Editing in the Shining Essay Example

the maze at the same time that Jack is observing the three-dimensional model of the maze. The use of this editing then leads the audience to believe that Jack is watching over the two go through the maze, along with the sounds of the two talking and laughing.Jack watching over the two go through the maze emphasizes his dominance over Wendy and Danny.

In most of the scenes in the movie, Jack has the upper hand on Wendy and Danny, and he knows much more about the hotel and the ghosts than either of the two. Jack’s superior knowledge of the hotel is also represented in this scene. Because Jack is overlooking the two go through the maze, it seems as if he already knows what we happen to them. The scene foreshadows the horrific events that follow in the movie when Jack goes mad and attempts to kill both Wendy and Danny.

The scene also shows that Wendy and Danny are mere pawns in Jack’s twisted game. Wendy and Danny routinely get in the way of Jack’s quest to stay at the hotel, and as he is instructed by many of the ghosts around the hotel, they must be “taken care of. ” Another scene in which editing is masterfully used to evoke horrifying feelings is the scene when Wendy discovers Jack’s typewriter and the “script” that he has been writing. It is at this point in the film that Wendy finds out that Jack has been relentlessly typing “all work and no play make Jack a dull boy” over and over again.Jack suddenly steps into the room and there is a montage of solely

medium close-ups of both Wendy and Jack as they walk across the room and up the stairs engaged in a heated discussion.

This is the point in time when Wendy absolutely realizes that Jack has gone insane, and proceeds to hit him over the head with a baseball bat. The use of the series medium close-ups and reverse shots during the scene suggest the continuity of Jack and Wendy’s conversation. Although the scene is undoubtedly composed of many different takes, the reverse shots aid in developing the continuity of the scene, and make the transitions seamless.As well as aiding in the continuity of the scene, editing also helps create a fast paced, tense moment. By using reverse shots over and over again, the audience can feel the tenseness and uneasiness of the moment. The shots of Wendy are very short before they reverse back to Jack, which makes the audience uncomfortable, on edge, and uneasy, as both characters are flashing on and off the frame.

Another scene in which editing creates horror and insanity is the scene in which Jack goes into the Gold Room after being accused of beating Danny.The audience can see that Jack is clearly alone in the room, and he walks up to the bar and sits down. There is a medium close up of Jack sitting at the bar with his hands over his eyes muttering about wanting a drink, although the bar is completely empty. Once Jack takes his hands off his eyes, he looks straight forward and begins to talk to someone off camera, although the room is completely empty.

The scene then cuts to a reverse shot

of a bartender in front of a full bar. The editing in this scene develops Jack’s insanity.Because it is clear that upon arriving in the room, there is no full bar and no bartender, the audience is led to believe that Jack is imagining these two things. The fact that he has a full conversation with the imagined bartender and drinks the imagined drink is more evidence of his insanity. The editing also makes the continuity of the scene seamless, because it would be impossible to go from an empty bar to a full bar with a bartender without the clever use of editing. The scene when Danny is brushing his teeth and talking to his imaginary friend, Tony, also greatly benefits from the use of editing.

In the scene, Tony warns Danny about the dangers of the hotel he is about to be living in. The scene quickly jumps from Danny in the mirror to an image of blood flooding out of the elevators of the hotel and washing away furniture in the process. Editing contributes to this scene by way of the flash forward. The flash forward is to the scene of the spilling pools of blood from the elevator.

The editing creates a horrifying effect on the audience. Although it is not yet clear why there is blood in the elevators, the flash forward foreshadows the horrific events that will later play out at the hotel.This flash forward gives the audience a sense of impending doom, and makes the audience uneasy about the family’s stay at the hotel. In conclusion, there are countless scenes in The Shining in which greatly benefit from the

many different elements of editing.

Most of the editing done in the film is in done in such a fashion that creates an eerie, unsettling, and terrifying feel. The editing in the film also adds to the continuity, making the film seem “seamless” and chronological. The Shining would not have been such a successful and classic horror film if not for the careful and deliberate utilization of film editing.