The Invisible Cut
Page 8
BALSAM
(voiceover)
guilty… guilty… guilty… guilty… guilty… guilty… guilty… guilty… guilty
Balsam opens the tenth ballot, which reads “not guilty.” Camera pans up with Balsam as he stands, holding piece of paper open.
FRAME GRAB #9
CUT TO:
Close-up of Fonda.
FRAME GRAB #10
BALSAM
(OS)
Not guilty.
After Fonda reacts, he turns around and focus shifts to background and reveals jurors behind him.
BALSAM
(OS, reading last ballot)
…guilty.
As Fonda walks back to the table, Begley stands up angrily.
BEGLEY
Boy. How do you like that?
Warden stands up and walks away making chicken movements with his arms.
WARDEN
Another chump flaps his wings.
Fonda moves to far end of the room and in medium long shot he stands among Binns, Warden, Sweeney, Begley, and Voskovec.
BEGLEY
All right, who was it? C’mon, I wanna know.
VOSKOVEC
Excuse me. It was a secret ballot. We all agreed on that, no? If the gentleman wants it to remain secret…
COBB
(OS, shouting)
Se…
FRAME GRAB #11
CUT TO:
Medium long shot, another angle with Voskovec and Begley in left and right foreground with Cobb, Marshall, and Klugman in between.
FRAME GRAB #12
COBB
…cret! There are no secrets in a jury room!
Camera moves in as Cobb walks closer to a seated Klugman.
COBB
(cont’d)
I know who it was. Brother you really are somethin’. You sit here, vote guilty like the rest of us, then some golden-voiced preacher starts tearing your poor heart out about some underprivileged kid just couldn’t help becoming a murderer and you change your vote. If that isn’t the most sicken… Why don’t you just drop a quarter in his collection box?
KLUGMAN
Ohhh, now just wait a mi…
Camera pans over as Klugman gets up and follows Cobb.
KLUGMAN
(cont’d)
Listen, you can’t talk to me like that!
COBB
Ahh…
KLUGMAN
No, who do you think you are…
MARSHALL
Calm down. …
CUT TO:
Medium close shot of Fonda, watching, seated.
MARSHALL
(cont’d OS)
…calm down.
KLUGMAN
(OS)
No, what does he think he’s do…
MARSHALL
(OS)
It doesn’t matter. He’s…
A slight smile creeps up on Fonda’s face.
FRAME GRAB #13
CUT BACK TO:
Medium shot of Cobb, Marshall, and Klugman.
MARSHALL
(cont’d)
…very excitable. Sit down.
Cobb turns back around from window and camera moves in to a close shot.
COBB
Excitable! You bet I’m excitable. We’re trying to put a guilty man in the chair where he belongs until someone starts telling us…
FRAME GRAB #14
CUT TO:
Medium close shot of Fonda standing, looking alarmed.
FRAME GRAB #15
COBB
(cont’d, OS)
…fairy tales and we’re listening!
BALSAM
(OS)
Hey, uh…
CUT BACK TO:
Medium shot of Cobb. Camera pans as he moves over to Klugman and they face off in a two shot.
BALSAM
(cont’d, OS)
…come on, huh?
COBB
What made you change your vote?
SWEENEY
(OS)
He didn’t…
CUT TO:
Tight close-up of Sweeney.
SWEENEY
…change his vote, I did!
FRAME GRAB #16
CUT TO:
Two shot of Cobb and Klugman.
They turn to the screen, in shock.
FRAME GRAB #17
DECONSTRUCTION
This sequence represents a turning point, which is reflected by the use of music for the first time since the opening credits. The music starts as Fonda walks back to the table and then proposes that the jurors take another vote by secret ballot (the “out” frame of that shot is Frame grab #1). The editor cuts very tight after that line to Klugman for a reaction (the “in” frame is Frame grab #2), because Klugman shares the same impoverished ethnic background with the accused boy and would seem to be the most sympathetic. After cutting back to a close shot of Fonda as he continues to discuss the vote, the next reaction shot is to Fiedler (Frame grab #3), who appears to be the softest character. These are red herrings, setting the audience up to think they might be the ones who will now vote “not guilty.”
frame grab 1
frame grab 2
frame grab 3
The editor cuts back to Fonda, who ends his speech with, “I’m ready,” which sets up the momentum for the vote (the “out” frame is Frame grab #4).
frame grab 4
The editor then cuts to show all the jurors’ reactions, shooting past Fonda’s back and cuts out right after Balsam leans in to distribute the ballots (the “out” frame is Frame grab #5). Next is a reverse angle on many of the same jurors, as Balsam continues to lean in (that “in” frame is Frame grab #6). Balsam and Fonda remain on the left and right side of the screen in both shots. The four other jurors sitting between them have their left-right positions flipped from one shot to the next. The filmmakers got away with this inconsistency, because the audience is primarily focused on Balsam and Fonda. The cut is also smoother because the editor starts the second shot (the “in” frame is Frame grab #6) when Fonda has already started to move away from the table.
