Relationships Between Shots

R                    This sequence from The Godfather of a series of murders side by side with a baptism provides an example of parallel editing. One event--the christening--is intercut with other events--a series of murders. The allusion is that these events are occurring simultaneously or at roughly the same time. The narrative effect of the parallel editing is to juxtapose these two lines of action. The editing has many abrupt cuts making the scene appear more dramatic then it actually is. Abruptly going from scene to scene, keeps the audience captivated. Close ups of the actors speaking and of the murders add to that same feeling. A very notable point is the sound effects. Not only are the shots from scene to scene abrupt, but so is the music. During the murder shots the music is loud and scary,  but as the scene switches the music softens and then abruptly comes back for the next murder shot. That is a very significant effect on the overall mood. A very interesting part of the clip is when the priest is announcing the prayer on the baptized baby, right after shots are fired. The director then had the sound of the priest reciting the prayer carried into the murder scene as the shots switch. This effect combined both scenarios making it very clear that the scenes were happening at the same time.

Project 2