Research into Editing Styles - Miss Georgiou

Film editing is the process whereby shots from a film are selected and put together to create the final edit. Editing controls the time of shots, the length of shots and how one shot leads to another. The main aim of editing in a thriller film is to provoke suspense, shock and surprise in the audience. This is done by highlighting and emphasising certain aspects of a scene or initially hiding a significant aspect before introducing it quickly. This will shock the viewer and create fear in them. Another technique used slows down or speeds up a scene using editing to add emotional impact or suspense.

                                                                       Sinister (2012)

The timing of the shot is edited at one part in this scene, when the girl jumps off of the table behind the man. The shot is slowed down giving the effect that the young girl is moving in slow motion. This provokes suspense in the viewer as they wonder what will happen next and why the man hasn't seen the young girl who is so close behind him. Tension and fear is created because the suspenseful moment is drawn out for a longer time and for this prolonged period the focus is on the antagonist who moves in a child-like yet possessed way. The audience is able to pick up on this because the slow motion captures more detail of the scene. This technique also helps the audience to see the child at more detail because the low-key lighting can make the scene unclear at parts. This type of editing is typical in a thriller film because it creates suspense and dramatic tension. It makes the audience cautious and wary of what will happen next because every action is exaggerated.

Another editing style that I analysed was a jump cut. This takes place 30 seconds into the clip.The camera shows the man looking forward and nothing but darkness behind him before a young girl with a creepy mannerism appears above his shoulder. The camera suddenly focus 's on the girl and a sudden sound effect accompanies this jump shot, adding to the shock value on the viewer. This may startle the viewer and evoke shock in them because it is unexpected and sudden.
 When the girl appears behind the man, he turns his head and looks to the side but does not see her. This increases the tension because he is very close to seeing her but he doesn't. The audience wonders whether he will see her and are nervous of what will happen next. This allows the audience to develop a relationship with the man as they are uncertain of who is around him in the scene and what will happen next, much like he is. This uncertainty means the viewer relates to the protagonist.

90 Seconds into the Sinister scene there is a jump shot of a different young girl. Following that shot is a reaction shot. The girl appears behind the man much like the other antagonist in the previous jump shot. Again, there is a non-diegetic sudden  sound to increase the shock in the audience. After the girl appears, the man looks around as though he has heard her or is reacting to the non-diegetic sound but he is not because it is not part of the plot. The protagonists facial expression connotes fear and worry, creating the same emotions in the audience because they have built a relationship with him. reaction shots are conventional to a thriller film because they express the emotions of the characters and their response to a frightening event that has occurred. The reaction of the characters helps the audience build a relationship with them because they are often feeling the same way.

The Fade technique at the end of the clip means the scene fades out to black, signally the end of the scene.