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.