Editing techniques for Psychological Thrillers

Editing techniques for Psychological Thrillers

Jump cuts are frequently used in Psychological Thrillers, this is when a scene jumps between different scenes to let the audience know there is more going on within the scene. This builds suspense and excitement for the audience as there is things happening that we are unaware of. An ambient sound is often used between the two transitions to build suspense and create a shock to the audience.

The definition of Jump cut is a cut that creates a lack of continuity by leaving out parts of the action.

Here is an example from Shutter island as the shot starts as a long shot and transitions to a close up shot of her face. High pitch music in the background builds suspense and tension within the audience.

Shot-reverse-shot is used when characters have a conversation to see reactions and to establish the relationship through the characters. It is shown at eye level so the audience assume the characters are talking to each other. This creates an atmosphere that the audience is involved with the conversation.

Flashbacks are a important thriller convention, they contribute to a sense of time and space disorientation in a thriller confusing the audience. It can show the audience the characters past which they are unaware of to build suspense and make the audience solve the thriller. This is used in Shutter Island when Edward Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) goes to sleep and has a flashback of when his wife dies. This confuses the audience as the whole scene is not shown, allowing the audience to foreshadow what may happen in the end.

Zoom in's can be used to build suspense and let the audience know the emotion the character is going through. A zoom in will often focus on the character and blur out surroundings so all the attentions is brought to the character. An example is shown on the left from Shutter Island. The zoom in of his face shows the fear and tension Edward is experiencing.