Research Into Editing Styles - Miss Georgiou

In thriller films a variety of editing styles are essential this is because it gives films things like slow editing which are used a lot in thriller films as it is when two scenes are juxtaposed together at a slow paste and it helps in reading suspense. Now editing involves the use of digital technology compared how it was traditionally done in old thriller films. Additionally, by using different types of editing style it helps in creating a scene in which the audience can relate to what they are watching and how the characters act in different shots. These styles are important in a thriller film as they help to create shock, surprise, suspense and tension. I'm going to analyse a scene from the thriller film Orphan released in 2009.

When the film suddenly focuses on something this is called a jump cut. It is used when the girl who is mute tells her grandma she is going to go check on the orphan girls and so she starts to walk along the hospital hallway but soon realises that the girl is actually the one in the boys hospital room killing him. It is shown through the jump cut, which changes the camera shot from the girl in the hallway to the boy in the hospital room with the orphan girl. This type of shot focuses on the fact that as the young girl is mute and only has one of her senses it demonstrates how her others have now become stronger as she senses something is wrong and that Esther, the orphan girl is up to no good and that is why she go's looking for her. By using this jump cut it makes the audience connect to the young girl as they feel sympathy for her, as she is unable to get to her mother and tell her what is going on sooner. Furthermore, this is conventional to a thriller as it shows the antagonist killing the victim also some thriller films include the theme of the five sense's, which this film has done by using the mute girl which builds up the tension as suspense as the audience not only want the orphan girl Esther to be punished but now hope that her next victim isn't the innocent young mute girl.

Kuleshov effect is when two shots have and equal meaning. In this clip it is used when the orphan girl is shown to be walking down the hospital hallway and she claims she is getting a drink and go's from have a happy look on her face to it being quite sinister, the shot then changes to the young boy in the bed fighting for his life but a unknown person then unplugs him from the life support machine and suffocates him till he dies. Although, we are not directly shown the orphan being the one who killed him the third meaning from these two shots would bet that she is the one who killed him as the way she was acting before the shot changed to the boy in the hospital bed was strange, sinister and she looked un-trustworthy. This relates to the thriller genre as it creates suspense, which is a main thriller theme. Furthermore, the audience is shocked, as they don't suspect the orphan would kill the innocent young boy.

A reaction shot is when the shot cuts away from the scene to show the reaction of a character. In this clip from orphan there are two reaction shot that take place, the first one is when the father and mother of the young boy first find out that there son has died and they follow the hospital staff to his room where they try to save him. The second reaction shot is when the mother then realises that Esther is the one who killed him and she runs over to her shouting at her and then hits the young girl. Both of these reaction shots emphasise the mothers shock, surprise and devastation when she fins out her son as died and that steer is the one who killed him as well as this it helps the audience build a relationship with the mothers character as the audience can see the emotions she is going through and has sympathy for her. This relates to the thriller genre as thrillers often use reaction shots too show what the victims friends or family would be going through after the antagonist has killed the victim which creates a closer relationship towards the mother in this scene because no one would want to have their child be killed by their other child. Moreover, it illustrates the shock and surprise on the characters faces when they find out what has happened, as they didn't suspect their son to die or the orphan to be the one who killed him. This use of shock and surprise for the audience builds a relationship between the characters and the audience as they didn't expect that to of happened either. This makes it conventional to the thriller as it keeps the audience engaged as well as causing them to have more sympathy the parents child.

The editing style timing of shots is used when the scene is edited either really slow or fast to add emotional impact or to create suspense for the audience. In the scene from orphan it is used when the mother has just found out it was Esther who has killed her son in the hospital and she screams and shouts at Esther as well as hitting her. When this happens the timing of the shots are increased which creates and emotional impact on the audience as they feel sympathetic towards the mother but also towards Esther the antagonist as the audience does not know what has possessed her to kill the boy. The speed of the shots then start to slow back down when the doctors and nurses restrain the mother and inject something into her which calms her down as well as this the father then takes Esther into another part of the hospital. Therefore, the slow editing is to the show that the fight between them in now finished. Fast editing is conventional to a thriller as it shows the audience not only how fast that part of the scene is happening but it also makes the audience feel more shocked as there is lot to take in. Where as, slow editing in thrillers creates more suspense within the scene which makes the audience un-aware of what is going to happen which is conventional to the thriller genre. Furthermore, the timing of shots are conventional to thrillers because they increase the suspense within the scene for the audience as well as creating and emotional impact on the audience which makes the audience have a better relationship towards the characters which will then cause the audience to be more engaged in the thriller film.

In conclusion, this scene from orphan demonstrates different types of editing styles that are used in this clip to help in portraying characters and telling the storyline also, it successfully includes the themes shock, surprise and suspense. When I edit my opening sequence I will take into consideration using a reaction shot as it helps in showing what the victims true emotions are at that moment in the scene and so it helps to build a relationship between the audience and the victim. This is effective because the audience can then relate to the victim and will have more sympathy for them if something bad happen. Moreover, I will also use the kuleshov effect as it creates the theme of mystery and suspense, which keeps the audience engaged and wanting to find out more. As well as this it makes them question what has actually happened. For example, if i was to use a kuleshov effect so that the audience see the victim and the antagonist but does not see the antagonist kill the victim. This would effect the audience as they would only have the third meaning from this shot, that it must of been the antagonist who killed the victim. However, as they didn't witness it for themselves it keeps them wondering about how it might of happened.

Scene From Orphan (2009)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIanvTMljC8