Research into Editing Styles
When making a thriller film it is important to use different editing techniques in order to create a multitude of effects on the audience as well as supporting a relationship between the audience and the character. Techniques like slowed timing of shots can be used to create eerie moments and tension in the audience while techniques like a reaction shot can be used to create relationships between the character and the audience based on the expression shown. The clip I have chosen to analyse is from 'The Purge' from 2013, in the scene James Sandin is trying to negotiate his daughter, Zoe's, life from the hands of the stranger that has invaded their home, bringing along a group of 'purgers' who want to kill him. The URL is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo70vB9nubo
In the clip from 'The Purge', a reaction shot is used to create suspense in the audience. The audience see this when the stranger tells James he does not want to hurt his family but instead just wants to live, James has a shocked face. This tells the audience that James is having a hard time believing if the stranger is being genuine, due to the stranger holding a gun to his daughter's head. This shot also allows the audience to see the horrific decision that James has been put into as he has to either preserve the lives of his family by delivering the stranger to the purgers or sheltering the stranger and having to face a superior forces waiting on his doorstep. This creates suspense as the audience does not know what James' response will be, as well as not knowing whether James believes him at all yet so the audience must wait to see what his actions are as well as there being no outcome of this situation that is beneficial to the victim and it being very difficult for the victim to negotiate the life of his daughter. This creates a relationship between James and the audience as they can feel sympathy for him due to the unimaginable situation he has been put into, having to decide on of the stranger is telling the truth and whether this is worth the gamble of his daughter's life. This is conventional of the thriller genre as the audience expect to see the protagonist in a position where the antagonist holds something dear to them that the protagonist will have to work hard both physically and mentally to retrieve.
In the clip from 'The Purge', a jump cut is used to create a surprise for the audience. The audience see a back and forth conversation between James and the stranger until he orders Mary, his wife, to shoot him as she is situated behind him. This tells the audience that the Sandin family are organised and can work well together which connotes that they will be able to survive the night as they will be able to stand together against the attacking purgers. Although, Mary's hesitance to shoot suggests that she does not agree with James' opinion of killing the man in order to save the family which connotes that there may be friction between James and Mary that will hinder their survival. The use of the jump cut creates surprise in the audience as they do not expect James to attempt to outright shoot the stranger as we do not expect the protagonist to quickly jump to the idea of sacrificing an innocent man which suggests to the audience that the victim is beginning to care less for his morality and will do anything to save his family, showing his devotion to saving his family. This is conventional as we expect to see the victims attempt to survive through the events no matter what shown by Mary, a housewife, and her use of gun in order to protect herself. This also creates sympathy for Mary as the audience can see she has been forced into a position that she is not comfortable with but will have to remain in this position in order to make sure that herself and her family can survive through the night.
In the clip from 'The Purge', a sped up timing of shots has been used to create shock in the audience. Later in the scene after James tells Mary to shoot the stranger, the audience see a scuffle between James and the stranger as he attempts to escape before being hit over the head with a vase. This tells the audience that James is dedicated to protecting his family and try as hard as possible to end the night in his favor by whatever means necessary regardless of how hectic things become. The speeding up of the shots also mimics the chaos of what is going on in the scene for the audience allowing for them to empathize with what the Sandin family are going through. The use of sped-up shots also creates shock as before the shots were slower and suggested a more calm atmosphere whereas the sped up shots indicate a more intense and dangerous atmosphere as the two men, of equal strengths, fight on the floor where there will be one loser and one winner while also showing how far the victim has fallen as he starts beating a man to incapacitate him to sacrifice him to murderers waiting outside to kill him. This is conventional as the audience expect to see the protagonist fight to protect himself and what is his while also warding off the antagonist. This creates a relationship with James as we see him participating in a physical fight in order to save himself and his family, while the fight itself represents the chaos that the family has been plunged into.
In this clip from 'The Purge', a shot reverse shot is used to create suspense in the audience. In this scene, James is seen negotiating the life of his daughter from the stranger as they hold one another at gunpoint. The back and forth between characters shows that they are both equally matched and are able to hold their own in the negotiations due to neither relenting on their parts. However, the stranger is able to catch and hold James' daughter on his own, while James needs his wife to help him to get the jump on the antagonist which suggests that the stranger is stronger then James and will be able to manipulate the Sandins to protect himself. The way the stranger hides himself behind Zoe suggests that he knows that he is outnumbered and that he expects the Sandins to sacrifice him at the firs chance. This creates suspense as the protagonist is in an equally dominant position rather than the more superior one than the audience want him to be in and so they must wait to see what the antagonist will demand from him and how he will try and get out of this situation while also wondering what the stranger will demand of him, if he does, and how James will go about it as the stranger has control over him by using his daughter as leverage. This is conventional as the audience expect for the antagonist to be in more dominant position than the antagonist by holding something over them and thus compelling them to attack. This scene causes the audience to want to know more about the stranger as he has appeared out of nowhere and has been able to take command of the situation by taking the protagonist's daughter hostage.
