Editing has changed vastly throughout the years in style and techniques therefore allowing films to feel and look more dynamic. Advances in editing software and production equipment has given film directors and editors the ability to be a lot more creative with editing during post production rather than having to use equipment with certain limitations that would only result in editing that is simple and not very creative. I will be comparing two different films one pre 1960 and the other post 1960 to analyse and compare the different editing techniques and how they differ. The two different films i will be comparing are 'Vertigo' (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958) and 'Requiem For A Dream' (Darren Aronofsky, 2000).
Editing that has been used in 'Vertigo' is very simplistic due to Alfred Hitchcock using traditional editing techniques to form scenes such as using long takes then cutting to keep the scene in motion and prevent the scene from becoming to monotonous and boring whereas 'Requiem for a Dream' uses a variety of different editing techniques that keep the film interesting and modern by using a variety of fast and slow editing. An example from the film 'Vertigo' that displays slow traditional editing is during the scene in which a conversation between the films lead protagonist 'Scottie Ferguson' and the female character 'Madeleine' occurs, the editing is very simple and is used to create emotion and a connection between the two characters which is done by using long takes and slow editing so that the audience is able to feel the characters emotion through their facial expressions without the editing being to fast which would take away from the emotive feel of the scene. 'Vertigo' is a fantastic example of pre 1960s cinema and the use of editing techniques as the majority of film directors such as Alfred Hitchcock using more character driven films therefore edits where only used to keep the film motion by moving from scene to scene rather than to create something that is visually appealing and stylised. Although the editing used in 'Vertigo' is simple, editing techniques such as an 'Eyeline Match' to show who the characters are talking to are used which is a technique which is used in various films numerous times before and after the 1960s. An example of stylised editing within the film 'Requiem For A Dream' is during a scene in which the female character takes diet pills leading to an intense, frightening episode of psychosis. the editing that is used in this scene contrasts with the way the character is feeling such as the more paranoid the character feels the faster the editing becomes therefore correlating with the events within the scene. Pre 1960 films such as 'Vertigo' did not use this form of stylised editing therefore creating a more simplistic tone of film rather than the more stylised films that were produced post 1960s. The scene in 'Requiem For A Dream' also mixes together slow and fast editing to create a varied pace that is used to create something visually engaging and captivating for the audience rather that having editing that just keeps the scene moving such as the editing in 'Vertigo' and other pre 1960s films. Traditional editing techniques have also been used in the film 'Requiem For A Dream' such as the 'Eyeline Match' which is used various times throughout the scene to show what the character is looking at is also used in the film 'Vertigo' therefore showing that although editing has changed from pre 1960 to post 1960 traditional editing techniques are still used in modern cinema.
'Vertigo' (1958)
Editing that has been used in 'Vertigo' is very simplistic due to Alfred Hitchcock using traditional editing techniques to form scenes such as using long takes then cutting to keep the scene in motion and prevent the scene from becoming to monotonous and boring whereas 'Requiem for a Dream' uses a variety of different editing techniques that keep the film interesting and modern by using a variety of fast and slow editing. An example from the film 'Vertigo' that displays slow traditional editing is during the scene in which a conversation between the films lead protagonist 'Scottie Ferguson' and the female character 'Madeleine' occurs, the editing is very simple and is used to create emotion and a connection between the two characters which is done by using long takes and slow editing so that the audience is able to feel the characters emotion through their facial expressions without the editing being to fast which would take away from the emotive feel of the scene. 'Vertigo' is a fantastic example of pre 1960s cinema and the use of editing techniques as the majority of film directors such as Alfred Hitchcock using more character driven films therefore edits where only used to keep the film motion by moving from scene to scene rather than to create something that is visually appealing and stylised. Although the editing used in 'Vertigo' is simple, editing techniques such as an 'Eyeline Match' to show who the characters are talking to are used which is a technique which is used in various films numerous times before and after the 1960s. An example of stylised editing within the film 'Requiem For A Dream' is during a scene in which the female character takes diet pills leading to an intense, frightening episode of psychosis. the editing that is used in this scene contrasts with the way the character is feeling such as the more paranoid the character feels the faster the editing becomes therefore correlating with the events within the scene. Pre 1960 films such as 'Vertigo' did not use this form of stylised editing therefore creating a more simplistic tone of film rather than the more stylised films that were produced post 1960s. The scene in 'Requiem For A Dream' also mixes together slow and fast editing to create a varied pace that is used to create something visually engaging and captivating for the audience rather that having editing that just keeps the scene moving such as the editing in 'Vertigo' and other pre 1960s films. Traditional editing techniques have also been used in the film 'Requiem For A Dream' such as the 'Eyeline Match' which is used various times throughout the scene to show what the character is looking at is also used in the film 'Vertigo' therefore showing that although editing has changed from pre 1960 to post 1960 traditional editing techniques are still used in modern cinema.
'Vertigo' (1958)
'Requiem For A Dream' (2000)