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.