Editing Techniques - The Street

The Street

Editing Techniques

0-0.23

This clip represents disability in a negative light. We see this from the beginning of the start. It starts with a shot of barbed wire that purposely lacks information and gives the audience a chance to see disability in whatever way they like. The next shot is helped by the first as it again includes a wire grid. By continuing on the scenery it maintains the scenes unity within the scene making it clear that the surroundings have marginally changed. This can relate to disability as disability, like the one in the clip, is now continuous and will stay with the character for the rest of his life. it also related to he disability as although he is now disabled he is however the same person.A jump cut is used to focus on two male characters, one on foot and one in a vehicle. The variation in height levels here relates to disability, as disabled people are stereotyped as being lower in society. The disabled man is shown from the back here which suggests that one someone is known to be disabled they are seen differently by society as in the shot the man looks like any other able person, especially as he is dressed casually making his fit in with how the rest of the community is dressed.  A motivated cut reveals the mans disfigured face the shot is used to create dramatic exposure of the characters disfigurement. The shot is used to shock the viewers and stereotypes disability as being negative as people are scared of you. This is further seen by the shocked look on the other mans face. Another match cut is used with a fast paced rhythm which could relate to the awkward feeling that the other men might be feeling. This could relate to Paul Hunts theory of disabled people being the object of curiosity and violence.  

0.23-0.46

Jump cuts are used in this scene, focusing mainly on the characters faces; we see the different facial expressions in which they portray. The jump cut is used in this scene to compare the characters expressions. We can see that the first character with the scar on his face is looking directly at the other male character; we can see that he is comfortable when speaking to him; his ‘disability’ does not remove his confidence. On the other hand the other male character is very dismissive towards the character with the scar on his face; we can see he is uncomfortable in this particular situation. This may be because he doesn’t want to come across as “rude” for starring at the scar which was not their previously and he may feel sympathy for the character, however does not want to show that as he fears he will come across as patronising. A cutting rate shot is used to interrupt the first screenshot where we can see that the 3 men are talking. The shot is then cut to a shot where we are only presented with half of the main male characters face which has been scarred. This emphasises the shock of his facial disfigurements and therefore represents him by other characters reaction and the surprise of the situation as being someone to be feared. It shows people avoiding the man’s gaze, they look sheepish and this cutting method intensifies the situation further. These cuts have been used as the audience want to see the reactions and facial expressions of the different characters because of the general topic of conversation and the rising tension that is included in the scene. When the disfigured man is talking we are unable to see the others men's faces however this soon changes and gives the audience more knowledge about what is occurring within the atmosphere.  

0.46-1.09

While this shot is a matched cut which is used to represent a familiar relationship between the characters (co-workers). However, the bar in the van's window represents a fracture within the relationship of the characters. This could represent disability as he is scarred which is portrayed as intimidating in this clip. Due to this, his scar has converted him into a social outcast.  This is the subsequent reaction shot after the shot on the first slide, this specific shot is an eye line match shot,  however the window of the van, as in the previous shot creates a divide between the two characters, also the case is that the van makes the character in it seem higher, this could be used to represent inferiority to people with disabilities like the character in the shot.  There is a reaction shot used to show the main character telling the other male character to ‘fuck off’. This is used to show his reaction to the situation and shows his attitude towards the fact that he would not be on the same pay as he used to be. This shows his anger at the fact that he is now scarred and how he now feels like less of a person. By the fact that he is not going to be on the same amount of money if he was to go back to work, it shows that he is not valued by his boss anymore and how he is not seen to be as important. This further shows how society does not see disabled people as important as people who have not got a disability. In this shot, a superimpositions shot is used. This is because the fence is in the foreground and this is the item that is in focus. However, we can also see the character in the background who is out in focus. This may be used to show how the make character feels as though he is trapped because of his scarring. It shows how he does not feel as though he is like the other characters and he feels as though he is different because of his scarring. As he is the item that is blurry, this may be used to indicate that society forgets about disabled people and isolates them from everyone else.

