Editing

Please post your discussion essay and comments as REPLIES (below) rather than starting a new discussion thread or posting an attachment. 

(I suggest composing your essay in a word-processing program first and then cutting and pasting the text box below.)

It’s a good idea to remember that in an online course, discussion essays and written work are your chance to show off what you’re learning. Since I don’t see you in a classroom taking notes and asking questions, these are your primary ways to demonstrate your hard work and to earn the grade you want in the class.

DISCUSSION POST:

Preparation:

1) Click on

“’Every Cut a Weapon’: Martin Scorcese on the Editing of PSYCHO.” (Links to an external site.)

 (https://nofilmschool.com/2016/02/every-cut-weapon-martin-scorsese-editing-psycho)Read the page, and watch and study the videos it contains.

2) Then watch the famous shower scene from PSYCHO. 

Assignment prompt:  In a brief 750-word essay (minimum—it may need to be longer to  cover the topic in sufficient detail), summarize the main focus of the web page as a whole, Scorcese’s points about Hitchcock’s editing, and Hitchcock’s own comments about the editing in PSYCHO. To what extent do you feel the shower sequence in particular participates in and departs from the specific techniques and transitions of  continuity editing, as defined in your textbook? How and why?

Remember that you should write formally. Include a thesis at the beginning of your essay, define terms very specifically, defining and referring to the language of the textbook and course videos before you start applying them to the film, and support your observations with specific examples from the film and the textbook. The more specific you can be, the better. Give page numbers if you cite or quote the textbook.

COMMENT POSTS: In another message, comment on what another classmate posted, referring to the student by name. (Each comment should be at least 75 words.) Reply to a different student than those you responded to in Discussions 1 – 3. Your comment will be assessed according to the quality of its interaction with others; thoughtfulness; being informed; respectful—while still being rigorous and analytical.