Tonal Montage

The Argument Sequence

For the ending of this film opening, I wanted to expand my editing style meaningfully by incorporating tonal montage; combining shots based on the emotional reaction expected to be triggered in the audience. 

Contrasting flashback scenes edited using the tonal montage theory for audiences to draw assumptions from.

The 'happy memory' was specifically cut as the girls began to laugh to reflect the idea that the laughter and good times were cut short, hence Abby's death and Pam's struggle in remembering these times due to immense grief being felt. It also would provoke sadness in the audience as they have now seen the close friendship that the girls had. A significant scene to use tonal montage between this with was the argument flashback. As it follows this happy memory that has seemingly muffled audio to represent the detachment Pam has from the memory, the argument scene needed to be loud and clear in timbre (good sound quality) to show the turn that took place in their friendship.

To do this, I raised the clip's volume itself and isolated the character's voices more using Adobe Premiere Rush's sound tools (reduce echo and enhance pitch features). Additionally, the argument was trimmed in this sequence just as it started to intrigue the audience before showing how it plays out later in the film, connecting the idea that this may have been the last conversation they had.

Cutting the argument here and then straight cutting it to Pam tearing up in this one shot close up, combines the meaning taken from the sequence presented to the audience as post traumatic stress reminiscing even further.

The remainder of the opening to our film, focusing on the argument sequence playing out.

The argument scene is cut short as discussed previously to then be smashed cut to Pam looking away and dissociating as she is spoken to. It is considered a smash cut because of the contrasting locations and overall atmosphere; it is quieter and more depressing than the argument which is high in intensity in both its visual and audio elements, as Pam is being spoken to by another on the amount of people who attended her friend's funeral.

Followed by another smash cut, the argument between the girls continues at a more intense point in conversation involving Pam's persistence in helping Abby with her addiction issue. Cutting it exactly as Abby's character begins to insult Pam was intentional to heighten the impact this dramatic scene would have on the overall film. It leaves the audience intrigued as to what happened after their conversation but knowledgeable enough to know that their friendship became broken.

Moreover, the argument being cut into two separate scenes was inspired by the concept of tonal montage in order to create tension on it and convey the conversation as one Pam has difficulty looking back on in its entirety. Rather than playing it all out at once, I was able to grow the tension in their argument before showcasing its breaking point and returning back to Pam's distraught state.

Take Away

Overall, in the editing process for wrapping up the film, I learned how impactful the arrangement and cutting of scenes are in invoking emotion to audiences. I also furthered my knowledge on the close connection mixing sound layers has using J-cuts and guided cuts from dialogue climax points help to accentuate the intended perception of events drawn between cuts!