Enemy of the State

Enemy of the State (Tony Scott, 1998) and edited by Chris Lebenzon is a fast paced, action film that uses a variety of mobile framing techniques and cross cutting to convey meanings. During the opening credits, there is sequence of found footage that  is cut into short sharp sections, most of which are from a drone or handheld. The fast paced editing here, instantly evokes a sense that the film has lots of action and the narrative is frequently moving. The most interesting parts of the film I found where the areas of drone shots, following the characters at a high angle and then cutting to the ground shots, and constantly alternating the shots to create a sense of pace and rhythm. You could say that the editing in the chase scene of the “bird watcher” has rhythmic cutting to it, since it starts with medium shot, then close ups, then drone shots and the cuts then increase in speed illustrating that the action is happening at a fast pace.

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