Research into editing styles - Miss Georgiau

One of the most important techniques to use when creating a film from the thriller genre is editing. Editing is essential within the thriller genre for a variety of different reasons, for example many of the crucial 'jump scenes' created within a thriller are done so through the use of clever editing, often editing can be used to create characters such as monsters within these types of films.

Above I have selected a video clip to demonstrate how important editing is for thrillers, the clip begins with a mid shout, loud intense music is playing it appears to frighten the character she seems shocked to hear it, this creates the idea that perhaps someone is there that shouldn't be, or someone that she is unaware of, the music itself creates an intense vibe the use of different shots adds to the effect of the music at first we are shown the character through a mid front shot after which we are shown a low angle mid shot of just her legs following the music this also involves panning so the audience is able to follow her movements. This allows the audience to feel as though they are walking with her it also creates the fear of the unknown as we can't really see where it is that she is going or what is going on above our view point yet the audience feels as though they are walking towards danger. Allowing the audience to feel as though they are following the character and therefore on this journey with her makes her struggle much more relate-able  for members of the audience. This is conventional to the thriller genre as within thriller films in the intention is there for audience members to be made to feel more of a connection/bond or relationship with characters so to feel more sorry for them and root for them more. This makes scenes such as chase scenes much more intense as the audience is hoping for the characters safe out come.

The camera movements are  very slow as we follow her through the corridor (otherwise known as slow editing), this creates a build up, the longer said character takes to reach her destination the more fearful the audience becomes of what she is to find it courses the suspense to grow as the viewers wait becomes more agonizing hence again this is conventional to a thriller.

Reaction shots are a common way to make people jump, especially when they appear very suddenly, they create a rapid fear, they are able to make people jump as they can be unexpected and often show a main event or a fearful expression, for instance the camera editing could zoom in on a shot of a weapon (displaying an important piece of iconography), a frightful expression, etc. This is also conventional to a thriller as often within the genre these things are highlighted so to relate back to the genre and create the effect of those things which make it. For example showing a shot just of a piece of iconography such as a knife relates back to the genre instantly reminding the audience of the death which either has or will take place within the film as well as displaying just how scary and unstable the character of the antagonist is. Displaying a reaction shot such as a close up of a victims face relates back to the fear of the victim and the trouble they are suffering and so fourth.

We are also shown a long shot of the protagonist standing looking very on guard in a room, she is edited at an angle which courses her to appear very small next to a lot of the objects in the room, this adds to the idea of her being vulnerable and not quite sure of her situation this is set up to provide the audience with further sorrow for her. This is conventional to a thriller as showing her like this will bring about a contrast to the antagonist who will seem rather board and powerful making her situation appear further frightening and unsafe for her.

There is another mid shot closed in on the doorway, this leaves the audience in suspense as they are expecting someone to come through it, like our antagonist we have no idea who this person may be but it is made clear that this person is most likely our antagonist. The effect of this courses the audience to feel anxious as they wait expecting something to happen. The idea of leveling the audience waiting leaves them under further suspense which again is a convention of a thriller as it is important to create suspense within a thriller because it is one of the key elements.

All of a sudden after mainly slow edited camera movements, the camera speeds up we are shown a number of fast close ups in a matter of seconds, first of all a close up of a mask then a mid shot this is all done in an apart of a set of linking shots as you can tell the timing of shots was largely taken into account when editing this has been done so to add emotional impact by prolonging her fearful calls and reactions as well as her walking towards her discovery of the masked character. This was all done in an attempt to surprise the audience after they thought it was safer as there was no-one at the door way, then back to a close shot of their weapon of choice, in this case being a knife. Highlighting the knife adds tension to the situation as it displays that this person has a killer motive, a knife represents much more than just death and murder, a knife is thought to be a much more sociopath weapon, in order to use this you would have to get extremely close to your victim as well as having to actually physically force it into them this is thought to be a very difficult thing for most people, most wouldn't even consider it which demonstrates a total lack of a empathy for the way in which their actions are being carried out. The timing of these shots were edited together carefully so to make it appear that everything is happening rather rapidly this brings tension and suspense as the audience can relate to the damage that is often done during a harsh rapid moment, they also feel pressure to keep up with the on screen antics.

A jump cut is used to show the transition from Christine walking through the hallway to entering a room. This is done to show the importance of timing for Christine within this scene. At this moment in time she is unsure of who is in the building with her and the audience are made to believe that it is a serial killer with a hidden identity. If she was to make the wrong move even by a second then audience members are lead to believe that it could result in the ending of her life. Hence these fast paced transitions from the different scenes are set to represent that as well as to keep the audience fully engaged and focused as everything is happening so quickly at this moment in time they need to be able to keep up.

As you can see editing is an important part of creating a thriller film as it adds so much to the concept of the genre as well as urging the film to appear more realistic for instance a bad cut between scenes can really ruin the experience of watching a film, the editing can also make a thriller appear mo re frightening as editing techniques can be used so to display conventions to the genre. Through watching this scene and focusing on editing I have been inspired to add different editing techniques within my own work. I plan to use reaction shots as I know that they are effective as they can add to all three surprise, shock, suspense key factors of the genre.