Editing deconstruction - student made opening

I am deconstructing a student-made film opening for editing because it gives us a more realistic sense of how to edit ours. It shows us what we will and won't be able to do so that we can edit easily, not having to deal with anything extreme.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUeDPezd8m8

 

This opening scene is about the army at war. As the war is happening, there shots are very short and fast paced, allowing the scene to seem like it is faster, and build intensity and excitement. The shots are handheld which also reflects this and adds urgency to the setting.
 

Jump cuts are used to establish another shot, which is edited using eye-line match. A character looks over to two other 'soldiers' and the camera cuts to them from where he is, so we can see what he sees.
 

There is one use of match on action when the main character is reloading the ammunition in his gun - it provides different angled shots of it happening. They made this look effective because they did it so the continuity was perfected, looking more professional.
 

Shot-reverse-shot is used between two characters when they're yelling at each other over all of the gunshot noises and explosions. This establishes our relationship with the characters and their relationships with each other, as even though you can't hear exactly what they're saying, their actions afterwards hint to what they said.
 

The use of special effects is amazing - they used CGI to edit in helicopters used in the army, and to add explosions. This is extremely effective in their piece as it creates excitement and makes it seem very real and dramatic. However, it would be very hard for us to create CGI images and we wouldn't have anywhere to use it that would make sense, and would therefore be pointless.

 

The editing proves to be very important because it creates different emotions that the audience feel, like fear and tension. Continuity is extremely important because it establishes the overall smoothness of the piece and if it isn't done correctly, can make it look unprofessional and messy.