Editing

The simplest function of editing is:

• Getting from one shot to another and getting from one scene to another. 
• Editing can be used to condense long, boring activities into quick bursts of visual information. 
• The simplest and most commonly used edit is a cut. 
• Continuity - if characters have changed clothes, or the weather has changed between scenes, the audience knows that time has passed. 

Transitions:

• Jump Cut - Two scenes that feature a common element right after one another, so something stays the same but the rest changes. This is used for disorienting or comedy effect. 
• Dissolve - One scene dissolves into another, overlapping for a moment. 
• Fade out/Fade in - One scene fades out to black completely, then another fades in. 
• Wipes - One scene wipes across the screen, revealing or replacing the next one. This can happen in any direction. 
• Iris - The next scene replaces the last by appearing from the centre like the iris of an eye. 

Psycho  

A close up shot of the character screaming as she notices the intruder and they begin attacking her. 

The shot of the bloody water washing down the drain then dissolves into the characters eye as she lays murdered on the floor - this is called a 

graphic match. 

The Kuleshov Experiment 
A Russian Editing theory that suggested that if you had an inexpressive shot of a young female and then juxtaposed that with a shot of a baby then returned to the shot of the female with the same expression, the audience would construct the meaning that the female is happy. Even though the face is still inexpressive.