Whiplash is a 2014 American drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle. It depicts the relationship between an ambitious jazz student (Miles Teller) and an abusive instructor (J. K. Simmons).

The last scene in which Neiman is performing with his drums utilises many different editing techniques to create an effective scene. These techniques include “The Kuleshov effect”. The kuleshov effect is when the camera cuts between two people to show their reactions, and it’s effect causes the audience to see more meaning within the reactions than in a single isolated shot. This effect is used when Neiman is looking at the audience after Fletcher humiliates him, the shot then cuts to the audience, and then back to Neiman’s face. A wide angle is used in the shot of the audience to show just how many people witnessed him failing. This makes the viewers realise how important this performance was for him.

After that, the scene cuts from Fletcher’s reaction to Neiman getting off the stage. There is a contrast within their facial expressions because they contradict each other. Neiman is upset and Fletcher is amused. This emphasises the manipulative-ness of Fletcher’s character, in which it creates sympathy from the audience as the intentions of Fletcher have been exposed and his true colours are revealed. This could also be viewed as a “matched cut” due to both character’s faces being similarly presented other than their expressions. This gives a sense of continuity in the scene, but also amplifies how different their facial expressions are to the audience.

Another editing device used in the next scene is known as a “jump cut”, which is an abrupt transition from one scene to another. This happens during Fletcher’s speech in which the camera speedily cuts three times towards Neiman’s face as he starts playing the drums; interrupting Fletcher. This shows a sense of determination to show the audience what he’s capable of, and it also gives him power over Fletcher as it distracts the audience’s attention. The increase of pace it creates for the scene shows how much impact it has and the risks that are involved in doing this. The scene cuts to show Fletcher’s reaction, which is shocked, which could have the audience fear for Neiman.

During this performance, the camera cuts to show different characters joining in on the song, which are in time with the beat of the music. After this montage of shots, the camera switches to a high angle shot to show the viewers the entire performance. This is used to show the development of the performance and the impact Neiman has created. He went from risking abuse from Fletcher by playing the drums alone, to inspiring other players to join in, and then eventually it turns into a grand performance. Towards the end of the scene, the high angled shot is used once more just to show what Neiman has achieved by doing that.

During the performance, the camera cuts to show Neiman’s dad watching him play. This allows the audience to watch from a different perspective when it cuts back to the stage, while also reminding them that Neiman’s dad is finally seeing what he is capable of. You can see that Neiman cares a lot about his drumming and how passionate he is due to the camera also cutting to different parts of the drum sets, allowing the viewers to realise how talented he is for being able to hit so many parts at the same time, and how much effort he must put in. It also shows blood on one of the symbols, and then cuts to his face to show slight pain as he works. Again, this shows how much he cares about his passion and that he risks pain and effort in order to play. This creates sympathy from the audience and also makes his drumming seem even more magnificent.

The ending to the film shows a resolve I conflict between Neiman and Fletcher. This is a happy ending because it finally rids of the abusive relationship between the two throughout the whole movie. This is presented by another use of the Kuleshov Effect, just like in the beginning. At the end of the scene, a moment where Fletcher and Neiman stare at each other is shown. The camera cuts between their faces a number of times, except their expressions change in the second shots to show them smiling at each other, instead of their expression remaining the same. This smile represents Neiman finally achieving his goal of making Fletcher happy and proud of him for his drumming skills.

Dunkirk is a 2017 war film written, directed, and produced by Christopher Nolan that depicts the Dunkirk evacuation of World War II.

At the beginning of the film, it is silent for a few seconds until finally it is obstructed by the sound of guns being fired. This creates a sense of tension from the audience as they are forced to wait for something to happen during the silence up until it happens – the sound of a ticking clock can also be heard which shows to the audience that there is only a short amount of time the army soldiers have to get everyone off the beach. It is important for Nolan to get the sounds correct as the film is representing an important time in history, therefore using sound to create a specific atmosphere has to be done delicately in order to portray historical accuracy and also, to create a sense of nervousness from the audience so they can experience the right emotions from it. Also, the film tends to use variation diegetic sounds, which are used in addition to the soundtrack, which allows the audience to feel involved into the film’s world.

A device used in the films known as “Shepard Tone” creates an essence of rising tension within the movie. This is used by scales being an octave a part increase from low to high pitch in a continuous loop. The lower pitch increasing in volume and the higher pitch decreasing in volume creates an illusion where when it repeats, the audience only pays attention to the increasing in pitch rather than it constantly lowering as well. This is used throughout the whole film to create tension and to have it appear to be constantly rising in order to allow the audience to know when danger is coming. This device is normally used during the scenes where the British soldiers are about to be attacked. Another use of sound effects in this movie was a constant heartbeat. This allows a personal relation to the audience. This sound is used because in real life, hearing your own heart beat means that you are usually scared or intimidated by something, which means that danger is near. Being able to hear the heartbeat throughout the film makes the audience know how the characters are feeling, while simultaneously being reminded that they’re still alive.