See Diagram 4 (on page 32).
frame grab 5
frame grab 6
The camera pans with Fonda until he is at a distance from the table, then moves in to a close-up that shows him glance back at the jurors, then look away. The moment is underlined by the peaking of the musical score (that “out” frame is Frame grab #7). The next shot starts with Frame grab #8, showing hands passing the ballots along the table until Balsam’s hands receive all the ballots (the “out” frame of that same shot is Fame grab #9). The tension is sustained because the editor stayed with this shot and chose to avoid cutting away to anyone’s face. The audience sees all the ballots, including the “not guilty” one, before Balsam the foreman announces them. As a result, the suspenseful moment is milked because the audience can both anticipate and then experience the jurors’ reactions to the “not guilty” vote.
frame grab 7
frame grab 8
frame grab 9
When the foreman reads “not guilty,” the editor knows the audience wants to see Fonda, so he doesn’t even bother to overlap the words. He plays the whole “not guilty” line on Fonda (the “in” frame is Frame grab #10).
frame grab 10
Director Sidney Lumet said that “ the cutting tempo was accelerating steadily during the movie but would break into a gallop in the last thirty five minutes or so. The increasing tempo helped enormously in making the story more exciting and in raising the audience’s awareness that the picture was compressing further in space and time.”7
As the tension builds and the conversation among the jurors becomes more heated, the pace of the interaction shifts into a higher gear. This is evident in all the shots from Frame grab #11 through Frame grab #16. In every case, the characters’ lines overlap within the shots, and the dialogue is overlapped from one shot to the next. Also, a new stage line is created betwee
n Voskovec and Begley (the “out” frame is Frame grab #11). They make eye contact in the foreground of that shot and in the following shot (the “in” frame is Frame grab #12). They’re also the only two jurors who are in both those shots, remaining on the left and right side of the screen, and it is the only stage line that the camera has to honor. Warden, Binns, and Fonda have “disappeared” from the first shot and are now replaced by Cobb, Marshall, and Klugman. The repositioning of the actors from one shot to another is a bit of a cheat, but it works dramatically; the audience won’t notice. This is partly because the actors are anchored by Begley’s and Voskovec’s stage line, but also because of the volatile reaction from Cobb, whose line overlaps from one shot to the next and motivates the cut.
frame grab 11
frame grab 12
The inclusion of Cobb, Klugman, and Marshall is also justified in the shot shown in Frame grab #12, since the three of them now become more significant: Cobb is about to confront Klugman, with Marshall playing mediator. In the shot shown in Frame grab #13, Fonda is seated. Because he was standing the last time we saw him in Frame grab #11 and will be again in Frame grab #15, this shot must have been “stolen” from another part of the movie. The audience will never notice, though, because the editor is giving them what they want: a smile creeping onto Fonda’s face. This expression reveals that he’s pleased about two things: that Klugman is standing up to the bullying Cobb and also that the jury may not be as united against him as they seemed. Then, after Fonda is attacked by Cobb (shown in Frame grab #14) the audience wants a different, more alarmed reaction from Fonda, which is seen in Frame grab #15.
frame grab 13
frame grab 14
frame grab 15
The editor now cuts to Cobb, who’s still convinced Klugman voted “not guilty” and now moves over to confront him. By putting the emphasis on Klugman, the editor surprises the audience when, in the next shot, the “not guilty” voter is revealed to be Sweeney. The editor packs a punch by starting Sweeney’s off-screen line on the two shot of Cobb and Klugman. The editor then cuts to Sweeney as he defiantly announces that he’s the one who changed his vote (the “out” frame is Frame grab #16). He is also in a very tight close-up — the tightest shot in the movie so far — which is appropriate since this is one of the most surprising moments of the movie. The shock registers on Cobb’s and Klugman’s faces when the editor cuts back to their two shot, just as they do a double-take and then turn full-face to the screen (the “out” frame is Frame grab #17). Their reaction mirrors that of the audience: This is a major turning point in the movie.
