TIMING & SHOCK CUTS

TIMING

"One element of pace is the timing of particular shots. Where in a sequence should a particular close-up or cutaway be positioned for maximum impact? The editor's understanding of the purpose of the sequence as a whole helps them make these decisions."

This is one of the main questions I always ask myself whilst editing a scene. How long is too long when holding on a certain shot, what should I cut too next and why? It all depends on the intended effect on the viewer, how do I want the audience to perceive this scene, what emotions/effects do I wish to convey?

"The purpose of the sequence might be exposition or characterisation. Within these broad categories, the editor must decide how much visual and aural explanation and how much punctuation are needed to make the point."

Exposition is the conveying of information that an audience needs to know. This can be done through the use of dialogue between characters, narration, flashbacks, montages, interviews, archive footage, showing objects within a room, body language from characters etc.

For our production, I believe less exposition the better. I want to keep the audience guessing throughout the piece by not revealing everything all at once. I want to drip-feed them slowly until the intensity increases towards the end of the film.

SHOCK CUTS

"Shock cuts, as opposed to jump cuts, engender actual jumps, physical disturbances or agitations in spectators due to a violent rupture in the diegesis."

This is most commonly achieved by juxtaposing two very different distinctive shots alongside one another. The first for example promoting peace and calmness after a build up in tension, and the second an entirely contrasting shot (often combined with sudden, loud, jarring sound effects) such as a man bursting through a door wielding a knife.

"A shock cut denotes a swift and jarring juxtaposition of two shots whose visual incongruity hinges on a profound contradiction: the intrusion of new narrative information as well as a temporal and/or spatial gap in a story's unfolding."

The shock cut also acts as a transition, it can help progress the narrative and move-forward the scene into a different direction. In a sense, it is another way of using a cutaway or transition. A shock cut in horror films is one of the most effective ways to change the pacing/intensity of a scene. In my opinion, this is a great way to provoke reactions from the audience.

I intend to use the shock cut in a slightly different way to what I discussed above for our film (Home Away From Here); I intend to experiment intercutting shots of Jack being tortured with exterior shots of the run-down house. Jack's screams will cut-out instantly as the exterior shot(s) appear, promoting a greater sense of fear and eeriness, emphasising the fact that Jack's scream can't be heard, and he can't be helped... he is alone and there is nothing, and no one can do about it. I always stick by the 'less is more' rule believing that the less you show of something, the greater the effect. It makes the audience use their own initiative and further gets them lost/involved within the world of the film.

Shock cuts don't have to involve something an audience will perceive as 'shocking' or 'disturbing' e.g. a murderer/monster. But instead an image that alters the field of play, something different to the shot prior.

REFERENCE(S):

DANCYGER, KEN, (2007), The Technique of Film and Video Editing: History, Theory, and Practice. Oxford, USA, Focal Press.

HANTKE, STEFFEN, (Ed), (2004), Horror Film: Creating and Marketing Fear. University of Mississippi, USA.