Purpose

Purpose

Editing is part of the narrative of a story, without editing film’s would have to be shot in order of the events appear within the film. The use of editing allows for the film to show only the necessary parts of the film, keeping the audience engaged and wanting to watch the rest of the movie. The development of the film depends on the editing that has been used within the film, editing controls the pace in which the rate the film plays out. 

Engaging the Audience 
Editing engages the audience with different techniques; whether it be through the shots it uses, the cuts, the transitions  or the soundtracks.  When engaging  the audience, the director tries to use the most stylish shots but shots that fit into the genre of the film. If a director uses a stylish shot, it can make the whats happening in the scene look 10x better. For example,  in Fast and Furious, the 'Night Race' scene, there is a mixture of shots including, wide shots, close ups, low angled and high angled shots.  Through using different shots, the director is giving the audience a God like complex view as it shows everything that is happening in the scene. 

The different shots also create pace and build up the scene as the quick cuts of the shots pick up as the cars begin to increase in speed. This will engage the audience more because the action will have them on the edge of their seats. The different cuts in the the scene, once again allow for the pace to quicken and the audience to get different glimpses of whats happening in the scene.

Development of Genre
Editing controls the pace in films as it can manipulate the pace in which a scene is shown to the audience.  Through manipulating the pace, the director is able to build up tension and suspense among the audiences.  A very famous example of editing building up tension and suspense is the film Jaws.

In this scene, the music creates tension because of its beat. As the scene plays out, the pace of the beat picks up, creating tension and suspense for when the shark strikes.

The pace quickens as the camera pans through the water, creating the tension along with the non-diegetic music.  



Relationship to Genre
Editing ties into genre as the pace or different colouring/lighting can help determine what type of genre the film is. Through being able to manipulate the colouring of a scene through editing, directors are able to adapt to the codes and conventions of certain genres. The pace once again can determine not just the scene but also the genre. If a film is in the action genre, it will be full of quick paced scenes to emphasise the action happening. 

This scene is taken from the 2005 film 'Mr and Mrs Smith'. The film takes on a action/romantic genre due to the fighting, violence and love story shown with in the film. The genre is easily determined through the pace of certain scenes, such as the one given as an example. Within the scene, there are a lot of gun shots as well as other weapons used. During the fighting, the scene is intensified due to the fast pace of the scene, as well as the quick cuts. Showing the fight from different angles and points of views.