At the Academy Awards earlier this year, one winner was a bit of a surprise to many people, as many thought it should win but didn’t have much of a shot. That winner was Tom Cross who edited Whiplash (I picked him to win, though). It was a rare instance where you both didn’t and did notice the cuts at the same time. They were jarring but never felt out of place. His pacing was matched perfectly with Damien Chazelle‘s direction, Sharone Meir‘s cinematography, and the rest of the production. It was remarkable work, and I am glad he was awarded for it.
[amz asin=”B00PT3AUYO” size=”small”]An excellent example of how he put things together is the final scene of the film, which features Miles Teller‘s Andrew proving his worth to J.K. Simmons‘ Fletcher in an extended drum solo. The scene is long and never lets up for a second. It has almost no dialogue and has a terrific arc told through shot selections. Y’know, like a movie is supposed to do.
Matt Marlin decided to break down this scene in his video essay series “Framing he Picture,” almost going shot-by-shot to show how even the shortest insert shot is crucial to how the scene builds and tells the story. It is a pretty great video, and Marlin’s narration is quite lively (which more video essayists need to learn). You can give it a watch below. I would recommend it. And if you haven’t seen Whiplash yet, firstly, why are you still reading this? Secondly, go watch it.
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