Research into Editing Techniques

There are many editing techniques that can be used to represent different things. All films include some form of editing, some more than other, but all the editing techniques play an important part in the film. Without editing, the film wouldn't be as enjoyable and audiences would quickly get bored.
Vsevolod Pudovkin noted that the editing process is the one phase of production that is truly unique to motion pictures. Every other aspect of film making originated in a different medium than film (photography, art direction, writing, sound recording), but editing is the one process that is unique to film.

Match Cut - A match cut, also called a graphic match, is a cut in film editing between either two different objects, two different spaces or two different compositions in which an object in the two shots graphically match, often helping to establish a strong continuity of action and linking the two shots metaphorically. A famous example of this would be in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho' where an extreme close up shot of Marion's eye graphic matches to with the plug hole. Graphic Match in Psycho

Flash Cutting - This is editing sequences so that the durations of the shots are very brief. This is also referred as short cut, a cut that has a brief duration, usually less than two seconds.

Subliminal Cut - A cut consisting of a few frames which zip by so fast that the viewer is only subliminally (subconsciously) aware of them. This can be used to promote products or to create a preferred audience response, it can also be used to suggest certain things about a character; for example, in Fight Club at the beginning there are flashes of Tyler Durdan (Brad Pitt) seen by the main character and at the very end of the film it's revealed that Tyler Durdan is a made up character and the alter ego of the main character. Subliminal Messages in Popular Films

Cross Cutting - Editing that alternates shots of two or more lines of action occurring in different places, usually simultaneous. This excites the audience and also makes them piece things together, this is often used where both of the separate scenes are related to create tension. Cross Cut editing in Inception

Elliptical Editing - shot transitions that omit parts of an event, causing ellipsis in plot and story duration. This shows something that would occur in hours in just a few minutes, this editing technique is used so that the audience wouldn't get bored - this is only used in scenes where a character would be taking a long walk to a specific location. Elliptical editing in Batman Begins

Jump Cut - an elliptical cut that appears to be an interruption of a single shot. It occurs within a scene rather than between scenes, to condense the shot. Either the figures seem to change instantly against a constant background, or the background changes instantly while the figures remain constant. This is used in many horror and thriller films. It can be used to scare an audience or to suggest the mental state of a character. Jump Cut

Invisible Editing - Editing that is so smooth that the audience become engrossed in the film and don't notice the individual cuts. This is also known as continuity editing purposely keeping a constant flow of action. When the continuity is broken in a film the audience is reminded that they are watching a film which isn't what to filmmakers want, unless they intend it to happen for a certain audience reaction.  Invisible/continuity editing in Goodfellas

Split Edit - A video editing term for overlap. In a split edit the audio and video don't start at the same time; either video or audio is delayed. This is often used when a character is narrating over a flashback. Example of Split Edit from Fight Club (1999)

All editing techniques are used within reason in film, which contribute to audience responses. People respond differently to films after viewing for the first time, then the second time the response can be different. Emotion is a mental state that is unconscious and is accompanied by psychological changes. Emotional contagion is the tendency to automatically mimic the emotions of the other subconsciously. There are three different types of audience responses:
Preferred response - is intended by the filmmaker, the filmmaker wants the film to make the audience feel a certain way after watching the film. This is the response often after the first viewing of the film.
Negotiated response - this is where the audience knows how their supposed to feel after the film but they have their own response. This is typically after the second viewing of the film because the audience already knows the story and they often notice things they hadn't noticed before within the film.
Oppositional response - this is where the audience opposes the response, they have a different response than what the filmmaker intended.
Stuart Hall created the theory of different responses. He says that the film constructs a personal response.