PRINCIPLES OF EDITING: PROVIDING AND WITHHOLDING INFORMATION
Providing and Withholding information is a technique used by film makers to decide when it is the right time for the audience to find things out. Providing information to an audience does not necessarily mean that you find out information the same time as the protagonists on the screen. For example, Alfred Hitchcock once said " There's two people having breakfast and there's a bomb under the table. If it explodes, that's a surprise. But if it doesn't..." and that is a great example of providing information. The protagonists do not see this bomb but the audience do and it creates suspense because the audience are wondering when it is going to go off. Withholding information is very different from providing information because sometimes the audience is discovering information the same time as the protagonist. Withholding information could go terribly wrong if it is not done correctly, especially if the director decides to withhold the information right to the end of the film.
For example, in the film The Sixth Sense Dr Malcom Crowe believes he is just living his normal life and dealing with a young boy called Cole who thinks he can see dead people. We discover that Dr Crowe is in fact dead too and he has been in denial about his demise. This is a good example of withholding information because we see subtle clues through out the film that Dr Crowe could be dead aswell (e.g. when Cole enters his house Dr Crowe is sitting with his Cole's mum but she does not acknowledge him). If film makers use the providing and withholding information technique it needs to be done well otherwise it could be quite a cliche.
Providing and Withholding information is a technique used by film makers to decide when it is the right time for the audience to find things out. Providing information to an audience does not necessarily mean that you find out information the same time as the protagonists on the screen. For example, Alfred Hitchcock once said " There's two people having breakfast and there's a bomb under the table. If it explodes, that's a surprise. But if it doesn't..." and that is a great example of providing information. The protagonists do not see this bomb but the audience do and it creates suspense because the audience are wondering when it is going to go off. Withholding information is very different from providing information because sometimes the audience is discovering information the same time as the protagonist. Withholding information could go terribly wrong if it is not done correctly, especially if the director decides to withhold the information right to the end of the film.
For example, in the film The Sixth Sense Dr Malcom Crowe believes he is just living his normal life and dealing with a young boy called Cole who thinks he can see dead people. We discover that Dr Crowe is in fact dead too and he has been in denial about his demise. This is a good example of withholding information because we see subtle clues through out the film that Dr Crowe could be dead aswell (e.g. when Cole enters his house Dr Crowe is sitting with his Cole's mum but she does not acknowledge him). If film makers use the providing and withholding information technique it needs to be done well otherwise it could be quite a cliche.
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