Opening Scene example essay topic

Editing Assignment Most with the Least For my assignment I decided to choose "Minority Report", a film set in Washington, D.C. in 2054 directed by Steven Spielberg and edited by Michael Kahn, A.C.E. I compared the opening scene to this chapter which really doesn't seem to follow Murch's theory to well. The film starts out with quickly cut scenes of a murder. These scenes are cut too quickly to fully understand what is going on. A blurred effect is also used to help create these scenes of chaos.

This eventually ends with a slow dolly away from the female precog (native) with her saying the word "murder". Then we are shown some slower cuts of John Anderton (Tom Cruise) walking to his office for a normal days work. This is followed by the same shot of the precog now slipping under the water. John then steps to his futuristic computer and begins looking at the visual footage they pulled from the precog's mind. There are very few cuts here. I think this is done because the audience would be to confused looking at these blurry images (much like the starting).

Instead we are shown shots dallying around John while he uses his hands like wands controlling the computer. The movie's pace slows down here with the introduction of a family eating breakfast. The husband begins asking his wife questions. These seem to be hinting at the thought of her cheating on him. The film cuts back to the pre-crime unit in action.

John is searching the evidence and soon finds out the whereabouts of the killer. All of this is happening with very quick cuts causing excitement to the viewer. One of the next shots is one of my favourites. Back at the house, the cheating wife is now making out with a man in a bathroom.

They kick the door shut and the reflection of the husband is in a mirror on the other side of the door. This is an obvious example of "the most with the least" because they didn't need a cut to show the reaction of the husband but I think it helped the flow and style of the film. The movie begins to jump between the pre-cops getting to the house and the husband breaking down and startling his wife and lover. The cuts seem to get progressively closer together as these scenes advance adding to the suspense of the event. Once the two parties come together in the house there are shaky hand-held camera movements which work nicely with the editing to create emotion. John attacks the murderer with his 'countdown to murder' wrist watch just hitting 0: 00: 00.

The cuts soon become slower once they begin to arrest the man. This ends the exciting opening scene. Murch compares an editor who cuts too much to an overactive tour guide who doesn't have the confidence to let the audience decide what to look at. I believe that statement, but I feel that Michael Kahn needed to hold the hand of his audience and did so on purpose because it was the opening scene. It was showing exactly what goes on in the day-to-day life of John Anderton and the pre-crime unit. The scene was exciting and interesting to watch.

I feel the viewer will not feel that they are being shown too much because they have no idea how something like this fictional pre-crime unit would work. This great scene sets up the movie perfectly. It shows you all the steps of how these cops have completely eliminated murder in Washington all within 15 minutes..