Planning Editing - Miss Georgiou

Different editing styles are essential in the creation of a successful thriller due to making the scene run smoothly as well as being responsible for enabling the audience to feel something when they are watching. The reveal of a killer/antagonist is generally shown using editing techniques/ For example, a reaction shot, a shot in which a particular subject reacts to the previous, is used in Halloween to reveal the identity of the killer, Michael Myers. Planning editing styles is crucial in thrillers so as to ensure that the sound and cinematography techniques used alongside the editing matches and therefore makes the film more conventional to the thriller genre. In planning the editing styles my group and I wanted to use, we created a spider diagram and wrote the technique we wanted to use, how we would use it within our own opening sequence, how it is used to create a relationship with the audience and how it is conventional.

The first technique we decided that we would want to use was Timing of Shots. Timing of Shots is an editing style in which shots are edited together at either a slow or fast pace to add emotional impact to a scene or to create suspense. We chose to  edit a variety of clips together at a slow pace in order to pass the pace of the scene and build a maximum amount of tension. It was decided that this particular technique would be used within the scene where the hit man is attacked while on his way to kill the estranged ex girlfriend he had been paid to kill. This will help to disorient and confuse the audience and to achieve this effect further, our shots will constantly be in and out of focus in order to suggest to our audience that something isn't quite right and would be a clear way to convey the psychological theme. This also makes the audience want to watch on to see what will happen next to the hit man. This is conventional to the thriller genre as it creates a key element of suspense as it is left uncertain whether or not the hit man will get out of this particular situation and also raises questions as to who could have attacked him. This also helps to create a relationship as the audience begin to feel sympathetic towards the hit man as he has been randomly attacked and beaten badly but also feel some anger towards him as they are aware that he was about to kill a girl for the sake of money.

The second editing technique we were thinking of including was a reaction shot. As previously mentioned, a reaction shot is an editing style in which a subject reacts to a previous situation. An example of this would be a woman screaming after finding a strange man in her house. We have chosen to use this technique within the scene where the hit man realises that he has killed the wrong woman upon the discovery of a picture of his victim with the man who he has been paid by. We will have the hit man seeing the picture, freezing on the spot with a shocked and ashamed look on his face before fleeing the scene. Although this is a different idea to what we had planned to do, I think that this idea would work a little better and help to convey to the audience the clear story line without them getting confused. We believe that this would be an effective example to use as it clearly demonstrates that the hit man has killed the wrong person and even worse that this is the wife of his 'boss'. It also helps to further the enigma by creating a reason for the victim's husband to seek revenge for his wife's murder and go a little insane. This is conventional to the thriller genre as the plot twist within the story builds suspense and tension for the audience as they are left wondering what could happen next and what his wife's killing may do to the husband. The audience are left feeling sympathetic towards the female victim as she is completely innocent and her life had been cut short for no valid reason at all.  This helps the audience to form an emotional connection with her as, following her murder, the emotions they would have felt leading up to this moment are immediately heightened.

My group and I have also chosen to use the Kuleshov effect within our thriller opening to create a dramatic effect and evoke a suitable response from our target audience. The Kuleshov Effect is an editing technique in which viewers are able to derive a third meaning from two sequential shots previously shown instead of one single shot in isolation. For example, if a shot of a woman on the floor dead with blood coming out of her and a shot of a man standing over her with a bloody knife in hand was shown, the implied third meaning from these two shots would be murder. This is an effective technique to use as we wouldn't have to show the exact images of our female victim being murdered to tell our audience that she has been murdered. We plan on showing one shot of the female victim laying on the floor slowly bleeding to death and then immediately show a shot of the hit man running out of the house and consequently, fleeing the scene after realising exactly what he has done. This also gives our audience an opportunity to get involved within the film and figure out for themselves what has happened to this young woman as they can imply that she has been murdered which connotes that the hit man having just fled is her murderer. This is conventional as usually people who kill are never caught and remain on the run for the remainder of the film as well as being available to possibly strike again. The elements of shock and surprise are present within this scene as the murder seems to be unexpected although some previous shots, such as the hit man walking up to the house with a knife in hand, could imply that a murder is about to take place. However, the introduction of the plot twist of the hit man killing the wrong person helps to achieve these elements to some effect and evoke a response from the audience. This particular scene could also make the viewers feel fearful of the hit man having just witnessed what he is capable of which immediately creates a strong relationship as they are feeling emotions that his victim may have been feeling as well as feeling sympathetic as the audience are aware that he has been paid and he is in fact, at the wrong house.


The final editing technique my group and I are planning on using is a Jump Cut. A Jump Cut is a style in which the film immediately focuses on a particular object. In my opening sequence, we wanted to use this at the end of the clip when the audience witness the victim's husband coming home to find his wife dead and immediately grabs a knife out of the drawer and storms out of the house looking for revenge. In addition to this, we will add in some creepy voices and have the shots in and out of focus to portray to the audience that this character's mentality state is not completely stable and that he is not thinking about what he is doing. By including this, we are able to vary our editing styles in order to keep the audience engaged and make our sequence more interesting to watch. By featuring this, we are able to focus the audience's attention on this character and show them that this is a significant part of the opening and therefore creating a relationship between him and the audience as they feel sympathetic for him having just found his dead wife but also allows them to feel heightened emotions such as fear and panic due to witnessing him grabbing a knife and running out of the house. This means that it is left unclear of what he may do in his fit of rage and what he could possibly be capable of doing. Jump Cuts are conventional as they add pace to the scene, giving an idea of 'jumping' forward which creates an element of danger as his murderous rampage looms ever closer and means that the audience are left with no time to react or process the previous events which have just unfolded making them feel nervous as they unsure of what they may see next.

In conclusion, I think that the different editing techniques we have decided to use are varied and will all individually help in creating a successful thriller which will keep our target audience engaged and more inclined to watch the entire sequence. The use of the Jump Cut will help to pass the pace of the scene which will immediately build tension due to giving the audience no time to process unfolding events. Therefore, this makes it conventional as the audience feel overwhelmed and nervous of what they are going to see next.
Planning the editing styles has helped me as it has given me and my group a clear idea of what we want to include and what effects we believe this will achieve for our audience. This planning has been beneficial as the editing techniques we have chosen match the images and other elements such as sound and cinematography meaning that the creation of our thriller clip should run smoothly. By planning in depth, this has meant that my group and I are able to clearly visualise how we want our thriller opening to be and that it may be down to trial and error to find out if the editing styles achieve the fullest effect we imagine them to create.