From the course: Creating a Short Film: 08 Editing

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Including reaction shots

Including reaction shots

- [Instructor] A reaction shot is simply when we show a character reacting to something. And honestly when we filmed The Assurance I didn't realize just how powerful reaction shots are, but I think I get it now, at least somewhat more than I did. Showing someone reacting to something is like a gut punch straight to the emotions of the audience. I mean we as human beings are empathetic creatures so we tend to react when we see someone else genuinely feeling something. Let's look at the original Cape Fear, one of our heroes is stuck in a small house boat with a violent criminal. When he confronts her it creates a frightening situation. But it's infinitely more horrific because we are forced as the audience to just see her terrified reaction. Notice how the editor hardly ever lets us connect with the villain by allowing us to see his face. The editor also hardly ever goes wide to give us a sense of the action. No we are forced to be close to her and watch her face as she suffers, which…

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