In conclusion, this research post has helped me to plan my thriller film as I can see how a successful film has used different editing techniques in their favor and how I can use these same techniques to engage and entertain my own audience. As for the techniques that I will use in my clip, I would like to do a shot reverse shot with a high-angle on one shot focusing on the protagonist and a low angle shot focusing on the antagonist to create suspense for the audience as it is expected for the antagonist to appear more powerful than the protagonist, and would also have the audience wonder whether the victim will be able to escape the killer and end his killing spree. I would also be interested in using a slowed timing of shots in my sequence before a surprise or shock to create suspense and tension in the audience as they are left to wait to see what might happen during the build-up, in this time I could have a chase scene to have the fast paced, dangerous nature of a chase juxtaposed against the slow-paced timing of shots to conflict the audience on what they are seeing on screen
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In the clip from 'The Purge', a reaction shot is used to create suspense in the audience. The audience see this when the stranger tells James he does not want to hurt his family but instead just wants to live, James has a shocked face. This tells the audience that James is having a hard time believing if the stranger is being genuine, due to the stranger holding a gun to his daughter's head. This shot also allows the audience to see the horrific decision that James has been put into as he has to either preserve the lives of his family by delivering the stranger to the purgers or sheltering the stranger and having to face a superior forces waiting on his doorstep. This creates suspense as the audience does not know what James' response will be, as well as not knowing whether James believes him at all yet so the audience must wait to see what his actions are as well as there being no outcome of this situation that is beneficial to the victim and it being very difficult for the victim to negotiate the life of his daughter. This creates a relationship between James and the audience as they can feel sympathy for him due to the unimaginable situation he has been put into, having to decide on of the stranger is telling the truth and whether this is worth the gamble of his daughter's life. This is conventional of the thriller genre as the audience expect to see the protagonist in a position where the antagonist holds something dear to them that the protagonist will have to work hard both physically and mentally to retrieve.
In the clip from 'The Purge', a jump cut is used to create a surprise for the audience. The audience see a back and forth conversation between James and the stranger until he orders Mary, his wife, to shoot him as she is situated behind him. This tells the audience that the Sandin family are organised and can work well together which connotes that they will be able to survive the night as they will be able to stand together against the attacking purgers. Although, Mary's hesitance to shoot suggests that she does not agree with James' opinion of killing the man in order to save the family which connotes that there may be friction between James and Mary that will hinder their survival. The use of the jump cut creates surprise in the audience as they do not expect James to attempt to outright shoot the stranger as we do not expect the protagonist to quickly jump to the idea of sacrificing an innocent man which suggests to the audience that the victim is beginning to care less for his morality and will do anything to save his family, showing his devotion to saving his family. This is conventional as we expect to see the victims attempt to survive through the events no matter what shown by Mary, a housewife, and her use of gun in order to protect herself. This also creates sympathy for Mary as the audience can see she has been forced into a position that she is not comfortable with but will have to remain in this position in order to make sure that herself and her family can survive through the night.
In the clip from 'The Purge', a sped up timing of shots has been used to create shock in the audience. Later in the scene after James tells Mary to shoot the stranger, the audience see a scuffle between James and the stranger as he attempts to escape before being hit over the head with a vase. This tells the audience that James is dedicated to protecting his family and try as hard as possible to end the night in his favor by whatever means necessary regardless of how hectic things become. The speeding up of the shots also mimics the chaos of what is going on in the scene for the audience allowing for them to empathize with what the Sandin family are going through. The use of sped-up shots also creates shock as before the shots were slower and suggested a more calm atmosphere whereas the sped up shots indicate a more intense and dangerous atmosphere as the two men, of equal strengths, fight on the floor where there will be one loser and one winner while also showing how far the victim has fallen as he starts beating a man to incapacitate him to sacrifice him to murderers waiting outside to kill him. This is conventional as the audience expect to see the protagonist fight to protect himself and what is his while also warding off the antagonist. This creates a relationship with James as we see him participating in a physical fight in order to save himself and his family, while the fight itself represents the chaos that the family has been plunged into.
In this clip from 'The Purge', a shot reverse shot is used to create suspense in the audience. In this scene, James is seen negotiating the life of his daughter from the stranger as they hold one another at gunpoint. The back and forth between characters shows that they are both equally matched and are able to hold their own in the negotiations due to neither relenting on their parts. However, the stranger is able to catch and hold James' daughter on his own, while James needs his wife to help him to get the jump on the antagonist which suggests that the stranger is stronger then James and will be able to manipulate the Sandins to protect himself. The way the stranger hides himself behind Zoe suggests that he knows that he is outnumbered and that he expects the Sandins to sacrifice him at the firs chance. This creates suspense as the protagonist is in an equally dominant position rather than the more superior one than the audience want him to be in and so they must wait to see what the antagonist will demand from him and how he will try and get out of this situation while also wondering what the stranger will demand of him, if he does, and how James will go about it as the stranger has control over him by using his daughter as leverage. This is conventional as the audience expect for the antagonist to be in more dominant position than the antagonist by holding something over them and thus compelling them to attack. This scene causes the audience to want to know more about the stranger as he has appeared out of nowhere and has been able to take command of the situation by taking the protagonist's daughter hostage.In conclusion, this research post has helped me to plan my thriller film as I can see how a successful film has used different editing techniques in their favor and how I can use these same techniques to engage and entertain my own audience. As for the techniques that I will use in my clip, I would like to do a shot reverse shot with a high-angle on one shot focusing on the protagonist and a low angle shot focusing on the antagonist to create suspense for the audience as it is expected for the antagonist to appear more powerful than the protagonist, and would also have the audience wonder whether the victim will be able to escape the killer and end his killing spree. I would also be interested in using a slowed timing of shots in my sequence before a surprise or shock to create suspense and tension in the audience as they are left to wait to see what might happen during the build-up, in this time I could have a chase scene to have the fast paced, dangerous nature of a chase juxtaposed against the slow-paced timing of shots to conflict the audience on what they are seeing on screen
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This post demonstrates a good understanding of how editing styles are used in the thriller genre. You have identified and selected the correct styles to write about, which demonstrates your knowledge and understanding well. You have also referenced the conventions of a thriller and the audience relationship well throughout.
ReplyDeleteAim-
1) Elaborate on the points that you have made on shock, surprise and suspense
2) Elaborate on the points that you have made in your conclusion, by explaining your reasons in more detail, by considering why you would like to include certain editing styles in your sequence