BABY DRIVER - editing sequences and techniques

This clip from ‘Baby Driver’, directed by Edgar Wright, who is well known for his fast paced and heavily stylised action sequences, is full of editing techniques. However, most of them are ‘invisible’ or continuity edits for it is the editor's job to make the scene flow seamlessly, although some editing techniques are used to create an effect on the audience, even if it’s something we only notice subconsciously. The scene follows Baby through a shopping mall as he is being chased, which is a convention of action films, and the editing help to build tension and to emphasise the sense of urgency in the scene.

BABY DRIVER - Goodbye, Darling Scene

Here are three examples of editing sequences and techniques used in this particular clip of Baby Driver and an analysis of why they have particular effects on us as the audience and why the director has chosen to use them.

ACTION MATCH

Action matches are used to continue the action from one shot to the next. In this particular scene it is used as a continuity edit to make the movement of him jumping as natural as possible, for it keeps the audience engaged due to the seamless nature of the cut because we are concentrating on the action and not the editing.

WIPE

In this transition, the cut from one shot to another is hidden behind a car, making the movement feel continuous between the two shots. This keeps the audience engaged in the chase because the wiping motion pushes the action in the same direction as the characters, making the scene flow in a way that feels natural and not jarring to the viewer. This particular cut is also a jump cut, which ties in with the sense of tension.

JUMP CUT

Although it may be brief, the use of a jump cut here communicates the sense of urgency in the scene. Although we are not fully aware of the effect that this has on us when we are watching it, the jarring cut between two closely linked shots gives us a sense of unease and that something isn't quite right. It works well in this context because it reflects how the character is under pressure and it helps build the tension that he is feeling for the audience as well.

Overall, the various editing techniques used in this sequence have been carefully thought out to build the tension of the scene, emphasise the action and to keep the general movement flowing in a direction that feels natural. It also progresses the story in a way that keeps the audience engaged with the characters because it looks continuous and there are no cuts or transitions that take us out of the scene due to them being disorientating or them not making sense in regards to time and space.