To Be or Not To Be
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Editing
Due Tuesday, October 18: As we discuss Soviet Montage this week, it is a good time to think about editing techniques in general. I'd like you to tell us about your favorite scene or sequence in a film, based on its editing. What is this scene/sequence and why its editing significant for you? Alternatively, you could discuss the overall editing style of a film that you admire.
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My favorite sequence in a film based on its editing would have to be a tie between the opening titles in "The Departed" and pretty much any fight scene in "Saving Private Ryan." In the departed, I just think the title sequence is awesome. First of all, I love the way they sync the cuts to strong beats in the song thats playing, but also, the juxtaposition between Leo DiCaprio in Prison and Matt Damon being a statie is really great and sets the scene for the whole movie. In Saving Private Ryan, I love how every shot and cut just gets you so invested in whats happening on screen that you feel like you're there, and it makes absolute mayhem easy enough to follow, which is not only a testament to Spielberg's talent but also the superb editing.
ReplyDeleteWhen this question was the posed I instantly thought of a scene in "Silence of the Lambs." The editing in the scene preceding Hannibal Lecter's escape where Lecter is engaged in conversation with Clarice is phenomenal. It goes from a long shot of a spacious room with his cell in the middle to close ups of both character's faces as the suspense strengthens. A close second would be the opening sequence in "City of God."
ReplyDeleteHello everyone. It's me, Carlos Martinez!
ReplyDeleteIn my personal opinion, I admire the editing in "Black Swan". It astonished me how they would interpret Portman's character when she would seem like she was transforming into a creature. And there's a scene when Nina and Lily went out for the night and went to a club on drugs. That was very confusing because the camera work would switch from Portman's point of view to what was happening in the club. There were a great deal of close ups for Portman's character when she was in any sort of distress about something, especially towards the end when she put all the pieces together of what was really happening. Great film and even better editing!
Like Carlos I believe the editing in Black Swan is exceptional. It is not easy to make an audience understand the mental state of an onscreen character. The editing in BS gives the audience a feeling of uneasiness and paranoia. The way they make the theme of "the double" come to life is incredible. At times they superimpose Natalie Portman's face onto Mila Kunis' body. They effectively show how Nina's world is consumed with the thoughts of her teacher, her rival (Lily), and her own transformation. The moment where she actually transforms into a swan is gruesome yet the pinnacle of her lunacy. The editing of the movie is an extremely significant part of making the film as incredible as it was.
ReplyDeleteSocial Network won best editing last year and I think it was well deserved. The movie is fantastic to begin with and the editing it great. Even just the opening scene, it gets you so into the film. The scene when the kids first meet with Timberlake is great with the voice over and then the slow mo quick cuts when they are all drinking and happy. They use parallel editing which is always a great technique. The soundtrack really helps the editing too. The cutting back and forth from the law stuff to what happened is perfect. Also, the scene of the crew race is shot unbelievably and in turn edited fantastically as well. Editing is pretty underrated.
ReplyDeleteI loved the editing in (500) Days of Summer. The story is nonlinear, which I thought contributed to the overall mood of the film. It's not supposed to be your typical chick flick/rom com, but rather a combination of a not-quite-love story and a "slice of life." My favorite scene from the movie is when Tom goes to a party where he sees Summer. The screen splits and one side reads "Expectations" and the other side reads "Reality." On the "expectations" side, Tom rekindles his romance with Summer and everything is perfect. In "reality," Summer is unimpressed by Tom and clearly doesn't want to have much to do with him. Seeing these images side by side emphasizes Tom's disappointment and makes me feel his heartbreak every time. The editing of this movie definitely makes the story all the more powerful.
ReplyDeleteI think im going to isolate myself here, and talk about a movie that nobody would speak of in a film history class, but how can you ignore the editing of Michael Bay, especially with Transformers and Bad Boys. I know we all like to forget about mentioning Bay in topics like these, but can you ignore his editing techniques. Michael Bay has mastered editing, he can show a 2 minutes action sequence which would take another director a full 5 minutes to portray. Through his clever editing, he can wrap an entire scene, for example, in Bad Boys 2 with Will Smith, there is a chase scene on a highway. Through fast cutting and parallel editing, the action seems constant, it has a faced pace flow, and seems completely natural. In reality, this scene is overly fast for general audiences, is missing multiple segments of a normal chase scene, and would not be something you would see in a 1970's,80's or even 90's action movie. I think Bay has mastered the editing department, and because of this, he can fit 2 1/2 + 3 hours worth of material in a 2 hour movie. You can argue against Bay all you want, but Transformers and Bad Boys 1 + 2 have some of the best editing I have ever seen. Every shot is calculated and every editing technique moves the audience along the story, like a roller coaster.
