The Money Shot

Movies throughout the years have become increasingly popular, with advances in technology and CGI effects, movies today are simply incredible. Actors, story lines, and sound tracks all are pivotal parts of a great movie, but an unsung hero of the movie industry is the editing that creates such great entertainment. In my personal opinion one director that does a great job of producing movies is Christopher Nolan.  His top movies include: The Dark Knight Trilogy, Interstellar, Inception, The Prestige and Memento, some of the highest rated movies ever created.

One technique that Nolan seems to use a significant amount throughout his films is the technique of parallel cutting. Nolan uses this technique to simultaneously run two different actions on screen before the other is completed. This technique allows for a buildup of suspense by cutting back and forth between shots and can make a scene much more powerful. The first example of Nolan's utilization of this technique comes from his movie, The Prestige. 

In this scene the magician on stage (Christian Bale) is demonstrating a new trick he has perfected where he magically is able to transport himself from one door to the other. As this happens, his greatest adversary (Hugh Jackman) watches and describes what he saw. By cutting back and forth between these two men's points of view, it makes the scene that much more suspenseful as the audience waits to see "the greatest magic trick I've ever seen" as Jackman puts it.

Another example of this parallel cutting technique is also evident in another one of Nolan's movie, Inception. Again Nolan uses the parallel cutting technique to create suspense this time in somewhat of a fight scene. Two different action scenes play out in this scene as the two different characters are in different levels of the dream world.

This scene is actually rather long for a parallel cutting scene but once again does a great job of building suspense and creating two different actions that line up to come to a conclusion at the same time. Nolan also does a very good job with the rhythm of the scene, where he is able to incorporate fast paced shots as well as longer slower shots into a smooth scene.

Nolan has won many awards for his movies and it is easy to see why. He does a fine job as a producer and director of utilizing different shots including the parallel cutting technique to get the most out of what he has filmed. Overall, Nolan is able to create such powerful movies through his use of these editing techniques. When watching movies now, in addition to the acting, stories and music of a film, the editing will also play a key role in determining whether or not I enjoy the movie. These techniques discussed in the readings are a major part of making a successful movie.