By Claudia Siefen*

Fade-in, fade-out. Do you remember those early cuts, that were made in the camera. This kind of editing could allow for some early special effects. In earlier movies he made at the turn of the century, Georges Méliès for example stops the camera after detonating a magic puff of smoke in front of his actor, then begins the camera again after the actor has left the stage, and has so magically vanished.