French New Wave Editing

What is French New Wave Cinema?

French New Wave filmmakers such as Jean Luc Godard and François Truffaut pushed the limits of editing technique during the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s

French New Wave films and the non-narrative films of the 1960s used a carefree editing style and did not conform to the traditional editing etiquette of Hollywood films.

French New Wave editing often drew attention to itself by its lack of continuity, its self-reflexive nature (reminding the audience that they were watching a film), and by the overt use of jump cuts or the insertion of material not often related to any narrative.

Conventions of French New Wave Cinema

¨A rejection of classical montage-style filmmaking

¨Focus on the mise-en-scene

¨A conviction that the best films are a personal artisic expression and should bear the stamp of personal authoship.

¨Low budget.

¨Presented in black and white.

¨Natural lighting

¨Liberation from the tripod (hand-held shots)

http://www.criticalcommons.org/Members/ogaycken/clips/breathless-jump-cuts.mp4/view