Editing Techniques used in Thrillers

Motivated Cut

Motivated cuts are often used in Thrillers to make the audience want to see what happens next. A motivated cut is when a character is looking out of shot with an expression on her face that makes the audience want to see what she is seeing. This is a very good technique to use and an example of this is in the film The Silence of the Lambs when the women is looking at the board and it makes the audience want to see what she is looking at.


Cross-cutting

Cross-cutting is very important in Thrillers because it can show two contrasting views. By this I mean that a lot of films cut between something quick and dramatic and with something slow and calm. An example of this is in the film The Da Vinci Code introduction when the man is being chased and at the same time the main character is giving a presentation. In this example, it shows what crime this man will need to solve