Whiplash’s final scene has been well edited by Tom Cross( Editor) by the direction of Damian Chazelle to build a scene full of tension. The use of cuts throughout build up the expectations each time while his use relating back to separate parts of the film bring up the tension consistently.

Tom Cross uses this cut and during 6 minutes and 16 seconds to 16 minutes 20 seconds to show tension by one cutting and the other flowing through the whole shot sequence very cleverly. This is done to build tension by the use of cuts showing he is still not perfect as the sequence is broken up, making the audience feel themselves something is still missing and so tension is built up. However at 6 minutes 16 seconds there is a smooth 4 second sequence with no cuts what shows him to finally reaching that level required as he is at his peak. The smooth transition between parts of the drum set shows this by not cutting indicating wasted movement moving between sets he is moving perfectly and on time as the transition is smooth. The tension is built up by the use of cutting as he is still not exactly timed to where its a smooth pan around the drum set showing him to be exactly well timed. It gives a better payoff to the audience as by that second sequence they see him in is own element.

The switching between both character shows the pressure on both of them, so by the realization of Terrence finally achieving his goal there comes tension of not trying to ruin his own moment. While Andrew brings tension by not giving up on impressing the man who has abused him all movie. Tension is shown by them trying to achieve this personal goal of Terrence, making the audience feel its both their last chance of sucess but as well as showing them both enjoying the music for the first time in the entire movie as they are finally on the same page.

Cut to the band puts the pressure on Andrew as they are all in sync and perfect. The panning of the band when the scene cuts to them is cleverly done by Cross to indicate to things. Firstly indicates the pressure on Andrew by him having to staying in sync with the band who are all in sync together, while secondly it indicates the pressure what are on the band as they are all like Andrew however only appear in this scene. so this clever cut to the band is smartly done to show this to the audience that Andrew might be the focus point but he is not the only one performing.

The cut to the bleeding hands build tension by this repetition of when Andrew bleeds he always fails due to his anger. This two shots are important in bringing back the tension by blood throughout the film being used to symbolize failure, so this is done to make audience feel he is slipping but instead he is actually finally overcoming the obstacle in his way. The blood also symbolizes how Andrew has learned to use the anger for Terrence into his skills and finally sees he way of teaching.

The eyeline match between Andrew and Terrence shows a conclusion as the tension finally ends as this is used to signify to the audience that both are finally happy with the performance and that their objectives are complete.