Editing

Editing is the process of looking at all of the footage shot during a film then placing it in the desired order and joining it together.
There are tow key areas of editing. The first is speed of editing, this means how long is each shot.
The second is style of editing, this means how the shots are joined together.
Speed of editing; In a film each scene may last seconds, to minutes the length of the scene establishes the pace of the fim moving the action along.
The seed of editing will determine the mood of what is taking place on screen.
If the editing is quick the audience will feel anxiety and suspense.
If the editing is slow there will be a relaxed mood, and example of this will be in a romantic comedy.
Some films contain no editing at all, it could just be one continuous scene which last the entire length of a film, an example of this is in RussianArk.
In trailers the editing will be very fast as they need to pack as much detail from the film into a short period of time. An example of this is the trailer form The Man in irom mask trailer.




Scenes at the beginning of a film must be long enough for us to understand what is going on and so the characters can be introduced. As the film progresses the length of the scenes can be shortened as the action picks up.
Style of editing; This is how the shots are linked together, the movement from one shot to the next is known as a transition.
Types of transition;
Straight cut, this is the most basic form of transition, it is an invisible form of transition. One shot moves in instantaneously without attraction the audiences attention. These help keep the scenes realistic.
Dissolves; These fade out one shot from the scene and fades in a new one, at the mid point the audience will be able to see two shots on screen at one time. This can be used to show a connection between two characters.
Fades; This is the gradual darkening or lightening of an image until it become either black or white.
It can be used to indicate the end of a particular section in the narrative.
Wipes; This is when one image is pushed off screen for another, this can be used to show movement between different locations that are happening at the same time.
Jump cut, this is when the audiences attention is brought to focus on something suddenly, this is created by breaking continuity editing, it looks as if a section of film has been removed.
Graphic match; This is a gap in action and can be used to startle the viewer or bring their attention to something.
Graphic match; This is when the creator places shots in an order to create smooth visual transfer from one shot to the next, two shots are matched together in the way that they look.

Mise En Sense

Mise en sense is a french term meaning in the scene or frame. It refers to; Settings, props, costume, hair, make up, performance, lighting, colour and the positioning of characters or objects.
The setting is where a media text takes place.
Props are the objects that we see on the setting.
Different types of mise en sense
This is a western, here the character will wear a cowboy hat, a waistcoat, there will be horses and old buildings, and will be in a ghost town.
This is a villain, he will wear a costume and stand aut from all of the characters in a film, it will be clear who the villain is.
Facial expressions and body language is very important in media and text, it is shown with the close up and extreme close up.
This is an angry person, a close up is used.
This is a frightened person, an extreme close up is used.

Sound techniques

Diagetic sound refers to the world of the texr e.g. knocking on a door.
Non diagetic sound refers to everything outside of the world of the text e.g. sirens
Sound; On and Off screen.
On screen sound is when the audience can see the source of the sound on screen.
off screen sound is when the audience cannot see the source of the sound., this extends the diagetic world.
Sound; parallel and contrapuntal.
Parallel sound is when the sound matches the action we see.
contrapuntal sound is when the sound we hear doesnt math the action that is going on on screen.
Sound; sound bridge.
Sound bridge This is when the sound creates a smooth transition between shots, it acts like a bridge between two scenes.

Continuity editing

Continuity editing is when scenes follow on from each other, this gives us the effect that time is moving forward realistically.
Eye line match is when the character looks at something off screen and then it cuts to a shot of what the character was looking at.
A match on action is when we see a character start an action in one shot and then finish it off in the next shot.
Graphic match is when two shots are linked together which creates a smooth visual transfer between shots, this make it nice for the viewer to watch.
the 180 degree rule is when two characters or objects should have the same left and right relationship if this rule is broken it looks as if the two people or objects have changed sides. example below.



The shot reverse shot is where the camera switches between the people that are speaking, this technique is usually used when filming an argument.

Analyse 3 people thriller openings.

The first thriller that i will analyse is Backstabber.
Does it look like the opening of a thriller? This doesnt really look like the opening of a thriller mainly because they filmed in school and schools arent thrillingto most people, also they are outside murdering in broad daylight!
Conventions? This film just about meets the conventions for a thriller mainly because of the mysterious music.
Use of Mis en sense? The use of misensence is very poor as they just hide behind cars, which again isnt thrilling.
This scene is technically secure as camera work is relatively good, however the music loops too much and is boring.
The sound is appropriate but we hear too much of it as it just loops around.
Overall i would rate this opening 2.5


The next opening i am analysing is Decus Et Tutamen.
This scene resembles a thriller slightly however it isnt very understandable to the audience as they tried to squeeze in too many ideas.
This scene meets some conventions but is too jumbled up to be easily understood.
Mis en sense is used quite well as they use their surrounding well to create a mysterious atmosphere.
The camera work is good and so id the sound but it isnt easy to watch which is a must have.
Overall i wopuld rate this opening a 3.


