Buster Keaton - film form

• What are the editing and shots structured around?

  Structured around the development of the gag and edited for precise comic timing
• What kind of editor was Keaton and how did he describe his approach to editing?

  Intuitive editor

  Pacing- for fast action, you cut things closer than normal. For a dramatic scene, you lengthen them out a little more
• How is the editing used in the high sign scene where the dog eats the steak which is revealed every time Keaton rings a bell?

  The editing is perfectly timed to enhance the comedy through cross-cutting from Keaton stepping on the pedal to make the bell ring, to the dog outside lunging at the steak. The fast editing and cross-cutting build up comedy as the poor dog tries repeatedly in vain to catch the steak
• How does the framing and editing create a gag in Cops?

  At first, the mid-shot of Keaton clinging onto the bars make us believe he is in prison. Then, the film cuts to a long shot which reveals that Keaton is in fact behind the bars of a garden gate. This shot also demonstrates how Keaton is 'locked out' from the wealthy world his girlfriend inhabits
• What is used in One week to show time passing?

  An Iris shot is used in conjunction with the torn calendar to signal the end of a scene and the start of a each new day, suggesting the passage of time from one shot to the next.