18 Moving Images: Making Movies, Understanding Media- Earlier, you came up with examples of movies that
follow continuity editing and one sequence that
does not. Can you think of specific sequences that
do not follow continuity of time in their editing?
Why do they do this?- Can you think of specific sequences that do not
follow continuity of space in their editing? Why is
this so?
- Can you think of specific sequences that do not
Framing the Discussion
deliberately disorienting and cross the line during fi ghts and chase sequences,
as in segments of Th e Bourne Supremacy (2004) or Th e Fast and Th e Furious:
To k y o D r i ft (2006). One exaggerated example of broken continuity is from the
beginning of the fi lm Baghdad Café (1987) directed by Percy Adlon, in which
the director shows us the angry breakup of a couple by shattering virtually
every “rule” of continuity editing in an off -kilter, intentionally jarring opening
sequence. As with the example of time in continuity editing, contemporary
fi lmmakers also play around with the axis and screen direction to accentuate
perspective and tell stories in provocative and original ways. In fact, crossing
the line has become a commonly used practice in late twentieth century and
early twenty-fi rst century motion pictures in order to establish a distinctive,
kinetic, and more jarring style than with traditions of smoother cuts.Composing a Style
Some of the most important aspects of moving images are oft en the hardest
to describe. It is easy enough to explain the plot or events of many movies,
and that is usually what people start with when they talk about a motion
picture. Oft en, it’s the only thing they talk about.
On the other hand, how we react to a motion picture is oft en summed
up in its feel. As fi lmmakers use color, movement, sound design, or pace
and rhythm in editing, the expressive means of the motion picture arts work
together to create what we call style and tone in any communicate, creative
work. As Sidney Lumet, the director of many fi lms including 12 Angry Men
(1957), Fail-Safe (1964), and Dog Day Aft ernoon (1975), explains:... the way you tell that story should relate somehow to what the
story is. Because that’s what style is: the way you tell a particular
story. Aft er the fi rst decision (“What’s this story about?”) comes the
second most important decision: “Now that I know what it’s about,
how shall I tell it?” And this decision will aff ect every department
involved in the movie that is about to be made.
Th roughout your analytical and creative work with this text, you will be
learning about the ways that motion pictures refl ect the choices of style and
tone by their creators, including you. When you arrive at the fi nal chapter of
this text, we will return full circle to Sidney Lumet’s observation by investigating
the tasks of individual departments in a feature fi lm production.
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