Editing
Editing is essential to any kind of film, it can immerse you into the film world and make you feel as if you are there with the characters on screen. It can also make you scared as jump cuts are specifically used for this effect. For thrillers they use editing to create a suspenseful atmosphere that makes the audience tense. As an example I would like to use this scene from "no country for old men".
The first example is a reaction shot of the door lock being blown off the door and then it cuts to a reaction shot the lock hitting the protagonist in the chest. This shows the impact of the hit as we see his facial expression change to pain. The audience can relate to this as they see the impact of this on the protagonist, the audience have seen the danger this man possesses and are then fearful to our protagonist. This is conventional as the audience are commonly worried whether or not the protagonist in a thriller will be okay.
The next shot we see are protagonist running in an alleyway and Chigurh takes a shot at the protagonist, the timing of shots have increased from earlier scenes. This shift in tempo is used to demonstrate the change from a suspenseful scene to a fast paced scene. The audience can relate to this as the whole scene emphasizes the confusion of the protagonist that is on screen. This is conventional to a thriller as the editing always speeds up along with what is happening in the context of the scene.
The final use of editing is the scene where Chigurh is looking at the blood on the floor after finding the car that the protagonist was just in and tries to follow the blood trail. The effect this creates is that the antagonist or Chigurh has the upper hand is probably thinking it as well. The audience relate to our protagonist as he is against someone confident and the audience are then further into thinking that the antagonist may win. This is conventional to a thriller as nearly all the time the audience are fearful that the antagonist may be better than the protagonist.
In conclusion, the editing in this scene is essential as the timing of each of your shots can convey the mood and the pace that you want for certain scenes. I have learnt that when doing my own thriller that you should only really make the editing fast in a sort of action sequence or chase but when nothing is happening in the context then make the editing slow.
The first example is a reaction shot of the door lock being blown off the door and then it cuts to a reaction shot the lock hitting the protagonist in the chest. This shows the impact of the hit as we see his facial expression change to pain. The audience can relate to this as they see the impact of this on the protagonist, the audience have seen the danger this man possesses and are then fearful to our protagonist. This is conventional as the audience are commonly worried whether or not the protagonist in a thriller will be okay.
The next shot we see are protagonist running in an alleyway and Chigurh takes a shot at the protagonist, the timing of shots have increased from earlier scenes. This shift in tempo is used to demonstrate the change from a suspenseful scene to a fast paced scene. The audience can relate to this as the whole scene emphasizes the confusion of the protagonist that is on screen. This is conventional to a thriller as the editing always speeds up along with what is happening in the context of the scene.
The final use of editing is the scene where Chigurh is looking at the blood on the floor after finding the car that the protagonist was just in and tries to follow the blood trail. The effect this creates is that the antagonist or Chigurh has the upper hand is probably thinking it as well. The audience relate to our protagonist as he is against someone confident and the audience are then further into thinking that the antagonist may win. This is conventional to a thriller as nearly all the time the audience are fearful that the antagonist may be better than the protagonist.
In conclusion, the editing in this scene is essential as the timing of each of your shots can convey the mood and the pace that you want for certain scenes. I have learnt that when doing my own thriller that you should only really make the editing fast in a sort of action sequence or chase but when nothing is happening in the context then make the editing slow.
This post demonstrates some understanding of how editing styles are used within the thriller genre. You have identified the correct points and examples and you have also started to consider the effect that is created. However, further discussion of the codes and conventions of a thriller film is needed, which will enable your analysis to be more detailed throughout.
ReplyDelete