Film editing - Whiplash

“The film is made in the editing room. The shooting of the film is about shopping, almost. It's like going to get all the ingredients together, and you've got to make sure before you leave the store that you got all the ingredients. And then you take those ingredients and you can make a good cake - or not.”

The end outcome of any process can never be satisfactory unless and until all its parts and components are done to perfection. Having said that, most times, certain components pay a more important role than others. In film making, editing is one such component that has the power to make or break a film. Many movies have achieved greatness due to tremendous editing displayed in them. One such Movie was 2014s Whiplash, written and directed by Damien Chazelle, this movie was brought to life by the brilliant editing done by Tom Cross, for which he even received an Academy Award. 

The movie is majorly a by-product of some impeccably edited and well-timed scenes. Most of the editing is quite contemporary and fast pace, however the first half of the movie does have some traditional editing as well.

To begin with, Cross has perfectly followed the Rule of 6 which essentially outlines the 6 things an editor needs to keep in mind before making a cut. The cuts determine how the audience reacts to a particular scene and what sort of emotions are generated. By focussing on certain elements, he also ensures that the audience is drawn to a particular scene or object in the movie.

Cross used a lot of ‘Lean Forward’ Movement. A fine examples is a scene between the lead and his girlfriend. They go on their first date and the scene opens to a wide shot of both of them sitting at a diner. As and when the characters get to know each other, the scene keeps cutting to closer frames depicting the closeness of the characters. Hence, the ‘Lean Forward’ is established. Then suddenly, the character reach a point where a stark difference between their ideologies is established and hence the scene again cuts to a wider frame showing the space between them. Such tricks help shape the movie and take its story forward. In another scene when his teacher slaps the lead, Cross used the smash-cut method wherein you cut on action and cut just ahead of when the cut is expected to happen.

It is the story of a Drummer and his mentor and hence music plays a crucial part in the entire movie. The editing of the scenes where the lead actor is performing is extremely different to other scene that are for example shot between him and his girlfriend. The musical scenes are edited in a rather rough manner, similar to a fight sequence with quick cuts in a contemporary manner. The other shots such as when the actor is conversing with his father or girlfriend are rather traditional with long shorts and without much switching and flickering.

When it comes to my personal sensibilities as a film maker, while editing a short fashion film, I would be gravitated towards quick shots rather than long dragged ones. Since it will be short film, I would like to keep it snappy and attention holding. The editing would be such that isn’t too distracting but takes the movie forward and is nurturing to the narrative.

Sound Design - Lost in Translation

There are some movies which you see and the sound and music is so compelling that you can’t help but notice it. But there are even movies where you watch them from beginning to end and don’t even happen to realize that there were various background sounds and songs playing. The beauty of such films is that the sound becomes so seamless that it sort of gets engraved in the script without the viewer even realising it.

The 2003 film Lost in Translation, directed by Sofia Coppolo is one such film. Right from the opening scene The sound of fax machine, Traffic of the city, all these diegetic sounds make sure the movie opens in a manner that gives it you a feeling that you are present in the film. The movie’s background score is provided by Kevin Shieldsand composers Brian Reitzell and Roger J Manning. Director Sofia and sound designer Richard Beggs chose some exceptionally appropriate songs for the movie as well.

Lead characters of Bob and Charlotte, played by Bill Murray and Scarlet Johanson respectively add life to the movie with their phenomenal work and portrayal of the characters. Subtly is the strength of this film. It doesn’t have many dialogues, especially in the beginning of the movie. This very well depicts the loneliness of characters and how they have no one to talk to. This absence of words in the film makes the sound an even more crucial part of the film and is responsible for taking the story forward.

Even the choice of songs by the director and Beggs couldn’t have been any better. A particular scene where the lead characters go for a Karaoke session, very well depicts the brilliance of the choice of music. The choice of songs for both the characters is such that it tells us what is going on in their minds without even saying a single word. It displays their moods without the audience having to rack their brains a lot.

On a summed up note, Lost in translation is one of the few movies, where even the silences speak. It tells us that great sound design is not about having peppy songs and a different background score for each scene. Rather, it happens when even the absence of sounds stirs some emotions in the audiences.