1.09-1.32 

The scene opens of a shot which shows the perspective of the man walking down the street where we can see the woman drop the bags out the car. A cut is used to swap to the perspective of the audience from a distance. This shows a man running down the street towards the lady to help. From this we can see that he looks ‘normal’ and has no disabilities which gives the audience no reason to stereotype the man. A matched cut is used to show a relationship between the two shots. This changes from his view to the view of him helping from a distance. A jump cut which shows both characters this is then used when his face is revealed to build up suspense and emphasis the horrified look on the women's face. It jump cuts to other people’s faces to give the perspective of the stereotype from other people

1.32-1.55

The image of the scars on the man’s face is shown for a long period of time without getting cut to represent the idea that people with disabilities are intensely stared at and judged by others because they are seen as “different” and therefore people feel the need to look at them out of curiosity. The view that they are different makes disabled people feel like outcasts and isolated by society. There is also the use of fast cutting of which is normally used to show dialogue between characters. This fast pace cutting rhythm suggests the tension in the scene due to the woman screaming at the disabled man’s face. The fast pace cuts also connotes that the disabled man is nervous and uneasy therefore wanting to get away from the confrontation as quickly as he can. This is a common stereotype of disabled people that they feel ashamed of their disability and do not want people looking at them for long periods of time. The editing in this snippet is minimal as he walks up the hill with the woman behind him. This suggests that disability is a long uphill battle with very little rest. The woman behind him also suggests that disabled people have to carry the negative views of society behind them further adding to the emotional weight of their disability. In addition, the woman could also represent the unnecessary amount of sympathy that follows a disabled person. The way he is walking away from her suggests that he feels the sympathy is patronising and diminishes him as a person which is a common stereotype of the way people treat disabled people. At this point in the clip there is a jump cut between the fronts of the man’s face to his back. This symbolises how the stereotypical disabled person turns there back on society as a result of the discrimination that they receive. The way it cuts to him from behind means we cannot see his face and his reaction this is representational of the way people cannot really understand a disabled person’s life and they do not see it from the disabled persons perspective, only from a distorted viewpoint. Therefore meaning we make assumptions and judge them without fully understanding their situation.

1.55-2.18

A cutting rate shot causes shock to the audience as it dramatically jumps to a different location. Further cutting rates are used throughout this section to show passing residents staring at the mans face. This stereotypes that disabled people can’t go anywhere without having attention drawn to them selves and end up feeling unwelcomed by society. Furthermore by the cuts used to the passing people it stereotypes that disabled people are seen as outcasts as their facial expressions look uneasy and also look upon him  as though he is cause for danger/violence which is one of Paul Hunts disability stereotypes. However he is seen like this because of the scar on his face and most probably isn’t how he is. This is stereotyping that surrounding people are quick to judge disabled people and automatically see them as dangerous in this case or useless if they were in a wheelchair.

2.18-2.41

In this section there is a rapid change from one location to another through the use of a cut. This brings across that people with disabilities don’t hang around in one area for a long period of time as they don’t want to be seen by society. The pictures below show the change in location from the crowed town to the office which is low lit this represents disabled people hiding away from society because they are ashamed of their disability. Throughout the rest of this section there is a change in point of view through the use of cuts. This varies in rate depending on who's talking as the camera is on the character who's talking. The cuts rhythm increases as the man becomes angry. This can be linked to Paul Hunt’s theory of disabled people coming across as evil or sinister because his disability has resulted in him becoming angry. 

2.41-3.04

Cross-Cuts are used throughout this section to deliver the feeling of a conversation. Throughout the clip a conversation takes place and each line and action is delivered through the use of cross-cuts. Cutting is also used to jump to different camera shots that represent different stereotypes of disability. When the cuts jump to the picture of the main character he is shown with dark light on his face, where as when the camera cuts to the other main character in this scene then the his face is fully visible. This shows that disabled people may feel the need to hide what they look like. Frequent cuts are used deliberately in many TV dramas as interruptions in moments of shock. In this scene a fast cutting rate is used to emphasize certain lines of the speech. The frequent changes could also represent the tension in the scene. The main character is getting angered in this scene. Fast cuts increase tension. 

3.04-3.33 

The last section of the clip uses mostly matched cuts and this helps to add dramatic affect as it will be on one side on the man’s face where you can’t see his disability and then to the other side of his face where you can see his disability which could show that his disability isn't him, and its someone else, the scarred side of his face is stereotypically portrayed as the dark side of his personality which was brought about by the incident that caused his disability and the side of his face that is not affected is seen as the lighter side of his personality. This suggests that his disability has resulted in him becoming sinister/ evil this is done to mirror the stereotype that the superhero is perfect and unaffected by disability where as the villain is plagued by disability this implies that the character has gone from hero to villain after circumstances that he could not control. Soldiers are seen as hero’s therefore he would’ve been considered a hero when he was a serving solider, however the sacrifice he gave whilst being a ‘hero’ has resulted in him becoming the image of a villain which destroys the good intentions he had when sustaining his disability, which resulted  in him becoming a stereotypical angry and violent disabled person. It also skips off his face very quickly which could be because his disability is seen as a disfigurement which has connotations of  being disgusting or horrendous therefore the audience will not want to see this a prolonged period of time.