George Brinan A2 Media
Candidate No. 8149
Editing styles of chosen genre
Jump cuts
A jump cut is a transition between two shots which appear to "jump" due to the way they are framed in relation to each other. For this reason, jump cuts are considered a violation of classical continuity editing, which aims to give the appearance of continuous time and space in the story-world by de-emphasizing editing. Although jump cuts can be created through the editing together of two shots filmed non-continuously (spatial jump cuts), they can also be created by removing a middle section of one continuously-filmed shot. Jump cuts can add impact and tension when used in the right place as well as adding a new sense of speed to a sequence.
The example from 'A bout de souffle' on the right is known as the one that made jump cuts famous. It wasn’t Jean Luc Godard’s intention to include so many jump cutsin his film but it was something that occured to him whilst he was editing the film. It enhances the jumpy feel of the movie, a couple-on-the-run thriller and it defies the 30-degree rule constantly.
A jump cut may be used in a horror film when the director is trying to make it seem like time has passed since the last major event or the movement of a paranormal prescence to a new location rather thn showing their journey.
Flashbacks
A flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point in the story to something that is likely to have occured in the past. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story's current events to fill in crucial backstory. In the opposite direction, a flashforward reveals events that will occur in the future for example in final destination when the characters see how they will die. Both flashbacks and flashforwards are used to create suspense in a story, develop a character, or add structure to the narrative.
Sound
- Music: This is one of the most important aspects of a horror film as it is helping the film try to create a specific mood to the scene. The effective use of music will help promote even more emotions to the audience. Even though there are various genres of music that has been used throughout different horror films, some of these common conventions include: Isolated instruments just before a key event occurs which helps link the idea of vulnerability, to the audience. Long suspenseful notes often help contrast with short sharp notes to help shock the audience as well as Extreme but intentional changes of pitch tones.
- Sound Effects: There are lots of sound effects which can be heard in any horror film, which could include: There are lots of sounds that are associated with horror films, which help make them recognisable and iconic to the audience such as Crows, Owls, Church Bells, Evil laughing and whispers.
Transitions
- Cut In typical horror films when the scenes are going fast such as murder scenes the camera cuts at a very fast pace. This makes the scenes flow more effectively and doesn’t go slow. They are used to cut to a different scene or cut to another person or location in the same scene. This is the most used transition throughout films and trailers.
- Fade To Black The fade to black transition is used to introduce silence, cut to another scene and mostly to create tension. When the screen fades to black it creates tension as the viewer doesn’t know what the next scene is going to be. This is effective as it can be used a lot in horror films as they have the aspect of surprise and the unexpected. In horror films the chances are to expect the unexpected and when the transition of fade to black is used this is chance to show this.