Tag Archives: cinema studies

Editing in ‘Enemy of the State’

One of the aerial shots in ‘Enemy of the State’

Tony Scott’s Enemy of the State (1998), is a 90s action film that addressed themes of authority and security that are highly relevant even to modern audiences. At its heart, however, it remains a true action film, starring Will Smith as a lawyer who finds himself in the midst of a plot to compromise the privacy of United States citizens.

From the outset, Scott sets up the fast pace of the film through the opening credits. Editing and cinematography work hand in hand in this sequence to establish the idea of surveillance. Shots of cameras, tinted blue, are rapidly cut together almost like flash frames, amongst POV shots from security cameras and satellites. The ‘found footage’ style of these shots make them seem more realistic, and enhances the idea we are constantly watched, even outside the fictional world of this film. It is through discontinuity editing in this sequence allows the editor to convey a disconcerting to the audience.

These surveillance shots are used frequently throughout the film. A majority of scenes involve the main character, Robert, being surveyed by the NSA. The use of cross cutting between Robert, and what is happening to his character, and the NSA characters creates the idea that these scenes are happening concurrently, even though the characters are not in the same room, and the scenes were not filmed at the same time. Also, insert shots similar to those of the opening sequence here provide the point of view of what the NSA characters are seeing through their cameras and satellites. The combination of these different shots elevates the action, as it allowed the editor to cut rapidly between different shots, and show the action from the perspectives of the different characters, as well as the perspective of the omnipresent security cameras.

Week Three Cinema Studies Blog

Experimental film is about testing the limits of film, and what questioning what film is. It challenges our notions of what film can be. It can have a range of functions, whether it be to express the experiences and viewpoints of the director, or be a form of self expression. I think experimental film can also be important in refreshing our palette, by providing a break from the mainstream norms of Hollywood cinema.

In the vein of Holy Motors from last week, this week’s films at the screening further manipulated the audience’s expectations. Ballet Mecanique is unquestioningly abstract, as demonstrated by its lack of narrative form. The film presents a form of mechanical dance, through its focus on shapes, lines, and movement. By repeating these elements, Leger sets up a pattern which the audience strives to follow, in order to find unity within an otherwise chaotic film.

My personal favourite of this week’s screening is La Jetée, which creates narrative form through still photography and sound. This technique actively engages the audience’s imagination in order to animate the images and the characters and scenes they represent. Moreover, it also highlights the aesthetic qualities of each individual photo.

The Illustrated Auschwitz explores a unique way of telling a real life story. The harrowing tale of a Holocaust survivor is created by remixing images and shots from films. The images shown correlate closely with the woman’s narration, yet they do not show actual images from the Holocaust in order to simulate the horror. Footage from the Wizard of Oz is given an entirely new meaning through this change of context.

These films demonstrate that experimental film has a broad scope, and allows directors to disrupt the illusion of space and time that conventional films create.