The films we watched in week 3 and 4 are available at the following URL:

The life of an American fireman: Edwin S. Porter (1903):
This was the movie which can be considered as the birth of 'editing' as an art.
Edwin S. Porter was working with Edison. He created this film primarily using stock images of firemen.
To these Porter added some sequences specially shot for the purpose of advancing the narrative.

The great train robbery: Edwin S. Porter (1903):

You see the evolution of the editing technique in this film.
Many things are done for the first time.

Jump-cut or cross-cut:
Cross-cut is used to show events that take place at the same time but in different places

Pan shot: 

In panning you move the camera horizontally to follow a moving subject.

Ellipsis
Once the telegraph operator is woken up, you jump cut to the dance hall.
The dance routine has no role in the narrative except for easing the tension, and providing some novel entertainment.
Once he  recruits people in the dance hall, you see them directly following the bandits.

This omission of time between 2 events is called ellipsis.

Use of a Dummy

The fireman being shot was a dummy