Editing and the issue of Representation
But as you need a balanced approach to the question (ie you need to talk about all four areas of textual analysis) for a Level 4 you need to deal with it!!!
Today in class we started off by defining the key terms surronding editing - but remember you can focus on the ones that are most common in Television Dramas and you don't need to learn them all!
Here are all the key terms. I have coloured the ones that are probably the most important
• Cutting: shot/reverse shot, eyeline match, graphic match, action match, jump cut, crosscutting, parallel editing, cutaway; insert.
• Other transitions, dissolve, fade-in, fade-out, wipe, superimposition, long take, short take, slow motion, ellipsis and expansion of time, post-production, visual effects.
Once you have the terms under control you need to think about how editing can be made to relate to issues of representation. Here is what we discussed:
The control of the narrative is predominantly based on Stacey’s actions. She is the one who changes the story direction by grabbing the attention of the shop attendant and hooking him in from his other customer who cannot afford the dress. It becomes all about Stacey when she looses the ring, forcing the shop attendant to stop what he’s doing and devote all attention to her task (finding the ring).
The eyeline matches frequently change between Stacey and the shop attendant as they look round for the ring. The cutting motivation is driven by Stacey and her search for this ring, and her actions are the catalyst to the shot changes. Reaction wise, both of the reactions of the attendant and Stacey are visible when she states she wants to buy the dress.
In the extract from ‘Hustle’, the character Stacey has the most relative screen time. This shows her dominance as a main character in this situation, as the large amount of time she is on the screen highlights her significance in this part of the plot. For example, even when the shop assistant is talking to another woman, she is still visible in the background with frequent cuts to her alone watching. This contrasts with the stereotypical view that men are more dominant than women because in this clip she clearly is at the forefront of the action
Pace- The scene begins with slow paced editing as the old woman struggles to buy the dress. This could relate to her social status in that she cannot afford the dress. The man is disinterested in her because he can tell she isn’t wealthy. This represents women as inferior to men in that she is a character with clearly less status than him.
The pace increases due to the rich woman walking in and he gets excited about the new dress he has to offer. This fast paced editing is also apparent when the woman loses her ring. The stress and frustration is reflected by the fast movements.
The editing in the ‘man’s world’ is slow paced and the editing in the ‘women’s world’ tends to be fast paced. however the shop assistant is a man in the women’s world. This could tell alot about his character as he seems to be quite feminine in his ways. shown again by him being in the fast paced world.
Hustle- Editing perspective
In terms of editing perspective in Hustle, the character Stacie, is in control of the majority of the sequence. You can tell this, because she is at the forefront of most of the shots, or at least in the shot. This means that Stacie’s is the main point of view we see. Stacie also sets the pace of the editing when she starts to panic, and therefore, speeds up the shots.
This connotes that women are powerful, as Stacie is deemed to be the most important person in the scene because we are mostly seeing her point of view. We also see the shop assistants point of view as he looks down on the female customer, but his is not as important as Stacie’s. The wipe transition when the assistant lets Stacie try the dress on, also shows that Stacie has the power over the assistant because it seems like a demand.
