Jump-Cuts example

This is an extract from Royal Tenenbaums which conveys jump-cuts. the jump cuts in this movie clip shows the main actor from the front room scene then into the bathroom where we have a close up shot of him and this is where all the jump-cuts begin.

They show him with a full head of hairand beard, and each jump cut is of him cutting his hair and how his look transforms.This seems like an effective way to use jump-cuts because we can really see the gradual transition that he is making unil the last cut in which he removes his sunglasses.

Development of drama

Development of drama

The dramatic context

An editor needs to make sure that the current scene relates to what came before it and what comes after it.

The editor must also decide whether the level of tension/suspense in successive scenes needs to be maintained or whether relief of some kind such as a comedic tone needs to be introduced.

Dramatically effective narratives archive variety and balance in the way events are structured. Tension without relief becomes monotonous.

Subtext

An editor can sometimes create subtext through the way the shots are assembled.

A character might be saying one thing, but according to what the editor chooses to show the audience might be led to understand something other than what is being expressed verbally

This can increase the dramatic effectiveness of the scene by creating dramatic irony; the protagonist and audience become the initiated group; the others characters remain uninitiated.

This in turn establishes an intimate connection between audience and protagonist.

Key dramatic beats

·         The editor can indicate progression towards key dramatic beats in the narrative by cutting from wide coverage of action to closer coverage of that action.

·         The most obvious example of this is a classic 2 person dialogue.

·         The editor cuts from medium coverage, such as 2 shot of both characters, to individual close-ups (using the abovementioned shit-reverse-shot technique).

·         This can add to the emotional build up in the exchange and increase the dramatic effectiveness of the scene.