Deconstruction of Editing: Media A2 Exemplar

Deconstruction of Editing: 'Paralysis'

The use of editing in the trailer 'Paralysis' is used to heighten the tension and convey to the viewers interested in a horror genre. This is shown through various editing techniques used, such as non diegetic sound effects, cross cutting and jump cuts.

• In the first part of the trailer we see the use of a match on action starting with the establishment of the close up of the glass and then the mother doing the dishes. Throughout the scene we hear quiet, eerie music in the background suggesting that the music is foreshadowing of the plot.

• The release of tension is shown through non diegetic sound effect when the titles run in the trailer. This is achieved by having eerie music followed by an immediate cutaway of with a high pitched squeal sound effect and bright lighting.
  

• The shot of the character in a science lab also is suggestive of the genre through the use of editing because the non diegetic eerie music is used, accompanied with a fast playing melody of a piano. This is also followed by another title where a sudden use of brightness and high pitched squeal is used to add to the thriller element.
  

• The shot of the small boy in the bedroom shows editing techniques through fast paced shots of the actor. It is a slow paced shot with the no diegetic sound of the piano in the background, however this fades out into silence. This is followed by a point of view shot where we see a ghostlike figure. This is accompanied with a sudden high pitched squeal and bright abstract colours on the screen to reinforce the thriller aspect.
  

• The effect of having a tape recorder buffer during the shot makes the scene distorted and uncomfortable to add to the horror aspect. It has been edited in the scene well because the editing effect conveys to the horror convention.
  

• Again, we see after the turmoil of fast paced shots of the titles and ghost like figure it returns to the non diegetic eerie music and slow paced shots. The prolonged shot of the paper falling in slow motion and is an effective editing technique to add tension as it is paralleled with a distinctive non diegetic dark sound. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• The editing of the mother using the laptop also includes effective uses of editing through the use of a match on action of the woman's eyes looking at the screen followed by her hands typing on the keyboard to add to the continuity of the trailer. The fact that the eerie non diegetic sound effect remain show that something is lurking, hence the black silhouette in the background.
  
  
  
  
  

• The filters edited in are short and compact images to create an illusion of a haunting. It signifies distortion in the trailer as it is over-tracked with a sound effect of the non diegetic video tape sound to create the horror genre illusion.
  

• Nearing the end of the trailer we see parallel editing of the boy in a mixture of locations with a non diegetic sound of a heartbeat put over the footage. The effect of this would be that it creates the impression that the trailer is counting down to something mysterious, creating enigma. The video tape effect and sound effects of static also add to the tension with the non diegetic eerie music and drum. This creates build up where the audience expects release at the end of the trailer.