Today, I am going to analyze the editing techniques in Run Lola Run which directed by Tom Tykwer and discuss how the techniques are important to the narrative development.
Summary of films:
Run Lola Run is a 1998 German film written and directed by Tom Tykwer. The story is about a woman who needs to get 100,000 Deutsche mark in the next 20 minutes to save her boyfriend’s life. Lola runs to save her boyfriend was divided into three runs. Each run starts the same way, but develops differently and the different outcome. At last, she changes the events according to her choices. She saves her boyfriend and gets another 100,000 Deutsche mark.
Editing Techniques
Editing is a part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The process of editing involve with the raw footage, selecting shots and combines them into sequences which create a motion picture. A film editor must creatively work with the layers of images, story, dialogue, music, pacing, as well as the actor’s performances to convey a story to the audience. The relationship between shots may be graphic, rhythmic, spatial or temporal. Graphic match is good in relating two different states of disconnected scenes, or in helping to establish a relationship between two scenes. By using an ending frame with a same compositional elements such as shape, color, size, and so on as the beginning frame of the next shot, to have a smooth transition. Rhythmic editing usually dictated by music. In this case, the musical relationship between shots takes the major stage. Establishing Shot Is usually the first few shots in a sequence, because it serves to situate the audience within a particular setting and to introduce an important character. Normally, establishing shots are extreme long shots or long shots, followed by progressively closer framing. This is the other way to tell the audience where the character is. Temporal relationships involve with a continuity editing which is match on action, it is an editing technique used in continuity editing that cuts two different shot of the same action together at the same moment in the move. Next, the continuity editing is to maintain the viewer’s understanding of the story. It is included with 180 degree rule, 30 degree rule, eyeline match, shot-reverse shot. Sound in film narrative may be identified as either diegetic or non-diegetic. The presence of sounds alongside the image creates larger cinematic units.
Analysis
Firstly, the editing techniques in Run Lola Run that I going to discuss is match on action in temporal relationships. For example, Lola runs all the way to save Manni, the long shot was applied to it. At the same time, due to the same running movement in different shot and setting, the match on action was also established in the scene, it conveys to the audience that Lola keep running to save Manni at 12:00pm by the water tower around the corner.
Otherwise, in the picture below, jump cuts are used to create a discontinuity in editing. This kind of cut suddenly communicates the passing of time.
As a mean of continuity editing, parallel editing also used in Run Lola Run severally, example the first run, Lola runs to her father’s bank, then cut to the shot of Manni uses a blind woman’s phone card to call his friend to borrow money, then the eyeline matches are used, Manni is looking at something off screen, the cut to the clock that place on the wall, then cut to the Lola is running, then cut to the shot of her dad and his pregnant mistress, then cut to the scene that Lola reach his father’s bank , and cut to her father and his mistress, then cut to Lola open his father’s office room and an eyeline matches of Lola see his father and his mistress. This technique of cut scene used to portray multiple line of action occurring in different place simultaneously. I think the clock and the eye view of Lola saw her father and his mistress play the main shot in these parallel editing because the clock describes the time is moving forward. At the same time, Lola is running and those cut scene between Lola and his father give some type connection between them, after she reached father’s office room, these connection give the viewer feel reality and know that it's happening at the same time.
Next, a graphic match cut between the falling red plastic bag and the red telephone receiver when the transition to the restart of her second run.
Freeze frames are also used to show the life of characters that Lola faces on the street while running. They are given as still images to the audience to show some sections of their lives. In each runs with different choices, we can see an obviously compare with a woman pushing a baby carriage, who is shown to later steal a baby after having lost custody of her own. Compare with the second run, who later wins the lottery and lives a life of luxury. The same editing technique used to present the life of other characters too.
An important element to the film though is the soundtrack. The techno background music makes the audience to follow Lola’s rhythm and share her anxious feelings. The soundtrack is another key that reveals that Lola more clearly about what she is going to do for her third run. Through the non-diegetic sound which is techno background sound, the audience experience three different running and overcomes. For example, at her first run to save Manni, the beat is stronger and faster, compared to the third run, the music is softer. It gives the sensation that it is her last run to change her and Manni’s life. Moreover, in some scenes, the audience hears the voice of Lola, although she does not speak. These inner diegetic used to give the audience know her mind. Diegetic sounds help the audience to grasp the overall situation of Lola.
Conclusion
Now, I will conclude how the editing techniques are important to the narrative development because it could catch the audience attention. Especially, the soundtrack and the notion makes the audience more curious and nervous about the end of the story. The movie is full of postmodern elements which have gained its place as one of the great films from the genre with its irregularity and discontinuity editing technique. After watching this film, I noticed that the film editor play a main role in the filmmaker. A lot of editing technique need to learn and explore it too. The film is really recommended to teenager or editor nowadays to watch it, the editing technique of this film can compare with the film nowadays even this film was made in 1998.
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