But first, you need to learn the importance of feeling the right pace. I have formulated an equation (discussed later in this chapter) that may help you determine the proper pace at any given time. A scene may start out fast paced and yet slow down right in the middle. There certainly are trends (which I discuss later), but no rules. It’s not as if drama is paced this way and comedy is paced that way. It’s based on the desired feel, mood, or outcome, and is an ever-changing phenomenon. The speed of these two example scenes may be very different-one fast, one slow-but both are paced perfectly. This film, by the way, won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. And it, too, is a masterful example of the art of pacing. Pacing is a situational concept, which is why there are no magic bullet points for getting it right.Ī 10-minute dialogue scene in The Social Network also takes place in a bar, but it couldn’t be more different from the Inglourious Basterds scene. The pacing of a particular scene is for that scene only. The pacing gives you plenty of time to anticipate the many possible outcomes of the scene. Tarantino uses anticipation as a means to manage the dead air in the scene. What’s happening is that the scene gets slower as the outcome becomes clearer. You’ll notice in that scene that the back-and-forth dialogue gets slower as the scene goes on. Pacing ties directly into story arc and conflict. In this scene in particular, the viewer has a pretty clear understanding of what’s going to happen, and the long pauses in the dialogue allow them to relish the anticipation of the predicted outcome. It comes back to what I said in Chapter 1 about the viewer anticipating what will happen. In fact, the editing may be the key ingredient to making that scene, and all scenes like it, the masterpiece it is. Yes, the great writing and acting help, but the editing is a crucial element. The pacing builds intensity instead of diminishing intensity. There are long pauses between lines of dialogue and it feels just right. That particular scene manages the space very well. That scene is a masterpiece when it comes to pacing-yet the pacing is very slow. When a German character recognizes that one of the British men is not German, the mission falls apart and many people die. She is a famous German actress who is playing a card game with a few Nazi officers when they arrive. In the scene, British and American soldiers, who are pretending to be German, meet up with their German contact. An example that sticks out in my head is the basement bar scene in Inglourious Basterds.įor those who have not seen the film and are planning to, watch it right now because a spoiler is to follow. The pacing of the conversations in his films really sets the bar for pacing. Some of the greatest examples of pacing come from Quentin Tarantino.

Pacing Examples: Slow and FastĪ lot of great editors believe pacing is managing and utilizing the space in a scene- space meaning dead air. Something that’s cut extremely slow can be perfectly paced. Something that is cut fast can be perfectly paced. It’s often assumed that the faster something is edited, the better the pacing is. The biggest misconception about pacing is that it has anything to do with speed (fast cuts or scenes) or time (length). That’s what you need to understand about pacing. I knew when to keep going-and when to stop. The important thing is that I knew the first two cuts were not paced well and that the third cut was right. I’m working on a music video right now and I had to recut it three times until I felt the pacing was right. Pacing is an abstract concept that takes practice, practice, and more practice. At times you may be sharp, and at other times you may be sloppy, but you are generally never going to be perfect. Mastering pacing is something you should strive for, but there will never be a day when it comes to you automatically. The key to pacing is to understand the difference between good pacing and bad pacing. I could sit side by side with you for a year and you still might not master it. Pacing is your single most important editing philosophy and is the hardest to grasp. The purpose of the one, two, three, four count is to show you the foundation of what pacing actually is in a film. Rhythm is the flow and separation of the overall story, which is covered in Chapter 5. Pacing is the timing of cuts, the topic of this chapter. Please note there is a major difference between pacing and rhythm of a film, as I use the terms in this book. Once the flow is formed, it’s hard to break unless you give it a different flow. Mastering pacing is something you should strive for.

Timing synonym pacing tempo