Analyse of the Editing Techniques and Meaning in Hot Fuzz (2007) Wright

There are a number of times where we see good eyeline match. For example, when the citizens are shooting at the man, we see the police officer in the car looking over to see what’s going on. This eyeline match is important to show that everyone is aware of their surroundings and all in the same location. It also helps show the reaction from the people as most the shots are medium closeups to close ups. During the first minute of the scene Angel kicks an old lady in the face. The action is composed of four shots. The match on action happens when the kick occurs. The camera at this moment is a close up of her face which shows the audience the impact it had. We see a really good slow motion effect when the man throws a gun to the officer to use. This slow motion effect adds to the drama of the action and makes it somewhat over the top.

The first fade happens as soon as the scene starts. The fade makes us believe the scene is going to be calm and peaceful but little we know is that it’s an action sequence that leads us into a false sense of security but this heightens the contrast to the action later.

Wright utilises a rapidly cut montage of close-up shots to portray Angel’s armament in the same high-octane style as he would an action sequence, as to not take away from the fast pace and tension built by the previous scenes.

After the first gunshot, the pace of the edit becomes fast, with steady, quick cuts creating a strong, intense rhythm to compliment the action, before slowing again upon the defeat of the villagers and the subsequent appearance of the reverend, implying that the atmosphere has once again cooled to a more tranquil equilibrium. The style of the scene pays homage to the ridiculously over-the-top action films featuring police shootouts, with  intense rapid push-ins and slow-motion gun throws heightening the drama.