Sound-image and image-image relationships.

For my analysis of sound-image and image-image relationships in editing, I chose the climactic scene of Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989), in which the character Radio Raheem is killed by two police officers. For this scene, arguably the most powerful in the movie, editing between image and sound is used masterfully to convey the drama of a man’s death in real time on a hot summer night.

Throughout, the piece is marked by fast cuts between perspectives, in ways that imply a single omnipotent eyeline. Therefore, the initial scene has the camera below head level as the police struggle to pull Radio Raheem off of Sal, the pizzeria owner, in a way that is deliberately disorienting and that emphasizes the closeness of the crowd. As the scene evolves, the shots go from floor-level to torso-level, using graphic matches at times: for example, a shot of one character’s hands being handcuffed cutting to the arms of the police entangled around Raheem’s neck. In one of the more dramatic cuts, the police release Raheem’s body and the camera immediately cuts to an upward angle from the ground, catching Raheem’s body in mid fall, then framing the cop who kicks him in the right upper 2/3 section of the screen. Immediately upon the death itself, the cuts become longer, emphasizing the end of frenzied action and the enormity of realization.

Sound is used to great effect as well, all of which is diagetic. Initially the blaring of Raheem’s radio making it difficult for the characters to speak, then the noise of the crowd, and thereafter the artfull transitions from noise to silence: a shouting crowd, followed by the same crowd muffled and ultimately silent, as the camera lingers on Raheem’s body in the back of a police car driving away.

The shots are seemless, and Lee’s skill is reflected in his ability to put together such a complex scene as though it were the stream-of-consciousness of a bystander. Highly saturated colors are used, making the scenes warm, with lighting choices that reflect the prominent perspiration on all involved. In short, the editing makes the scene as "real" as it is possible to appear.