Research into editing styles

During a film and its scenes, there are many points of editing, including the camera, sound. The scene I am editing is from the film "human Centipede" the scene where the female escapes from the surgery bed. The scene begins with a straight jump cut, to the frantic action which is taking place inside the surgery room. There are then shot reverse shots between the two girls panicking which adds suspense as we know the characters are in danger and as the shot reverse shots keep occuring through the start of the scene, this shows continuity. The shots switch between one character escaping and the other panicking, which adds suspense as we don't know what is going to happen to the characters which adds a sense of mystery.

Once she escapes, there is then a straight jump cut to the doctor which shows his sudden emotional state change as she is escaping, which is also a reaction shot of him. There is a short montage between the anger of the doctor and the girl slowly escaping, which adds excitement to the scene as it is fast paced and the tension is rising. From when she reaches the stairs, there are linking shots of her trying different ways to escape, such as a few doors and windows which is an element of continuity, we see the character's emotion and it is happening at a fast rate. There are then reverse shots between the bedroom she is in and the empty hallway, these shots keep occuring to add suspense as the doctor eventually appears in the hallway and walks down it. There is silence and she thinks she is hidden, but then the doctor pulls the handle on the locked door and a reaction shot of the girl shows her fear, adding to a sense that she is now trapped and helpless which adds suspense as we don't know what will happen to her. There is not a reaction shot of the doctor gettting increasingly angry as she is not oepning the door and the scene focuses on linking and reverse shots between the two, with her inside and the doctor outside. This builds tension as we see their emotions strengthen, the doctor becomes more angry and the girl becomes more emotional. There is also slow editing present when the doctor is walking down the corridor looking for the girl, which creates suspense as it further drags the scene out and slows the action as the audience eagerly wait for a conclusion. This is conventional to a thriller as a male antagonist is hunting a weak and vulnerable female, typically seen in thrillers. The slow editing is followed by a reaction shot of the endangered female, which shows her facial expression which builds tension for the audience, they fear for the character who herself clearly looks worried, making them feel uneasy and worry about what will happen next to her. The antagonist clearly has bad intentions and wants to hunt down the girl to kill her, which builds more tension as not only do the audience fear for the girl, they now fear the dangerous and psychotic antagonist, wondering what he is capable of.

The scene ends with the doctor banging on the door and not giving up and the girl still alone and helpless, further building suspense and tension as we don't know how this is going to end for either one of them. In the end, the last shot is of the girl, which is a reaction shot of her to what is going on outside of the room.

From this post, I have learnt that it is essential to include relevant editing styles in order to properly create significant suspense and tension for the audience, for example including reaction shots to engage the audience with the character as they see how they are feeling and slow editing to drag out action in a scene to create further lasting suspense. In my own production, I will look to include elements such as this to draw in my audience and make them feel connected to the scene.