Editing techniques in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’

The editing of a scene is crucial in how you want the audience to response. For example, if a scene is edited with fewer long shots, this could convey emotion and sadness, compared to a scene edited fast with lots of jump cuts, which is generally used to show action and has a more serious feel to it. I have chosen to study the chase scene of Danny Boyle’s 2008 drama ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ as it is complex due to the different techniques used. The scene is actually a flashback, as is a lot of the scenes, which depict Jamal’s troubled childhood and hardship growing up in the slums of India.

The scene begins with the children playing on the runway of a airport. From the beginning, the shots are short and the editing is fast, which conveys a sense of urgency to the viewer. Jump-cuts help to present this, with the camera then panning over the action of the kids running. Tracking shots are also used to reinforce this, as the camera follows the ball they are playing with. The use of shot-reverse-shot is apparent in the sequence also, which shows the conversation between the characters, as the other kids are shouting at Jamal to catch the ball and we can see his reaction. Hand-held cameras are used to make the audience feel apart of the event, throughout, which is especially effective within the chase sequence of this scene. Wide angled shots establish the scene and depict the location surrounding the characters, for example, when the camera cuts from each shot, it moves back to show the scale of the slums in which they live. This could have been done to highlight the vulnerability of the kids in their lives, as they appear small compared to their surroundings. The audience are positioned to feel sympathy for the kids because of this editing, suggesting they are the protagonists in the film.

The music also adds to the feel of the scene as it is non-diegetic and fast pace, just like the editing and the kids run in time with it. The music is upbeat and fits in with the narrative of the film as it is similar to the genre. Near the end of the scene, the camera transitions from one shot to another, by fading into the dress of the mother and reappearing in another location where the children are going to school.