Editing

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

 The clip used was from the ending boss battle of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World by Edgar Wright. The pace at the beginning of the clip is slow, lulling the audience into a false sense of security through the relaxed pace. The juxtaposition of placing a shot of the hero, followed by a shot of his love interest, allows the audience to make a link that they care about each other, and she is the reason he is doing all of this for. As the conversation between the trio (constiting of Scott, Romona and Knives) continues and Gideon (the Villain) intervines, the slow cuts begin to build the tension. A split edit is used before you see the villain, as you hear his voice, before a shot of the character is placed. An eye line match is used at the beginning of the clip, as they have placed a shot of the villain, who suddenly makes an appearance after he was apparently defeated, glaring at someone (who the audience presume is the protagonist), followed by a shot of the hero and his friends, allowing the audience to make the connection between them and underastand that he is planning to fight the hero. As the villain explains that he would like to fight, the pace increases, foreshadowing the fight that is about to start. Cut on action shots (continuity editing technique) is used continuously throughout the beginning of the clip, to show the same action from the shot before, but from different angles in order to mask the cuts and make the action seem fluid and realistic as the audience can make the connection between shots, though they may not even know a cut as taken place. 

The pace of the clip is slow to begin with due to slower cutting but as the scene continues the pace rapidly increases in speed due to fast cutting and Edgar Wright manages to create a swift and rapid pace. This has been done in order to build up the excitement of the fight and emphasise the action that occurs in the frame.  Special effects have been cleverly used in the clip, such as animated effects (the numbers, words and swords etc.), use pixelization, focus drops and lighting effects to make it feel as though they are in a video game or the audience is watching one, almost as though there has been a collision with reality and the video gaming world. Focus drops are mainly used during the fighting scene to increase the drama and action and create excitement. A Cutaway shot which, in this case, is also a reaction cut, is used during the sword fighting scene, as it jumps to a shot of Ramona closing her eyes. A reaction shot is also used during the fighting scene, after Ramona is hit by Gideon to show the hero and his accomplices anger. Cut on action shots are used throughtout the rest of the clip, as not to disturb the fast pace and excitement of the scene and action, creating continuity.

When the hero is supposedly defeated, slow motion is used to emphasise the suspense and drama of his defeat and to slow the pace. Another eye line match is used directly after this, where a short of the villain has been placed, in which he is turning to face someone after he had supposedly defeated the protagonist, followed by a shot of the love interest of the hero, creating a confusion in not only the audiences mind but also the protagonist's mind as her chip had been deactivated and therefore shouldn't be in love with the villain. However, this confusion is fixed, as another eye line match is used to show that she was pretending. After this, the pace rapidly increases for a moment, before the action reaches a climax and the love interest is shown being kicked down the stairs. Yet again, another eye line match has been used but it is also a reverse shot, as they cut between shots of the two protagonists glaring at someone and the antagonist in a quickened pace, which depicts their facial expressions as that of aggravation. This shows that more action will follow and the villain is going to lose. The pace increases hastily in speed as they continue to endlessly punch the antagonist, using strangely composed cuts and spins to increase the excitement and pace of the action as the speed between cuts increases in speed. The pace at the end slows down dramatically, indicating the loss of the villain. 

Cinematography

A medium close-up of a telephone opens the scene, implying it is the main subject and key aspect of the scene. The camera then tilts upwards and pans into a medium close-up shot of the young woman in the frame as she goes to pick it up. As the girl moves away from the phone, the camera pans towards her. Due to the fact it is a horror film, this suggests she is the most likely to die and one of the first to die as she is a key character in the scene. A sense of tension is built through the recurring pan between the telephone and character, leading the audience to ponder who could be on the other line and why he would be tormenting the girl. The shot cuts to outside as the camera tilts upwards the tree before panning towards her home and an empty swing that keeps swinging, which creates suspense as the audience doesn't know who is outside.

. A close-up of her stove is used as she turns it on and places food on it, whilst still on the phone. The recurring use of medium close-ups, long shots and pans following the girls movement around her home suggest that the director wants to tease the audience with a false sense of security. It could also suggest that the murder, as well as the audience, is following the young woman, placing us in the killer's mindset. Low-angle shots are used frequently to create vulnerability towards the female character, and focus on the killer. The slow pace of the start of the scene creates tension as well as the camera pans in her direction as she wonders her hallway with the telephone as the audience have no idea about who is behind the line and if he is actually following her. The slow pace is soon contradicted by the use of whip pans as she starts to panic and it follows the woman's frantic attempt to escape, suggesting to the audience that someone is following her or she is paranoid, making it hard to distinguish between the two.

Sound Analysis

There is a mixture of Diegetic and Non-diegetic sounds in this clip from the opening battle in X-men: Days of Future Past. The most recognizable piece of Non-diegetic sound in it is the dramatic soundtrack in the background which plays above everything throughout the scene to suggest the clips intensity and importance in the movie.. The Non-diegetic music is parallel to the scene, as the fast-paced fighting and actions of the characters fits in well with the cinematic and intense piece of music. In the first part of the clip, the Diegetic sound effect of the sentinels being released can be heard, suggesting a fight will ensue and they have found the mutants.

The intensity of the music increases as the scene switches to the sentinel pods falling from the sky, with a screeching alarm music being heard. The first piece of dialogue is fast paced and alarming and comes from one of the main characters, who has, using his mutant ability, spotted the sentinels. There is then the Diegetic sound of the barrel in his hand collapsing to the floor. The sound effect of Blink's portal opening and closing as they jump between spaces allows the audience to understand that it is a sci-fi film. Blink's first piece of Dialogue indicates that they expected the sentiments to come, and that she is warning them that they need to get ready to fight. The increased intensity and panic of the dialogue from all characters in the scene, create a quick-paced atmosphere which fits in well with the Non-diegetic music, The fact that they are about to battle is reinforced as the sound effect of Bishop's powered gun reloading can be heard.

The crumbling of the walls is the next sound that the audience will immediately pick up on, showing that the enemies are reaching their base, closer and closer to destroying them. As one of the sentinels land on the ground with a crash, the soundtrack intensifies further and the sound effects of the mutants powering up and their muffled diegetic breaths can be overheard just before the fight ensues.

Presentation Feedback/Learner Response

Feedback

• Music works well for this task - creates strong images and parallel collage fits perfectly.
• Contrapuntal is powerful - domestic violence contrasts really well with the romance of the first one.
• The poverty image doesn't quite fit for the contrapuntal. There's a powerful feel but that image doesn't sit with the other relationship-based pictures.

Learner Response

Compared to the three top presentations in the class, I feel I didn't do that badly. The top presentations would have to be Sabrina's and Sharife's and Aliza's. All of their images for the parallel worked well with the music, and all of their contrapuntal images contrasted the music well. Overall, I feel their theme of images were consitent compared to my contrapuntal images, because most of my contrapuntal images had a theme of domestic abuse, with only one poverty image in the corner. The effect of most of my images was quite effective, however. My parallel, on the other hand, worked well with the music, like the top three presentations did.