Media Studies: Editing in Thrillers

Film editing is often seen as an art form, It is the practice of placing shots together to create a sequence. Editing is not only about simply putting the pieces of a story together, Editing in Thriller films must be used in such a way so that it enhances the quality of viewing for the audience and to also guide the pace of the story, for example, In more intense scenes editing can be essential to portray the feelings of the characters as well as scary moments on scene. The following are examples of various editing techniques used in Thriller films:

Short/Long Takes

Short take edits are used in scenes where there is a lot of action occurring on screen. This can be seen from the film Die Hard, When the roof of the building explodes, short take edits are used as John McClain jumps off from the top of the building. The purpose of this editing is to increase the intensity of the moment and to keep the audience on edge and create a high paced atmosphere. Scenes such as this are what makes a thriller a thriller and explains why they are so popular with cinematic audiences.

A long take is an editing technique that is used that drag out a shot over a long period of time, for example, this type of editing can be used to display an emotional part of the film. Long takes can also be used to build suspense.

 In some cases a combination of long and short takes are used to juxtapose what is happening on screen, As the climax draws nearer, the faster the shots are edited. An example of this would be the shoot-out scene from "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly", although this isn't a thriller film the shots shown in this scene show how the pace of editing can effect the intensity of a sequence. The fact that the edits transfer from the face of character to character is a clever editing technique to almost allow the audience themselves to predict the outcome. For example, Clint Eastwoods character looks extremely composed whereas the other looks on edge and nervous.

Jump Cuts

Jump Cuts are used as a transition between two shots, which is often the same take of the shot however it cuts out some action so the movement occurring on screen appears to "Jump" forward, hence the name. In thriller films these can be used to skip out boring sequences of time in an action, this is done to prevent the suspense from falling. Jump cuts are also used to represent the emotion of panic within a character and in turn this enhances the action that occurs on screen. The South Korean thriller "올드보이" also known as "Old Boy" (2003) shows this aspect rather well in the following clip. In the scene the man is agitated that he is being detained and this is shown through the use of jump cuts as it shows his varying struggle.

Continuity Editing

This editing technique is essential for thriller films as it allows them to flow efficiently from shot to shot, which makes it easier for the audience to follow the storyline, not only this, a fast paced scene in a clip must flow correctly so that the action can be taken on board while simultaneously keeping up the momentum in the sequence. Continuity editing is often correlated with Shot Reverse shot.

N.B. A rule based around continuity editing that we would need to take into account when making our own film would be the 180° rule. When a scene is filmed it is important that the audience sees everything that goes on in the scene. This can be done in a way that avoids confusion, this rule involves all action being shot from one side, crossing to the other side can lead to confusion in a scene, as the audience in not familiar with the setting nor the way in which the characters are facing (Characters would be facing the opposite way if the action was filmed from the other side).

For more information and a video explaining the 180° rule, click here.

Shot reverse shot

A shot reverse shot is a type of continuity editing, This is commonly used to show one character looking at another and vice versa, These types of shots are often used in films to show a conversation between two characters and can be edited in a way so that these conversational sequences can either involve emotional or intense themes. In thrillers for example a shot reverse shot edited with short takes can mean that an argument is taking place, whereas long takes as well as zoomed shots edited together can portray a psychological or heartfelt moment.

Shot reverse shot is edited together using shots from three different angles:

1. Wide Shot - This is the shot that establishes to the audience the two characters  (A and B) in conversation. This shot starts with showing the two characters on screen at the same time, Either standing or sitting and most likely facing one another.
2. Over the shoulder shot - This shot shows on one of the characters (A) in conversation while they speak, this lets the audience know that the focus is on this character. Then when the character finishes speaking a shot of the other character (B) is shown so that we can see the reaction of this character.
3. POV Shot: This shot is sometimes used in conjunction or as an alternative of an over the shoulder shot, This allows the audience to see action from a characters perspective.

Glow (2014)

A good example of how a shot reverse shot could be used in a thriller film would be from the sci fi thriller short film "Glow", Throughout the film shot reverse shot is cleverly adapted based on the continuity rule (180 degree rule). Examples of shot reverse shot (Over the shoulder + Point of View) from the sequence can be seen below:

Cross Cutting

Scenes taking place at the same time are often cut together in order to fuse two linear storylines into a single sequence, this is known as "Cross Cutting". This editing method usually builds up to a climatic finish which is built up throughout the segments put together beforehand, The first film to develop this was the D.W Griffith film "Birth of a Nation". Although this film is heavily criticised today for its strong racism, it was one of the first to use cross cutting. Overtime this developed into the successful editing format it is today, this has been used by many different thriller films in recent years and one of which is the 2012 film "Inception". During this sequence, There is a focus of two separate linear sequences that are occurring simultaneously, the thing that excites audience members is the fact that what happens in one sequence has a knock on effect to the other, which is shown by the constant cuts between the two narratives. Despite their being strange logic behind the storyline, cross-cutting perfectly reflects the differences in time and "dream layers" in the following video:




Montage + Graphic match

In film, a montage is an editing technique in which shots are juxtaposed, usually fast paced an this is done to compress time yet retain events that have occurred over what would normally be an extraneous period of time. This type of editing is extremely useful in Thrillers, as it shows a lot of action in a very short space of time. Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho used a montage to display the shower sequence, this was done to dramatise the death scene and almost extend the death time shown which would make it look more horrific for the audience.


What can be seen from this montage is that the clips when viewed themselves have no real meaning, it is only when they are linked together that it makes sense.

Towards the end of the video sequence, a graphic match can be seen in which the plug hole transforms into the victims eye. A graphic match is a cut in film editing between either two different objects, two different spaces, or two different compositions in which objects in the two shots graphically match. In the case of Psycho, the graphic match establishes that the victim is in fact dead from the attack, with the final shot being of her lifeless eyes,

Graphic Matches are used frequently in Thrillers to add an emotional climax to a scene

Cut to black

Originally, cuts to black meant a film
was over

A cut to black is a form of film transition. At the start of cinema a cut to black was used to signify the ending of a film, however in recent times they have been adapted to have a more significant effect and are now used in Thrillers. Cuts to black can be used to signify a cliffhanger, Leaving the suspenseful audience on edge, even after the end of the sequence. This is effective as it creates a talking point at the end of the film, one example of this being from the end of inception, it cuts the film to black before we find out an important factor about the story (is it a dream or not) and this sparked a lot of post release theories and conversations. CLICK HERE for video.

Blur

Blur edit from Inception 

This type of editing is usually used in flashback sequences. Blurs are added post production and they can be used as a transition between one shot to the next or it can also be used as an effect that blurs around the edges of the shot, representing a vague memory or dream sequence. A blur can also be used so the audience can concentrate on a specific character, often so they can focus on their emotion.


Although there are other types of edits used frequently in thriller films, these are the main ones that stood out for me personally and I believe we should try to implement as many of the as possible into our own film so it can be easily indicated to our audience what genre our film is.