative strongly linked to the lyrics. The locations used within these videos are very stereotypical, often in small cities and towns or in barns surrounded by hay. The mise-en-scene of these videos tends to be quite traditional and almost old fashioned. An example of a country music video is:

Techniques

• Cutting to the beat

This involves both the music and the video itself. This is when the shots incorporated in video are cut along with individual lyrics or themes within the song. This technique allows the video to follow along with the lyrics, perhaps further portraying them. An example of this is:

• Split screen
• Camera shots
• Lighting (low key and high key)
• Effects

Effects is a large section to cover as a single technique. Effects are used in many music videos, whether this be a lens flare in the corner or a complete digital graphic incorporated within the video. Green screen will often be used in videos, to place the artist in a location the cannot realistically get to, such as the moon or something. These effects will be achieved in the post production stage through the use of computer programs. An example of a video with lots of computer effects is:

• Animation

• Miming and Lip Sync

This is used often in pop music videos. It is where the artist will sing along to the song which is already pre-recorded. An example of this is:

Film and Video Editing Techniques

History and development of editing
The first ever person to capture a moving image was Eadweard Muybridge. Using a collection of 12 cameras set up in a line using trip wires so they would trigger the cameras to take pictures a split second apart, shown below.

http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/permanent/windows/southeast/eadweard_muybridge.html

At the beginning of cinema, during the 1890s, films were created completely in one shot (in camera). These films were under a minute long and there was no editing or sound (which wasn't introduced until 1927). The first initial filmmakers felt that audiences would be confused by the way things moved to different positions from the cutting together of shots. An example of one of these early one shot films is L'Arrivée d'un train á La Ciotat (also known as The Arrival of a Train) by the Lumiére Brothers. This film was released in France in January of 1896, was 1 minute long, silent and in black and white. The Lumiére Brothers also created the cinematographe, an early film camera and projector which shot films at sixteen frames per second, much better than the previous rate of forty six.

The style of filming is similar to what we would now often see in a home video filmed by ourselves. Due to the newness of cinema, when this film was shown to audiences they were genuinely afraid and many thought the train was really coming towards them. The Lumiere Brothers described their films as 'actualites', containing action continuing from the beginning to end filmed by a static camera.
This novelty soon wore off however, as after more and more of these early one shot short films were created and enjoyed, the audience begun to realise that they were just watching things they could go and see in real life for themselves. By the turn of the century, doubts surrounding the future of cinema began to arise, causing filmmakers to come up with the idea of cutting footage to allow the film to change between shots. Alongside this idea came the discovery that as a result of editing different shots into a sequence, a more complex story could be told.
In early films, these cuts would be made in camera; the cameraman would stop cranking the camera at the precise end of the shot, and start it up again when the camera had been moved to somewhere else or had something else put in front of it. This style of editing allowed the opportunity for simple special effects; Georges Méliés would make a puff of smoke appear in front of the actor, stop the camera, then start the camera up again, in the same position, once the actor was out of sight. When watched in sequence it would look as though the actor had magically disappeared. He also made the 1902 film A Trip to the Moon. The film has a run time of just under 14 minutes and comprises of 30 separate scenes, each consisting of one wide shot and each playing out to its own individual logical conclusion, and all connected by dissolves. The camera remained static and each scene was captured from the same angle; this style of shot is often called a 'proscenium' (which is also the name of the section of the theatre surrounding the stage) as the camera position is where the audience would be if they were watching the stage directly.

A further development in cinematic editing is Edwin Porter's 'discovery' of the shot. As opposed to Melies' A Trip to the Moon which had each scene (note that they are described as scenes, not shots) connected by dissolves, Porter's The Great Train Robbery consisted of shots connected by cuts; he would cut away from each shot straight into another before reaching a logical conclusion. These cuts were created by literally cutting up the reel of film at the point of the desired cut and attaching it to the start of the next shot, and so on and so forth.

The Great Train Robbery (1903) is made up of 14 shots and has a run time of just over 12 minutes. As well as the use of straight cuts, the film also contains other innovations that were state of the art at the time. Back projection is used in the first shot, where a train is seen moving and then coming to a halt outside the window of the room in which the main action is taking place, and is then used again in the third shot where the outside landscape is shown moving past the trains open door. A panning shot and a tilt is used in shot 8 to follow the bandits as they escape the train, a very different technique to the static camera used in previous films. Arguably the most revolutionary shot in the film is shot 14, where the bandits leader is shown in a medium close-up as he fires his gun directly at the camera. Despite being used as a gimmick and not as part of the actual narrative, this was one of cinema's first use of the close up. Many audience members were initially annoyed by shots like the close up, as they felt they deserved to see the full body of the actor rather than just a section as they had paid to see the whole film.
The next notable contributor to the history of film editing was D.W. Griffith. Despite not actually inventing any of the editing techniques he used, he executed them in a manner that made them emotionally and dramatically significant and relevant to the narrative. He wanted the cut to be barely noticeable to the viewer, to try and hold their attention throughout the whole film. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation is often considered to be one of the most influential films of all time.

