ABSTRACT

The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) and Hybrid Approaches to Intensified Continuity in Film
Marina Ivaniceva, University of Reading

Various film scholars have challenged the idea that continuity editing cannot be expressive, including David Bordwell, who provided a detailed illustration of flexibility and variability of a system he called “intensified continuity.” In this article, I argue that The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Chris Weitz, 2009) relies upon various techniques of traditional Hollywood cinema, and demonstrates a variety of important enhancements and changes to the continuity approach. The accompanying audio-visual essay examines such methods of filmmaking and their effect on such editing strategies as the use of close-up and wide shots, fast-paced cutting, and free camera movements. By examining the film’s editing decisions, this article claims that the use of intensified continuity leads to heightened awareness of editing, and succeeds in communicating the main story and the characters’ perspectives more effectively.

Bibliography

Abbott, Stacey. Celluloid Vampires: Life After Death in the Modern World. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2007.

Bordwell, David. The Way Hollywood Tells It. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006.

Burke, Maura. “Relationship Dynamics in the Films Twilight and New Moon: An Ideological Analysis.” MA diss., Miami University, 2010.

Reyland, Nicholas. “Corporate Classicism and the Metaphysical Style, Affects, Effects, and Contexts of Two Recent Trends in Screen Scoring.” Music, Sound, and the Moving Image 9, no. 2, (2015): 115-130.

Salt, Barry. Film Style and Technology: History and Analysis. London: Starword, 2009.

Smith, Jeff. “The Sound of Intensified Continuity.” In The Oxford Handbook of New Audiovisual Aesthetics, edited by John Richardson, Claudia Gorbman and Carol Vernallis, 331-356. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.

Media Cited

Dark Shadows. Directed by Tim Burton. Film. California: Warner Bros. Pictures, 2012.

Daybreakers. Directed by Michael and Peter Spierig. Film. California: Lionsgate, 2009.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Directed by Alfonso Cuaron. Film. California: Warner Bros. Pictures, 2004.

Kingsman: The Secret Service. Directed by Matthew Vaughn. Film. London: Marv Studios, 2014.

Nosferatu. Directed by F. W. Murnau. Film. Germany: Prana Films, 1922.

 Pearl Harbor. Directed by Michael Bay. Film. California: Jerry Bruckheimer Films, 2001.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2. Directed by Bill Condon. Film. California: Summit Entertainment, 2012.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Directed by Chris Weitz. Film. California: Summit Entertainment, 2009.

The Vampire Diaries. Created by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec. Television Series. California: Outerbanks Entertainment, 2009-2017.

Twilight. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke. Film. California: Summit Entertainment, 2008.

Biography

Marina Ivaniceva is a third year PhD student researching film editing knowledge, practice and scholarship, and is concerned with establishing closer dialogue and integration between academia and practitioners. Her recent work has included exploring the opportunities of audiovisual essays for closely analysing different modes and strategies of film editing. She is also a freelance Avid Media Composer/Adobe Premiere Pro film editor and videographer with 8 years of experience over a variety of content including commercials, promo videos, documentaries, feature films, music videos and educational resources. She is the winner of “Best United Kingdom Documentary Short Film” at London International Motion Pictures Awards 2019 (OREGU).