EDITING There are several ideas that are associated with the role of editing in film criticism, which can be categorized generally according to the stylistic elements of realism and formalism and the ways in which they both build into the classical paradigm. LetÕs begin, though, with three definitions of editing and montage: 1. A technical definition of editing is the splicing together of strips of film footage (two strips of film, two shots cut together, …showed first 75 words of 683 total…

…showed last 75 words of 683 total…within the continuity to create symbolic meanings. These symbolic meanings very often invoke an emotional charge from the viewer and can play rhetorical games with the poetics of the film narrative. The best, most persuasive, and original analyses of film texts take into account these various dimensions of the film text; this is not limited to the film concept of editing and montage, but is certainly an important part of reading the editing and montage.