The Untouchables- Ms Wigley

Definition of "suspense"
Suspense is the understanding of what is about to happen. E.g. what is about to happen in the next scene of the film.


1. How is editing used to build suspense in the scene?

Editing is used to build suspense in the start of the scene as it starts of slow, as it gets busy we as the audience begin to think something is going to happen, the long takes suggest it has a slow pace this makes the audience feel tense and anxious. While he is looking at the clock we get a point of view as if he is looking as well. The cut to the clock shows something will happen at 12pm this signifies that this point is important. The point of view shots cut to the women with the pram. This shows that the man who is the protagonist is very concerned about her baby. It then cuts to the other characters, this shows how the protagonist is looking for someone in particular. However the takes gradually get shorter as the suspense builds up towards the end of the scene.

2. How is time 'expanded' through the use of the editing as the pram falls down the steps?

Time is expanded through the use of quick cuts and point of view shots when it focuses on the pram and the baby. There are cuts to the people entering the station and when he is looking at the clock. The shots get closer to the clock each time to show it has importance in the film. Suspense is built up when the man in the doorway looking at the protagonist it is slow and time is extended when the pram is falling down the stairs, it takes a long time to reach the bottom, but during this moment other things are happening such as the shooting between all the men. The slow motion is used while the pram is falling there are quick takes of the protagonist shooting the other men and him trying to save the baby. There is cross cutting of this as he is shooting and looking at the baby. The cross cutting includes the baby, Shooting, mother and the protagonist.

Another reason as to why time is extended is through the use of the camera shot of the pram as is it descending down the stairs. we see a close up of the pram when he lets go of the pram, A high angle view of the baby, Extreme close up of the wheel of the pram, Point of view shot of the women looking at the pram, close up of the baby, long shot of the front of the pram as it is descending, low angle long shot, medium shot of the side of the pram, point of view of the mother and an extreme close up of the babies face.

The overall effect of these shots are how there is use of cross cutting and how all the shots and cross cutting affect the audience. They affect the audience because they want to know what’s going to happen, this then builds tension and at the end we get the sign of relief because we see the pram is ok at the end of the scene.