Research Into Editing styles - Miss Georgiou

Scream 3 - The Cutting Room

In this Blog, I am going to discuss different editing types, within the movie 'Scream 3'.Editing describes the relationship between shots and the process by which they are combined. I will include Straight cuts, Reactions shots, linking shots and many more. I will also explain how each of these edits effect the feeling and reaction of the audience and how they will link into my own thriller.

'Straight Cut' and 'Jump cut'

A straight cut is when a change of shot from one view point or location to another, it is frequently used to change the scene. In 'Scream', four seconds in to the scene the use of straight cutting and jump cut occurs. This is when the screen rotates from the female to then focus on the phone. It builds tension and suspense which is typical of a thriller. The female is unaware of the message and who it is from, and therefore this makes the audience feel uneasy. It relates to thriller films as it is a secret identity behind a phone, this creates mystery. The director leaves the audience wondering who the identity of the killer is even when further disasters start to occur, the audience still do not know who the killer is. 

'Reaction Shot'

A reaction shot is any shot in which the character reacts to the previous shot. In this scene the reaction shot happens when the female reacts to the threatening phone call, her facial expressions show how she is feeling. The killer threatens the woman over the phone which then leaves her feeling shocked, fearful and panicked.  When the camera pans over to the female we see the fear on her face, this is a reaction shot. This type of shot draws the audience into the scene as they long to see what will happen. It leaves the audience on the edge of their seat

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'Linking shot'

A linking shot is where a number of shots are linked together to add emotional impact. It creates sharp, quick changes and links between different settings and iconography. When the female realises someone is in the building she starts to panic. We then see linking shots of her running and the door in which the security guard enters. Quick shots are then shown to help create tension, all of this makes the audience feel scared. Each time the woman tries to out run the killer, she finds herself in further danger, as if she cannot escape. Its very conventional to a thriller as the camera angles make the audience view the woman victim at her most vulnerable.

'Extreme Close up'

55 seconds into the scene 'The cutting room', we witness an extreme close up. An extreme close up is when the shot is so tight you only see one detail. This puts emphasis on the moment, the eyes being the only thing that the audience see. It also makes the audience feel uneasy as they cannot see the rest of the scene and therefore what is happening behind the character.