Editing Task

750 word analysis

In this film sequence there are a lot of fast paced editing used to show different scenes and how quickly things are happening. It also builds excitement for the audience. Throughout the scene there are a lot of cuts to show different action codes in the film. At one point you see it cut to a close up of the arrow which has enigma codes of whether someone will get hit or not and action codes that someone is going to get hurt by it. Quickly after that it cuts to Loki the antagonist in the movie who catches the arrow and for a moment the audience thinks are left in suspense then it explodes. This juxtaposition helps the audience put two and two together and makes them realise that the antagonists is targeting him.

The quick editing is used to give the audience a sense of the atmosphere and to highlight the fact that this is an action movie. Also it shows the atmosphere of the scene and the fact that there are a lot of things happening at the same time hence there are many cuts in order to show how hectic the situation is.

This scene lacks other kids of transitions like dissolve and fade outs. This is because those transitions are conventionally used in heavily narrative based films where there is hardly any action and everything is slow paced. Usually these films are conveyed in montages because the movie is slow paced it gives the audience the opportunity to pace things together without missing certain information. However, in action movies it’s usually conveyed through continuity editing with a linear narrative, since everything is fast paced, it’s easier for the audience to understand that what happens in one shot is because of what happened in the shot before.

In this extract a lot of the cuts are followed by extreme close ups, close ups and medium shots. This creates a sense of realism in the audience as they can see the details of each scene and the threats in the film. Also, there a close ups on the characters face and on their facial expression helping the audience identify with them – An example would be when it cuts to a close up of Romanoff who is the female antagonist in the film, you can see her looking determined and focused on trying to stop the threat, which identifies with the audience as they would also want to see the antagonists succeed in their mission.

This extract has a lot of quick cuts between conversations and when the antagonists are making rapid decisions. This is done to emphasise the pace of the film and keeps the audience on edge as it doesn’t give them the opportunity to take what they said before the camera cuts to a different shots. This highlights the fact that to the audience the characters are more advanced and increases the excitement that is built up. However, when there are scenes with action codes it’s not as quick to cut to the next shot as they want the audience to take in the action and enjoy the experience.