Methods Used in Action

• Scenes are based on centered conflict of (typically) two main characters at odds with each other
  • Usually with action the stakes are life and death
  • Characters with opposing goals creating obstacles for each other
  • Action films make conflict more obvious - no subtext like “I love you but want to kill you”
  • Very clear expression of goals and conflict
• Cross-cutting: keeps both the hero and villain in the mind of the viewer
  • Cuts back and forth between each character’s efforts to achieve their goal
  • Creates tension by showing characters at edge of survival
  • Keeps audience wondering what will happen next
• Identification with main character
  • Use lots of close-up shots and extreme close-ups
  • Subjective audio - hear main character breathing loudly as if we’re in their body
  • Always clear who the main character is that we identify with
  • Hero gets most screen time so we’re really with them
• Excitation & intensification
  • Excitation: lots of movement in shots
    • Handheld camera work
    • Camera movement, tilts, zooms following characters
    • Particularly subjective when following lead character
  • Intensification: moving towards conclusion where character achieves goal
    • Shots get proportionally shorter
    • Increase pace of cuts - from longer shots to much faster pace very quickly
    • Creates intensity very rapidly
• Catharsis: pace slows, audience/characters take in what happened
  • Moment of release at end of sequence
  • Allows audience to breathe and recover
  • Shows character reactions taking in what happened
• Mission Impossible bathroom fight scene analysis
  • Great example of action in limited environment
  • Shows clear choreography without hiding action through shaky camera
  • Uses time reversal technique - character goes through mirror twice to emphasize impact
  • Establishes weapons with close-ups before they’re used
  • Uses subjective POV shots to put audience in character’s perspective

5 Types of Time Relationship Across Cuts

• Absolute continuity
  • Real time matching between outgoing and incoming shots
  • Creates sense of reality and continuous time
• Speeding up time - measurable
  • Cut out boring parts to keep action moving
  • Can measure exactly how much time was removed
• Speeding up time - indefinite
  • Unclear how much time passed
  • Could be intentional confusion or just unnecessary to be specific
• Time reversal - measurable
  • Repeating same action to emphasize impact
  • Can measure frame by frame how much time was reversed
  • Common in action sequences for punches, hits, big moments
• Time reversal - indefinite
  • Flashbacks where exact timing doesn’t matter
  • Could be used to confuse or disorient audience

Suspense Editing

• Social Thriller - film using elements of suspense and horror to highlight instances of oppression in society
  • Get Out opening scene analysis demonstrates this approach
  • Promise to audience about what film will explore
  • Immersive experience from character’s perspective crucial
• Key features of suspense:
  • Slow pace
    • Get Out opening: one cut in entire sequence
    • Holds audience in place, forces them to watch
    • Slow build of tension reflected shot to shot
  • Subjective vs. objective information
    • Stay with main character’s perspective
    • Know as much as they do, or slightly more
    • Don’t cross-cut to show threat directly
    • Lack of information creates suspense
  • Misdirection
    • Make audience look at wrong thing then hit with scare
    • Get Out: car door opens, pan follows light, threat comes from opposite direction
  • Cutaways & cross cutting
    • Can condense or elongate time
    • Cross-cut between person and source of uneasiness
    • Use off-screen sound and space
• Noel Burch: two kinds of space in film
  • On screen: everything within four walls of frame
  • Off screen: exists beyond what we can see
    • Can be off-camera (character looking beyond camera)
    • Can be behind objects in frame
    • Two types:
      • Imaginary: what exists in viewer’s mind before reveal
      • Concrete: what’s actually revealed when camera cuts/pans
  • Ways to establish off-screen space:
    • Characters entering/exiting frame
    • Characters looking off-screen
    • Character bodies partially in frame
  • Reveal through cuts or camera movement