frame grab 16
frame grab 17
COMEDY: THE GRADUATE
Comedy is not as different from drama as it may seem. The key moments are still based on emotional truth, even if they are often exaggerated. There’s an especially delicate chemistry involved in creating comedy, however, because what makes something funny is not easy to analyze or predict. One thing is certain: the rhythm of delivery is all important. In theater or live performance, the actor’s timing may be all that matters, but in movies the editor’s timing is crucial, too. He can’t wait too long for the setup of the laugh, and he also has to know how long to hold onto that moment once the laughing starts. The editor can, for instance, show an actor repeatedly trying to get up after he falls. The more he falls the funnier it gets, but there is a point when the humor peaks and exactly at that moment, the editor has to cut. The editor also has to have a sense of how long the audience will laugh and has to “open up” the cut to give the audience time so that the laughing won’t interfere with the dialogue in the next shot or scene. This is especially true in physical comedy where the laughs may go on for a long time.
Verbal and Physical Comedy
Because verbal comedy is based on the meaning of words and a depth of character, many of the rules for the dialogue-driven genre apply here. The tone of verbal comedy is more realistic than that of physical comedy. The editor cuts more by the book, bound by the words and the subtlety of the actors’ interactions.
Physical comedy, on the other hand, is more visceral and visual. The situations, characters, and laughs are more exaggerated. As a result the editor will be freer to break the rules and use jerky, nonsensical cuts. Basically he can do anything to get a laugh.
Character and Situation
Leading actors in comedy, especially the ones whose humor is more physical, often have a specific screen persona that doesn’t vary all that much from one movie role to the next. (Examples would be the Marx Brothers and John Belushi.) The audience counts on predictable behavior from these actors, and it’s up to the editor to make sure those expectations are satisfied. Whether a star is involved or not, humor is often based on exaggerating a character’s physical or emotional qualities.
The situation, too, can be physical (like slipping on a banana peel) or psychological (such as mistaken identity, role reversal, or other reasons for comedic misunderstanding). The most common situation in any kind of comedy is humor at a character’s expense. A classic example would be to take pleasure at someone’s embarrassment or loss of dignity. Repetition that causes frustration can add to the humor and can take many forms. The editor can, for instance, keep cutting to someone trying to move an object, and failing. What adds to the humor is the character’s seriousness, his not knowing how absurd and hopeless his repeated attempts are.
Foreground/background setups can also be particularly effective in heightening humor at the character’s expense by exaggerating his relationship with another character, particularly his powerlessness. Contrasting their high and low positioning — say, one sitting versus one standing — can also emphasize a character’s helplessness in his situation.
Subjective and Objective Views
The choice of the point of view (“POV”) — whether the audience anticipates something that’s about to happen or is thrown off guard — contributes significantly to physical comedy.
Let’s again take as an example the classic pratfall: slipping on a banana peel. The editor could start with a long shot of the actor running down the street, then cut to a close shot of the banana skin just as his foot enters the frame, and continue that shot until halfway through the action of the foot skidding. Then the editor might cut to a medium shot of the actor completing the fall onto the pavement. Technically this would be a smooth, good cut. In this case the editor chose the “subjective” viewpoint, where the audience sees what the actor does and they react together.
The editor could also use a different approach. He could again start with a long shot of the actor running down the street, then cut to a close-up of the banana peel lying on the sidewalk. The editor might cut back to the long shot of the actor still running and stay with that shot until the actor skidded and fell on the pavement. Then he could cut to a close-up of the actor’s exasperated reaction. In this case, the editor used the “objective” approach, where the audience is on the outside looking in and sees what happens before the actor does. This is a more effective cut, because you’re telling the audience that the character is going to do something silly before he himself knows it, milking the pleasure of watching the character be a hapless victim. And, usually, if the joke is only on the character and not on the audience, it’s funnier.
FRAME GRAB ILLUSTRATION: THE GRADUATE
The following two scenes from The Graduate straddle both verbal and physical comedy and have a dramatic — even somewhat melodramatic — undertone. In the first scene, the emphasis is more on dialogue, a cat-and-mouse scenario setting up Benjamin as the naive victim of seduction. In the second scene, the focus is on physical comedy, as Benjamin becomes trapped in the bedroom by the temptress Mrs. Robinson.
Part of the analysis of this movie — and this movie alone — will include information from the “lined script,” the shooting script that the editor uses, which has lines down each page to show what part of the scene is covered by each camera angle, along with detailed notation ab
out each of the different takes. Those shots will sometimes be identified by “slate numbers” (how each take is identified during filming).
SCENE ONE: THE DEN
The setup: