i am going to be analyzing  the editing in the final scene of Whiplash (2014 , directed by Damien Chazelle) and in the final scene , Andrew Neiman gives a jazz performance and  the editing helps to build the tension in the scene by using jump cuts to jump between the audience at the concert , the conductor , and the main character and these build tension because the shots are rapid.

During the performance the jump cuts are interspersed with quick cuts towards the rest of the band and this makes it clear to the audience that the entire band is feeling the same tension and pressure that  Neimen is and this creates a parallel between Neiman’s  struggles  and the struggles of the rest of the band and it shows that they are feeling the same thing , this is a prime example of a montage and it makes the audience feel the intensity of the scene because of the rapid cutting between the images.

This scene makes liberal use of J cuts because when the camera cuts away from Neiman and focuses on the band , we can still hear him when he is not in the shot and this helps to create the sense that the band are a team who rely on each other and the fact that the images of the band and Neiman are constantly being inter cut suggests that Neiman needs the band and the rest of the band needs Neiman and it is suggested that without Neiman , the band would fall apart. Furthermore, there are moments throughout  the scene where the camera cuts to closeups of Neiman and the conductor and this helps the audience to understand the intense pressure that Neiman is feeling  and it shows how the conductor’s feelings towards Neiman are changing , initially , he is furious with Neiman but by the end of the scene he is pleased with Neiman and this is shown to the audience when he smiles at Neiman before cutting to the end credits and this action alone resolves a major part of the plot because Neiman is only trying to earn the conductor’s approval and this indicated he has earned it.

I believe that the editing builds tension by getting faster and faster throughout the sequence and this makes the audience pay more attention to what is happening in the scene because if they don’t pay attention , they could miss a pivotal plot point and the scene wouldn’t make as much sense. The editing techniques that are used in this sequence are engaging because they show the relationships and prospectives of the people who are involved in the scene and it shows how those relationships have changed over the course of the film – in short the end sequence of Whiplash is edited in such a way that the audience is given a miniature representation of how the relationships between the characters have changed over the course of the film – the relationships have gone from hostile to peaceful and it is suggested that Neiman will become successful.

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this is the link to my PowerPoint examples of the Kuleshov effect

This scene from The Shining (1980 , directed by Stanley Kubrick) uses Steadicam in order to create a menacing effect because it makes it feel like something is following Danny , this is compounded when the camera lingers on a space before catching up with Danny  and this helps to increase the level of visceral discomfort that the audience will feel because they will be worried about Danny because it feels like he is being perused by a monster and this creates a contrast with Danny’s childhood innocence. Furthermore ,  the labyrinthine set makes the film feel claustrophobic and as if the people in the film are  trapped in a nightmare that they have to escape and this helps to increase the dramatic tension that continues to escalate throught the film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy7ztJ3NUMI

This scene ,which is also from The Shining is a perfect example of Stanley Kubrick’s attention to symmetry as the actors are standing in front of a door which is the central focal point of the scene and this creates a jarring effect because it forces the audience to look at a scene in a particular way that they don’t usually have to. Furthermore , the fact that the twins are in the center  of the scene increases  the sense of existential foreboding that the audience may feel and it makes the twins seem like a central threat to Danny. Furthermore , the twins represent a past act of violence at the hotel and they  could represent what Danny  has the potential to become and they represent a perversion of the ideas of childhood because it is supposed to be innocent and free of pain and the twins were killed by their father who was supposed to be the person who was protecting them and this connects to one of the recurring  themes of the film which is that legacies of past violence can come back to haunt us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMbI7DmLCNI

The depth of field is  the range of focus in a shot or photograph , it is an important concept for cinematographers to master  because they need to be able to manipulate focus in order to create the desired effect.

There are two types of focus , shallow focus and deep focus. Shallow focus is when there is only one character in focus and any other characters in the scene are out of focus and blurry and the audience is unable to see them , in contrast, if the scene is in deep focus then all characters can be seen by the audience and none of them are blurred , however , shallow focus can cost the film verisimilitude because real life does not look like shallow focus shots.

This is an example of shallow focus from the first Kill Bill film (2004, directed by Quentin Tarantino) and it helps to emphasise the fact that The Bride (Uma Thurman)  is the most important character in the scene and the characters in the background are irrelevant.

This scene from Citizen Kane (1941 , directed by Orson Welles) utilizes deep focus and this can be used in order to show that all characters in the scene are of equal importance and they are relevant to the plot of the film. Furthermore , deep focus makes the audience feel included in the world of the film because it helps to create verisimilitude because it reflects how the real world actually looks and it helps the film to create an accurate illusion of reality which shallow focus does not do.

This dolly shot is from Malcom X (1992 , directed by Spike Lee) and in this scene , Malcom is on his way to give the speech where he will be assassinated. Lee has put both the actor and the camera on a dolly and this makes Malcom look like he’s floating like a ghost which may make the audience feel a sense of foreboding because they know what is about to happen.

This is the opening shot of Touch Of Evil (1958 , directed by Orson Welles ) and it is one continuous tracking shot which follows the main characters through a crowded street. The audience will be jolted out of their expectations because continuous tracking shots are notoriously difficult to execute and hence they are rarely attempted.

This example of a zoom shot is from The Shining (1980 , directed by Stanley Kubrick) and it makes the audience feel uncomfortable because before this scene , the audience were unsure weather Jack was going to go insane and in this scene we go from Jack hacking down the door to a close up of his deranged face and this would scare thee audience.

This pedestal shot is from Toy Story (1995 , directed by John Lassiter) is the establishing shot for Buzz Lightyear and it immediately makes it seem like he thinks he is superior to everyone else and this may make the audience begin to dislike him because they may think that Buzz is vain and has a superiority complex.

This extreme close up is from The Good , The Bad and The Ugly (1966 , directed by Sergio Leone) and it helps the audience to empathise with Blondie because we get to see his facial expressions. Furthermore, the extreme close up shot helps us to understand what is going through the characters mind because we get to sse his face in minute detail.

The opening scene of The Shining (1980 , directed by Stanley Kubrick) is a panoramic shot and this conveys the vastness of the environment and it also displays the isolation that the characters will experience because there is only one moving object in the scene which is Jack’s car and everything else is completely still and there is no movement whatsoever.

This medium – long shot from Star Wars (1977, directed by George Lucas shows the Stormtroopers and it gives the audience a full view of them and at this point in the film , the audience doesn’t know what  a big threat the Stormtroopers are so they may feel a sense of curiosity.