Blog #2: Editing Analysis

In the 1980, psychological horror film “The Shining” directed by Stanley Kubrick is about a writer with a wife and young son who accepts the job of off-season caretaker at an isolated hotel. As in a lot of psychological horrors, they rely on character fears. The purpose is to develop a feeling of uneasiness by exploiting human fears that we all have within. The film takes the viewer ever so gradually descending into insanity driven by isolated and claustrophobic living conditions. There suggestions made throughout the film that the hotel may be haunted. In the film “The Shining” this technique in exploiting human fears is captured throughout. One of the significant contributions to the film is in a short scene yet is very effectively shown through editor by Ray Lovejoy.

The young son Danny Torrance (Danny Lloyd, actor) who possesses psychic abilities, is able to see things in the future or past, such as the ghosts in the hotel. In the ‘Hallway’ scene Danny Torrance is seen exploring the hotel as he rides his tricycle through and around in the corridors in a medium long shot. Danny is terrified when he confronts the two undead girls at the end of a hallway blocking his way as the stand from a distance -- Danny is shown in a close-up. The two undead girls beckon to him in metallic voices: "Hello Danny, Come and play with us. Come and play with us, Danny." Danny is horrified to see a slide-show flash with horrific images of the carnage of past murders. The two mutilated girls lie in pools of blood in a blood-splattered hallway, with an axe lying on the floor in front of them. In the scene you can see the recurring shot of a quick cut to a long shot of the two mutilated girls lie in pools of blood in a blood-splattered hallway. Secondly, the scene progresses as the two undead girls move closer on screen which builds the tension of the scene. The shot first shot of Danny looking down the hallway at the undead girls with a use of a wide angle lens which gives the shot a wide field of view. The music score helps to build the tension of the scene as well. The way the cuts are edited very quickly between shots of Danny, the undead girls and the two mutilated girls creates the simultaneous tension.

In the main sequence of each shot edited as follows: The first shot - wide shot of Danny looking at the two undead girls at the end of the hallway. The second shot - a close-up of Danny’s terrified expression of two undead girls at the end of hallway. The third shot - another wide shot of Danny looking at the undead girls at the end of the hallway. The fourth shot - a quick cut to a long shot of the two mutilated girls lie in pools of blood in a blood-splattered hallway. The fifth shot - a long shot of the two undead girls at the end of the hallway. The sixth shot - another a quick cut to a long shot of the two mutilated girls lie in pools of blood in a blood-splattered hallway. The seventh shot - a very quick close-up of Danny’s reaction as he is very frightened. The eighth shot - a very quick long shot of the girls standing, but more closer as they have moved closer on screen in the previous shot. The ninth shot - another repeated quick cut to a long shot of the two mutilated girls lie in pools of blood in a blood-splattered hallway. The tenth shot - we now see the two undead girls in a medium long shot/two shot standing even closer on screen. The eleventh shot - another a quick cut to a long shot of the two mutilated girls laid in pools of blood in a blood-splattered hallway. The twelfth shot - a close-up of Danny has he is terrified. He sinks deeper into his alter ego - seeking out the protection of his imaginary friend, Tony. The thirteenth shot - a wide shot of Danny looking down an empty hallway now there is no undead girls visible.