By alternating shots of different spatial lengths such as wide shots, mid shots and close ups, Griffith encouraged the audience to respond in a certain way. The sequence which shows the assassination of Abraham Lincoln uses parallel editing, or cross cutting. Comprising of 55 shots, some of which are only held for mere seconds, the sequence shows the relationships between Lincoln and his bodyguard, the audience, and the assassin all building up the the final dramatic climax and by keeping the length of the shots short, tension is increased. This cross cutting technique is also used in The Great Train Robbery so isn't revolutionary as such, however in The Great Train Robbery it's used to show only what occurs in 2 different places.
Griffith's influence was at a worldwide scale, The Moscow Film School in the 1920s showed his Intolerance (1916) repeatedly whilst students analysed his techniques to then use for themselves. Though the piecing together of different shots to portray theme and action, also known as a montage, that Griffith was so famous for had been used before by other filmmakers, Griffith gave it its fame which led the Soviets to theorize it's meaning.
Arguably the most notable Soviet director of the time was Sergei Eisenstein. He was heavily influenced by Griffith, and was known as the Father of the Montage. Principally, he saw montage as a useful tool for propaganda film which is what was mainly taught at The Moscow Film School. Eisenstein would juxtapose images with either metaphoric or symbolic importance within the films narrative with the hope of manipulating the audience's thoughts and feelings.

Shown above is a clip of a montage sequence from Sergei Eisenstein's Strike! (1925). In the montage, shots of factory workers alongside their families being mass murdered by police is intercut with shots of an abbatoir in which cattle are being slaughtered, the graphic and shocking images are intended as a metaphor for the horrendous events taking place.
Another Russian filmmaker who used montage in an interesting way at the time was Lev Kuleshov. He was a leader of the Soviet montage theory, and developed his theories before Eisenstein, who was briefly a student of Kuleshov. Kuleshov felt cinema was all about editing, specifically the juxtaposition of each shot corresponding to another. His revolutionary idea, known now as The Kuleshov Effect is an editing exercise in which a shot of an actor is intercut with a meaningful image, such as a casket or a sexual looking lady. The intention of this is to show how editing can change the viewers interpretation of editing.

http://www.elementsofcinema.com/editing/kuleshov-effect.html

Another example of the early use of montages is in Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times (1936) in which a shot of a crowded group of faceless men coming out of a subway is immediately followed by a shot of sheep being taken to slaughter, in the midst of the herd is a single black ram. This is then followed by a return to the crowd scene, however Charlie is now emerging in the middle of the crowd (the metaphorical black sheep).
Linear video editing is the process of arranging the sound and images in order. No matter how it was filmed (a video camera, a VTR, recorded in a television studio), the content must be arranged sequentially. Up until the 1990s, this was simply referred to as video editing.
About 15-20 years ago Avid Media Composer was used and they cost between 40 and 50 grand. Non-linear editing was then made, it is either a video, audio, or digital audio workstation system that can edit material without destructing the footage.
In very recent years, about 10 years ago, home computers became powerful enough to run editing software, such as Adobe Premiere Pro. At first it was considered a bit of a joke to filmmakers, however when hit film Cold Mountain was made using the program, it became popular.
Telecine is used to make film to a digital format so it can be edited digitally, and until about 2 years ago it was switched back to film to be shown in cinema.

Purposes of editing

• To create pace. 

Films such as action films would use a fast pace. Pace is very relevant in a scene such as a car chase, shots will be cut very quickly and will move to other different shots quickly too. An example of where a slower pace would be used is in a romantic style of film, where less frequent and slower cuts allow the audience to fully understand scenes and characters without getting distracted by constantly changing shots.

• Show relationships between characters

Not always, but often if a man and woman are shown to be talking to each other in a two-shot a level of intimacy can be implied, where as crosscutting can cause the characters to appear further apart emotionally as they are not physically seen as close.

• To give information

Editing can often be used to allow the audience to access information that could be crucial to ensure they understand the rest of the film. For example, a long shot is shown of a woman walking along the street. She could be there for any reason which is unbeknownst to the viewer, however we then cut to a detail shot of a woman holding a pickax behind her back. The audience now thinks the woman may have now committed a gruesome murder.

Conventions of editing

• Parallel editing

This is an effective technique as it shows how two separate things interact or affect one another and you can see this from each point of view. This is often used to create anticipation. A good example is in the film Silence of the Lambs, in a scene where the protagonist is talking to the girl he has trapped, and at the same time police are surrounding the house and an agent is knocking at the door.

• 180 degree rule

This convention must be followed to ensure the viewer doesn't become confused as to where the shot is being filmed and is also not irritated by what they watch. The camera is placed at a point on a 180 degree line and you cannot move anywhere beyond the 180 degrees.

• Cross-cutting

This technique is mostly used to establish action occurring in two different locations at the same time. The camera will cut from one action to another, suggesting simultaneity of the two actions (this is not always the case however). This is useful as parts of the story that could be complicated to be shown in the same shot can be shown clearly, such as a fight or argument.

• Transition

Transitions are the cut effects used to allow a smooth change between scenes and give a professional look. The most popular transitions used are the dissolve, wipe and flip. 

• Cutting to a soundtrack

Cutting to a soundtrack can be used alongside pace to help along the narrative

• Continuity editing

The purpose of this is to almost cover over the inherent discontinuity caused by the editing process, and to help create a logical coherence between all the shots.