College of San Mateo The Hurt Locker Movie Discussion

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From textbook (John Lewis), end of Chapter 5.

Focus on Editing: The Hurt Locker

Kathryn Bigelow’s 2009 film The Hurt Locker follows a U.S. Army bomb squad (Bravo Company) in Iraq as it counts down to the end of its mission. View this clip and respond. Captioned text is accessed on right pull down of video.

The Hurt Locker (4/9) Movie CLIP – We’re Done (2008) HD (Links to an external site.)

Use the questions below to analyze how the basic elements, techniques, and strategies of editing contribute to the visual and story content of this scene: You do not have to answer all of them. Answer those questions that interest you the most about editing.

After posting, don’t forget to respond to another student’s post, further stimulating the discussion.

1 Elements of Editing

• Isolate and observe the individual shots in this sequence.
• What, if anything, do these individual shots mean on their own, independent of their context to previous and subsequent shots?
• How does their meaning change in context with the other shots in the sequence?
• How would you describe the rhythm or tempo of the sequence or of the film as a whole?
• How does the editing contribute to this effect?
• Do the filmmakers employ any alternatives to the cut, such as a fade or dissolve? If so, discuss how this effect works.
• Can you discern any tonal or graphic relationships between the shots?

2 Continuity Editing

• Is the editing style of the film invisible, or does it draw attention to itself?
• Identify the master shot in the sequence. How does that shot establish the spatial relationships in the scene?
• Find a sequence that includes a prolonged conversation. Observe and discuss how techniques such as the 180 degree rule and shot/reverse shot are used to capture the visual and narrative content of the scene.
• Does the sequence include an eyeline match? How is this technique used to communicate story information?

3 Alternative Editing Styles

• Does the film draw attention to the editing in any way, and if it does, how does this affect your reading of the scene and/or the film?
  —————–For full credit you must also respond to at least one other student, further stimulating discussion.
  • Discussion must be focused on subject.
  • Film vocabulary and concepts introduced in this class are used.
  • Response contains complete sentences.
  • No spelling errors.See grading rubric for complete details (at pulldown located at right top corner of this page).