Table of Contents
Flashforward and Flashback
Continuity or discontinuity
Jump-cuts
Eye-liner Match
The order of events in time
To sum up
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind combines romance, drama and science-fiction. The story centers on Joel Barish, a middle-aged man who falls for Clementine Kruczynsk. Their two-year relationship fell apart over time and Clementine erased all her memories of Joel. Joel discovers the mistakes of Clementine and decides that he will do the same to erase the memories of his girlfriends. Joel realizes that he doesn’t want the memories to disappear during the erasing process. Valdis Oskarsdottir is the film editor. He uses a variety of editing techniques, including flashbacks and continuity and discontinuity editing as well jump cuts and eye line matches. These techniques assist in developing the story, balancing the perspectives of characters while keeping it simple for the viewers to follow.
Flashback or Flash Forward Flashback are often used to jump back in time and take the story forward. It is used to help build characters and the story. Flashback is used to depict the love story between Clementine and Joel before they decided to erase their memories. Joel decides on a memory-erasing procedure similar to the one he had before. This is when he realizes how much he wants them to stay. He attempts to stop it, as he learns that Clementine is still his love. Joel’s memory eraser makes the story appear to be narrated backwards. Joel wakes up one morning and sees his dream. He imagines his self as he speaks to his neighbors. Joel becomes uncomfortable as a result. As their happy moments in their relationship disappear, Joel’s confusion is felt by the audience. This makes it more entertaining and different than other love triangle drama films. Flash-forward editing is used at the beginning of this film by the author. Joel and Clementine meet in the train. This is their first encounter since their memories are gone. Continuity or Discontinuity are both very common methods of continuity editing. This is the most common style of movie editing. Continuity editing involves cutting to preserve the flow and clear storylines. There are two kinds of continuity editing: spatial and temporal. Joel Banish experiences fragments of real life in the In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Some fragments are memories while others are illusions created by his imaginations. The audience can use and join various cues throughout the film to see Joel’s reality at different times. Joel realizes that he doesn’t want to keep making the impulsive decision to erase the memories and he grabs Clementine’s hands. They run through various places while the doctor continues to erase Joel’s memory. As Clementine and Joel run from the drive-in cinema to the doctor’s office and finally to the library, the places disappear.
Joel moves from one scene to the other in the film, but the viewers understand that the film is one continuous scene. The film’s themes and Joel’s behavior help them see it. Continuity technique allows you to explore ideas about memories and your unconscious mind. Joel held on tightly to Clementine even though everything seemed to have disappeared: the car vanished and his face looked distorted. He fights to save his memory and hers. Joel’s memories also show fights and difficult moments in their relationship. Joel is able to use his imagination and mind to create new scenes and move through time and space. Joel continues fighting to preserve Clementine’s memory in a continuous running scene.
The film’s initial stages have a smooth rhythm. The author incorporates both continuity and discontinuity editing to balance the drastic changes in reality and memories. Joel sees his car damaged and walks towards it. Joel leaves a note thanking his neighbor. Joel can’t remember what the neighbor did as this happened the next morning. The scene isn’t very clear and the author used discontinuity editing to confuse the audience. An audience without discontinuity would not be able see the actions of other actors at any given moment.
Jump-cuts You can’t ignore the use jump cuts with continuity editing in order to create a smooth transition between scenes. Jump-cuts can be achieved without the need to rotate your camera 30 degrees. Combining multiple shots creates a jump effect. The editor intentionally used both cross-cutting and jump cuts in the film to show Joel’s reactions to the process of erasing his memories. The film employs different effects for each memory loss scenario. Joel watches everything disappear before his eyes. Some memory loss scenes appear faster; others slow down. Light and sound are used to illustrate the difficult experience Joel is facing. Clementine’s memory begins to fade and the viewer is able to see that Joel and Clementine are in darkness. This shot shows the irritating sound effects and the frustrations that the character experiences.
Another example of continuity editing is the Eye-line Match. It is a method that helps create consistency between shots. This allows for smooth narration. Filmmaking is incomplete without eye-line match. It describes what viewers see through an actor’s lens. Although it is most commonly applied to characters, it can also apply to objects and views. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind makes use of successive shot-reverse shots, eye-line matches and other techniques to capture Joel’s anxious dialog. Eye-line matches are also used in the film because Joel’s memory is constantly changing and he must keep refocusing.
Chronology Chronology has been used throughout the film as an editing element. Eternal Sunshine is the reverse story of Joel’s and Clementine’s relationship. Joel’s memories are distorted and the audience will see their lives play out on the screen. The film starts with the most recent scene and ends with the beginning. Their relationship appears to be improving with the incorporation Chronology, although this is not the truth. The audience will remember the good times and forget about the bad memories. This is a very effective tactic, especially since they are unhappy together.
Conclusion. Well planned shots can create an authentic feeling, which allows the audience to feel more involved in the scene. It is easy to notice the handheld camera movements and camera focus changes. Every shot is planned out and detail with uniqueness. These shots are then combined using various editing techniques. This film gives viewers a satisfying experience. The movie is full of surprises, which makes the movie even more fascinating. The series makes you feel connected to the characters, their personalities and the story. This film uses a variety of techniques to communicate the emotions, confusions, and regrets Joel is feeling.
