Sound & Editing in "The Terminator" (1984)

The scene of the Police Station Shootout begins with The Terminator approaching the Police Station reception asking to see Sarah. After he’s told to wait, he states he’ll be right back and goes outside. Upon his departure the reception is all silent; the viewers can only listen to some non-diegetic sounds like the sound of drums as background music, and diegetic sounds like the reception employee’s hand writing. These initial shots serve as characterization of him as a man who’s so caught up in his routine (in this case, work) that he didn’t pay attention to The Terminator’s suspicious appearance and intimidating voice tone. 

Another moment where sound works together with editing in order to add suspense—and an overall atmosphere of tension within the scene—is the intermixed shots of Sarah Connor and those of The Terminator searching for her. These shots play with the viewers’ expectation as well, specifically when Sarah hides under a desk fearing she’s going to get shot. The viewers’ expectation is that Terminator is going to find her: The shooting feels getting nearer every time and it seems like he’s getting closer to where she’s hiding. The coming and going of the shots framing Sarah and then framing The Terminator shooting around and inspecting all the offices is what shapes that expectation. This intensifies with the presence of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds: The music (non-diegetic sound) is fast-paced just like her heart beats (fast, of course, because of the fear of being found and killed); and the diegetic sounds, the locked doorknob being shaken and the breaking of the door glass (to open from inside, to enter). That expectation falls apart when the door opens and it’s actually Kyle who has found her first, and they escape.

Editing in "The X-Files" (Season 5, episode 11)

The editing in this scene of X-Files (season 5 episode 11) builds viewers’ perception of the events through spatial relationship between shots and the use of ellipsis—a commonly used transitional effect between the shots, in which time is omitted. The overall result is the combination of multiple shots that are interrelated (through editing) in a way that forms the ultimate sense or interpretation of what the scene is about. 

In this sample shots I’ve chosen to analyze, the editing allows the viewers to perceive the woman’s (the "Invisigoth") state of mind first from the close-up (first picture), capturing her reaction towards what the camera is about to show us. Then the next shot captures the ruins of the house in a side-by-side camera movement for panoramic view, while her head is seen front yet blurred; right after, the camera lens’ focus changes within that same shot (instead of cutting into two shots) and the background fades into a blurred perspective while the woman’ face becomes the subject of the camera.

In the upcoming shots, Dana Scully sees her opportunity to break free; the rhythm of the editing—fast-changing shots with little duration each—adds suspense by switching between shots of her struggle and shots capturing the woman’s location as seen through Dana’s perspective (inside the car). Taking advantage of her distance, she manages to unlock herself. In the next shots, editing is important for viewers to know that Dana’s time is running out (to escape), as the woman gets nearer. She discretely continues to unlock by the time the woman gets into the car, and conveniently for Dana, the gun is placed in a reachable place.

When the woman gets inside the car, her reaction was unexpected for Dana. As a seemingly strong woman such as herself, to see her crying was a surprise; she does not know what to do or how she should feel about it. Nevertheless, her disbelief towards her (even despite she's in a moment of emotional weakness) leads her thoughts to her initial extent of escaping. The gun is a reminder of her intentions to escape. And chances have become easier: She already unlocked herself, and it was a matter of taking the gun and she would be in control of the situation. However, she’s aware of the circumstances of the woman’s emotional reaction as she contemplates the house’s ruins from distance while she listens her crying. And interestingly, the next consecutive shots reveal how Dana’s attitude toward the woman’s vulnerable state changes to her ultimate reaction. We can perceive that she feels bad about it, although she's still thinking about the gun. 

These following shots present the viewers with an unexpected change in Dana’s reaction, as she decides to show some emotion instead of remaining cold and distant. After the woman directly gives Dana what she wants (the gun and the power and control it represented), she’s touched by her (the woman’s) selfless reaction (she was willing to die…as if life makes any sense). Dana could understand how sad and lonely she was and finally consoles her. The last screenshot shows Dana as a woman that is able to empathize with other people’s suffering.

Cinematographic Elements in "Tron" (1982)

In analyzing “Tron” (1982) in terms of cinematography, it’s important to pay attention to how lighting, color, and camera angles are used and how it exposes the readers to a better understanding of the characters, their state of mind and the world they live in.

First of all, the use of lighting does not add dramatic elements to the plot, particularly in the “real world” scenes; there’s balance between light and shadows in most of the scenes. However, in the “cybernetic world” (the mainframe, the Grid), lighting is used in a way that allows the background to lose importance in the shadows to create the illusion of a seemingly never-ending world. The following screenshot serves as an example; moreover the tilt or diagonal angle of the frame amplifies that illusion, as the grids seems to continue on infinitely (and disappear into a dark background). 

The use of color differentiates the real world from the cybernetic world. While the real world presented in the movie is true to ours (viewers), the cybernetic world is presented as an “unnatural reality,” without losing the sense of “real world” viewed from a more abstract perspective, like a video game come alive. That is why the colors of everything within the cyberspace do not look natural: Colors are solid almost in simple tonalities and as bright as “neon.” In the first scenes the viewers get to see of that cyberspace, blue is one of the most constant colors that stand out in a shot (and again with the dark background to introduce the viewers to the seemingly infinite cyberspace). Moreover, the programs (that are actually living entities within the cyberspace) are dressed with gray and neon blue uniforms (or red like Sarks’), as shown in the next screenshot.

Another cinematographic element, camera angle plays an important role in the viewers’ interpretation of the characters’ state of mind. For example, the scene where Master Control Program (MCP) tells Sarks about the newcomer (“a new challenge” for him to train for the games) the camera focuses Sarks from a low angle, making him appear powerful and suggesting that—he feels—he has control over the situation, as he is used to dealing with different kinds of programs. That’s why he asked what kind of program it was. Inversely, once MCP explains it’s not a program but a user, the camera focuses Sarks’ reaction from an eye level angle. He argues about the dangers of having a user among a system of just programs, because users are the ones that create programs and therefore have knowledge that programs don’t have and that could interfere with any ENCOM system program. His ultimate state of mind is focused in a high-angle shot (3^rd picture below), meaning the camera focus from above the action. This high-angle shot serves for two main purposes: First, to emphasize MCP’s superiority over Sarks; and second, to denote Sarks is in a vulnerable position, as his new challenge turns out to be a user—a more powerful adversary in terms of knowledge (remember, knowledge is power).