Research into Editing***

What is Editing?

Editing is a post-production process in which footage which had been filmed during the production process, is made and adapted to create a coherent whole. Editing can also create meaning alongside the narrative as it creates the desired effect on the audience if done successfully. E.g - the use of lots of close straight cuts creates fast editing, suggesting and emphasising a chaotic atmosphere. This technique would be relevant to a scene with intense action, ie fight or car chase. Thriller convention favours slow paced editing as this is a prolonging method that effectively creates suspense. Typically this is followed by a crucial event and therefore prior slow editing acts as a climatic methodology. An example I have referred to in my research into editing can be taken from the film Obsessed. When the protagonist is looking for the antagonist, slow paced editing is used to prolong this from happening and therefore creates suspense as the audience are unaware of what the outcome will be. When finding the protagonist, the editing is very abrupt and faster paced to climax to a conflict.

Editing terminology 

Jump cut: an abrupt cut from one frame to another that may have no significance in the following of the narrative. Jump cuts can be used to show the passing of time, or to speed up a sequence. However, jump cuts are often used in thrillers to juxtapose two different situations that are somehow related thus building suspense, as it is suggested that such situations will conflict. 

For example:

Frame 1: Protagonist walking around their flat

Frame 2: Antagonist walking into a building

Frame 3: Back to protagonist acting naturally around flat

Frame 4: Antagonist walking up stairs

Frame 5: Protagonist

Frame 6: Antagonist outside protagonist’s front door

Originally, the two events were not linked, as the two characters were in separate locations, thus a jump cut is used to transition from one frame to the next. If the scene was to consist of just the protagonist walking around, straight cuts would be used. 

Fade: When an edit fades from a scene into a black background or a black background fades into a scene. Fades are very slow and therefore often used in thrillers as part of slow paced editing. Slow paced editing is used to prolong an occurrence thus building a climatic suspense in the build-up to the ‘occurrence’. An example of this can be taken from the opening credits in the film Se7en. The opening begins with a frame which fades to black, then fading again to another frame. The content is very dark due to the fading, which is conventional to the genre of film as it creates a slow, suspenseful and eerie atmosphere.

Straight cut:  Two shots of the same subject are taken from camera positions that vary only slightly. Straight cuts are often used in thrillers as the general transition method, however depending on pace, this can determine the effect it has on the audience. For example, this scene taken from the film ‘Prom Night’ effectively uses straight cuts to create suspense through slow paced editing. When walking backwards (frame 1) both the audience and protagonist is unaware of what is behind her. Slow paced editing builds suspense because of this. A straight cut is then used to show protagonist walking into something (frame 2). The suddenness of a straight cut makes the visual very abrupt and jumpy, keeping the audience on edge. A straight cut is used again as the shot zooms out to show the audience it is a lamp (frame 3). Straight cuts are used in this scene for abruptness which is often used in thrillers so they appear unpredictable and jumpy.

Dissolve:  an image is blended into another; the other disappears as the other one comes in. Dissolves, like cuts, can be used to create a link between two different objects. For example, this can be seen in the scene taken from the film, Obsessed.  After the separation of Sharon and Dereck, a dissolve is used to highlight their relationship. The film is heavily based on a psychopath who is obsessed with Dereck which led to his separation with Sharon. The dissolve is used to highlight both their separation (through being in different shots) and their unity (though the dissolve). This implies to the audience that they will get back together which further implies their problematic future with the mentioned ‘psychopath’ which in turn, builds suspense. Dissolves are not typically seen in thrillers; however this is an effective example of how dissolves can create suspense; which is always evident in thrillers.

Montage: the reverse of slow editing in which shots are quickly joined together in order to create fast paced motion that provides the audience with excitement. In the opening credits to the film, Se7en, a montage is evident, shown in the image above. Each shot is an image that is suggestive of the narrative i.e. torture or the infliction of pain (frame 3), which even alone is disturbing. However the criteria of a montage implies that ‘shots are joined together in a faced paced motion’, which in turn makes the audience feel disorientated and uneasy. These are common emotions created in thrillers to engage the audience.

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Psycho

Now I have an understanding of the terminology used in editing, I have analysed a scene from the thriller 'Psycho' to gain a further understanding of the conventional editing used in the thriller genre. Not only this, but I will also establish the effect the editing has on the audience in order to incorporate this in my own production thus making it successful.

Before the victim is murdered in the shower, slow paced editing is used to suggest a climatic event. When in the shower, the audience are able to see the antagonist in the background as well as the oblivious victim. In this shot, the use of slow paced editing prolongs the frame which creates a suspense as the audience are waiting for the murder that eventually happens. Slow paced editing is used in the thriller genre to create suspense conventionally, which this thriller conforms to. The suspense created makes the audience feel on edge as there is no immediate gratification, but rather the audience must be made to feel on edge before getting such gratification i.e. murder.

When the victim is being stabbed in the shower by the antagonist, fast paced editing is used. Fast paced editing is often used in the thriller genre to create a chaotic atmosphere that leave the audience on edge as it highlights the conflict in the content of the frames. By using fast paced editing during the scene in which the victim is getting murdered, this displays her panic which in turn make the audience feel on edge as her vulnerability is emphasised to them. Furthermore, fast paced editing highlights this event as being important which encourages the audience to focus on it, however such focus may make the audience feel on edge as the editing creates a chaotic atmosphere, as stated before.

 When the victim is being murdered, several straight cuts are used which compliments the fast paced editing as the transition is abrupt and sudden, thus increasing the overall pace of the narrative. The increase in pace contributes to the chaotic atmosphere as it reinforces the victim's panic. This encourages the audience to build a relationship with the victim as they empathise with her vulnerability, engaging in the narrative more. This transition is typically used as a generic transition, but plays a significant role in the overall effect the editing has on the audience as it highlights the effect of fast paced editing; sudden so that the audience are made to feel on edge due to the disequilibrium. Straight cuts are also very abrupt and therefore make the overall narrative very jumpy and unpredictable which therefore make the audience feel uncomfortable.

What have you taken from this research that can assist you in the planning of your own thriller opening?

As part of my primary research, I have analysed the film 'Psycho' in regards to the editing used so that I can gain knowledge in the conventional editing techniques, how they are executed and what effect they have on the audience. This will allow such knowledge to be put into my own production, thus increasing it's success in terms of editing. For example, slow paced editing is used in the shower scene to prolong the murder as well as hinting at it, and therefore builds suspense to keep the audience on edge. By identifying this conventional editing style and the effect it has on the audience, I am able to incorporate it into my own thriller production. When my victim goes to open the door to the room in which the antagonist is suggested to be, slow paced editing will be used to prolong the revealing but hint at a pinnacle moment which therefore builds suspense leaving the audience on edge; similarly to Psycho. From the knowledge I have gained, I am able to use it in the planning process of my production, an example of which is given above to display my ability to plan and create a successful thriller opening.