Editing Essay: 750 word analysis

  Editing Essay: 750 word analysis

The Godfather (1972) was an acclaimed movie that depicts the lifestyle of a family that has involvement in mafia activities. it was based on Mario Puzo's 1969 crime novel of the same name. This film was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola uses editing to unify creatively beautiful scenes and heighten the gratifications experienced by the audience. 

Francis Ford Coppola's cinematic masterpiece The Godfather actively uses editing techniques to make the experience for the audience pleasurable. The most prominent editing technique is using audio. One aspect of audio that is notable is the diegetic sound of the christening playing throughout the entirety of the montage scene. The directors choice to do this successfully brings the two, vastly different, elements of this scene together; these elements being the holy christening and the bloody scenes of death. Another editing technique, that involves audio, is parallel sound, this links to the technique I mentioned earlier as the parallel sound is used within the diegetic sound of the christening. Throughout the christening a church organ is playing, the instrumental that is played has a sombre tone to it which corresponds well with the dark imagery that is portrayed on the screen through violent acts and murder. The connotations to a christening are holy, spiritual and ethereal. This juxtaposes the brutal and vicious scenes of death. Similarly to the last technique I mentioned, the use of diegetic sound, that contains parallel music, successfully brings both elements of the scene together to create a masterpiece.

Another key aspect of editing that is essential in making this scene successful and outstanding is the shots. In the opening of the scene, there is an establishing shot of the church. This displays to the audience the majestic nature of the setting and atmosphere. Shortly after this, there are close ups of the priest and the baby as they are the two essential things in the performance of this holy ceremony. There is a recurring close shot of the baby’s godfather, played by Al Pacino, that conveys and displays the expression on his face. The camera, then, focuses on him for long intermissions before cutting to another scene. Coppola's choice to include the recurrence of this shot suggests to the audience that he plays a specific role in the movie and potentially he has a responsibility for the death of the men within the montage scenes. This also creates suspense for the audience as it raises enigma codes for the audience as they will be questioning if the baby's godfather is the antagonist or protagonist. 

Cuts is another crucial element of this scene that makes it successful. One type of cut seen throughout this scene is a jump cut. Jump cuts are used between the church and killings. This, yet again, unifies the two juxtaposing scenes together. Another cut that is prominent within this scene is a match cut. Shortly after the commencement of the christening, there is a match cut that has been implemented. When the priest reaches over to the stand to collect something and then places it on the baby’s face, there is a cut to the barber collecting shaving foam to put onto the guy's face. This match cut was strategically implemented by the director as it plays around with the adjacency of the two scenes. The christening scene is a celebration and commemoration of new life whereas the shaving scene is a part of the clip that culminates in death. 

The change in pace is another noticeable thing that should be discussed in this scene. The overall pace of this scene is quite slow initially. Coppola implements prolonged shots that focus on one character to convey the emotions and expressions of each individual character. This also introduces each character and suggests to the audience that they are a character that holds some form of importance within the storyline. This results in the pace being primarily slow. However, when the first death takes place, subsequently the pace increases. The fast pace after the death in the barber scene is created through the use of multiple cutaways between the godfather character and the shootings. This increased pace successfully amplifies the action that takes place within this scene. It also augments the extent of how many deaths are in this part of the clip. 

Continuity editing is seen in all forms of media texts and it is noticeable within this scene. Coppola uses match on action to ensure the viewing of this scene has a smooth and enjoyable viewing time for the audience. Continuity editing is explored through a match on action in multiple sections of this scene.

Mise-en-scene is an aspect of this scene that was deliberately used to achieve the portrayal of the mafia lifestyle. Many of the men in this scene are wearing suits with Panama hats. This dress wear was prominent in the time age that this movie was produced in, it also is usually associated with mafia bosses