Editing Styles in Films

In films, editing can be used to portray emotions, or speed/pace/action (what's happening in that current scene of the film) and can help to tell the story more effectively.
There are 2 main types of film editing, slow paced editing, and fast paced editing.

Slow Paced Editing

• More than 4-5 seconds of a shot
• Can capture the romance in a scene
• Can portray sad emotions
• In horrors, can show the build up to a "jumpy" shot
• Can increase the tension within a scene

Faced Paced Editing

• Around 4-5 seconds of a shot
• Portrays the action within the scene
• Can adapt the tension within a scene (mainly reduce)
• Can be used in comedy's when there is a fight occuring, (showing the two sides)
• Can be used to make a scene feel "jumpy"

Evidence of the use of both shots is in the film Psycho.

At the very beginning of this clip, we are introduced to the girl in a serene manor, with her just having a shower. Having a shower is a very calm, tranquil scene. This is where short paced editing has been used. They could have used short snippits of her in the shower, but with the upcoming event, the use of slow paced editing makes it unexpected, and causes the resultant scene to be "jumpy" and scare the audience. The final short paced clip we are left with before the girl gets stabbed is where we get our full view of the killer. He/she is holding up a knife, therefore we know what is in line for the girl, this short paced edit is useful here becuase it enables us to prepare for what is coming. 

As soon as the fast paced editing cuts in, we're given every piece of information we need to enable us to understand what is going on. We see a short snippit of a girl screaming (symbolic code for a horror movie), we have continuous shots of the psycho killer (yet more symbolic codes of a horror film) stabbing the girl, and finally we see blood draining down the plug of the bath tub, (another symbolic code of a horror film).

As soon as the killer leaves, we return back to our slow paced editing, which shows our main character (of the scene) dying in her bath tub.

Having the scene planned out as "slow paced - fast paced - slow paced", it almost follows todorovs idea of equilibrium - disequilibrium - equilibrium, as at the end, the girl is no longer in any pain.