ReplyDeleteI really like the opening scene of Casino Royale. It has a sort of cartoonish look to it but it looks really cool. There's a lot going on but it centers around James Bond fighting random people while different things happen in the background with playing cards. Its hard to explain, you really just have to see it. I thought it was a very interesting way to show the opening credits. It kept my attention throughout and I thought it was very well edited.
ReplyDeleteI recently saw Drive and I absolutely loved this movie! Not many movies that I've seen start and end the same way, have you? One particular scene that I really liked the way it was edited was when the 'driver' which purposely is named like that in the movie since we never know his name; is in an elevator between his love interest and a bad guy. Driver shares a sweet kiss with her and that's when the slow-mo begins accompanied by awesome music. I enjoyed this scene a lot because we see a moment of passion then suddenly it changes to driver head smashing the bad guy; you would've not expected that. There were also other great scenes..
ReplyDeleteThe first film that came to my mind was "Snatch" directed by Guy Ritchie. "Snatch" is quick witted with fast-paced, stylized action and the editing style lends to this theme. One of the most prevalent editing techniques is the use of parallel editing during several action sequences. Other Guy Ritchie films such as "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" and "RocknRolla" have very similar editing styles.
ReplyDeleteInstead of trying to pinpoint my favorite editing sequence in a film—which I find nearly impossible to narrow down—I’ll simply focus on editing in a film that I admire. For this, I’ve selected Se7en, directed by David Fincher.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the course of Se7en, Detectives Somerset and Mills follow a trail of bodies left behind by a murderer attempting to make polemic art of his victims. David Fincher is able to pace this descent into hell beautifully thanks to careful editing. The first two murders are followed by elongated sequences (e.g. Somerset sifting through books related to the seven deadly sins in a library) in which the characters contemplate the deeply meditated nature of the crimes, and, filled with unease, what may lie ahead. Their anxiety becomes the audience’s anxiety as these scenes are almost always fraught with the brooding score by Howard Shore, or the incessant noise of rain and/or industrial chatter. Then, quite suddenly, you are thrust into a dizzying whir of activity in scenes where a breakthrough—or rather, the appearance of a breakthrough—is made in the case. For example, when the police department believes they’ve identified their killer (“Sloth” scene), a frenetic sequence of shots that emphasize movement, both by the camera and on-screen action, are strung together—along with the sudden, alarming shift in the soundtrack—to instill panic and dread in the audience. With this horrifying scene’s conclusion, viewers are returned to the slower, ominous pace of the film that allows one to digest what’s transpired to this point, and anticipate what may come.
When the killer, John Doe, finally turns himself in, the final sequence (beginning with the long car ride over to the site of the final victim) employs an effective combination of techniques to provide one of the most memorable endings captured on film. As John Doe provides the rationale for his murders, Fincher utilizes almost subconscious techniques to clue what soon approaches. As the conversation between Mills and Doe turns heated, they are both shot through the mesh grill separating one another; yet, by shooting them in a similar fashion, the implication is that both are trapped by sin in their own way. Conversely, Somerset isn’t shot in the same metaphorical cage, as he represents the voice of wisdom in the film, however futile. Fincher also plays with words by cutting straight to Mills from Doe after he enunciates the word “trap,” a further hint to the fate of these men. These shots are methodically paced, building a growing tension and suspense as they near, then arrive, at their final destination. Additionally, these moments are inter-cut with more energetic bursts of shots of the helicopter SWAT team keeping vigilance. The camera movement and action become more frenzied (especially after Somerset opens the delivered package) as they build toward Mills’ momentous final decision, which has a frightening impact thanks to the aforementioned (and many unmentioned) elements. Se7en’s final two-or-so minutes, the aftermath of this pivotal scene, reflects the viewer: largely silent, joined only by sparse words that offer the vaguest of consolation, if that at all.
^ It didn't look that long when I wrote it, my mistake.
ReplyDeleteI am always a fan of Scorsese's directing and editing, and I especially appreciate "Goodfellas." There are so many incredibly edited sequences in the film that keep it in constant life and motion. The scene where Henry walks into the restaurant and the audience meets all of the wiseguys from his point of view. It is a continuous shot and the camera pans from one face to the next, with the Ray Liotta voice over included. This really draws the viewer right into the film, making you one of the characters, and meeting all the others. Also, the way the day Henry is arrested on drug charges is edited together is incredibly dynamic. There is a lot of cross cutting between the house, the car, the police helicopter, the motel, and his girl friends apartment. Henry is always moving and the audiences really feels his manic state. Everything is fast, clustered, and chaotic in a state of disordered haste. The editing really feels the same, as you watch Henry run around sweating nervously, you become nervous for him and identify with his state because the editing makes you feel as if you are running all over town worrying about the police.
