'Bringing It All Together" - sequence analysis from 'Alien'

In today's session we considered the four different cinematic elements of mise en scene, cinematography, sound and editing, and how they work together to create 'meaning'.

Using 'The Third Junction' sequence from Ridely Scott's 1979 sci-fi/horror classic, Alien, we were able to identify how the four elements work in conjunction to create an overwhelming mood of tension, suspense and fear.

This session has been the culmination of the past eight weeks study, so you should now be seeing how film works on many different levels in order to manipulate the audience's emotions.

AS Film - more examples of editing

Here you will find some more examples of interesting uses of editing techniques to support the previous blog.

Examples are taken from Up, Kill Bill 1, and Casino Royale.

Up - directed by Pete Doctor and Bob Peterson (2009)

Forget that it is an animated film, this sequence uses every cinema trick in the book to wring out the emotion.

A beautifully constructed montage of how Carl and Ellie's relationship from the innocent first meeting as small, adventure-obsessed children, through to their marriage, moving into the iconic house, planning a family and the miscarriage, through to retirement, old age, and Carl, finally alone with his memories of Ellie.

Kill Bill: Volume 1 - directed by Quentin Tarantino (2003)

Two sequences from Tarantino's take on the martial arts genre.

In the first sequence, The Bride (Uma Thurman) battles to the death with schoolgirl assassin, Gogo Yubari (Chiaki Kuriyama). The action and tension of the battle is reflected by the changes in pacing of the editing.

In the second sequence, The Bride now faces surely insurmountable odds against the might of the 'Crazy 88' yakusa martial arts assassins (the yakusa is the Japanese version of a gangster, and there is certainly more than just 88 of them which The Bride has to face). Again, the pacing of the editing reflects the movement and speed of the action, taking the sequence to an almost 'cartoon' level of violence and bloodletting.

Casino Royale - directed by Martin Campbell (2006)

A new Bond film - and a new Bond - needs to have a memorable opening, and this one makes sure the audience is firmly enthralled as our hero and his target battle their way to the top of a sky-scraper construction site, and then down again, ending in a explosive sequence finale in a police station. The rapid pace of the editing and the amount of individual cuts, adds to the thrill and tension of the action.

AS Film - Editing lecture - 09/11/12

In this week's AS Film Studies session we considered the impact which editing can have on a film.

Part of the session was to recreate one of the most famous sequences in film history - Alfred Hitchcock's 'shower scene' from his 1960 horror film, Psycho. The results of this exercise in creating a digital storyboard was designed to help you understand the principles of editing, how meaning can be made through the choice of shots, and how a skilled editor is priceless when it comes to assembling a film.

In this blog you can refresh your knowledge of the principle editing terms, with visual examples taken from the session and additional sequences.

The editor works closely with the director in post-production

Affects how finished film looks

Add or change ‘meaning’ to scenes and sequences

Editing Terms

Cut

A visual transition - one shot is instantly replaced on screen by another

Cross cutting

Cutting between two or more scenes of action, indicating they are happening at same time

Examples below of cross cutting in Nicholas Roeg's Don't Look Now:

Here we see the character of  the mother, Laura, reacting with her hands playing across her mouth in the house, while the next cut takes the action outside, where the daughter does a similar action when her ball goes into the water.

As the brother of the little girl drives his bike over some broken glass, the next shot is a cross cut to the father, John accidentally knocking over a glass, spilling liquid over his slides.

Three shots which are happening simultaneously, and related to each other. John sub-consciously reacts to something happening outside the house, which happens to be his daughter drowning, as his son races towards the house to alert him of the tragedy.

Dissolve 

Gradual scene transition - overlaps end of one shot with the beginning of the next one

Represents passing of space and time

Eye line match

The matching of eye lines between two or more characters

Establishes space and continuity 

Platoon - directed by Oliver Stone (1986)

In the following sequence, taken from Oliver Stone's film, Platoon, we see the young

new recruit, played here by a young Charlie Sheen, arriving for his first tour of duty in

the Vietnam war. After witnessing lines of dead Marines zipped up in body bags, and

being loaded onto aircraft, heading back home, he catches the eye of an older,

more experienced soldier who passes him. The is no need for dialogue here, as Stone

uses an eyeline match as the two soldiers pass each other; the older marine perhaps

looking into Sheen's eyes as if to tell him that he has no idea what he is letting himself

in for.

Later in the film, Sheen's character has a similar experience with a new, young recruit,

having seen many terrible things during his time in the war. The truly frightening thing

is that it is merely weeks after this initial encounter takes place, not months or years.

The eye line match Also matches character reaction to what a character is seeing, as in jungle gym

sequence in The Birds.

The Birds - directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1963)

Up to this point in the film, a young woman visits her boyfriend on the island

where he lives. She has come from the city so might be viewed as an 'outsider'. Her

style of dress and the car she drives marks her out as being different. However,

what she brings with her from the city, sparks of a host of violent acts - not from

people, but from the local bird population. The present she brings her boyfriend is

that of two lovebirds, again 'outsiders', not welcome on the island by the local

birds. The birds begin to attack the inhabitants of the island with frightening

regularity and increased violence. Being attacked by one bird might not seem

overly worrying; however when hundreds of birds all attack at the same time, then

Hitchcock racks up the terror and suspense. When will they strike next? 

In this sequence, the young woman drives out to the local school to assist the

schoolteacher escort the young children to safety once school finishes for the day.

As she waits for the school day to finish, she decides to smoke a cigarette on a

bench outside. The children are singing a repetitive song, which Hitchcock uses to

increase the tension. The woman turns round anxiously each time she thinks the

song is about to end, not realising what is happening on the climbing frame behind

her. 

The eye line match occurs when the young woman's attention is taken by

something in the sky - Hitchcock cuts to what she sees - a solitary bird....

Fade

End of shot fades to black, followed by fading in of next shot

Often used to indicate a change in time and place

Match cut

A cut joining two shots whose elements match, helping to establish strong

continuity of action

Example: The Ring – Katie turns door handle, cuts to interior of bedroom

with Katie looking in

Shot/reverse shot

Used for dialogue scenes with over-the-shoulder shots, showing each character speaking

Shot/reverse shot example from The Ring

Montage

The editing together of many brief shots – often fast cuts

Examples: the shower scene from Psycho and the petrol station gun

fight in Romeo and Juliet


Psycho - directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1960)

One of the most notorious and influential sequences in film history - and one assembled by

the effects of montage editing.

Marion Crane is on the run after stealing $40,000 from her employer. She pulls into 

roadside motel for the night, which displays the welcoming sign that it has vacancies. In 

fact, it is nothing but vacancies. The owner of the motel is a young man, called Norman 

Bates, who makes Marion a light supper. After some conversation, Norman leaves. 

Marion decides that she must return the money and take the consequences, hoping that 

her employer will understand that she did it out of desperation.

She decides to take a shower, as a way, perhaps of ‘washing away’ her sins.

Hitchcock’s use of montage editing, combined with a variety of different camera angles, 

effective use of mise en scene (the location of the shower was the first time it had been 

used in such a way), and the iconic music, all add up to present to the audience something 

they had never seen before. Horror films, editing techniques and narrative construction 

would never be the same again

Here is the sequence again, with and without the music.

What differences are there to the 'meaning' of the action without the music?

Does it draw more attention to the editing techniques?

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