movement and stasis. This discussion will show that it is far more conceptually accurate to ( Log Out /  Throughout the scene, the editing shows Marion glancing nervously at the money, undecided but certainly tempted. The textbook authors don’t discuss Hitchcock’s use of the same overhead shot – though much more drawn out – a little later in the film when Norman carries his mother down-stairs. (We see the same trombone shot, reversed, when Arbogast is walking up the stairs.). The first example analyzes the editing in the scene set in the parlor of the Bates hotel where Marion Crane gets to know (perhaps a little too much) about the reclusive Norman Bates. Even though the factory seemed like an exuberant center, there was still a profound void inside the hearts of Wonka, the obnoxious children, and non-proficient parents, not including Charlie and his grandfather. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The efficacious nature of films owes its prominent properties to the array of editing techniques. According to this reading, the swamp represents Norman’s unconscious. In the scene where Norman is watching Marion’s car – with all of Marion’s effects, including, unbeknownst to Norman, the money Marion stole – the pacing of the editing of the shot/reverse slows down. define editing as the coordination of one shot with the next. allows the film to relate any two points in space through similarity, difference, ( Log Out /  High key and low key relationships plus editing variations evinces the director’s elaborate style. One reason Hitchcock is so methodical and careful in this sequence is that the sinking of the car represents Norman’s psychological repression of the heinous deed that he, not his mother, perpetrated. The textbook authors say, of this quote, that it “suggests how the director was acutely aware of the way abrupt changes in camera positioning can evoke an emotional response.” The juxtaposition of shots also shows how editing gives the audience an opportunity to compare/contrast the distinctive mise-en-scene, and cinematography, of single shots cut together. Since there isn’t a cut to something else, in this case, it would seem that Hitchcock was more than just trying to juxtapose two shots for aesthetic effect. This is a film directed by Spike Lee that was released in 1989. Elizabeth Ewe Weaver . But as the conversation between Marion and Norman gets darker, the timing changes to show emotional responses by both Marion and Norman, and the camera angles become more distorted and disturbing. Peer Edit of Literary Analysis ***This sheet must accompany your self-edited and final drafts*** Peer evaluator _____ Writer being evaluated _____ After the reading … During the scenes in which the figures are pale or low key, the viewer feels uncomfortable. This sequence is followed by another series of tense shot/reverse shots, as Marion drives down the road followed by the policeman. The classical editing in the opening of the film attains a smooth and faultless style of narration, allowing the viewer to effortlessly track the direction of the narrative; the viewers can feel the tension created when Benjamin’s inner conflicts are crossed with a non-understanding older generation. As we saw in the discussion of the camera's mediation, the duration or cut--to look at their total relationship. of a shot starts to indicate one of many roles that editing performs. scope of the issues here, as well as distorting the accuracy of their arguments. The shot/reverse shot editing in the hotel room show the intimacy between the two, before they begin discussing the difficult dilemma they are in (she has no money, and Sam has no money because of alimony payments, so they can’t get married), at which point the shot/reverse shot shows distance between them. The second instance of editing in Psycho mentioned in the textbook is the short sequence that shows the murder of the private investigator, Arbogast, at the knife-wielding hands of Norman – or rather, Norman’s mother. Analytical Essay on Tim Burton's Style in Film Directing- Edward Scissorhands, Indisputably, Tim Burton has one of the world’s most distinct styles when regarding film directing. His tone, mood, diction, imagery, organization, syntax, and point of view within his films sets him apart from other renowned directors. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. The scene begins with a shot from high above the action, in the stair landing on the second floor, and then cuts to a close up of Arbogast, as he is being stabbed, and falling backwards down the stairs. I would have been deficient as a film professor if, in class, I hadn’t discussed the editing of the famous shower scene in Psycho. compares patterns of light and dark, line and shape, volumes and depths, The film includes many different elements which allow the film to fall under these three main genres. Basic Elements of Effective Writing. but that temporal and spatial dimensions may be irrelevant. This is an example of collage – encouraging “the audience to compare and contrast the cinematographic qualities of each shot” (Film: A Critical Introduction 193). In your textbook, in the chapter on editing, there are a couple examples of editing in Psycho (there’s also an essay, at the end of the chapter, on editing in Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious). One of the interesting things about the cross-cutting here is that while Sam rather aggressively interrogates Norman, accusing him of killing Marion to steal the $40,000, Lila – by way of many eyeline-match cuts – finds ample evidence in the mise-en-scène of Norman’s arrested development and insanity. Change ), Critical Analysis Prompts: Psycho and Editing, Inception and the Thinking Person’s Blockbuster, Out-of-class writing for Inception and the Future of Film. ( Log Out /  of problems of distinguishing between elements can occur in the relationship Regardless of whether the assignment is to write an academic essay to be read only by the instructor or an editorial for the school newspaper that many people will see, first think about your target audience. In the aforementioned films , editing techniques stabilizes the movie and, Metamorphosis of Ishmael in Moby Dick Essay, A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, Essay on A comparison of Ancient Rome and Pre WW1 United States, The American Dream in Death Of A Salesman, by Arthur Miller Essay. two shots to encompass all the dimensions at stake there. Don’t eat too much candy so you can have pearly white teeth like mine! order: the temporal succession of events. His tone, mood, diction, imagery, organization, syntax, and point of view within his films sets him apart from other renowned directors. frequency: the amount of times an event occurs-- a singular take or repetition THE MAIN ELEMENTS OF FILM FORM/RHETORIC are: literary design, visual design, cinematography, editing, and sound design: LITERARY DESIGN INCLUDES CONVENTIONAL “RHETORICAL ELEMENTS” such as: the choice of GENRE (comedy, tragedy; romantic comedy; western, horror, thriller, etc.) When we went over it in class, I demonstrated (by counting) how the thirty or so cuts we see, once Marion steps into the shower, creates a sense of frenetic action and a feeling of disorientation in the audience, due to the dizzying array of multiple camera angles and the variety of zooms (close-up, extreme close up). It looks beyond the transition between shots--fade, dissolve, wipe, We see Marion, again distressed, with the police car behind her in the shot; and then, to emphasize Marion’s anxiety, the camera cuts to shots of the police car in the rear-view mirror. Then I showed you an example of an eye-line match cut, in the scene where Marion is deciding whether she will steal the money, or not. I began with the establishing shot at the beginning of the film, which is actually a number of zoom shots edited together, transporting the viewer into the hotel room where Sam and Marion have just finished having sex (it is implied). B&T argue that graphic and rythmic relations are present in every shot, One can discern that Burton’s style is highly influenced by his lighting effects which in turn affects the tone, mood, and imagery of the film. Burton ingeniously incorporates effective cinematic techniques to convey a poignant underlying message to the audience. This, like much of the editing in the film (and like most instances of parallel editing), is done to create suspense. Burton’s style can be easily depicted in two of his most highly esteemed and critically acclaimed films, Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Especially inside Charlie’s home. Finally, Hitchcock provides us with a good example of parallel editing (cross-cutting) in the scene where Sam and Lila (Marion’s sister) go to the Bates motel to investigate. placing and setting and at what point is it editing. Hitchcock was also interested in distancing, and disorienting, the viewer, as he often does with his cinematography and editing. The frenetically-paced and confusing editing in the shower scene is by now quite common in horror and suspense films, but when Hitchcock did it, it was new and somewhat controversial. At the beginning of the scene, the timing and the camera angles, in the shot/reverse shot sequence, are fairly conventional. Then we have the tense shot/reverse shot of Marion and the policeman in sun-glasses, in which camera angles are important: the policeman is seen in an extreme close up shot from a low angle, which, along with the fact that we can’t see his eyes, makes him an ominous figure. DEFINITION:  Bordwell and Thompson This unsettling shot involves focusing in on an object at the same time that the camera is moved backwards, or vice versa. Eventually, she decides to take the money; and this sets up the most prominent “McGuffin” in the film (a McGuffin is a plot element that forwards the plot, though often misleading the audience as to the true direction of the plot, becoming a “red herring”). That editing functions so closely with other elements of cinematic expression (camera's mediation and mise-en-scene, for example) that making distinctions between elements can be difficult. Without the implementation of high key and low key, Burton’s message would have never been fully apprehended in both of the films. or development. Do the Right Thing Example Analysis. control. Here are some checkpoints: Facts: Make sure that what you've written is what happened; Spelling: Check and recheck names, titles, words with unusual spellings, your most frequently misspelled words, and everything else. as well as conventional literary rhetorical devices such Initially the shot/reverse shot builds suspense by quick cutting between a distressed Marion and an obscured view of a rain-drenched road. only as time cues. And now let’s take a look at two film analysis essay samples, starting with Do the Right Thing. Just like cinematography and other movie elements, sound is arguably one of the most significant elements in any given film.