For this week’s assignment please watch Goodfellas (1990).
As Crittenden notes in his text Editing for Film and Video, 2nd Edition, having an understanding of the elements of dramatic development in the scene will help you understand what cuts need to be made and why.
Please pick a specific scene from the film you chose to watch and answer the following questions:
Is the audience to identify with a particular character or are we merely observers?
Does a particular character dominate; does the dominance shift during the scene?
Does the dialogue function as narrative or is it mere embroidery, i.e. aside from the real drama of the scene?
How does the movement of the camera and/or characters contribute to the scene?
Is the scene carried by long, medium or close-up shots? Why were they used?
Are there significant details that must be seen? What are they?
Is there a reaction needed in the scene that needs to be explained? How does the editing accomplish this?
What elements apart from the characters are important to the scene?
How does the scene fit into the overall film?
Were the editing choices in this scene successful? Why/why not?
Please include at the top of your assignment, the film you chose to watch along with a brief summary of the scene you have analyzed for the assignment. Along with the sec/min mark of the point your making on that particular scene.
