As mentioned earlier, one of the first films featuring a coherent narrative edit was "Life of an American Fireman". I'm going to compare it with some modern(ish) footage of a similar paced scene. I couldn't think of any movies involving firemen at the time but I think something which goes quite nicely with it is the motorbike chase scene from "The Great Escape".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coWCkAOkQ0U&feature=related
The scene has several key points.
1.McQueen acquiring the bike.
2.McQueen riding upto the checkpoint.
3.McQueen riding away from checkpoint.
4.German reaction to McQueen riding away.
5.McQueen trying to evade capture.
6.Germans crashing/catching up with him.
It's a mix of reaction shots and McQueen inching away and the Germans slowly catching up racing to a climax at the end, much like in the 1903 film.
The purpose of this was to show that narrative/editing techniques may have become more technological but the basic principles are the same.
It might seem a little obscure but I know what I'm talking about :D
No comments:
Post a Comment