Film Language: Editing

                              Editing Task

What makes this sequence such an effective scene is the editing and its inclusivity of other aspects of film language. The most prominent use of editing used in this scene is the pacing, which is what makes it so impressive. The fact that it can change the pace constantly between two characters and so fast is how it is so distinctive and its overall use of juxtaposition in this scene. In the sequence, we visit the two type of people in the slums, the hoodlums and the normal citizens. The director has made sure that he does not only convey their differences and personality's through the acting but it also portrayed through the editing which is done through the pacing of the scene. When we are with the hoodlums all diegetic sound is drowned out by the non-diegetic samba, which is then complimented by all the constant fast paced cuts close-up cuts. All of this leads to create quite a bustling atmosphere which is quite overwhelming for the audience and creates the idea that these group of characters are the type that lead a fast pace life and live in the moment which is true. Not only are there many cuts close and in between but for the first minute of the sequence there is only close-ups or extreme close-up shots of the hoodlums. The change in pace when we focus on the normal citizens is fast and noticeable, as when we cut to them there is purely diegetic sound of the surroundings and the two boys talking there is also less cuts far and in between. There is also a smaller number of close-ups and mostly just medium close-ups and long shots. All of this creates the idea to the audience that these two boys are the opposite of the hoodlums but they just live in the same area, but it also makes the audience wonder why the hoodlums do what they do and why the two boys do what they do. The immediate slowing of pace when the two groups of characters collide makes all the fast pace scene before more noticeable but it also creates enigma in the audience into what will happen next and why it the scene has slowed down. All of this is an effective use of pacing which makes the scene very distinctive. 

Another aspect of editing that makes this scene distinctive is the effective use of jump cuts as one of its transitions. There is an abundance of straight cuts in this sequence which is what makes it so distinctive as the straight cuts are used well in the fast pace context as it is not too much for the audience to take in but still gets the idea of change across. The straight cuts are used in two different ways in this sequence, sometimes to create speed and confusion and sometimes to just simply change shot. However, the director takes this idea of creating confusion and having high pace another step with the use of jump cuts. The most noticeable jump cut in this sequence is when one of the hoodlums stop a bystander and start harassing, the director keeps it on one constant sideways long shot but cuts it many times and has both characters in different positions in the shot. This conveys to the audience that everything is spontaneous in this situation and how the whole situation feel jumbled. All of this makes for the sequence to be effective as it not only uses one shot to create the bustling pace.

The final few things that make this sequence such an effective piece of editing is its use of juxtaposition and continuity editing. In this case the most important use of juxtaposition is when the two character 'collide'. The director allows us to see this with the slowdown in pace and the difference between the two the characters, as the hoodlums are yelling and laughing and the two boys are silent and shocked in the face of them. They also use the eye line of the characters to see people reaction, as it looks like the boys are expecting a different reaction then they receive. Furthermore, the use of the police running in the face of the hoodlums is another use of juxtaposition as when the police arrive and the hoodlums stand the ground the audience would expect the police to fire too but they leave. This is effective in showing the audience how the slums function and building the narrative, as well as this to end the sequence they utilize a flashback as a use of continuity editing. This is all used to make this sequence a very distinctive piece of editing.