ReplyDeleteI really like the editing in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Even though realistic scenes are intercut with animations of minimalistic drawings, the transitions between these scenes are smooth and almost seamless, very fluid. More importantly though, the scenes don’t drag along slowly with superfluous images. Instead, they are stripped to the minimum required to tell the story, but still pack a punch.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I think it's difficult to compliment editing as a film component because if it's good, you don't really notice it. But that aside, I think the editing in Memento displays incredible forethought and story development. It is told linearly, but backwards, and the timing of where the scenes end and where the next one begins is jarring as well as exciting because it leaves a cliff hanger. The story can be very fast and action-packed, and it can also be slow and interpersonal...the camera in switching subjects and angles to film copies either the frenzy or the chill. Also the nonverbal language was told excellently through acting and the amount of time the camera held on their faces.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to pick a favorite movie based on how good its editing was, I'd have to pick Crank, just for how insane that movie is in every aspect. The movie has a frantic pace to it, something which is emphasized in the editing. The movie features a lot of quick cuts and cutaways, which keeps up the tension of the ticking clock in the movie. If I had to pick one standout scene, I'd pick the final gunfight between the villain and the hero, just for its sheer craziness. The editing helps show how frantic it is, with quick cuts going from each gangmember firing, to reaction shots from some bystanders, to the swat team showing up, all in quick and seamless succession.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite edit of all time is from the film Jaws. It is one of the most tense moments in films that I've ever seen. The scene when Alex Kinter is attacked on the beach, beforehand, beholds one of the most tension-building edits ever. Chief Brody portrayed by Roy Scheider is sitting on the beach with his wife behind him. As each person passes Brody, the next shot is closer and closer and closer, building the audience's beliefs and assumptions that something major is about to happen.
ReplyDeleteWithout a doubt, the greatest example of dynamic editing that I've seen in a film to date is embodied in Requiem for a Dream. The visual and auditory elements of the film are exploited to their maximum potential, fully immersing the viewer in the experiences of the characters onscreen. There was also a great amount of variety of shots, colors, moods, cuts, and techniques that made the film completely engaging. But what most stands out to me about the film's editing, and the reason why I remember it so clearly and fully, are its "hip-hop montages." These montages are editing sequences that are comprised of very quick cuts between close-up images of objects and/or actions that are evocative of what the character is experiencing at the moment, and in Requiem, this technique is exploited to the ends of illustrating the high that the junkie characters experience. These sequences occur at many points throughout the film, but the most memorable one for me is the very first time it happens. We see shots of a mouth ripping open a bag of white powder, a lighter being lit, a syringe being filled with a clear liquid, blood flowing through veins, and eyes dilating. All of these very specific details tell the audience that the character is consuming drugs, without showing the audience that the character is consuming drugs. It also moves along the pace of the film, and intensifies the experience for the audience. This is why I not only love this sequence, but the editing in general that we see in Requiem for a Dream.
ReplyDeleteFor your viewing pleasure:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dig3HDSH9CE
Following my post on Memento being one of my favorite movies, I have to continue with its amazing editing. The thriller was able to be understandable and successful due to its genius editing. The movie is mainly told in reverse order which is in color with several parts that are told in the right chronological order which are in black and white. These two different orders alternate throughout the movie leading to a climatic finish where the black and white and the color unite. The director and editor had to work very closely together to figure out how to make the scenes follow each other where the spectator would not be lost in the storyline between present, past and future. The editor successfully put all the pieces of the puzzle together creating a fantastic story which finally let the spectator put the pieces together as the movie advanced.
ReplyDeleteA film that I admire for its editing techniques is also one of my favorite movies of all time. It is also one of the most innovating movies of its time. It is Pulp Fiction. Quentin Terentino is known for his unique style and he was truly at his best in this film. The editing techniques in this film allow the story to be told in an amazing way. In the film, the audience watches the movie as each scene and section of the movie takes place in a different moment in time, jumping around from past stories and future stories (even going out of order when involving the same character). The editing in this movie create a mood that is captivating. Also, after reading the posts of others in the class I have to agree with Austin that Memento is a fantastic example of how editing can effect a film. The editing technique in Memento allows the audience to feel as if it shares the mind of the main character. Its purpose is to cause confusion and suspense, the exact same feelings the main character was feeling as well.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many films that I love for its editing techniques, it's just too difficult to pick one out of so many. But if I had to choose one it would have to be Inception. There’s one scene that I love the most in the movie and it’s the scene where Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character (Arthur) is in a hallway fighting of a projection in a dream. The whole movie is composed of mostly parallel editing, everyone in the film is doing something in different levels of dreams at the same time, and the film is trying to capture that. If you haven’t seen, essentially the characters go into someone’s dream, split off and go deeper into another dream of the character’s dream. Anything that happens in the former dream, will affect the latter, and so on and so forth. Well, in the former dream, the characters are asleep when their van runs off a road and rolls down a hill. Now, as that’s happening, the dream within that dream is affected as well, and you see parallel editing between the scene with the van and the hallway. As the van spins, so does the hallway during the fight. The two scenes intercut each other allowing the audience to understand what’s happening. There’s so much more that I can talk about this film, but that can only be done within an essay.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Pedro Aldomovar's movies are the epitome of brilliant editing. His unique attention to color gives the editing in his movies a whole new level. In Volver, the story is told as much through the color play and editing that it is through the actual plot. The uniqueness of his style of editing is that it doesn't pretend to be inexistent, and it has an almost meta-filmic quality to it. It calls attention to itself within the context of cinema, but does not detract from the viewing experience. I am very partial to Spanish Cinema, perhaps because I've studied it for two semesters already and it is my native language, but even so I believe that Almodovar's style uniquely stands out from the rest of his peers. His editing strongly contrasts that of Saura's, which is much more violent, or Bardem's which is almost inexistent.
ReplyDeleteI know its alot bit late to post the comment, but I really don't want to miss this one.. So in my opinion, the film that come out of my mind is pulp fiction by Quentin Tarantino. The reason that I put this movie is because the style of editing is so amazing. The whole movie is cut by high speed and it give the audience a kind of new viewing experience. The editor put alot element into this movie and make many parts of the movie feel like different styles, because of the rhythm of the editing and the motion of the editing. That can really put the movie to a higher level
ReplyDeleteHaonan Wang
Baz Luhrman's version of Romeo and Juliet. There are a number of terrific scenes including the opening sequence that starts off with a television playing a news report and then suddennly the camera goes inside the film and we are experiencing the event the reported was speaking of. The editing in the party scene is also brilliant - it's fast paced and jumps from character to character and from setting to setting.
ReplyDeleteFor myself, I feel like my favorite editing sequences happen mainly in psychological thrillers. A good example of this is in Shutter Island because the movie is not shown in order, yet in a way that leaves the audience unclear as to what is actually happening until the end when everything comes together. The editing makes it so the movie is very interesting and keeps the viewer entranced until the end.
ReplyDeleteOne editing technique I found to be neat was the hip hop montage in Requiem for a Dream directed by Darren Aronofsky. I'm pretty sure Aronofsky sort of pioneered and coined the new age technique now referred to as "hip hop montage". He used the same techniques in an earlier film-pie(π) but it's a bit more evident in Requiem. Everyone's probably familiar with the technique but for the sake of making the post longer it's when you use montages of really short shorts to make up a sequence of actions and tell a story. Aronofsky threw in split screen shorts and tight close up shorts in his montages in Requiem for a dream and also I read that typically in feature length film there are about seven to eight hundred cuts, and Aronofsky used about two thousand in the aforementioned film. Oh I forgot to mention what's happening in the film during the montages, some of the characters are doing heroin and if i remember correctly there's weed involved too, and what the viewer sees is a compilation of short shorts of the syringe, close ups of dilated pupils, shots of weed, shots of i think brain cells? in a fast paced motion of no longer than half-a-second shots each, one after the other after the other, summing up the activities occurring in the film and really expanding time in just a few seconds.
ReplyDeleteThis is a tough question to definitively answer. However a particular film that comes to mind is Mr.Brooks. The plot develops and you are immediately drawn into the characters motives,especially Mr.Brooks alter ego. Throughout the film there is constant communication between Mr.Brooks and a seperate identity within himself,which makes the plot intriguing to the veiwer. What makes it even more fascinating is his ego is in human form and he constantly converses with it even when communicating with people in reality. It makes for a clever editing piece.
ReplyDeleteThe opening sequence of Lord of War is one of my favorite montages. We are shown the life of a bullet in first-person perspective, from sheets of metal at a arms factory in the Soviet Union where it is born, to crates that are shipped and intercepted in illegal transactions. Finally, the bullet is loaded in a rifle in a war-torn African city and shot into the head of a young soldier. Not only does the montage send a strong political message through the corruption and violence that we see as a bullet, but it also is visually captivating. What's more, the sequence is set to Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth," which adds an interesting contrast between the smooth tone of the song and the violence onscreen.
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