The third and final opening i will analyse is The night walker.
This does look like the opening of a thriller as it is dark and mysterious.
This also meets many conventions as again it is a drak and spooky atmosphere that the audience will recognize from thrillers.
The scene was boring as as it was fimed at night we couldnt really see what was going on, so it is a little technically secure but the creators shouls have taken light into consideration.
The sound is used quite well as it fits the film, however i think it sounds too much like the sound from a horror other than a thriller.
Overall i would rate this opening a 2, it isnt very good.

No country for old men

Above is a trailer for No country for old men, it is effective as it gives us a small insight to the story, shows us action shots and characters and leaves the viewer craving for more.
Its target audience is for people who like a good, deep story and those who like fast paced action too. There is a perfect balance between story telling and action.
The film is a crime thriller where a man finds a fortune which is not his, he is then hunted for it which nearly costs him his and his wife's lives. The film is like a big cat and mouse chase and the villain is extremely intelligent.


Above is an opening for the film. The setting is in the middle of nowhere and makes the audience feel as if the film is going to be a dark gritty film.
The characters are dressed in western clothing.
In this film we see the villain immediately which is good as we see this as no ordinary villain we know that he is fast to act and switched on at all times.
Anton Chigurgh is the villain, he is a hired hitman who shows no mercy to anybody and no remorse.
He seems to take satisfaction has he comes up with creative ways to kill his victims.
He is a mysterious man which makes the audience want to know more about his dark background.

The Birds

Above is the trailer to The Birds, the aspects of a typical thriller that this contains is fast paced actions and regular edits. It appeals to the audience as it makes the film look exciting and makes them feel asif they want to go and see more, this is because the trailer shows us just enough of the story to get us hooked and want to see more instantly.
The Birds was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starred Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren and Suzanne Pleshette.
In this thriller the external threat is from nature which is different to many other thrillers of the time, I think in that respect this film is years ahead of its time.
In Hitchcock's thrillers there is nowhere for the characters to hide in safety e.g. Bodega Bay in The Birds.
"Thrillers are characterized by fast pacing and frequent action." This is very true in The Birds as the birds often attack often and there is very little down time in the film where there is very little going on.
In this film the hero isnt well equipped and doesn't defeat the threat from nature and by the end of the film we actually see how they are over ran with the birds and are helpless, everybody looks weak except the birds.
In this film dramatic irony is used as Tippi Hendren doesn't know that the birds are gathering behind her to attack be the audience does, this makes the audience feel  smarter and one step ahead of the character.
In the school yard scene there are children singing this highlights the fact that the children are innocent and that the birds show no mercy in who they attack. In the cafe scene there is a high camera angle to show the view of a pitiless god who doesnt want to intervene.
Usually in a thriller the hero overcomes the threat however in the birds the hero is actually beated by the birds and we see the hero drive away in defeat.
In The Birds the hero will risk his own life in order to beat the threat and save everybody, however by the end it seems as if the hro has given up as the birds are so powerful.
At the end of the film where Tippi Hendren was attacked the birds were attached to her by strings so they could not get away, she had years of counseling to get over the effects that this film had left her with.The film consists of 32  separately filmed elements.
Hitchcock made thrillers so that the audience could get a feeling of what it would be like to live in the life of the character and give them a little taster of what it would be like without actually experiencing it.
Hendren was actually cut in the face by the birds multiple times.
Below is a contriversial scene from the birds where Hendren says she was actually ployed in to the room to be unknowingly attacked by birds for real.

Source code

Source code is a action thriller about a soldier who wakes up in a body that is not his own. He later discovers that he has been selected as part of a mission that gives him the job of finding a Chicago bomber.
The budget for source code was $32,000,000 and in total the film grossed $54,696,902 in the USA alone.
One review of the source code said "The story line keeps you on the edge of your seat and adds humor to make it a thoroughly enjoyable experience." I agree with this review as I found the film very exciting and funny at times, there is a right balance between seriousness and comedy.


Above is the trailer to Source code.
This trailer is effective as it gives us a little insight to the story without giving away too much. It also shows us how thrilling and exciting the film is and will make the audience want to see the full movie. The trailer has been edited in short frames, this shows us that the film will be a very fast paced film which is high in action. The trailer is targeted at people who like action movies but also those who like a good story as it gives us a little insight to the characters that will be in the film.


Above is an emotional scene between the main character and his father, this scene captivates the audience and shows us a softer side to Colter Stephens as we see him throughout the film being ruthless and in this scene we see his showing his emotions and love towards his father who he didn't get to say a proper goodbye when he died.
Above is the final scene from the film source code, this scene is important as it shows us how the main character is informs the Source code facility how much the source code works in that it creates a parallel universe and we see how nice he can be by telling them to tell him everything will be okay when he wakes.