Despite being an early film, the Wizard of Oz employed the use of different unique editing techniques. First, and most notably, just the absence of color in the beginning (and ending) of the movie help to set the mood and overall feeling for Dorothy when she is in Kansas, and the issues and lack of ‘color’ that she faces there. She dreams someday of being ‘over the rainbow,’ and after the cyclone scene—when opening the door from her sepia-themed house to a ‘rainbow’ colored world outside—shocks the viewer and serves as a huge attention-grabber and, again, sets the mood for this new world Dorothy has found herself in.

The establishing shot for her first steps in the land of Oz is an example of inside/out editing; it begins with a close-up of Dorothy and slowly moves out to show her surroundings—in this case, the entirety of Munchkinland and the beginning of the yellow brick road. After panning around the area, the camera view centers once again on Dorothy, when she declares they ‘aren’t in Kansas anymore.’

Different types of editing transitions are used throughout the movie, mostly the dissolve and fade in-out type. However, a unique type of transition, or it could even be considered a cross-cut (as it shows events occurring at the same time but in two different locations), is used as well. A good example is during the poppy field scene. After the Cowardly Lion joins the group, the scene zooms out to the Wicked Witch’s crystal ball, and fades away. The Witch then looks at the poppy field, and the scene switches, zooming into the crystal and opening up to show the group travelling again.

After Dorothy falls asleep in the field, an image of the Good Witch appears over the scene, as she casts her spell. After Dorothy wakes up, and as she is helping the Tin Man, the scene once again zooms back out to the Wicked Witch and her crystal, before dissolving back to the group once more as they continue on their way.

Of course, the Wizard of Oz must have been edited using the old, linear editing technique, as computer editing was not available at that time.