Enemy Of The State - The Art Of Editing.

Questions asked to answer, about the above clip:

1. What is the point of this sequence? Describe briefly how tension is created through the editing.
2. Look at the use of CU or Medium CU. Why are they primarily used here? Refer to specific shots (screengrab them) and embed them within your post.
3. Choose 15-20 seconds from anywhere in the sequence and describe each shot in detail, explaining its effect / function for the audience, as well as commenting on how the cuts (the editing) add to the meaning.
4. How far does the editing of this sequence fit in with the genre of the thriller? Justify your opinion.


1.The mid angle shot used at the beginning which centers the two men and informs us that the main point is the conversation between these two men, also the camera is directed at the man with darker hair and the flask in his hand, showing us he is the important one in this particular shot. 

At 0:18 seconds the frame switches to the man with darker hair emphasizing his expression, then the frame switches from person to person then to a mid angle shot showing boh men conversing.

At 0:31 seconds the  shot is a mid close-up showing that Will Smith indicating that he is the one watching the television. 

At 0:48 seconds the frame suddenly switched to Will Smith's conversation with a man which emphasizes on the importance of their conversation. From 0:48 seconds to 1:02 stars of with a tracking shot evolving around them then switched to a over the head match on action which show importance their argument, and makes us more aware. 

In various parts of the clip a sudden close up is shown to show the character speaking like in the screenshot above. This is an important conversation about confidential business carried out about Will Smith's personal life.

Preliminary Task

The video below is The Preliminary Task that i worked alongside Mathura and Komal. We were asked to make a 1-2 minutes long. Some of the key facts we had to consider were: the importance of a conversation, the use of match on action, this consists of continuity, shot-reverse shot and someone crossing the room.





Firstly we discussed the different scenarios possible, once we had brainstormed a few we came to a conclusion of a scenario where two girls argue in the girls bathroom. Straight after we wrote out a script to aid us with the making if the short video, afterwards we created a story board consisting of all the different shots and camera angles needed for each scene. Creating a script and a storyboard helped us plan out the videos better and made it easier to video it when we actually started videoing.

There are some things that I'd like to change if i was to start this task all over, for example at 13-14 seconds. At this particular time the angle changes from low to mid angle shot, this makes the continuity look unsettled no matter how much it is edited therefore this is something i would definitely like to change if i was to re-do this task. Also as we had to cut out some dialog at the beginning because it was too long, the dialog didn't fit too perfectly, so i would focus on that on my next task. Also because one of our scenes were in the girls toilets it was difficult to videos there were mirrors all around. There are a few more things i'd like to change, like the angles so that from shot to shot it flows smoothly.

At the moment the part that I'd say i'm most pleased with is the tracking shot when theeba walks past, as it's not as shaky, and is more steady and smooth. During the course of this production, i practiced my editing skills further, as i have used final cut express before but editing again, i was more confident as i was used to most of the tools and effects that i could use.